Most Active Articles 2009-11-26T05:25:41.643-05:00 Business Exchange Business_Exchange@businessweek.com urn:com:businessweek:bx:topic:most-active:customer-service-marketing Pete Blackshaw pblackshaw959 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:12780694856595481838-d26a46b7f20de0e514baac3a626208ac 2009-11-12T10:04:12.403-05:00

I have spent my whole working life in the business world. Before creating Ecademy in 1998, I was sales and marketing director of a computer distributor. I worked for an entrepreneurial managing director and he had an excellent hold on the value of a...

I have spent my whole working life in the business world. Before creating Ecademy in 1998, I was sales and marketing director of a computer distributor. I worked for an entrepreneurial managing director and he had an excellent hold on the value of a... http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/blog/2009/11/2010-the-year-when-customer-service-meets-marketing Marketing Donut mdonut591 20 20 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:9085485958813501064-6f30ab7340670d163c6eec852040b27e 2009-11-11T12:17:15.337-05:00

Most executives talk about the importance of customer service, but far fewer are able to succinctly describe what they mean. It can easily become an empty cliché rather than a strategy for growth. Yet customer service can be as important for product...

Most executives talk about the importance of customer service, but far fewer are able to succinctly describe what they mean. It can easily become an empty cliché rather than a strategy for growth. Yet customer service can be as important for product... http://blogs.bnet.com/customer-service/?p=587&tag=nl.e808 Eric Tsai etsai275 9 9 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:4235179217745229432-eb4fff6c43592b7641a264fc2f2af569 2009-10-29T08:57:32.432-04:00

It's the Me-conomy stupid. And so sums up in just four words the feeling a lot of us have as consumers as yet again we encounter another average service experience with a company we have provided our custom, our dollars and our time, often over many...

It's the Me-conomy stupid. And so sums up in just four words the feeling a lot of us have as consumers as yet again we encounter another average service experience with a company we have provided our custom, our dollars and our time, often over many... http://www.business-strategy-innovation.com/2009/10/planning-and-designing-excellent.html Braden Kelley bkelley034 26 25 1 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:17296472398432311519-4bd4da47b4a0bf5de41c3967729a2204 2009-11-09T20:44:41.295-05:00

The founder of Standout Jobs writes that surprise is an underused element in business. Read a list of 10 small businesses that use it well.

The founder of Standout Jobs writes that surprise is an underused element in business. Read a list of 10 small businesses that use it well. http://blog.winningworkplaces.org/blog/winning-workplaces/0/0/10-small-businesses-that-surprise-and-profit-from-it Mark Harbeke mharbeke724 4 4 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:13976519673114509327-6e6882ba23fefc3a2b7a6689a77e6c2b 2009-11-06T20:20:06.286-05:00

A lot of things in contact centres have outlived their ’sell-by dates’. Richard Snow takes us through his wish list of things that he would like to see banished from the call centre.

A lot of things in contact centres have outlived their ’sell-by dates’. Richard Snow takes us through his wish list of things that he would like to see banished from the call centre. http://www.callcentrehelper.com/six-things-to-banish-from-your-contact-centre-6725.htm Ventana Research vresearch293 2 2 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:18194042280959338316-19dda0c444399a43834804ec20ba5ba1 2009-10-28T15:37:47.718-04:00

We asked over 9,000 customers from 15 B2B member companies to rate different aspects of their customer experience. Surprisingly, the perceptions customers have of touchpoint performance had virtually no impact on preference.

We asked over 9,000 customers from 15 B2B member companies to rate different aspects of their customer experience. Surprisingly, the perceptions customers have of touchpoint performance had virtually no impact on preference. http://mlcwideangle.exbdblogs.com/2009/10/26/customer-experience-myth-touchpoints-matter/ Marketing Leadership Council tkoopersmith354 10 10 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:16330650609958032931-a9e4afa6e6181f57b46e03d78aa07eb5 2009-10-22T00:59:09.045-04:00

My research into Contact Centers has led me to develop a model for the systems needed to build and operate a strategic framework for contact centers (see “Customer Performance Management”) (http://www.ventanaresearch.com/blog/commentblog.aspx?id=2915). They broadly fall into 6 categories: core technology to handle the delivery of multi-channel customer interactions, systems to manage the people (agent) side of running a contact center, traditional CRM, systems to proactively manage the customer experience at every touch point, managing customer information from integration to usage and customer and contact center analytics and metrics.

My research into Contact Centers has led me to develop a model for the systems needed to build and operate a strategic framework for contact centers (see “Customer Performance Management”) (http://www.ventanaresearch.com/blog/commentblog.aspx?id=2915). They broadly fall into 6 categories: core technology to handle the delivery of multi-channel customer interactions, systems to manage the people (agent) side of running a contact center, traditional CRM, systems to proactively manage the customer experience at every touch point, managing customer information from integration to usage and customer and contact center analytics and metrics. http://www.ventanaresearch.com/blog/commentblog.aspx?id=3333 Ventana Research vresearch293 3 3 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:17072352970085581619-428ea0e8b599563d9a4ac2e1a3244ee0 2009-09-23T18:45:31.447-04:00

Social Media. Word of Mouth Marketing. Online Reputation Management. Engagement. Listening. We’ve given it a lot of fancy names over the past year, but all we’re really talking about is customer service. It’s about treating customers better than...

Social Media. Word of Mouth Marketing. Online Reputation Management. Engagement. Listening. We’ve given it a lot of fancy names over the past year, but all we’re really talking about is customer service. It’s about treating customers better than... http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/09/don%E2%80%99t-forget-about-real-customer-service.html Tamar Weinberg tweinberg492 5 4 1 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:6635753993294734898-ef3011e00078176f591fc09badd9f355 2009-10-05T21:46:32.393-04:00

I’ve worked in service-driven capacities almost my whole life. I started in retail environments scooping ice cream and assisting women in clothing stores and moved on to include clients both global and local. I’ve drawn on early childhood...

I’ve worked in service-driven capacities almost my whole life. I started in retail environments scooping ice cream and assisting women in clothing stores and moved on to include clients both global and local. I’ve drawn on early childhood... http://insightsandingenuity.com/2009/09/06/how-to-walk-the-client-service-tightrope/ Heather Rast hrast757 5 5 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:16725668975796795988-6ea3434ad2a9fed7779db585ce80cd0a 2009-09-21T11:43:11.750-04:00

In part two of this virtual case study Shaun Smith provides a clear and results-proven approach to a holistic customer experience program while focusing on the call center as a revenue generating arm of the business.

In part two of this virtual case study Shaun Smith provides a clear and results-proven approach to a holistic customer experience program while focusing on the call center as a revenue generating arm of the business. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/video.cfm?id=175&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept21news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 6 6 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:1996680330808602587-ccf8f8a723ff405802c11ad32db5aa22 2009-09-25T11:19:05.527-04:00

In this panel discussion, Market leaders will provide you with consumer segmentation best practices, new ways of customer engagement and teach you ideas to leverage benchmarking to improve your market position.

In this panel discussion, Market leaders will provide you with consumer segmentation best practices, new ways of customer engagement and teach you ideas to leverage benchmarking to improve your market position. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/webinarinfo.cfm?externalid=24&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 4 4 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:13826634607166180968-e5874efe078a6a960943ad1992279207 2009-09-25T11:09:04.439-04:00

Keith Fiveson, CEO of ITESA discusses how to effectively manage in the call center using an important but often ignored quality: EQ.

Keith Fiveson, CEO of ITESA discusses how to effectively manage in the call center using an important but often ignored quality: EQ. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/podcenter.cfm?externalID=258&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 6 6 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:8821484957236793584-f8079008be52aff83f2fc527a9cb336f 2009-09-25T11:16:15.947-04:00

Learn why acting on customer feedback is a direct investment in customer retention.

Learn why acting on customer feedback is a direct investment in customer retention. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/article.cfm?externalID=1271&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 6 6 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:8789282236073933825-d6df79eaa05d5318d8a3eb34592d12cc 2009-09-25T11:19:51.837-04:00

Hear how Swedish Rail obtained over 400,000 customers with an increase in average revenue per customer, and 25% of revenue is tracked back to these customer loyalty programs!

Hear how Swedish Rail obtained over 400,000 customers with an increase in average revenue per customer, and 25% of revenue is tracked back to these customer loyalty programs! http://www.customermanagementiq.com/webinarinfo.cfm?externalid=33&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 5 5 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:8792167845149982073-de01a4acb4fb0a5fb2475037cfac9791 2009-09-23T16:51:43.970-04:00

Last week BusinessWeek published its 100 Best Global Brands 2009 and to no surprise, financial brands were largely untrusted which dragged all brands down with it. Moving forward, brands are rethinking how they can win back the trust focusing on the...

Last week BusinessWeek published its 100 Best Global Brands 2009 and to no surprise, financial brands were largely untrusted which dragged all brands down with it. Moving forward, brands are rethinking how they can win back the trust focusing on the... http://designdamage.com/blog/index.php/200909/5-keys-to-incorporate-social-media-in-your-business/ Eric Tsai etsai275 4 4 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:12461599167560305449-0f22109ac09c3b967b5838fa92a0896c 2009-01-16T11:47:17.698-05:00

What if Google went down for two hours tomorrow? Would site users remember its 99.99 percent uptime—or would they focus on how inconvenient the downtime was for that two-hour period? Most likely the latter—a product of a customer environment where 24x7 uptime is the rule. Facing such oversized consumer expectations, many organizations have gravitated toward grandiose—yet flawed—CRM initiatives. [For a look at how Google has penetrated the CRM world, see this month’s cover story on page 22.] The CRM initiative’s mandate is often narrowly focused on addressing customer expectations through large technology-driven change management projects. And while these initiatives play a critical role in advancing customer centricity, customer satisfaction often fails to match the resources expended on these efforts. The Accenture 2007 Global Customer Satisfaction Survey bears this out: 75 percent of participating executives felt their customer service was moderately or extremely good, but 57 percent of consumers described themselves as upset or marginally to extremely dissatisfied with their experiences. The temptation is to close this gap by pouring more resources into understanding what these dissatisfied customers do expect—and then trying to exceed these expectations. However, there is a growing realization that small initiatives designed to deliver what customers don’t expect can also have a significant impact.

What if Google went down for two hours tomorrow? Would site users remember its 99.99 percent uptime—or would they focus on how inconvenient the downtime was for that two-hour period? Most likely the latter—a product of a customer environment where 24x7 uptime is the rule. Facing such oversized consumer expectations, many organizations have gravitated toward grandiose—yet flawed—CRM initiatives. [For a look at how Google has penetrated the CRM world, see this month’s cover story on page 22.] The CRM initiative’s mandate is often narrowly focused on addressing customer expectations through large technology-driven change management projects. And while these initiatives play a critical role in advancing customer centricity, customer satisfaction often fails to match the resources expended on these efforts. The Accenture 2007 Global Customer Satisfaction Survey bears this out: 75 percent of participating executives felt their customer service was moderately or extremely good, but 57 percent of consumers described themselves as upset or marginally to extremely dissatisfied with their experiences. The temptation is to close this gap by pouring more resources into understanding what these dissatisfied customers do expect—and then trying to exceed these expectations. However, there is a growing realization that small initiatives designed to deliver what customers don’t expect can also have a significant impact. http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Columns-Departments/The-Tipping-Point/Give-Customers-What-They-Don%E2%80%99t-Expect-52155.aspx Rob Stoltz rstoltz310 39 39 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:16139986684320215963-751079fc2c3d76dfaab283945930a78f 2009-09-25T11:17:34.567-04:00

In this podcast Esteban Kolsky discusses the future of CRM, and why Social CRM is the weave of the future. Hear why Kolsky believes AHT is preposterous and his experience at CRM Evolution in New York City.

In this podcast Esteban Kolsky discusses the future of CRM, and why Social CRM is the weave of the future. Hear why Kolsky believes AHT is preposterous and his experience at CRM Evolution in New York City. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/podcenter.cfm?externalID=244&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 1 1 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:1428304683127194918-350d540b5f25d2ac0ef3d8b54cdd62e1 2009-09-21T11:50:37.347-04:00

Call center technology must be properly integrated with your people process.

Call center technology must be properly integrated with your people process. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/article.cfm?externalid=1192&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept21news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 2 2 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:13386240263353173173-f171c3ed86d320c1a64fde197601ba1f 2009-09-21T11:49:29.646-04:00

Brooks Mitchell, PhD discusses why Six Sigma programs in the call center are a waste of time and money and will instigate problems and counterproductive results.

Brooks Mitchell, PhD discusses why Six Sigma programs in the call center are a waste of time and money and will instigate problems and counterproductive results. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/Columnarticle.cfm?externalID=1154&ColumnID=25&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept21news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 2 2 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:5883953358059911514-cad96f9dd6dbce8087b44b0608818585 2009-09-21T11:46:43.285-04:00

New call center research from Vocal Laboratories (Vocalabs) validates the impact of phone-based customer service on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

New call center research from Vocal Laboratories (Vocalabs) validates the impact of phone-based customer service on customer satisfaction and loyalty. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/Whitepaper.cfm?id=56&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept21news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 2 2 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:3927741972895044685-97a0d45199159bdc007d2736b6940033 2009-09-25T11:21:25.007-04:00

Dru Phelps discusses the optimization of tangible, actionable and visible checkpoints for Excellence by use of your Balanced Scorecard.

Dru Phelps discusses the optimization of tangible, actionable and visible checkpoints for Excellence by use of your Balanced Scorecard. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/webinarinfo.cfm?externalid=51&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 0 0 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:2553919725402443274-7e18d27d52230fe802baa6c57ed3137e 2009-09-25T11:10:57.373-04:00

Learn to design and manage the work in call centers and the systems they serve, improving the customer experience and decreasing costs, paving the way to liberation of method and innovation.

Learn to design and manage the work in call centers and the systems they serve, improving the customer experience and decreasing costs, paving the way to liberation of method and innovation. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/video.cfm?id=320&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 0 0 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:8238312454811688701-74dd901aa145e972c9a3c3dbac9e3d95 2009-09-25T11:13:40.151-04:00

In this virtual case study, Tripp Babbitt tackles why focusing on call center costs and call center productivity actually increase costs; why the way we use data can actually lead you to taking the wrong actions making service worse and creating waste.

In this virtual case study, Tripp Babbitt tackles why focusing on call center costs and call center productivity actually increase costs; why the way we use data can actually lead you to taking the wrong actions making service worse and creating waste. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/video.cfm?id=301&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 0 0 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:6515968676039749417-04c38070c60b755bec05728f4145d97f 2009-09-25T11:10:06.144-04:00

The use of Integrated Voice Response and voice automation enables a company to improve its customer service and lower its costs.

The use of Integrated Voice Response and voice automation enables a company to improve its customer service and lower its costs. http://www.customermanagementiq.com/article.cfm?externalID=1300&shownewswindow=1&mac=CMBXQ309&SID=BX&utm_campaign=BX&utm_medium=SMO&utm_source=e-bim&utm_content=Sept25news&utm_term=BX Blake Landau blandau141 0 0 0 0 urn:com:businessweek:bx:article:793169265256808667-1c2a3cf58213dc15c6f23536ea67e4fd 2008-10-13T08:09:09.578-04:00

Since last week was national customer service week (hat tip to Toby Bloomberg), I thought of writing a top ten list of customer service success factors. You are successful in customer service when: 1. You’re doing

Since last week was national customer service week (hat tip to Toby Bloomberg), I thought of writing a top ten list of customer service success factors. You are successful in customer service when: 1. You’re doing http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r1641732388&f=9791 53 53 0 0