Tuesday - February 9, 2010
The big question as we move through 2010 may be, "What does the future hold?" But really, the past year will give us a clearer glimpse into the future than any crystal ball possibly could. 2010 is the year of the customer. December 31st, 2009, marked the end of one of the toughest years companies have faced in decades, both in terms of the challenges of a major economic downturn, and a major shift in how companies interact with their customers -- the customers who are increasingly more demanding and can change providers easily.
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Tuesday - February 9, 2010
The term "ROBO" -- Research Online, Buy Offline -- was coined by Yahoo to describe the growing number of consumers who research online but buy offline. Online "pre-shopping" has become a common activity prior to a variety of purchases. According to Forrester, online research will influence $1 trillion in offline sales by 2012.
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Monday - February 8, 2010
The commercial airline business -- ever sensitive to booms ands busts -- is struggling to maintain traffic in the short run while also trying to build a customer base for the future. Rather than compete on price and schedule alone, airlines are moving away from a mass marketing and commodity approach to sales promotion. Instead, a greater focus on customer relations is emerging.
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Friday - February 5, 2010
For businesses serving the public, employees are the face of the company. Likewise, the manner in which employees interact with customers shapes their perception of the business and its brand. Ultimately, customer loyalty is built through positive interactions and high-quality customer service that meets the individual's specific needs.
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Thursday - February 4, 2010
Businesses all over the world have made enormous investments in service -- both in people and in technology. The amount of thought dedicated to service is enormous, and the time spent trying to make service divisions more efficient is countless. Guess what? Most of this money, time and effort has been wasted.
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Thursday - February 4, 2010
In November 2009, IBM announced its acquisition of Guardium, a privately held company based in Waltham, Mass., and the planned integration of Guardium's Database Activity Monitoring technology into IBM's Information Management and Business Analytics and Optimization initiatives. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Wednesday - February 3, 2010
What exactly is cloud computing? The question just doesn't go away, and as the year starts, SugarCRM has just released a white paper -- "The Sugar Open Cloud" -- offering its definition and its argument for why its vision is superior. I am not sure about either. Full disclosure: I like SugarCRM and have a lot of respect for what they are trying to do.
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Tuesday - February 2, 2010
Practically every business has a dirty little secret: It's called customer attrition. Rarely can a company claim someone as a customer for life. There will always be pressure from the competition -- and as a result, there will always be customer attrition. Certainly, businesses do everything they can to retain their current base, but retention isn't enough.
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Monday - February 1, 2010
Consider the advantages of joining an airline frequent flier program: The more you travel, the more points you earn. On the other hand, the more you travel, the more likely your baggage will be lost. Or the airline will still charge a fee for converting frequent flier points into a "free" extra trip.
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Monday - February 1, 2010
Following a breach of its computer systems a year ago, Heartland Payment System, one of the five largest payment card processors in the United States, came under considerable pressure to strengthen its IT security, and it's been embroiled in several lawsuits because of the breach.
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Friday - January 29, 2010
New York's attorney general warned Internet retailers Wednesday that they should stop funneling unsuspecting customers into "deceptive" Web discount clubs that have been accused of slamming people with hidden fees. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office has sent investigative subpoenas to 22 prominent merchants.
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