CRM News: Customer Loyalty

Tuesday - May 6, 2008

Thinking of doing business with my company? You should proceed with caution. I've made mistakes, and some of my clients have suffered because of them. My 10-person firm sells popular business software and then provides services such as consulting, training, support and customizations. We have more than 500 clients. Most are happy, but some are not. The unhappy ones are not to blame. Their dissatisfaction is almost always my fault. In the effort to get a sale, and sometimes long after the sale, I've made errors in judgment. [More...]

Testing Out New Concepts to Refurbish the Online Store

Sunday - May 4, 2008

Most e-commerce sites are approaching their 10th birthday. The standard approach -- with left-hand navigation and search, a product catalog and product detail, cart and checkout -- is a tired format. Just like brick-and-mortar stores, Web stores need refurbishing, and retail is the new darling of Web innovation. [More...]

eFashion Solutions Chief Ed Foy on Giving Customers the CEO Treatment

Wednesday - April 30, 2008

It's all about image in the fashion world. An apparel or accessory designer's brick-and-mortar stores must appear ever so alluring to the passerby, and its magazine ads should leave readers pining for the latest fashions. Then there's its online store, which visitors expect to be faultless and continually impress them with eye-catching design, an endless inventory and top-notch security. [More...]

Customer Service Contracts: Loyalty or Else

Thursday - April 24, 2008

If you've ever bought a cell phone, hired a company to monitor your alarm system, subscribed to satellite television or purchased other such services, you'll probably understand Sherri Boyter's frustration. The retired elementary school teacher in the spring switched to AT&T's U-Verse TV service after her contract with DirecTV expired in February. Of course, it wasn't that simple. [More...]

Struggling to Comply With PCI Standards? Start With SSO

Monday - April 21, 2008

Since 2005, millions of citizens have been affected by reported and unreported data breaches at payment processors, banks and retailers -- but the nation was still stunned when news broke out about the TJX data breach. This has indeed been a larger problem than most recognize, with some 88 million consumers affected by data breaches in the past two years alone, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. [More...]

Young Consumers at the Short End of the Customer Service Stick

Sunday - April 20, 2008

When it comes to customer service, young consumers often get no respect. Despite the millions of dollars being spent by electronics chains, cell phone companies and other retailers to attract the youth market, I have a pretty strong sense from personal observation that kids often are treated as second-class shoppers. Want proof? Here are two recent experiences involving my own children. [More...]

Customer Service Gains Unlikely in Airline Merger

Friday - April 18, 2008

It's practically a sport in Detroit to complain about Northwest Airlines. But compared with Northwest, what's the customer experience on Delta, which will become Detroit's main air carrier if the merger between the two is approved? "The only two bonuses I see are snacks on long flights when you're in coach and Coke products instead of Pepsi," said Lisa Gilpin of Berkley, Mich., who flies both airlines. [More...]

ShopLaTiDa.com: An E-Boutique With a Personalized Focus

Friday - April 18, 2008

A new fashion shopping site from Florida boutique La Ti Da is banking on personalized service to set it apart. Visitors to ShopLaTiDa.com, based in Boca Raton, are invited to complete an online profile including profession, style sense, body measurements, preferred designers and areas of shopping where they might need assistance. [More...]

VRM: Consumers Take Control

Tuesday - April 15, 2008

If you are in London on April 24th, you might want to check out the next monthly VRM Hub meeting. What is VRM, you wonder? For starters, VRM, or vendor relationship management, is the brainchild of Doc Searls, senior editor of Linux Journal and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto. [More...]

Sears' Quiet E-Commerce Revolution

Sunday - April 13, 2008

Sears, the store that pioneered America's mail-order business more than a century ago with its fabled catalog, is turning its Web site into a shopping gateway that could soon rival the legendary Big Book in sheer girth. In the past few months, Sears Holdings has quietly added more than 250,000 music offerings, movies and video games to Sears.com. [More...]

Creating an E-Mail Contact Strategy: Follow the Customer's Lead

Friday - April 11, 2008

As the director of consulting services for a company that makes e-mail marketing software, it probably doesn't surprise you that I'm constantly asked questions about e-mail marketing best practices. One of the most common questions I've been asked is, "What's the best e-mail contact strategy?" [More...]

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