Customers

Loyalty card programs operated by grocery and drug retailers have been focused on rewarding shoppers for isolated activities. Typically, retailers dole out extra points for buying Brand A today or discount the price of Brand B during a given week and not much more. But now these loyalty programs are...

Siebel Branch Teller, a new retail bank solution that invigorates cross sales and customer care at branches, finally brings CRM to the channel that originates most financial services relationships with consumers. The product, which uses IBM middleware specifically designed for the retail banking ver...

East Coast grocer Stop & Shop has introduced shopping carts that give consumers Internet accessibility at their fingertips. The smart carts, from IBM and Cuesol of Quincy, Massachusetts, feature on-board IBM touchscreen computers that double as personal assistants when the laser scanner on the c...

With recent regulatory developments in the industry and routine call center functions moving to offshore teleservices vendors, there is no time like the present for the Call Center Research Laboratory established at the University of Southern Mississippi a few weeks ago. The CCRL, led by USM profess...

Long known as a technology and hardware provider, Unisys has pushed to diversify, joining the ranks of large systems integrators just when many companies are drawn to the simple, low-risk offerings of hosted solutions providers. Unisys, however, sees that trend as temporary, and its CRM leaders feel...

US Airways and United Airlines are already under bankruptcy protection, and Delta Air Lines is skating dangerously close. Consumer members of frequent-flier programs are not considered creditors, but to many, they might as well be. "Consumers are absolutely, unquestionably concerned, and anyone who ...

Consumer and business product manufacturers are challenged to form and maintain relationships with their end users. One-off promotions like contests or sweepstakes can help to supply manufacturers with some contact information for their customers, but most times, not much else. Unless there is a poi...

A new report on the loyalty of companies to their IT suppliers might change what goes on inside some of the world's IT innovators. From its survey of 51 brands, Walker Information of Indianapolis, Indiana, concluded that customer satisfaction does not equal customer loyalty. Suppliers' interactions ...

Customer retention has always been an important issue for wireless operators, and they acquired a new problem earlier this year when users gained the right to take their mobile phone numbers with them to a new carrier. In their efforts to retain customers, most focus on services and products. Some s...

Almost one-third of the world's financial institutions have outsourced work overseas, and the practice has spawned consumer and political backlash. But according to many analysts, the benefits outweigh the negative publicity.

First Chicago (now Bank One) initiated the trend of charging for face time with a teller in order to encourage the more cost-efficient use of ATMs. Competitors hastily followed suit. In December 2002, however, the bank dropped this controversial practice, concerned that self-service banking channels...

A fire at a telecommunications hub in Chennai, India, crippled call centers across the country yesterday, and voice and data service interruptions continued this morning. Cell phone customers of Tamil Nadu were also impacted by the fire at a Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited telecommunications facility i...

Galyan's, the sporting goods retailer that features climbing walls, kayak demonstrations and archery ranges in its stores, offers an innovative CRM strategy, too. For four years, Galyan's has offered a stand-alone loyalty card that offers points for purchases, gift certificates for points and specia...

With Hurricanes Charley and Frances inflicting an estimated $40 billion worth of damage to the state of Florida in just three weeks, insurance companies have been forced onto high alert. "Natural disasters are our business," Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, told...

General Motors and Ford suffered declining U.S. sales in August. Each announced Wednesday that it will cut production in the fourth quarter, risking profitability for the calendar year. Chrysler, on the other hand, beat the bum month experienced by its competitors with its fifth straight month of sa...