“Well done is better than well said,” advised Ben Franklin. As Franklin appreciated, follow-through is a challenge for most members of our species, and it’s certainly a stumbling block for businesses as far as customer feedback is concerned. According to the Temkin Group, six out of ten companies have a Voice of the Customer program in place, but very few of them actually take action based on the customer feedback they receive.
Archive for the ‘Engaged Customers’ Category
Taking Action on Customer Feedback
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011Who Your Customers Trust, and How to Advertise to Them
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
It’s every CEO’s nightmare: you’ve spent bundles of money and time on an advertising campaign, only to discover that your target audience isn’t buying it—or at least isn’t buying more of your product. Measuring the effectiveness of advertising is a Sisyphean task, and all too often companies see little tangible results from advertising efforts. Author James B. Twitchell goes so far as to say, “The simple fact is that you cannot put a meter on the relationship between increased advertising and increased sales. If you could, agencies would charge clients by how much they have increased sales, not by how much media space they have purchased.”
HR Practices to Boost Employee Engagement and Customer Engagement
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011Best Practices to Boost Employee Engagement and Customer Engagement ~ Employee Engagement is central to long-term business success. Excellence in organizational and Human Resource practices results in higher levels of retention, productivity, and better service quality. Unfortunately, few companies are successfully engaging their employees. Research shows that 84% of employees plan to look for a new job in 2011; that’s no surprise, when only 27% of employees are actively engaged on the job. An unsteady job market may have been sufficient in retaining employees over the past two years, but this is no longer true. It is imperative to take targeted actions to ensure you hold onto your best talent.
Keeping Customer Relationships Fresh: Long-Term Customer Engagement
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
- Keep the Customer Love Flowing!
The human brain is wired for newness. Novelty triggers the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a “happiness hormone” which is associated with reward and pleasure. The same chemical is “released in large doses when we are in love” (Seidenfaden & Draiby 2011). As lovers become used to each other, they experience a sort of tolerance. After some time together, lovers no longer get the “dopamine buzz” from being together. In other words, it often takes significant effort to keep a relationship fresh—friendships, romantic relationships, and work partnerships require attention in order to keep growing along with the people in them.
Customer Engagement in a Down Economy: How to Survive Today and Thrive Tomorrow
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
Every recession is unique, but at the same time, every downturn results in the same outcome: some companies emerge winners, while others fall under the guillotine of a lagging economy. With even Wal-Mart’s growth flat-lining, many CEOs are wondering if they can do anything besides frantically cut costs and grit their teeth through this jobless recovery. Unfortunately, customer engagement program budgets are often among the first to fall under the knife as companies make cuts to stay afloat during tough times. Savvy company leaders know that slashing budgets without maintaining a strong customer engagement strategy can send loyal customers fleeing to competitors. In this article, we’ll focus on how Voice of the Customer programs can help companies identify crucial trends and develop successful tactics to see them through the most difficult economic times. By preserving and extending your Customer Engagement program throughout the recession, companies can survive the downturn and be in a good position to thrive once the upturn takes hold.