How to retain customers in hard times
It's doom and gloom, according to many of the economic commentators, but now is not the time to take your eye off the customer experience ball.
When things get tight, a company needs any edge it can get and retaining the customers it has is one way of minimising the impact of any downturn. Here are a few things to try to hang on to those most valuable of assets – your customers.
A test: Is your company paying lip service to customer experience?
From reading the business press it would be fair to assume that customer experience is high on the agenda of many business executives.
But is that really the case or are too many senior managers just talking the talk and not walking the walk? Is your company one of those that is just paying lip service?
Read on to see if your company passes this tongue in cheek test.
Does loyalty count?
Many companies have invested heavily in the past twenty years in loyalty schemes, particularly in the retail and travel markets.
But recent research has suggested that this has had little impact - with only one in four UK consumers professing strong loyalty to their favourite brands.
More interesting are the regional variations the research uncovers, with strong loyalty at 33% in the Tyne Tees area but only 20% in Scotland. Why is this?
Six ways to improve online experience
There has been much discussion and comment recently about the quality of online customer experiences. Even small companies, run by specialists in their chosen field, need to provide a good online experience if they are to capture a share of the rapidly growing online spend.
Here’s my novice's guide to improving the quality of your online experience...
Introducing the 'Chief Listening Officer'
God provided a great model for communication when he gave us two ears and one mouth. But marketing - the function that leads customer dialogue - tends to focus on outbound communication.
In today’s web connected world, is that still an appropriate model?
2007: The Year of the Customer?
A number of reports have declared that 2007 is ‘the year of the customer’. For many it is because every year is the year of the customer. For others, it is because they are jumping on the latest fad.
Being customer focused is a challenge, but many have succeeded. In the blog post I'll reveal ten lessons from companies that have achieved award winning Service Excellence.
New Year: New Customer Management?
First, a Happy New Year to the E-consultancy community. I was delighted to be asked by E-consultancy to write a blog about customer management. I am a passionate believer in providing customers with a great experience and, like many people, the start of a New Year is a good time for looking forward. I want to use my first blog here to kick off a discussion, so here’s a starter for ten.
2006 was the year when Web 2.0 generated a following in the business community. I think 2007 will be the year when it really starts to change how those companies think about managing their customers.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
