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Customer Relationships

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  •  
    Making UGC a Picnic 
    Customer Relationships
    What's a Picnic (apart from the classic family activity involving a checkered tablecloth and a ton of ants)? A Picnic is a formidably large candy bar proffered by Cadbury, stuffed with caramel, wafers and nuts. But unless you're in the mood to strengthen your jaw muscles, it's not really the ... more
  •  
    Growing, Growing, Grown! 
    Customer Relationships
    "[C]ontinual email list growth is the Achilles heel of email marketing," says Karen Talavera in a Pro article at MarketingProfs. She says marketers face some tall challenges when they strive to maintain healthy list growth. For instance:  They must constantly replenish the subscriber pipeline. "For every sign-up you get there's a ... more
  •  
    Media and Marketing M&A to Rebound in 2010 
    Customer Relationships
    Fueled by optimism about the economy and business prospects in emerging media and interactive services, mergers and acquisitions activity in media and marketing is expected to rebound in 2010, according to a survey from AdMedia Partners. more
  •  
    They Say Everybody Has One 
    Customer Relationships
    Point of fact: One of the most alluring things about Facebook is its infinite capacity to find us a new distraction—be it Farmville, virtual gift-giving or browsing through an old flame's recent family photo shoot (major creepiness factor, BTW). Second point of fact: Some companies know this about Facebook, and are already ... more
  •  
    Use That CMS for Better CRM 
    Customer Relationships
    "Ultra-Web-savvy marketers are doing great experiments with social-networking platforms, community forums, and the like," says AJ Harring in a recent article at MarketingProfs. But there's one hitch: Few of their efforts are interconnected in a meaningful way to boost customer engagement at their websites, he argues. A few companies are getting ... more
  •  
    Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? 
    Customer Relationships
    Some marketers might regard an opt-in subscription as the end of the permission process—but it's just the beginning, says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. "Permission does not give marketers a license to just send whatever, whenever," she argues. "In fact, more than just a one-time exercise, ... more
  •  
    Mobile-ity 
    Customer Relationships
    "Make no mistake about it," says Christina "CK" Kerley at MarketingProfs, "mobile has arrived—and it's changing how (and where) business professionals communicate with one another and how (and why) they interact with B2B brands." And yet, she laments, many B2B companies lag far behind B2C counterparts in leveraging this powerful ... more
  •  
    18 Use Cases That Show Business How to Finally Put Customers First 
    by Jeremiah Owyang
    Customer Relationships
    Over the last six months, I’ve been working closely with Ray Wang, who is well known as an expert in the Customer Relationship Management space. With my focus on social technologies, we did a deep dive on how our worlds are colliding into the trend of Social CRM. more
  •  
    Getting to Know You, You, You, You 
    Customer Relationships
    A recent Nielsen study found that global consumption of social media increased 82 percent from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009 in the 10 countries surveyed, with users spending an average of 5.5 hours on their sites of choice per month! US and Australian addicts are among the heaviest users of all, spending 6 ... more
  •  
    Small Biz Adoption of Social Media Doubles  
    Customer Relationships
    Faced with a weak economy and reduced marketing budgets, many small businesses are fighting back with more creative—and less costly—approaches to marketing, including social media, according to a survey from Network Solutions and the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business. more
  •  
    Good, Good, Good, Good Vibrations 
    Customer Relationships
    Dudes: Are you ready to give off some fresh new surfer vibes? Search engines are constantly looking for new signals they can use to improve the quality of the results they provide to Internet surfers, says Eric Enge in a recent post at Search Engine Watch. "Search engines continue to ... more
  •  
    Gartner: Key CRM Predictions for 2010  
    Customer Relationships
    As social networks become even more important for reaching customers, by the end of 2010 Facebook will be the No. 1 social networking site in all but 25 countries and will attain a total membership of 600 million (including inactive accounts and a small number of users with multiple accounts), ... more
  •  
    Study: Social Media Use by Fortune 500  
    Customer Relationships
    The adoption of social media is growing among the nation's largest corporations: 22% of the 2009 Fortune 500 companies have public-facing blogs with a post in the past 12 months, and 35% have active registered Twitter accounts with a tweet sent within the past 30 days, according to a study ... more
  •  
    Charm 'em Like Rhett and Scarlett 
    Customer Relationships
    Let's face it: If your marketing approach consists of sporadically touting your company's greatness via the overpopulated social mediaverse, you're about to get absolutely nowhere—except ignored. Or hated. Blacklisted, even.  Frustrated with today's confusing social-media etiquette? Well, don't be! There are sassy methods for making your outreach simply ooze old-fashioned Southern ... more
  •  
    I Prefer a Multiplex Relationship 
    Customer Relationships
    "It is increasingly common for suppliers in B2B settings to build multiple types of ties with their customers," a group of researchers recently noted in the Journal of Marketing. They cite as an example Brocade Communications, which in 2002 set up a marketing alliance and a joint venture with Hewlett-Packard, ... more
  •  
    I've Got Your Back 
    Customer Relationships
    "I have a friend in Florida who owns six Subway franchises," writes Barry Densa in an article at MarketingProfs. "He's rolling in dough, whole wheat, and greenbacks." Lucky guy. But few businesses are so recession-friendly, we suspect. So, for the rest of us, Densa has a five-point strategy for helping our customers, ... more
  •  
    Wow, What Are the Odds of That? 
    Customer Relationships
    Salespeople have long known that establishing rapport with a customer can help close a sale. And in these days of the cautious consumer, the tactic of revealing personal information about personnel "has become increasingly popular in sales and customer-service contexts," a group of researchers recently reported. One of the factors their ... more
  •  
    The Next Big Thing Is Already Here 
    Customer Relationships
    "In the technology industry," writes Morgan Stewart in an article at MarketingProfs, "we are constantly focused on the next big thing." And there's often an assumption that whatever comes next will wipe out whatever came before. Do you remember, for instance, when computers were going to make paper obsolete? Or ... more
  •  
    Move Over, Night Rider 
    Customer Relationships
    We like to emphasize that mobile is probably the most personalized technology available so far in the 21st century. And these days, finding ways to incorporate yourself into users' daily rituals is crucial to maximizing brand exposure on their up-close-and-personal handhelds. That's one reason for taking a look at GM's new ... more
  •  
    Stay Trendilicious! 
    Customer Relationships
    Looking to make your brand trendier? Get a load of Trendistic, a clear and simple way to watch the ebb and flow of buzz on Twitter. A visit to the Trendistic homepage gives you a quick glimpse at what keyword is hottest on Twitter right now. In addition to the most current ... more
  •  
    Mix It Up, Baby 
    Customer Relationships
    In May 2009, Omniture and The CMO Club asked 102 CMOs to rate the relative effectiveness of digital-marketing media. The vast majority (78 percent) gave top marks to email marketing, but a sizable minority (33 percent) reported success in emerging social-media channels, too. That's because, these days, consumers "engage with a ... more
  •  
    Brands With the Most Engaged, Loyal Customers 
    Customer Relationships
    At a time when consumers are searching for value in every purchase, Amazon, Google and Bing, Expedia and Kayak, and Scottrade took highest honors in 2009, among online providers, for successfully engaging consumers and creating loyal customers in their respective categories, according to the 2010 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement ... more
  •  
    You Can Climb This Pyramid 
    Customer Relationships
    Before you start soliciting links and becoming active in online communities, it's best to first ensure that your site's content, structure, and design are in peak condition, Virginia Nussey advises in a recent post at the Bruce Clay blog: "Before you can expect a site to develop inbound links, you have ... more
  •  
    When Pizza Turns a New Leaf 
    Customer Relationships
    It'd be an understatement to say 2009 was a tough year for Domino's Pizza, what with the awkward employees-abusing-food scandal. A quick recap: two bored employees recorded themselves doing unpleasant things with food, and the video wound up on YouTube. Domino's responded swiftly enough, both terminating the employees and releasing an apologetic YouTube video ... more
  •  
    Poor Web Performance Hurts Brands 
    Customer Relationships
    Consumer frustration with website performance during peak traffic times negatively affects business results: 78% of consumers have switched to a competitor's site due to poor Web performance during peak times, according to a new survey from Gomez. more

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Customer Relationships articles by the best and brightest in the field

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  • Why Salespeople Don't Like Your Customer-Reference Program (and What to Do About It) by Joshua Horwitz
    With most large corporate purchases, the only way to get new customers to sign on is to let them hear directly from current customers who can speak about their experience with your products. So why do salespeople often resist participating in your company's customer-reference program? For several reasons... more
  • Achieving Relevance: Understanding and Connecting With Constituents by Brandon Walsh
    Much more than just "your customers" or "your audience," your constituents are all the people for whom your work is meaningful—the internal and external populations whose interest, participation, and advocacy are important to your stability, growth, and long-term success. How do you connect with them? more
  • Of Brand Hijacks and PR Nightmares: A Tale of Two Brands and One Flub by Angela Natividad
    You've heard about recent well-publicized PR nightmares for two major brands (Heinz and Southwest). How could those situations have been handled differently? Here are some ways. more
  • Branding in the Age of Social: Gaining Insight Through Research  by Eric Norman
    Do you have a clear picture of your organization's strengths and weaknesses, and of the opportunities and threats in the marketplace? Is your position vis-à-vis your competitors clear and compelling? Does anyone else in this vast universe know or care? What brand signals echo back from the noise in the ... more
  • The Top Five Things Marketers Must Do in 2010 Pro Contentby Joel Book
    This year will be another year of key strategic and tactical decisions for marketers. With flat or reduced budgets, marketers will once again have to determine where to invest for the best return. So if you want to get the most juice for the squeeze for your marketing dollar in ... more
  • Profiling Green Moms: What Marketers Need to Know by Andrea Learned
    We are in a perfect storm brought on by the economic downturn, emerging consumer interest in sustainability, and the power of social media. And whether for reasons of cost savings or family health, women who are moms, write blogs, and self-identify as "green" have exactly the motivation and conviction marketers ... more
  • The 10 Most Common Pitfalls of Brand Licensing by Pete Canalichio
    Combining your product with top brands is an incredible way to escalate growth. If you are looking to drive revenue, enter new markets, or reposition your product, brand licensing can lead to dramatic results. As with any new endeavor, however, pitfalls abound. more
  • Maximize Your Digital-Marketing Mix: 10 Ways to Integrate Social, Mobile, and Email by Dan Forootan
    Cross-promotional efforts can help companies spread the word as new online-marketing platforms are launched, boosting follower interest and opt-in. The following are 10 popular strategies that companies use to maximize their digital-marketing mix. more
  • Problem Solved: How Do I Keep My Website Interesting, and Keep Visitors Coming Back? by Claire Coyne
    We've created a cool website. The bell and whistles are working well—not too little, not too much. We're getting lots of visits from lots of cool folks. But now that we're up and running so well, we're panicked about keeping content fresh! How do I keep it interesting, and keep ... more
  • Tertiary Keyword Rankings: Using Your Search-Engine Presence to Power Your Customers by Andy Komack
    In the world of B2B marketing, what would you say your customers want most from you? Some of the obvious things are quality products, great service, reasonable prices, and solutions that increase profits. But what would they really want if they could have anything from you? How about more customers? more
  • Five Ways to Create More Value in Your Presentations by Joseph Sommerville, PhD
    During challenging economic times, buyers look for value. The more value you provide, the more likely you are to become the provider of choice. Presentations offer you excellent opportunities to provide that value at different stages of the sales cycle. Here are five ways to create more value in your ... more
  • Plan B: Seven Back-to-Basics Questions to Ask About Your Buyers to Drive Growth Pro Contentby Kevin Clancy, Peter Krieg
    Plan A, which calls for pouring dollars into advertising, rarely increases profitability. Sometimes it doesn't even boost sales, and it certainly doesn't guarantee improvements in marketing effectiveness or ROI. Enter Plan B: taking a closer look at the basic marketing strategy fundamentals that drive tactical decisions. more
  • Five Reasons Why Mobile Marketing Is Prime for B2Bs—And Five Key Questions B2B Marketers Should Be Asking by Christina "CK" Kerley
    In the B2C space there's a lot of buzz around mobile marketing, but in the B2B sector it's more likened to a whisper. B2Bs are missing out on super-sized opportunities for integrating a valuable new brand touch point for their customers and establishing a dynamic new communications channel with professional ... more
  • Is Your Sales Team Creating Real Differentiation? by Tom Roth
    Salespeople rely on strategies such as "sell the value" or to "value-add"—neither of which produces sustainable advantage. They do so because it's hard to achieve genuine differentiation based on something the customer values. But suppose salespeople were able to create highly differentiated offerings that provide real value that competitors can't ... more
  • Why You Should Fire (Some of) Your Customers Pro Contentby Scott McKain
    Don't indiscriminately get rid of people paying you for your goods and services. But identify that 20% from the old 80/20 rule and get rid of some of those who meet the four points described here. Your goal should not be to "please" customers. Studies show only 6% of "satisfied" ... more
  • Problem Solved: How Do I Turn a Touch Into a Relationship? by Claire Coyne
    "Relationships don't just happen, they are built—one experience at a time," says Joel Book of ExactTarget. And lucky for us, Joel has mapped out the process of doing just that via email marketing. more
  • The Top Five Ways to Attract and Keep Customers in Any Economy by Barry Densa
    The economy still stinks. But only if during the long-gone good times your business was on cruise control and you saw your customers as dollar signs and not people. Some marketers are suffering far less than others, because they cared to look deep into their customers' eyes and not just ... more
  • Five Ways to Build Trust—and Tipping Points for Choice by Anthony Cirillo
    A column by noted coach and businessman Harvey Mackay contended that trust is the most important word in business. It made the point that people buy from people, not from companies. To help build trust, start with the following five steps. more
  • 10 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Generate Leads Pro Contentby Brian Carroll
    You need to rethink the way you use LinkedIn. Without some of us even noticing, it has developed into a useful lead-generation tool for marketers and salespeople who are looking to build relationships with prospects. more
  • Planning an Online B2B Community by Nancy Strauss
    B2B communities are often aimed at highly specialized populations and may even be closed to outsiders. However, a growing number of enterprises regard their B2B communities as a secret weapon that gives them a powerful competitive advantage. more
  • Look at Business Presentations as a Process, Not an Event by Joseph Sommerville, PhD
    If you look at creating an effective presentation as a process rather than as an event, you'll quickly realize that it isn't a Sisyphean task. A process has the advantages of being both learnable and repeatable, so once you master it you can streamline development time and increase the returns. more
  • Sales: Strategic Calling to Find Hidden Opportunities in Your Current Accounts by Ken Valla
    What growth strategy is your sales organization pursuing as the economy begins to show signs of recovery? As the business climate improves, so do the opportunities for shifting from survival mode to growth mode. Frozen budgets are beginning to thaw, and companies are considering to fund projects that were deferred ... more
  • The Anatomy of a Conversion Path by Anna Talerico
    A well-designed conversion path does more than guide a user toward the ultimate goal of becoming a customer. It leads you and the user into a richer, better-informed relationship. more
  • Embracing Cross-Channel Analytics to Create a Competitive Advantage by Laura Patterson
    If you are using multiple channels and you want to understand both what's really working and enrich your customers' experiences with your organization, then you'll have to step into the world of cross-channel analytics. more
  • The Brave New World of the Engaged Web by AJ Harring
    We no longer use the Web just for browsing, we use it for doing: posting videos, creating content, sharing things, and connecting with people and organizations. Welcome to "the Engaged Web," a new world where passive websites have been replaced by engaging Web applications and where visitors have become users. ... more

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Customer Relationships case studies, deconstructing real life examples and illustrating lessons learned.

Check out our marketing Case Study Collections on hot topics including Social Media ROI, Mobile Marketing, Facebook and Twitter.

Customer Relationships: See all 95 case studies

Customer Relationships online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing

Customer Relationships: See all 39 seminars

Customer Relationships marketing downloads for the busy professional

  • Mobile Marketing Success Stories
    Mobile marketing campaigns can be inexpensive, easy to execute, and very profitable. See how 8 B2B and 11 B2C companies are using SMS, mobile websites, mobile ads, Smartphone applications, and Bluetooth marketing to achieve huge results.
  • Facebook Success Stories
    When it comes to social networking sites, Facebook boasts the most loyal visitors on the Web. So it's easy to see why successful brands are embracing it as a platform to connect with customers. Facebook Success Stories gives you the real scoop on how 21 companies, including Adobe and Dunkin' Donuts, are pushing the social media marketing envelope using Facebook's tools and apps.
  • Social Media ROI Success Stories
    Learn how social media is changing the way we market to consumers and businesses, and how 11 companies are measuring and monitoring the success of their social media campaigns.
  • Customer-Centric Innovation: How Companies Engage Customers in Product Development and Radical Innovation
    Engaging your customers can help increase satisfaction, loyalty, and brand awareness. This research report will help you understand the role of customers in product development.
  • Email Success Stories: How 11 companies are pushing the (electronic) envelope
    Propel your email marketing efforts beyond the subject line. Read Email Success Stories: How 11 companies are pushing the (electronic) envelope to learn how to convert your emails into money-making machines.
  • Twitter Success Stories: How 11 Companies are Achieving Their Marketing Objectives—140 Characters at a Time
    Twitter’s brief tweets let you communicate with friends and family. But did you know that those 140 characters can also build your business? Read Twitter Success Stories: How 11 companies are achieving their marketing objectives, 140 characters at a time.
  • The Obama Playbook: How Digital Marketing and Social Media Won the Election
    Want to create a veritable army of customer-advocates to champion your brand? The Obama Playbook: How Digital Marketing and Social Media Won the Election shows you how the Obama campaign masterfully used new media to build awareness, engage prospects, and start a movement. It takes you step-by-step through the new media strategies of the campaign and provides actionable guidance on how you can modify each to benefit your business. Both entertaining and useful, it's an invaluable resource for the savvy marketer who wants to take full advantage of the amazing powers of new media.
  • Web 2.0 Marketing Guide
    Here's a straight shooting guide on how Web 2.0 can help you grow your business
  • E-Newsletter How-To Guide
    The e-newsletter has become ubiquitous. Almost a dime a dozen. How do you make yours not only stand out in the inbox, but make a positive impact on your bottom line? This guide will show you how.
  • SWOT Analysis How-To Guide
    This comprehensive, step-by-step how-to guide will help you assess the position in the market of your product or firm, by identifying the product's Strengths and Weaknesses, by considering the potential Opportunities the product has in the marketingplace, and by assessing the potential Threats posed by either the competition or the marketplace.

Customer Relationships: See all 10 downloads

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