Understanding the true value of customer loyalty programs
According to Colloquy, there are 3.3 billion loyalty program memberships in the United States alone. When you consider that the entire U.S. population is only 319 million, the amount of loyalty programs per person is staggering. The average member is enrolled in over 13 programs and 71% of those earning $100K+ use loyalty programs.
76% of shoppers think that loyalty programs are a part of their relationship with brands. But most businesses focus their programs on discounts. You can’t substitute discounts for brand loyalty. There is an emotional aspect to shopper behavior that brands can’t ignore.
97% of loyalty programs are transaction-based, where customers receive discounts for purchases. While this is a foundational aspect of a rewards program, most businesses don’t go beyond that. Only 25% of them reward customers for some type of engagement. If you make your customer experience…
Creating quality online customer support can turn prospects into sales
How many times have you raced into a store to quickly pick up a few things and immediately looked for a brightly colored vest to find a sales assistant or customer service person to help you out?And how many times have you scurried from aisle to aisle looking for what you came to buy and seeing no sales associate in sight? That gets real frustrating, real fast! This is how your online shoppers feel if you don't get online customer service right. They need help. And if they can’t find it – guess what, they’re gone, perhaps forever.
According to Forrester, if their questions are not answered quickly, 45% of consumers in the US will abandon their transaction.
Don’t think for a minute that your visitors don’t need your help to some degree. Econsultancy reports that some degree of customer support is need…
The top CRM systems for investment companies to consider
Today, the majority of investment advisor firms have indicated growth as their business priority. The advisory firms prioritizing growth intend on achieving the development primarily by adding new clients organically. Advisers interested in customer acquisition inevitably face operational challenges that can threaten their ability to serve customers. However, by implementing best-of-breed software, investment advisory organizations can grow assets while improving the quality of service they deliver to their customers. A fully integrated customer relationship management solution is the most powerful tools these companies have at their disposal if they want to grow. However, when it comes to selecting the right CRM software tool for the advisory firm, an important question must be answered: Which CRM system will fit your investment business the best?
When it comes to CRM software that was not specifically designed for the company, but is being used by investment…
Welcome to the real self-service economy
Consumers want to be in control. They show a clear preference for self-service solutions, both in planning a purchase, the purchase itself and possible questions afterwards. Smart companies try to anticipate this trend because it is in the mutual interest of businesses and their customers.
The use of customer data is absolutely indispensable as this will improve the customer experience in every phase of the purchase process. Tweet This
This evolution doesn’t mean the end of the traditional 'human' customer service. The need for a safety net with personal contact still exists. This contact can be organized by the companies themselves, but it may also mean contact with other customers.
These are some of the conclusions from a worldwide study conducted over the past few months in collaboration with SSI (fieldwork) and No Problem! (translation partner). The study included ten countries from all around the world.
The results of…
Why were these 24 CRM Vendors listed as the top suppliers?
Value: [rating=4]
Recommended link: 2015 CRM Market Index Report - A Complete Analysis of Market Leaders CRM (registration required for this free report)
Finding the right CRM vendor can be a minefield since there are so many to choose from and selecting the right CRM system is a major long-term investment and commitment. Procurement activities can include auditing your internal requirements and current CRM; building your business case for capital; writing your CRM specifications; in many cases going through a tendering process (depending on the capital investment and more likely for the public sector); then shortlisting and choosing your vendor. All that effort can take up to 18 months for some companies even before the CRM partner has been selected..
In the past, we have shared CRM and MA posts on how to plan for…
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July 24, 2015
Data-driven marketing: How to tackle the tricky topic of trust
Thanks to a convergence of tools and technologies, marketers today have unprecedented access to consumer data. This has opened up a world of new opportunities for marketers, who are now better able to identify the consumers who are interested in their products and also establish what their preferences are in terms of how they are engaged.
Marketers have never been more capable of delivering the right message at the right time. However, while basic data such as the browsing history and past purchases are easy to obtain, rich data such as a person’s interests cannot be collected without cooperation from the consumer. And while customers were historically fairly liberal about the sharing of their personal data, there has been a noticeable changing of attitudes in recent years. This affects the data-customer-relationship.
'The important thing to remember…
CPQ and CRM are key to B2B sales success
Many companies try to make do with a single enterprise application such as an ERP system to run the entire business. However, configure, price, quote (CPQ) applications and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can help make your business more effective because of the additional dimensions of insight and functionality that they bring. According to a recent Forbes article, CPQ and lead management will be the two hottest technology areas for sales in 2015. The results of these increased capabilities are lower costs, higher customer satisfaction and more sales. Here’s how these two powerhouse applications can turbo charge your marketing and sales efforts:
More efficient proposals
Customers increasingly want products that meet their exact needs, so companies must create custom configurations to match their standard offerings to customer requirements. Without configuration capabilities, the process is time-consuming, expensive and error prone. Each order requires review by…
An example implementation showing the popularity of Live Chat
The Sun newspaper took a step into uncharted territory in August 2013 when it moved its content behind a paywall for the first time.
For Britain's biggest selling daily, it was a hugely important development. In common with newspapers all over the world, the Sun has witnessed a sea change in consumption habits as increasing numbers of readers opt to access content online rather than buying printed editions.
By setting up a paywall and thus requiring readers to pay a subscription, the Sun was securing an important revenue stream for its online version while also emphasising that its journalism has a value.
But if it was a big step for the newspaper itself, it was also a major change for online readers, who were being asked to pay for content that had previously been free to…
Understanding how your mobile strategy can improve your customer service
Most of us find it almost impossible to spend time without a smartphone or tablet close at hand. These days, to quote the famous ad for Martino Rosso, we expect to be connected and online ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere.’
Indeed the mobile device has become not only a constant companion but also an essential tool. Witness our shopping habits. According to research organisation IMRG, around half of e-commerce sales in the UK are accounted for by mobile devices. Meanwhile, a 2014 survey by Econsultancy found that 13% of us engage in the art of 'showrooming.' Or to put it another way, we check out goods in store before buying online, using our mobile devices to compare prices and then make the purchase.
And not only do we shop on the move. These…
How are are companies managing their VOC assessment and follow-up?
It's the fourth year that the Temkin Group has delivered their benchmarking report which has researched 218 companies in the area of the 'Voice of the Customer' (VOC).
What is VOC? 'Voice of the Customer is a market research technique that produces a detailed set of customer wants and needs, organized into a hierarchical structure, and then prioritized in terms of relative importance and satisfaction with current alternatives. Voice of the Customer studies typically consist of both qualitative and quantitative research steps. They are generally conducted at the start of any new product, process, or service design initiative in order to better understand the customer's wants and needs, and as the key input for new product definition.'
The report highlights that 'Looking ahead, companies plan on focusing less on multiple-choice surveys and more on interaction history and predictive…
