Most of us understand the value of positive customer reviews. Especially in the world of online retail, a positive product rating on Amazon can represent a big boost to sales. Data suggests that roughly 90 percent of Amazon users believe positive reviews influence their purchase decisions, while 86 percent say the same of negative reviews. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Client Relations’ Category
Cultivating Customer References in a B2B Environment
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017You’re Fired! It Works for Customers Too.
Thursday, January 12th, 2017
Sometimes clichés can become so pervasive that we fail to think critically about their meaning or the full implications of the statement. A classic example in business, generally, and customer service, specifically, is “the customer is always right.” To state the obvious, the rationale is that no matter how difficult, rude and unreasonable a customer may be, that customer is paying the bills — and you should do whatever it takes to make that customer happy. (more…)
Beyond Bribery: Building Customer Relationships Through Engagement
Monday, January 9th, 2017
It’s hard to overstate the importance of brand loyalty. Marketers know how difficult it can be to win new customers. Once you have brought a new consumer into the fold, it’s important to take steps to ensure that they will not only keep coming back, but that they will also refer others to you. (more…)
Managing B2B Vendor Relationships
Tuesday, December 20th, 2016Some of the most important partnerships for any business are its vendor relationships. Business-to-business (B2B) vendor partnerships allow the purchasing business to sh
ore up its deficiencies by outsourcing certain business functions to organizations with greater expertise. This avoids the time and effort required to develop the necessary infrastructure, staff and expertise internally.
The obvious downsides of using vendors include out-of-pocket costs and potential lack of control over vendor operations. This lack of transparency and control can and frequently does result in conflict in those crucial B2B relationships. (more…)
Making Friends With Finance
Thursday, November 10th, 2016It’s not uncommon for the finance and marketing functions to be at loggerheads in the office. Whether it’s about the wisdom of embarking on an expensive new marketing effort or finance professionals refusing to share the praise for positive financials with their peers in marketing, conflicts can abound. While Lincoln Martin amusingly compares the two functions to the Starks (marketing) and Lannisters (finance), a la HBO’s Game of Thrones, it generally isn’t the case that finance people don’t like or trust marketing people. It’s often an issue of poor communication. Marketers are in a good position to leverage their communications skillset to help bridge that gap. (more…)
Tips for Business Networking: Online and Off
Thursday, September 15th, 2016
We talk a lot about the value of online marketing and analytics for growing your business. These are crucial tools; however, it’s also important to keep in mind that business is also very personal. While outreach through the internet is certainly a must, knowing how to effectively network on a more personal level is critical. This is especially true for larger customers, business-to-business relationships and engaging with key influencers. The same is true for executives in larger organizations. As reported in Fast Company, “A recent study of 6,000 executives at 3,000 companies in the U.S. and Europe found that executives with 50% more professional contacts above the average, had a salary 3.5% or $15,000 higher than their less gregarious/friendly/sociable colleagues.”
So how can you network online, and off, in a way that’s designed to build value—and relationships? (more…)
Some Productivity Apps to Check Out!
Tuesday, May 17th, 2016Lately I’ve been receiving multiple submissions from random bloggers requesting that I share them on my site. It’s something that I’ve considered doing and have had a “to do” item for some time to come up with some criteria for reviewing and potentially publishing contributed content, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. Today, though, I received an item that I thought was useful enough, and non-promotional enough, that I felt it was worth sharing. (more…)
The One Thing You Need to Do to Build Your Brand: Walk the Talk!
Thursday, February 25th, 2016PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. chairman Robert Moritz has discussed the issue of engaging younger employees in an article for Harvard Business Review titled “The U.S. Chairman of PwC on Keeping Millennials Engaged.” While the article contains a number of intriguing insights, one point that stood out from a marketing perspective was a comment Moritz made in relation to how an organization and its leaders are perceived to reflect the stated values of that company. (more…)
Understanding the Changing Nature of Public Relations (PR)
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016As we move further into 2016, it’s an appropriate time for PR firms to reflect on the changing nature of their industry. What’s changing in the tools available and the expectations of customers? (more…)
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