ODCC meets core functionality of average call centre

[Rob Lith] One of the most topical issues in call centres currently is the 'on-demand call centre (ODCC)'. It implies being able to grow and shrink your agent pool in line with the ebb and flow of demand, without being concerned with details like being under- or over-provisioned with resources (bandwidth and scale of application support). 17 May 2012 10:02

The sales professional is the sale

[Peter Gilbert] What's the most influential factor in business-to-business sales? Surprisingly, it's you - the sales professional. 17 May 2012 08:25

Two-day summit on customer experience management

The invitation-only two-day Customer Experience Management (CEM) Africa Summit, hosted by Kinetic Events, will be held in Cape Town at 15 on Orange from 2-3 August 2012. Alan Winde, minister for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape will open the summit. 15 May 2012 12:18

Using online reputation management proactively

[Diane Charton] Online reputation management (ORM) is the discipline of monitoring and analysing the reputation of a person, organisation or industry. Far from only using it as a crisis management tool, it can also deliver benefits to businesses that use it in a more proactive manner by analysing content across all types of online media. 15 May 2012 05:04

Panellists announced for Thought Leadership Digibate on trends

At the fifth Thought Leadership Digibate this Friday, 4 May 2012, hosted by Aegis Media and BizCommunity, some of the country's leading experts in the media and marketing sector will discuss and debate topics in five key areas that featured in Bizcommunity.com's recent 2012 Biz Trends Report. 26 Apr 2012 13:31

What makes consumers trust your advertising?

[Chris Moerdyk: @chrismoerdyk] The tsunamic growth of social media in marketing has shown quite clearly that many guises of online advertising are far more trusted by consumers than ads appearing in conventional media. It all makes complete sense. 25 Apr 2012 10:55

Fifth Thought Leadership Digibate on marketing, media trends to be in Joburg

Following the recent publication of the 2012 Biz Trends Report, sponsored by Aegis Media, some of the key trend topics will be brought alive at the fifth Thought Leadership Digibate on Friday, 4 May 2012. Hosted by Aegis Media in conjunction with Bizcommunity.com, for the first time this monthly debate will be held in Johannesburg and broadcast live via mobile or pc audio-streaming, 9.15am-11am. 25 Apr 2012 10:00

MobiCover sells majority stake to Cims South Africa

MobiCover, an end-to-end smartphone channel enabler, supporting cross-platform, rapid smartphone channel delivery and mobile strategy enablement, has sold a 51% stake in the company to Cims South Africa, a local subsidiary of global loyalty and customer engagement solution provider, Affinion International, part of the Affinion Group. 18 Apr 2012 10:35

Marketing lessons from the Arab Spring

[Eugene Yiga] 2011 was the year of the protester. But instead of discussing the bored trustafarians who 'occupied' the world lest they be denied something for the first time in their lives, I'd like to focus on the Arab Spring. How did it happen? And what can we as marketers learn? 13 Apr 2012 09:39

Is marketing moving with the times?

[Chris Moerdyk: @chrismoerdyk] A few years ago I calculated that, every year in South Africa, roughly R50 billion was wasted on ill-conceived or just plain bad marketing. So, have things improved? Is marketing still efficient or continuing to shed money as though there was no tomorrow? 5 Apr 2012 11:33

Doctors and pop stars: lessons for ad agencies and marketers

[Gillian Rightford] Much has been written about the relationship between Michael Jackson and his doctor, Conrad Murray. And haven't we also been wondering whether Whitney Houston's doctor will go under the same microscope? This got me thinking about the sometimes-dysfunctional relationship that exists between marketers and ad agencies. 30 Mar 2012 13:54

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34Woman launches Huggies Momville!

[Issued by 34] Below-the-line specialist, 34Woman, together with Kimberly-Clark, has launched Huggies Momville, a CRM programme that supports new and expectant moms as they embark on the ups and downs of parenthood. 30 Mar 2012 13:12

Mobile privacy 2012: where in the world is your data?

[Wikus Engelbrecht] With the move towards the small screen, consumers are becoming more aware of being tracked through mobile connectivity. The unique characteristics of the smartphone as a platform that's always on, connected and providing access to real-world information such as user location, habits, schedule and lifestyle are creating a number of privacy challenges. 28 Mar 2012 11:28

Tips to tweak your digital thinking

[Godfrey Parkin] Since a critical mass of senior executives were given iPads for Christmas, even the most previously technophobic of business leaders are demanding that digital marketing be taken seriously. This is a blessing and a curse - we see a lot of overnight app-happiness driving silly projects ahead of important initiatives. But at last the momentum is building and companies are striving to connect with customers in the digital places where they hang out. 16 Mar 2012 14:25