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Walk the talk

In recessionary times, the first thing that is being cut is the marketing budgets, but in reality no business will be sustainable or successful without marketing and the resultant sales. All businesses face the challenge of finding and retaining customers.

By Dr Frances Wright 26 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] From data to honesty, it's getting personal

South Africa is a complicated place - each year outdoes the last in the 'magnitude of change' stakes. And we just know this year will deliver even more surprises. Nonetheless, important trends appeared across the brandscape during 2012. Here I explore the key brand moments of the year just passed, and take a peek at what might be ahead.

By Janice Spark 25 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Looking ahead at retail, shopper marketing in SA

The following are my thoughts on trends that will emerge in the retail and shopper marketing space in South Africa.

By Bernard Matlhaga 24 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Seven youth-influencer outreach insights

In 2012, brands asked some pertinent and challenging questions pertaining to influencer outreach and seeding their products. Insights gained both as a delegate and a speaker at a number of enlightening conferences over the past year have led me to the following observations about what brands want and how Africa's youth prefer to be communicated with - from a marketing and advertising perspective.

By Mongezi Mtati 21 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Eyes front and centre

How does your brand break through the clutter? If you're in the business of understanding and catering to the evolution of consumer needs, desires and expectations, look front and centre. Here are my predictions for 2013...

By Abey Mokgwatsane 18 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Reinventing the sales function

Belatedly, sales - long the corporate stepchild - is emerging not only as a topic worthy of academic and executive attention but also as the business function where substantive improvement is not only doable but also capable of delivering extremely attractive improvements in shareholder returns.

By Peter Gilbert 17 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Cheaper, better, faster

The biggest change in South Africa will be the continued growth of mobile and online, and how this affects everything we do - all of our buying habits, from deodorant to cars, and how, when and where we do it.

By Gillian Rightford 16 Jan 2013

[2013 trends] Game on for retailers going mobile

As crisis-hit Europe continues to impact economic growth, and projections for the local economy are trimmed, the battle for a share of consumer spend is getting increasingly fierce. Retailers will rely on technology to drive innovative discount models and integrated loyalty programmes by optimising the one device every consumer has access to already - even in-store - the mobile phone.

By Steve Cragg 15 Jan 2013

Five smart CRM customisation tips to drive in more business

The past few years have seen heavy automation of customer relationship management system. Both small and big companies have invested in customer relationship management (CRM) software implementation with a promise to offer better and personalised customer services.

By Paul Anderson 15 Jan 2013

Cloud CRM vs on-premise CRM

For most companies which have adopted CRM or customer relationship management to improve their business performances the difficulty arises when it comes to choose between on-premise and cloud based CRM.

By Paul Anderson 12 Jan 2013

Legacy Lifestyle promises more rewards in 2013

Legacy Lifestyle, a luxury rewards programme that has strategically aligned various aspirational luxury brands to allow members the ability to earn and redeem rewards whenever they transact with its 180 lifestyle brand partners, gave its members a glimpse of reward to come in 2013.

9 Jan 2013

Most Popular lists for 2012 for Bizcommunity Marketing & Media SA

Here they are, Bizcommunity.com Marketing & Media South Africa's 2012 lists of most popular articles, those that drew the most comment, our most-read contributors, our most-visited galleries - and the ads from the Ornico Ad Showcase that got you voting.

Issued by Bizcommunity.com 4 Jan 2013

Soothing customers online, in person

In a digital age where dissatisfied consumers vent their concerns through biting viral videos, nasty blog posts or negative online comments, managers need to develop strategies to soothe angry customers in person as well as online. According to new research, combating anger on social media can be simple for companies, as long as they get in front of a problem to prevent it from growing.

24 Dec 2012

Play Santa - be nice to nasty retailers

Consumers who wish for a customer service revival for Christmas might like to go one better and lead the resurgence themselves.

By Aki Kalliatakis 14 Dec 2012

What Joburg should learn from Vodacom

So, the City of Joburg plans to spend - some might say, squander - as much as R10m on an image enhancement campaign. Some "image consultants" have quoted the city as much R55m for the job - which is probably more a telling indicator of just how bad its brand is than a real cost measurement.

By Llewellyn Kriel 13 Dec 2012

'Hiking boot Christmas' on the cards

'Hiking boots' could feature high on the Christmas list of walkabout consumers this year as price hikes and sky-high petrol prices get them trudging round stores in a quest for bargains rather than little luxuries.

By Aki Kalliatakis 6 Dec 2012

Loyalty is about engagement not points

The title of this piece is a "catch-phrase" beckoning throughout the global loyalty industry and is seen as one of the top loyalty trends of 2012. I say "globally", because coming from the South African loyalty market place, I can confidently state that South Africa is quickly catching up with the global landscape.

By Amanda Cromhout 4 Dec 2012

Preparing for holiday customer care

According to the National Retail Foundation's retail sales forecast for 2012, holiday sales this year will reach approximately US$586.1 billion, an increase of 4.1% over last year. This increase in sales means that your call centre should have an influx of customer contacts over the course of the holiday season.

By Megan Webb-Morgan 1 Dec 2012

Telkom launches new customer service app

In its ongoing quest to improve customer service‚ Telkom on Thursday, 22 November, unveiled a free mobile application to enable its clients to‚ among other things‚ log a technical fault related to their telephone lines and internet connection.

23 Nov 2012

Keeping an eye on competitors

Continuous competitor tracking has become vital in an environment where marketers have little time to check the advertisements of competitors says Angela Adamson, sales director at Adcheck.

Issued by AdCheck 21 Nov 2012

To hell in a handcart: Good news for smart businesses

Consumers who have never had it so bad are presenting service-led businesses with an unprecedented opportunity to stand out. Smart business simply has to offer respite from a perfect storm of rising prices, strikes, violence and failures of leadership.

By Aki Kalliatakis 21 Nov 2012

Small businesses are fixing customer service

Anecdotal evidence suggests customer service has been 'broken' by the big business players. The good news is that small businesses are showing them how to fix it. Here is my sweet and sour view on the state of customer service at the end of 2012...

By Aki Kalliatakis 10 Nov 2012

CRM: It pays to go the extra mile

The most successful companies and the highest paid salespeople place great value on developing lifetime relationships with their customers and actively look for opportunities to render service above and beyond their customers' expectations.

By John Boe 3 Nov 2012

Reimagining the call centre

Admittedly, the title of this piece sounds a little like a performance art show but what it really means, is going back to the drawing board - and putting some ingenuity and imagination back into the call centre.

Issued by Interact RDT 1 Nov 2012

Serve your customers where, when and how they want to be served

The Financial Call Centres Conference and Exhibition, to be held on 14-15 November at Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg, will focus on the changing face of the contact centre and will teach professionals and companies in the industry how to utilise these new opportunities to enhance their customer service experience.

Issued by Trade Conference International 31 Oct 2012

Government contact centres: Please hold

There's good news and bad news for citizens frustrated by their interactions with government call centres: major change is happening, but it will take time. Government-run contact centres get a lot of bad publicity. Some of it is deserved, but some of the bad press is purely because bad news sells.

By Karl Reed 29 Oct 2012

Woolworths Foods leads Orange Index Awards

The 2012 Orange Index Customer Service Benchmarking & Social Profiling Awards, held last week in Johannesburg, saw Woolworths Foods win the overall award and the Food Retail category, for the fourth time. Overall runner-up was BMW, followed by Pick n Pay, Woolworths Clothing and Sanlam.

17 Oct 2012

On growth and Africa expansion

Human beings are a forward reaching species. We want more. We aspire for growth regardless of our circumstances. The cycle of growth and stasis is a natural state for natural elements that are wholly governed by the laws of nature. Human beings, though governed by the natural and physical laws of nature, have one key attribute that pushes against the laws, Thought & Intelligence. Honing these two took us to the moon and beyond.

By Kingsley Potter 7 Oct 2012

Producing passionate people

I'm sure you'll forgive the alliteration, but it's necessary. Have you ever been listlessly assisted by a supermarket cashier? Or been to the reception area at big business's head office where the receptionist is merrily filing her nails, playing solitaire or (the horror), Facebooking?

By Cyndi de Vries 7 Oct 2012

34Woman and Kimberly Clark bring life to Huggies Momville

Huggies Momville, a CRM programme that supports new and expectant moms as they embark on the ups and downs of parenthood, officially launched on 1 September through a mix of media events, activations and unique in-store displays.

Issued by 34° 5 Oct 2012