Do loyal customers translate into steady sales or profits? Intuitively, the answer should be yes - and indeed, customer loyalty is a significant metric by which companies rate their performance. However, there a few problems with the concept of customer loyalty and a corporate strategy to develop it, according to Esteban Kolsky, practice leader with eVergence. 20 Aug 2008
The Tshwane Street Furniture Consortium, comprising Primedia Outdoor and Street Pole Ads, has inked a R69-million, ten-year contract with the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality to provide new directional street name signs. 19 Aug 2008
I want to expose three lies that email marketers either tell or have told to them by people who should know better. 15 Aug 2008
A new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor reveals the North American market for hosted outbound integrated voice response (IVR) services is set to more than double from an estimated $213 million in 2008 to $524 million by 2013. 14 Aug 2008
What is unified communications (UC) and why do you need it? UC is not unified messaging, and it isn't a unified desktop. But both of these technology solutions help to support a unified communications architecture. In fact, according to Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company, UC is the convergence of such technologies as instant messaging, e-mail, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), presence and e-commerce in or near real-time. 11 Aug 2008
Todwil Retail Solutions, a privately owned Cape-based retail-marketing company recently acquired Cape Tech Plastics, a specialist injection moulding company, for an undisclosed sum. 7 Aug 2008
The notion of sustainability as it relates to CRM is worth some thought. CRM is used to accelerate the closing of a deal. But when you accelerate a close, especially with some sort of incentive like a discount, what you're really doing is stealing from the future, and that's not sustainable. 7 Aug 2008
Betsy Treinen, the Director of Strategy and Client Services at Catalyst Studios, has confirmed her attendance as a guest speaker at the Retail Advertising Conference, RAC Lite, next week. Her eight-year hold of the Target brand relationship saw the bulls eye soar from being barely-on-the-map, to one of the most recognisable icons in the United States. 6 Aug 2008
For all that they have in common, major electronics retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart and Target differ in one important - even critical - way. Circuit City, in particular, has cut customer service in order to cut costs, and it has seen sales dive. Best Buy has amped up its customer service, and the chain is flourishing. 6 Aug 2008
Isn't it ironic that it takes years to build a great customer relationship but only moments to tear one apart? There are so many ways to lose your existing customers, if you aren't careful in your dealings every day. Here are 10 ways to lose your customers, but this is by no means the exclusive list. 5 Aug 2008
Manufacturing companies are increasingly looking to warranty management processes in order to enhance both bottom and top line performance. The resulting investment in technology is creating a significant opportunity for technology vendors. 4 Aug 2008
In this heated battle for the consumer dollar, retail marketers are looking to establish a personal and consistent relationship with shoppers through integrated customer loyalty programs that leverage traditional offline and emerging communications channels. Not surprisingly, it can be overwhelming for retailers to figure out where to start. 1 Aug 2008
One best practice forward-looking companies have adopted is being proactive with online conversations that criticize, question - or hopefully compliment - a company's products or services. 30 Jul 2008
The self-service kiosk industry is growing at a fast clip, with transactions at these expected to surpass US$607 billion this year in North America alone, according to the IHL Group. But are the kiosks really increasing efficiency for consumers? 29 Jul 2008
One of the hallmarks of CRM is that its footprint keeps expanding. I think part of the reason is that we have taken to lumping everything that is not a back-office application area into CRM. In fact, some people are even using front office interchangeably with CRM these days, myself included. 24 Jul 2008
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is to invest R1 billion to upgrade Nissan's manufacturing plant in Rosslyn, outside Pretoria. 23 Jul 2008
Small businesses differentiate themselves through specialisation and customer service, and in tough economic times, they can't afford to sacrifice either. In fact, small-business owners should focus their resources on those areas. 22 Jul 2008
Customer service is as important in the B2B space as it is in the consumer sector. It can be a differentiator for debt collection firms, which often are among several firms a customer deals with. 21 Jul 2008
More call centre operators are changing their attitudes on having customer service representatives work from home, swayed by the reduced operating costs and increased productivity associated with a home-based agent design. Plus, technological advances have enabled home-based agents to communicate more effectively with customers. 21 Jul 2008
In the current gloomy economic conditions, businesses have to create the unique in-store experience to attract and retain customers and most importantly - get the biggest share of the customer's shrinking wallet, says Craig Cesman, CEO of audio branding experts DMX Music Africa. 15 Jul 2008
