What the internet does really, really well is connect things through hyperlinks. The outcome of hyperlinks is connecting people. When people are connected, there’s a relationship. Websites are an excellent marketing tool. Like any tool, they need to be used correctly. To do so, they need to build a relationship between the company and it’s [...]
Cluetrain Manifesto #74: We are immune to advertising. Just forget it If Frontline’s Persuaders Among Us or regular visits to Hugh McLeod’s rarely work-safe Gaping Void hasn’t convinced you that traditional advertising is dead. Stone dead. People now laugh at you for thinking it works dead. Here are a couple more nails for the coffin: [...]
I was at Walgreens the other day, a throughly uneventful trip. When I notice the cashier nametag: “HARSH”. Even on the receipt: We can only assume how the “7 Service Basics” are delivered.
I’m continually looking for a compelling, interesting, differentiating credit card benefit within the numerous offers my mailbox receives each day. One company raised the bar about a year ago – none of the other players seem to acknowledge that, let alone compete. That company – the ubiquitous Amazon. Their 1% back as Amazon Gift Certificates [...]
In the interest of faster services Brainerd McDonalds is the first in the area to outsource it’s drive-thru to a Colorado call center. “This technology is going to transform the industry, no question about it,” – said Steve Bigari – developer of the call center technology. I first covered this intriguing trend in Faster Big [...]
Two excellent customer experience bits over the noon-hour today. In the mood for a quick, cheap lunch, Rebecca and I headed to Potbelly’s in the IDS Tower. While we were deep in conversation, the runner I described in my previous Potbelly’s post asked us which sandwich we wanted. Brillant Part 1. Rebecca requested hers with [...]
“People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” —Unknown
My morning MPR was supported by Marshall Field’s Select Personal Shopping. Having someone else shop for me sounded like a great idea and I signed up online. The confirmation email said I should expect a contact from an associate within 36 hours. That was a week ago. On the other hand, I called up my [...]
In the Star Tribune’s recent “Best Buy Copes with Costs” article, they report that Best Buy’s customer-centric format roll-out (and here) has been scaled back 40%. The customer centricity strategy has its costs. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue were 2.2 percent higher at the test stores, the company said. But the test stores’ [...]
Caribou Coffee just introduced a new size – 24oz. as their new ‘large’. With Supersize Me just out and Mc D’s un-supersizing, I asked them about larger size and they respond: “We were seeing a decline in 12oz drinks and got increasing inquiries about availability of larger sizes. We tested the new format in one [...]