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$100 Fine for Bad Customer Service »

By Mark on Aug 12, 2008 in Branding, CRM, Offer, Process, customer service | 1 Comment

I've written about good customer service in the past, highlighting my excellent experience with L.L. Bean. I've postulated that quality customer service is actually free, because the incremental sales more than make up for "excessive" talk time and refunds/credits granted by your customer service representatives. Here's a trivially-observed example of what lousy customer service will cost you. In this example, from Verizon, it's a minimum of $100.

What's the ROI on gold-plated customer service? »

By Mark on Jun 4, 2008 in CRM, Direct Marketing, Featured, Marketing, Process, Strategy | 3 Comments

My experience with L.L. Bean today shows that customer service, when done correctly, isn't an expense. It can be your #1 marketing tool and put a wide moat between your business and your competitors. L.L. Bean is the standard against which your phone support should be measured.

Duran Duran, luck and marketing »

By Mark on May 28, 2008 in CRM, Commentary, Featured, Marketing, Optimization, Strategy | 0 Comments

At one point during my college days I wanted to be an A&R guy for a record label. My reactions to smoke-filled clubs and early-to-bed habits caused me to rethink that career option. But music, and the marketing of it, has remained a lifelong interest. Last night, my wife and I saw Duran Duran at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. This was her 11th or 12th time and my 10th time to see the band. When you go to a Duran Duran show, you know you're going to see a great performance, an enthusiastic crowd and hit after hit. What I didn't expect was a textbook example of creating and maximizing a marketing channel, and an example of how big a part luck plays in everything we do as marketers.

CRM, BBQ style »

By Mark on Apr 28, 2008 in Advertising, CRM, Featured, Marketing | 0 Comments

I'm not normally one to carry on about my experiences with fast casual dining establishments, even though we frequent them as a by-product of having two children who are connoisseurs of the category. The food quality can be variable, as can the staff attention to the customers. But that's all changed after Saturday's experience at [...]