Customer loyalty is a fantasy created by companies, consultants and marketing agencies. So-called customer loyalty programs are often excellent marketing efforts. But, the responses they generate have nothing to do with loyalty. I’m not knocking precision marketers, the soundness of their tactics, or their ability to get results. This is about the word LOYALTY and … C’mon read the rest.
One of the most disheartening moments in my career occurred at a meeting between senior managers of a FORTUNE 100 company and its PR team that included me. One of the client’s people asked: “What should our CEO’s position be about . . . . ?” Looking around, I was the only person shocked by … C’mon read the rest.
When the financial meltdown hit, Greg Blount, president of Tropical Financial Credit Union (TFCU), was close to finishing his successful banking career. Rather than strap on his parachute, he and his executive team assumed entry-level assignments to help the company and its borrowers. His efforts have earned him the Ribby Award for May. During the … C’mon read the rest.
Companies should care more about the stories they tell than the strategies they engineer, if they are serious about building and sustaining relationships with their customers. People connect with companies, products and services when their stories intertwine. “Carlos awoke. He had many things to do but felt a terrible pain in his head. His wife … C’mon read the rest.
10/21/2011 — During Ribblog’s early days, I was writing punchy little articles that quickly defined or predicted business problems that would become acute as marketing and sales technology proliferated. The disconnect between sales and marketing has deep-seated roots. Solving the problem will be cathartic for every company taking on the challenge. At lunch recently, … C’mon read the rest.
10/21/2011 – Although this 2008 article was prescient, the low cost of social media marketing minimized the bottom-line risk of haphazard, ineffective implementations. The growth of marketing automation technology — with its dazzling whistles and bells, along with performance promises based on rational but incomplete assumptions — presents an opportunity for waste and dysfunction truly … C’mon read the rest.