Ron Rogowski says, “One of the most enjoyable and fulfilling things about helping Forrester clients become customer-obsessed is leading an experience co-creation workshop. Forrester defines co-creation as the active participation of employees, customers, and stakeholders working together to design new experiences. It’s a technique that helps companies define the right experience for their customers and provides critical information that supports human-centered design. A typical co-creation session puts Forrester consultants, our clients, and our clients’ customers in a room for a whole... [...]

Jeremy Gin says, “Negative feedback from customers can be a hard pill to swallow. It often feels unjust, unhelpful and inaccurate. Even the most professional business owners can be defensive and emotional in the face of criticism. And while business owners may intellectually know negative customer feedback is critical to improving their business — a 10-percent increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS) can correlate with a six to seven-percent increase in revenue — the hard bit is constructively incorporating it. The following are seven things every business, small or large, can do... [...]

Leslie Ye says, “According to HubSpot’s 2015-2016 State of Inbound Sales report, 76% of sales teams use a CRM system. This shouldn’t be a surprise. A CRM system makes it easier for sales leaders to assess team performance, and easier for reps to record information about their prospects. Manipulated correctly, the data stored in a CRM system provides insight into a multitude of operational and performance challenges. So why do only 33% of salespeople make quota? Shouldn’t sales leaders have all the information they need to turn things around? Sales technology is only useful if its... [...]

John Rampton says, “”Yes” is a powerful word. With just three letters, “yes” opens doors, moves mountains, and unlocks your success in business. And yet, getting to “yes” in sales is hard, especially online, where the personal touch that is so effective is missing. I focus on getting to yes in my business every day. A “yes or no” answer makes things black and white. It’s how my company knows exactly how to focus our time and gain more conversions. In online marketing terms, when a visitor arrives at your website, they’ve already committed... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “What’s the worst possible — while still realistic — outcome for any project? A project successfully completed where the client is completely unhappy and dissatisfied with your agency. Most often, this is the result of mismatched or undefined client expectations. This is a common issue when projects are rushed into or when an agency wants the work so badly that they don’t want to cause doubt in the client’s mind by asking too many questions. A defined, repeatableonboarding process can solve many of the issues that cause client expectations... [...]

Mike Renahan says, ““The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.” – Joshua Harris Have you ever called a lead on a Tuesday morning and heard nothing, but tried that same lead two days later and they responded back almost immediately? That’s not luck — there’s some science behind why this happened. According to research from James Oldroyd and InsideSales.com, effectively reaching out to prospects comes down to one thing: timing. For example, did you know 4-5 p.m. had a 164% better connection rate than 1-2 p.m.? Or that connection rates drop by 400% if you respond... [...]

Brigg Patten says, “When it comes to reaching customers, public relations can either be a company’s best friend or its worst enemy. Building the foundation for a strong customer/business relationship comes from mutual trust and respect. The customer is the company’s lifeblood, and as such, they expect a brand’s ambassador to abide by certain rules. Below are five rules to follow when establishing good customer relations: 1. Be consistent with the release of information Consistency in delivery is something many customers seek from a company. If your public relations team can be... [...]

Shelby Dorsey says, “When Cheerios came out with its gluten-free line, social media platforms erupted with Celiac and gluten-intolerant customers celebrating. Perhaps following in the wake of the Chex cereal flavors, Cheerios listened to consumer needs and created a product line to appeal to a very specific subset of customer. Then the worst thing happened to a brand that had capitalized on being allergen-friendly — customers started getting sick. It was determined that the way Cheerios was processing its gluten-free grains did not keep them from being cross-contaminated with wheat and... [...]

Bobby Fan says, “In an advertising and content-cluttered digital landscape, how can a marketing professional cut through the noise? In my experience as the director of marketing for a global Fortune 500 company, the answer is easy to identify yet challenging to achieve: connect with the customer. Why do I include “easy” and “challenging” in the same sentence? Because the idea of focusing on the customer’s viewpoint is decidedly not new in the marketing landscape, but creating a campaign that focuses on the values of the consumer takes commitment and research. From... [...]

Courtney Eckerle says, “Mike Loveridge, Digital Marketing Manager, Humana, runs the conversion rate optimization program at Humana, which is comprised of a team of 15 testers and supporting staff. In his interview at the MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2015 Media Center, Mike explained that the team has spent the past year getting a process in place that would walk a tricky tight rope: keeping costs down, while improving the quality of the test. Locking down this process can be difficult in an enterprise-grade company, Mike said, but especially in the insurance industry with government regulations“. Learning... [...]