Loretta Jones says, “Creative professionals love to innovate and ideate. However, it can be a challenge to bring the same drive to project management. In order to balance the creative and business sides of a company, creatives need to keep the sales funnel moving and projects on track to meet deadlines — which tends to be easier said than done. Recently, Insightly (my employer), worked with TechValidate, an independent third party, to conduct a survey of creative professionals, freelancers and business owners in marketing, communication, design, advertising, media and agencies to uncover... [...]

Bart Mroz says, “By focusing on the customer experience rather than sales, smaller brands and retailers can effectively compete with their largest competitors. A great example of this comes from flower delivery service UrbanStems. Over $4 billion is spent each year on online flower purchases for occasions such as birthdays, celebrations, graduations and more. While gifting flowers can bring great happiness to those receiving them, shopping for them can be a tedious process. UrbanStems is a relatively new online flower startup, and is changing the way consumers purchase flowers online by delivering... [...]

Shaun Haase says, “CRMs are meant to be much more than a glorified contact management system, and if used correctly, can greatly increase business productivity and effectiveness. CRM software often have a multitude of features, many of which are rarely used by sales teams. Here, we’ll take a look at three ways you can start getting the most out of your CRM, from automating actions to utilizing sales pipeline functionality for managing customer support. While some features are overly complex or not fit for every business, there are key components that can deliver tremendous value if you... [...]

Shaun Haase says, “CRMs are meant to be much more than a glorified contact management system, and if used correctly, can greatly increase business productivity and effectiveness. CRM software often have a multitude of features, many of which are rarely used by sales teams. Here, we’ll take a look at three ways you can start getting the most out of your CRM, from automating actions to utilizing sales pipeline functionality for managing customer support. While some features are overly complex or not fit for every business, there are key components that can deliver tremendous value if you... [...]

Jeff Rajeck says, “In a recent Econsultancy report, marketers rated ‘increased customer lifetime value and loyalty’ as the most important benefit derived from understanding the customer journey. But how does this work in practice? What are brands doing in the real world to increase customer loyalty? To find out, Econsultancy invited dozens of client-side marketers in Shanghai to discuss this and other customer experience (CX) topics over roundtable discussions. The roundtables were moderated by volunteer client-side marketers and subject matter experts from Econsultancy and our... [...]

Ben Davis says, “Improving customer experience is often a balance of science and art – design thinking combined with technology-led insight. We use analytics to identify pain points in a customer journey and confirm or confound our instincts. What can often be missed is an empathetic view of design. Are we truly designing with the customer’s feelings in mind or are we improving an existing flawed model? In a previous post I discussed some of Daniel Kahneman’s ideas about positive psychology, specifically the Peak End Rule (as told by Paul Marsden at Syzygy’s Digital Innovation... [...]

Ben Davis says, “At Syzygy’s Digital Innovation Day, Paul Marsden discussed customer experience and the ‘Peak End Rule’, the idea that ‘finishing strong’ leaves a lasting impression. To demonstrate this he used the example of a colonoscopy, and a study by Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow. Consider the graphs below. Patient A has a 10 minute colonoscopy, with a pain peak in the middle and at the end, but otherwise endurable. Patient B has a much longer colonoscopy (25 minutes) and has a higher average level of pain throughout. He/she also experiences a large... [...]

James McQuivey says, “It’s the age of the customer and only the leaders who know how to lead their organizations to increased customer obsession will be able to keep up with hyperadoptive consumers. Those consumers already expect to get what they want, when, where, and how they want it. The only question will be who will give it to them? Will it be you? It’s a question I asked today on stage at Forrester’s Marketing Europe leadership forum in London. I shared with them an overview of my recent report, “Leadership in the Age of the Customer,” a months-long project... [...]

Jeff Rajeck says, “Customer experience (CX) is talked about a lot these days, but how are companies in the real world facing the challenge of launching a CX programme? To find out, Econsultancy invited dozens of client-side marketers in the tropical metropolis of Singapore to discuss CX at roundtables in April of this year. The roundtables covered topics related to CX and were moderated by volunteer client-side marketers and subject matter experts from Econsultancy and our event sponsor IBM. Delegates brought experiences from many different companies and industries and they openly discussed... [...]

Ellen Bartolino says, “We’re willing to assume that customer growth is important to your business, but creating an effortless customer experience that inspires retention is kind of complicated. Most companies spend the majority of their money trying to bring in new customers, but did you know that increasing customer retention rates by 5% can help you increase profits by anywhere between 25% to 95%? It sounds like customer retention is worth putting some time and effort behind, huh? Retaining customers all comes down to the experience you’re providing for them. And you’ll... [...]