Rainmaker team says, “In the fifth part of the membership series on The Mainframe, hosts Tony Clark and Chris Garrett outline strategies for keeping your customers sticking around and holding their interest. Listen in to hear all the details. In this episode of The Mainframe: How your sales tactics could be costing you a great deal of money and respect The key factors that turn a buyer’s remorse situation into a long-term, loyal customer advocate What you need to implement for your members to achieve what you promised and produce fantastic case studies”. How to Earn Long-Term Customer... [...]

John Van Akkeren says, “The journey from product idea to commercialization is full of opportunities, challenges, risks and rewards. The best road to a successful, end-to-end product introduction is paved with constant customer touchpoints and a deep empathy for their wants and needs. Sounds basic, but in reality, staying in lockstep with customers is an iterative process that must be integrated into every phase—from product planning, discovery, design and development to manufacturing and delivery. Boosting The Customer’s Voice Here are 10 tips for making sure your customer’s voice comes... [...]

Andrea Johnson says, “MarketingExperiments’ Marketer’s Creed, Article 1, states: “People don’t buy from companies, from stores or from websites; people buy from people. Marketing is not about programs; it is about relationships.” NextAfter, an organization dedicated to helping nonprofits discover what truly makes donors give, put this concept to the test during an end-of-year fund-raising push. Tim Kachuriak, the company’s Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer, is so passionate about this cause that he cut his family vacation short and flew cross-country to join us in the... [...]

Ken Calhoon says, “It’s impossible to have great customer experiencewithout digital transformation in the age of the customer. Most of us think first about the front-end experience when challenged with improving digital customer experience. We naturally gravitate toward the direct human interface: web features and functionality, design, native mobile apps vs mobile web and more. This is the glitz of digital customer experience and there is no relaxing here—your competitors and peers continue to raise the bar. Look at online retailers for example. Companies like Amazon and Etsy scored... [...]

Gabrey Means says, “As a service-based business, while landing new clients is a critical part of the mix, relationships built and nurtured over time is where the real juice is — offering a level of stability and scaleability that’s essential to long-term health and success. Such relationships take care and feeding and are built on more than just a single campaign or project win. They’re the output of trust, partnership and a track record of producing stellar work together. As former marketing leaders for global F500 brands, we were once the clients ourselves, and we’ve... [...]

Shayna Marks says, “Customer Referrals are embarrassing. As several others have pointed out, the act of asking for a referral often comes withuncomfortable consequences. It’s common for customers to experience feelings of shame, embarrassment or awkwardness. Naturally these emotional barriers reduce the odds of getting a referral. But why? What creates these emotional barriers? And why do some customers love to refer the companies that serve them? A study by Advisor Impact found that an overwhelming 98% of customers gave referrals to help their friends and family. Only 2% stated it was... [...]

Baer says, “There’s a reason we come back to the same grocery store each week. It’s the same reason that we return to the same barber, home improvement store, or favorite restaurant. These businesses have created a positive experience, which in turn creates loyalty toward their particular brand. In the retail world, brand experience and engagement are the strongest drivers of loyalty, and the digital world is no different. Design, atmosphere, speed, and problem resolution are all pillars of a great consumer experience, and these same concepts contribute to their digital experience as... [...]

Christopher Ratcliff says, “It is my job to explain in the simplest terms certain digital marketing phrases that may seem confusing, misappropriated or darn well unwieldy. Today we’ll be taking a look at the terms customer experience (CX) and customer experience management (CEM), phrases that in our increasingly consumer-focused and connection-based economy have risen to the top of every business’s agenda. Definition of CX Here are the two different ways marketers refer to customer experience (CX), both of which are entirely related… Customer experience is the sum of all the experiences... [...]

Len Markidan says, “In theory, the “tricks” to delivering awesome customer service are pretty straightforward: Empathy Appreciation Helpfulness Seems pretty easy, right? Just develop these three skills, and you’ll be set. Sure, you can tune these by mastering the “thank you,” or by understanding how things like tone and word choicemake a difference in support. But in practice, delighting customers isn’t so straightforward — what actually works doesn’t always reflect what most of us would assume. There are quite a few counterintuitive truths that can make... [...]

Emma Snider says, “All customers are not created equal. Sure, you might like some more than others, but that doesn’t mean they’re your best clients. Sales comes down to revenue and ROI — so how can sales leaders objectively determine which customers are most valuable? Through a customer lifetime value (CLV) analysis. But calculating CLV isn’t a cake walk — inaccurate data, confusing metrics, and inadequate technology can all block the path. But the organizations that do figure out a customer’s net costs and revenues over their engagement see the benefit:... [...]