Category: Marketing

Top customer service providers value their front line employees

A smart customer service employee knows there is a fine line between a pleasant, efficient discussion of the customer’s needs leading to the discovery that she would be better served with the company’s upgraded service … and an exchange resulting in that same customer canceling her service, slamming down the phone in frustration. In either case, the result depends largely on the qualities of the individual employee. But how many companies realize the value in acquiring and retaining a top-flight front line of service employees? A marketing professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business and her colleagues believe that successful companies do more than come up with a strategy to provide customized customer service — they know it is the employees on the front line who have to implement that strategy.

Pediatric studies link TV advertising with ‘global fattening’

Since 1980, the proportion of overweight U.S. children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Childhood obesity doesn’t stop at our nation’s borders; it’s a global trend. The usual suspects ­– poor eating habits, lack of exercise, parental obesity, genetics, and even demographics all play a role — but one controversial “x-factor” is emerging as a primary catalyst for the explosive growth of overweight children: television food advertising. Numerous studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business and around the world have found a link between the number of TV commercials children watch and the amount and type of food children consume.

Designing the customer’s experience builds strong and lasting bonds

It is no longer enough for businesses to provide customers with what they need. The savviest are offering “experience-centric service.” By continually focusing on and refining the shopping or service experience, companies build a dollar-producing bond with customers that goes beyond mere product satisfaction to actual anticipation, according to Aleda Roth, a supply chain management professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Roth proposes that the same experience-centric approach that brings customers back again can also succeed in expanding their consumption and satisfaction, and ultimately, the company’s revenue. “I’m interested in how a company can actually design their customers’ experience, and in doing so, make a huge difference in profitability,” Roth says.

Consumer backlash stings in response to sneaky sales tactics

A company is unlikely to gain satisfied and loyal customers when they feel they’ve been duped. Companies that employ stealth marketing — otherwise known as undercover or guerilla marketing — hire shills to pitch products or services to potential but unsuspecting consumers. It may seem a clever idea on its surface, but research shows stealth marketing can be a risky tactic. Several W. P. Carey School of Business professors recently shared their opinions of stealth marketing, citing examples of campaigns that backfired, alienating rather than attracting potential customers.

Teams cozy up to the fans with CRM’s ‘personalized marketing’ strategy

Imagine a software strategy that allows an organization to combine the disparate data threads it collects about customers, then, using the Web and other technologies as well as non-technical methods, put the data to work to develop closer ties with customers. This is CRM, or Customer Relationship Management. With CRM, sports teams can cater specifically and efficiently to fans’ needs and whims, react to trends, reward loyalty, fix problems, and retain its current clientele and attract more. A panel of sports executives discussed the state of CRM in their industry at the annual meeting of the Sport Marketing Association recently at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Play ball: Sports sponsorships require an evolving marketing plan

For major marketers, competing and winning in the sports arena means more than simply affiliating a product with the team that posts the most points or the athlete who stands out in the draft picks. Marketers like Coca-Cola have learned that when it comes to navigating the tide of sports, they can no longer assume that their brand and product will be a standout player. It’s all about appealing to sports fans as consumers, and adapting to their changing demands. John Cordova, director of sports transaction management at Coca-Cola, knows that scoring points and continuing to hold a lead among soft-drink consumers at sports venues requires an evolving marketing playbook.