Category: Marketing

Fools rush out: Plan carefully before outsourcing customer services

Attracted by potentially large savings, companies are increasingly shipping customer service functions offshore where third-party providers often shoulder the work. Companies that try this strategy do well to remember that customer service is often a defining component of the company’s brand, and missteps in this area can be costly indeed. Headlines have trumpeted the most spectacular of the failures, yet many firms admit that the flops don’t worry them. Experts warn that pursuing the benefits of offshoring is a delicate balancing act, and offer tips to make outsourcing customer service  work.

Can’t stop the music: Industry fails to keep pace with consumer habits

The Supreme Court is expected to rule next month whether Grokster, a Napster-like file-sharing network for downloading music and other digital entertainment, can be held liable for facilitating copyright infringement. But even if the music industry wins the case, two marketing professors at the W. P. Carey School of Business argue that it will ultimately lose if it keeps fighting consumers. Their research suggests that trying to stem music downloads through legal action and technology is likely to cost the industry more business than it preserves.

Ahead of its time: Services program plays critical role in business community

As the Center for Services Leadership at the W. P. Carey School of Business enters its third decade, its founders recall a time when they faced off with skeptics who doubted the importance of services in business education. Today, the Center has earned an international reputation for outstanding research and education in the field.

The waiting game: It’s not always a bad thing

To wait or not to wait is not the question. Rather, it’s how — and to what extent — an imposed delay affects our enjoyment of consumer products. W. P. Carey School of Business marketing professors take a closer look at delays and consumer opinions.

Dissatisfied consumers turn tables on companies in cyberspace

In the old days, an unpleasant customer service experience prompted an outraged report circulating among a few friends and relatives. Today, a spurned customer has the potential to reach millions through Word of Web (WOW). Two W. P. Carey School of Business marketing professors made a study of the WOW phenomenon, and they have some advice for companies. The worst response is a heavy-handed or threatening move; the most effective response is better customer service.

High performers: Staying on top of the game

The qualities that set high performers apart from their colleagues have been put under the research microscope of two marketing professors at the W. P. Carey School of Business. “Competitive crafting” refers to the set of behaviors that enables managers to use the information and knowledge they possess about the competition to create a winning business proposition. And these behaviors have been taught successfully in large companies cooperating in the ASU study.