Category — Acquisition

Once or twice a week, I sort through hundreds of emails from companies I love, like, or need. Every time, I wonder what the marketers are thinking when they press send. I suspect that there is a prayer on their lips, “please, please, let people respond so I get to keep my job.”

I’m looking for personal and interesting. They send promotional and unimaginative. Email marketing has become a numbers game. It begins with acquiring a list of addresses, continues with sending offer after offer, and ends with a pat on the back. [Read more →]

The American Customer Service Index third quarter results for 2009 show a 2.5% improvement for apparel from 2008. Each quarter the ACSI measures customer satisfaction for a segment of the economy. The third quarter focuses on manufacturing/nondurables.

Overall, the index remained the same as last year, but there were some significant changes when you look at specific companies. Levi Strauss moved from being the worst in the group to a tie for first with Jones Apparel. Professor Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI, speculates that the jump may be due to Levi’s retail network expansion and green initiatives program.

What? Didn’t anyone tell the management at Levi’s that there is a recession? Apparently not, because they added 74 new outlet stores. [Read more →]

Converting prospects to customers is challenging and expensive. Depending on the company and marketing tactics, it costs 3-5 times to acquire a customer than it does to keep one. The conversion process is a series of finely honed steps that move people from inquisition to participation.

The occasional misstep slows the process and increases costs, but it doesn’t derail the relationship. It can even lead to chuckles down the road. But, there is nothing funny about these five fatal errors that alienate prospects and customers alike. Avoid them at all costs. [Read more →]