Category — Retention

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 →]

Airlines are notorious for poor service and customer alienation. Some of the issues are out of their control since they can’t make the weather cooperate and have to conform to governmental requirements. Most people understand this and don’t hold the companies accountable.

The problem is that the things that are within their control are mishandled. Bad weather is inevitable. Bad attitudes aren’t. Airlines as a group provide excellent examples of what not to do to keep customers happy. Some airlines do it better than others do. [Read more →]