by Debra Ellis
Every time I visit the Asheville PetSmart, I am impressed with their service. The most recent visit crossed the line from being impressive to exceptional. Several days ago, my daughter bought some fish for our aquarium with her allowance. She handled everything herself from choosing the fish to learning how to care for them.
A few days later, four of the eleven fish were dead. She wrapped them up so she could exchange them. PetSmart has a fourteen-day guarantee on the fish. The policy requires a receipt for returns to be accepted. It had been explained to my daughter. When we arrived at PetSmart, she couldn’t find the receipt. She searched her handbag and our vehicle to no avail. Her dad and I told her that the fish couldn’t be exchanged. She looked at us with her big blue tear-filled eyes and said, “Please let me try.” [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
If you are searching for a marketing tool that integrates channels, databases, and processes, you need to stop. It doesn’t exist.
The magical solution that puts everything you need at your fingertips is a myth. The salesperson describing his or her turnkey solution that allows you to integrate all of your marketing is selling you smoke and mirrors. A tool that eliminates the need for all others doesn’t exist.
Marketing requires different tools for different activities.
Finding the best ones for your business is a process. You have to test them to see what works. Investing any time in a one-stop shop is a waste of time. The better option is to optimize the tools that work. Here are some steps to help you along the way: [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
Twitter’s new design changes the dimensions required for backgrounds with content. Your customized background, designed to optimize the available space won’t work with the new look. For example, BestBuy’s background is simple and fits the brand well. It includes a list of URL’s so people can find all of their sites. It looks like this with the old version of Twitter:
Changing to the new version reduces the visibility of the URL’s as seen below.
If you aren’t using the new Twitter, take a test drive now to see how your background looks. Don’t worry, you can return to the old version by clicking the down arrow next to your user ID on the top right of the page. It allows you to exit the preview.
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by Debra Ellis
Almost every business day, I share links to articles, research, and blog posts. Before sharing, I always read the content. Sometimes people send me links to their website for my review. Last week, I received a link to a marketing post that sounded like it would be a good one to share. When I clicked the link, I received this:
I exited and emailed the sender to ask, “Why are you doing this? Who is your target market? Are they 12 years old?” The response surprised me: [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
The relationship between company and customer isn’t complicated from the customer’s point of view. All the company needs to do is provide service. The type of service varies depending on the type of business, but the need remains the same: Quality service in a timely manner at a reasonable price.
Consistently providing top quality service requires tools. Customer relationship management (CRM) applications seem like a dream come true for many companies. They provide insight to customer behavior improving marketing effectiveness while reducing costs. They were never designed to replace service, only to enhance it.
Unfortunately, many companies had [click to continue…]
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