Tonight I was chatting with my wife.  She is Japanese, and we were talking about my post this afternoon.  I had arrived at the revelation that Japanese business is driven by consumer need.  Brilliant. Well after we got through the usual, and well deserved, “you really don’t get it, do you!”, we got to the meat of it.  Japan:  customer is always right.  Employees when confronted with an upset customer genuinely feel personally accountable for the fact the customer is upset.  This is genuine reaction, and I have seen it in Japan enough times to know this to be a fact North … Continue reading Customer changes everything ….

When I started to read this article I thought I was hearing that a multi channel strategy will bombard the customer into submission! I took a deep breath and read on, and it started to talk about the role of each channel in the marketing process.    But it is important to understand that in multichannel campaigns, each channel and component of the campaign should not be expected to deliver equal results. In a multitouch campaign, for example, the first contact — regardless of the channel selected — may not make the sale. “One channel can help you warm up the lead … Continue reading You Talkin’ to Me? – A great example of what is wrong with marketing

What are some strategies for Experience Based Differentiation? This from the Forrester Consumer Forum Blog at the Chicago conference Oct 24/25, 2006.  We are always exploring the specific measurements, and tactics to implement customer centric environment. Ultra-simplification Radically reduce offerings and deliver critically important subset of features Examples: JetBlue, ING Direct Online infusion Redefine offering by incorporating interactive features into the core product Examples: Netflix, Disney Mobile Value repositioning Getting your customers to think about you differently Examples: UMPQUA Bank (treats banking like a retail environment, kid-friendly), Post cereal (postopia.com–can’t compete with Kellogg’s for marketing budget, but innovative integration between … Continue reading Forrester’s: Your Company Can Differentiate Its Customer Experience Without Being Starbucks

 James lays out a methodology for automated pricing for Banks based on a set of characteristics that are individually specific to each customer.  The premise is that banks lack of price competition is an outcome of the lack of appropriate customer information. Banks’ disinclination to compete on price is generally tied directly to the paucity of analytics and rigor in their pricing computations Source: Enterprise Decision Management – a Weblog: Automating and improving pricing in banking I agree with the statement, but would argue the the connection is not direct.  There is another element at play and that is commoditisation.  … Continue reading Enterprise Decision Management: Automating and improving pricing in banking

This is a classic post at the now defunct Burningbird (Shelley Powers), now at Planet Shelley Powers. (Thanks Tara for the reference) I don’t mind marketing at all, but I want to see it coming. I want to know that when people respond to me, it’s really what they believe. I don’t want to spend time reading and writing and at the end the day, wonder how much of the interaction was real. I don’t want to be a part of the buzz. Source: Burningbird » Mix and Match She goes on … Conversely, I want people to know when … Continue reading Burningbird » Markets are conversations–please stop. I’m begging you