Filed under: customer service
While perusing some customer relationship management (CRM) titles—because all companies must strive to strengthen relationships with their customers—I came across Abaetê de Azevedo and Ricardo Pomeranz’s Customer Obsession: How to Acquire, Retain, and Grow Customers in the New Age of Marketing, published in mid-October 2008 by McGraw-Hill.
Azevedo, the CEO of Rapp Collins Brazil and Latin America, and Pomeranz, the global chief digital officer of Rapp Collins Worldwide, are both experts on CRM. Rapp Collins is one of the premier worldwide direct marketing agencies, and an expert at relationship marketing. Customer Obsession is hailed as “invaluable hands-on guide to the next generation of customer relationship marketing,” and the book’s chapter nine is solely dedicated to case studies form a variety of product and service companies across the world—all clients of Rapp Collins. I find case studies to be highly useful, and Azevedo and Pomeranz provide some of the graphics and figures from the campaigns for the increased comprehension of the reader.
Though direct marketing may not be your company’s key marketing method, I feel Customer Obsession is still a worthwhile read. In the current economic times, customers want the companies they interact with to go the extra mile—otherwise, they can just take their money elsewhere. Not only do these consumers want lower prices, but also they want value and customer service. Anyone can be a discounter, so make yourself stand out.
