Blackberry News & Tips Newsletter
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 CIO BlackBerry News and Tips
 CIO Research and Analysis
 CIO Microsoft
 CIO Insider
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Webcast: In the Google Apps Cloud: How to Achieve Your Business Objectives

Dec 3rd, '09, 1 - 2 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Council member Brent Hoag, Director, Global IT, at JohnsonDiversey, as he discusses the adoption of Google Apps which has helped meet four corporate goals; sustainability, simplification, increased employee productivity and global collaboration.

Webcast: Collaboration Initiatives: Benchmarks & Best Practices

Dec 15th, '09, 4 - 5 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Council members Ruth Thorpe, VP & CIO at the U.S. Pharmaceutical Operations of Sanofi-Aventis, and Gary Kuyper, CIO at Bethany Christian Services, as they speak about their collaboration initiatives and experiences in how and why they chose the social networking and collaboration tools they are using and their business goals for collaboration, and facing culture change challenges.

Data Overview: Collaboration Initiatives Field Guide: Benchmarks & Best Practices

This appendix to the Council Field Guide provides an analysis which discusses benchmarks for collaboration IT implementation costs, adoption rates and payoffs. The overview identifies top IT and business goals and satisfaction rates for collaboration initiatives as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementing collaboration IT.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 

Customer Relations: How to Build Customer Loyalty in an Internet World

If you really want customers to keep coming back, then toss out those glossy brochures from vendors looking to sell ...

 

January 01, 2002CIO

If you really want customers to keep coming back, then toss out those glossy brochures from vendors looking to sell you the latest in CRM software. Customer loyalty does not stem from clever stratagems to collect every conceivable piece of data from customers and then cross-sell them something they don’t want, says Fred Reichheld, Boston-based Bain & Co. director emeritus and Bain fellow who has studied the topic.

In fact, the very concept of customer relationship management is misguided, Reichheld argues. Companies shouldn’t try to manage loyal customers, he says; long-standing relationships arise from trust gained over many transactions, and they are sustained by customers’ belief that the company wishes to keep them around rather than drive them away.

"CRM is manipulation in too many cases. Companies are acting on information of customers against their interests?calling them at home at night, charging them at the highest price point [that CRM software shows they will pay]," says Reichheld, author of two books on loyalty, including Loyalty Rules (Harvard Business School Press, 2001). "Loyalty means listening to your partner, creating mutual satisfaction."

Customer loyalty seems like a quaint notion in the Internet age, when customers can search out lower prices and defect to competitors with a mouse-click. Yet Reichheld’s research has found that in the faceless online market, customers yearn for trustworthiness more than ever. Give it to them and they’re yours forever, he says. That kind of loyalty is immensely valuable: Reichheld’s analysis shows that a 5 percent increase in customer retention rates results in a 25 percent to 95 percent increase in profits. Clearly, customer loyalty is too central to companies’ fortunes to be left to the marketing departments alone. And with technology so important in determining retention?or customer disaffection, if technology is improperly used?CIOs have a role to play. "If I were a CIO, I would really want to start to influence customer data," Reichheld says. This influence can take two forms, he says: a redeployment of CRM software and the creation of entirely new metrics for customer loyalty.

Shooing Away Butterflies

CRM is not altogether awful, in Reichheld’s view. It’s just that, too often, the standard CRM practices lead to vexation or worse from customers, not loyalty. Not many people enjoy being inundated with telephone calls and mailings from a vendor and its marketing affiliates. There is a good and virtuous use of CRM, however. "One of the best things you can do with CRM technology is find out who the valuable customers are?those who are staying, not just any customer willing to accept your offer to switch [from a competitor]," says Reichheld.

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

Next Generation Remote Infrastructure Management

Read this paper to see how Genpact helps extract value from RIM engagements through its RIMnexgenSM approach.
 

Exchange 2007 Risks and Mitigation Strategies

This whitepaper will review the strengths of Exchange 2007 and areas where CIOs should consider third party solutions.
 

Solving On-premise Email Challenges

This white paper presents ten on-premise challenges and their on-demand services solutions.
 

A Comparative Cost Analysis of Email Environments

This Forrester report will help you evaluate the full cost of your email environment and it will explore the benefits of cloud-based technologies.
 

An Infrastructure and Operations Analysis

This Forrester Report review three basic architectures to consider as you evaluate taking your email into the cloud.
 

Email and Web Threats Require a Layered Defense

Learn how web threats are changing and how using a layered defense strategy can give you the security you need.
 

WEBCASTS

An Open Framework for Business Intelligence

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change
 

Email and Web Threats Require a Layered Defense

Can you trust the cloud to secure your enterprise from email and Web threats? This Webcast discusses how web threat...
 

Smart techniques for application security: whitebox + blackbox security testing.

Whitebox & blackbox application security testing are two approaches for detecting vulnerabilities in Web-based and ...
 

Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce through Automation

Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce
 

Extending Client Refresh - 11 Steps to Maximize Savings

11 Steps to Maximize Savings
 

Consolidate Your Servers and Storage to Lower Costs with Oracle Database 11g

Live Webcast
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
2:00pm ET/ 11:00am PT

Oracle Database 11g and Oracle Real A...
 

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Cloud Computing--Latest Buzzword or a Glimpse of the Future?

10 Ways Excel Drives More Value from Your SAP Investment

AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service. Expand on demand

Trend Micro ranked #1 against real-world malware. Read more.

Webinar: Jump-start your in-house e-discovery with Ringtail QuickCull from FTI Technology

Top Five CIO Challenges

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

World-class trading technology solutions from NYSE Technologies.

If You're Paying for Telecom, You're Paying Too Much. Contact Asentinel Today.

Trade-In your old printer and save up to $1,000 plus free recycling!

infoBOOM! - The Mid-Sized Company CIO's Exclusive Community

Live Webinar: Applying Business Analytics. Click here to learn more

Removing Barriers To Better Server Virtualization Efficiency

4G Revisited. The Continued Evolution of Wireless Mobility.

What's Next for Enterprise Resource Planning?

Maximizing website Return on Information with high-quality search

Gartner Magic Quadrant, Application Delivery Controllers 2009

Authentication as a Service by Forrester Research

Cloud-Based Authentication for Next-Generation Extranets

Top to Bottom Performance Management Excellence at the City of Chicago

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back. Get the facts.

VMware. The source for Business Infrastructure Virtualization.

ShoreTel tells businesses to untangle from competitors' complexity and turn to its brilliantly simple UC solution

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Interactive Q&A helps you discover key ways to maximize IT assets.

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Think you can't afford a Cisco Switch? Cisco Catalyst Switches are now more affordable.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.

The Case for Investing in Business Analytics Technology. Read white paper.

Upgrading to VMware vSphere with vWire

Top 10 Lessons Learned for Corporate 3G Mobile Broadband Deployments

CRM Built for IT: The Executive Guide to Selecting CRM that Meets IT Needs

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back

ROI of Application Delivery Controllers

Making Consumer Two-Factor Authentication Simple and Cost-Effective

Mining the Cloud to Ease the Enterprise Compliance Burden

Solve Five Key IT Security Challenges with Cloud-Based Authentication