Sales skills: Training (nurture) or personality (nature)?

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

The age-old debate — nature versus nurture — is a common theme that pops up for managers who are seeking the right sales candidates. It's an important…

Consumer grocery store survey reveals satisfaction and brand preferences by geography

September 14, 2011

Empathica Inc., a provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions to some of the world's most respected brands, announced that its Consumer Insights…

Beyond a loyalty program: Using loyalty data to create a unified strategy

Retailers launch loyalty programs with the best of intentions, but why do so many fail to deliver on expectations?

Retail Customer Service 101: Phone etiquette

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Considered common sense and unnecessary by many, telephone etiquette training is back in vogue. As many companies struggle to ride the fierce waves of…

Retail experts share their big idea in one minute

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

At the 2011 Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit held in Minneapolis on August 8-10, 2011, I worked with some of the world’s best customer experience…

Infogain service enables low-risk transition to cloud-based customer support

September 12, 2011

Infogain Corporation has announced the newest addition to its line of services, Transformational Customer Support service. The new service creates a…

Lowe's putting iPhones in the hands of 42,000 store associates

September 11, 2011

Bloomberg reports that Lowe's is reacting to Home Depot's move last year which put Motorola mobile devices in its employees' hands – by handing out iPhones to…

Why adding on may be costing you sales

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Most specialty retailers whose staff is sales-focused emphasize add-ons. When done well, this approach can slightly increase a store's average sale, but I…

The retail generation gap is killing premium brands

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

As the keynote speaker last month at the Retail Customer Executive Summit, I focused on the humanity needed in retail. That's because, just like at the NRF…

What retailers can learn from Hurricane Irene

by Laurel Tielis — Author and Professional Speaker, Laurel Tielis & Associates

Flashlights, first aid supplies, and batteries were must-haves for people in Hurricane Irene's path. But Pop-Tarts were high on the list of items people were…

Why The Fresh Market is more fresh than Whole Foods

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Founded in 1982, The Fresh Market, Inc. is a specialty grocery retailer focused on providing high-quality products in a unique and inviting atmosphere with a…

Citi offers easy-peasy redemption option

by Sharon Goldman — Senior Director, COLLOQUY

As we mentioned in our most recent COLLOQUY cover story on today's "squeezed" middle class, offering flexible and simple redemption options is essential for…

The twenty-four hour WOW

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Former American Idol judge Simon Cowell often commented that even though a contestant's performance was good, and sometimes even quite good, nobody will…

Canada Post capturing customer experience data at 40 post offices

August 16, 2011

OpinionLab, provider of voice-of-customer (VOC) listening technologies, has announced an expanded relationship with Canada Post. In addition to collecting…

Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit: 'We know where you are'

Panelists chat about how to get consumers on board with location-based marketing.

Recalling a solution

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

The giant meat supplier Cargill has just delivered 36 million more reasons why we should buy our perishable foods from local farmers. And that can make…

Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit: Do you know what your customers are thinking? (video)

A consumer branding researcher gives the scoop on the consumer's inner decision-making process.

Survey: Twice as many people tell others about bad service than good

Americans are placing an even greater premium on quality customer service this year.

Closing the sale: Moving from transactions to 'thank you'

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

The customer decision-making process never ends with the actual sale. Too many retailers fail to recognize the importance and immediacy of the final step in…

Zappo's Tony Hsieh on The Colbert Report

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

In case you missed it: Zappo's CEO Tony Hsieh appeared as the interview guest on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" the other night, discussing his…