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Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy, http://buzz2bucks.com.

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The Brand is the Identity
A brand may refer to products or services, but  branding involves much more than that. It is the process by which those  offerings and the values of the company are communicated to the buying public.  When done correctly, this process can clearly identify any company and enable  customers to clearly see exactly what makes that company different from all of  its business rivals.

Understand the Audience
When projecting an identity to the buying public,  make sure that the identity is consistent with the needs and vales of potential  customers. It is great for a company to have a personality, but that personality  will mean nothing if it fails to resonate with customers. Every attempt to  create and establish a company brand should only be done after extensive  research focused on audience sensibilities is completed.

Use the Right Methods
Brands require tools. These include logos,  recognizable company colors, a motto, and other easily identified methods for  distinguishing one company from another. While it is easy to get caught up in  the overall look of any logo or design, it is important to always remember that  customers care less about the actual aesthetics of these tools than the fact  that they are consistently used, and therefore, remembered and recognized

Be Consistent
Indeed, consistency is the key to successfully establishing  a company identity. Logos should remain fairly consistent over time. A company  motto that reflects the business’ core values should remain the same so that  customers come to identify the company with those ideals. Keep it simple, but  steady. Even a bland company motto or unattractive logo will take root in  customers’ minds if they are seen and heard on a consistent basis over time.

Use a variety of Mediums
Today’s companies cannot just rely upon the old  methods of communication. In addition to print media and broadcast  advertisements, companies should also develop clearly branded websites and make  use of the full range of social media available today. Every method for  communicating with customers is an opportunity to further develop the company  brand.

Focus on Value and Values
The brand should ultimately be associated with  values. To accomplish this, every interaction with customers must be  accomplished with those values in mind. This includes every advertisement, every  display, and every bit of contact between employees of the company and the  customers they serve. Many businesses become so obsessed with the external  aspects of creating their brands, that they neglect the very real role of  employee decorum demonstrated by actual contact with customers.

When executed properly, any strategy for building a brand can reap huge  rewards for the company. Entrepreneurs who adhere to these basic principles of  business branding will find themselves experiencing greater success as their  corporate identities become firmly established in the public mind.

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By Phillip Davis

As companies grow, product lines expand and market conditions change,  business owners often find themselves with a company brand image that no longer  reflects who they are or what they do. Perhaps they started in a niche market,  or with a very specific product, and built their entire company identity around  it — and the business now serves a different, bigger or more diverse customer  base.

What to do?

A sure symptom of this brand misalignment is the constant need to explain or  clarify what the company really does. Or when an owner pines “We’re more than  just (fill in the service or product category.) At this point, a new brand  strategy is obviously in order, but it begs the question “Do I need to  reposition my company or completely rebrand it?”

Reposition if the name is right but the message is wrong

Repositioning a company makes sense when the company brand name is well  established and not in any way misleading. In other words, it’s not so much an  issue with the identity as it is with the message and focus.  Apple expanded beyond its original core product line of computers, but that  didn’t require a change in their name. They simply dropped the word “Computers”  from their name and shifted their branding to reflect their “Think Different”  philosophy. They no longer position their brand as a “computer company” but more  as a cool, digital lifestyle provider.

Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure felt restricted by their brand image as a  racing school. It affected their approach to advertising, marketing and product  development. After carefully determining their core value proposition, they  re-emerged with the tag line “Full Throttle Living!” The emphasis  shifted from the cars to the experience. And that experience has since been  expanded to include World War II re-enactments and firefighting drills. They now  position themselves as a lifetime adventure company that simulates a day in the  life of an adrenaline-charged professional. That’s a big departure from a racing  school, and that’s the power of repositioning.

Old Spice has made a concerted effort to reposition its brand from a stodgy  aftershave product to a cool, contemporary array of “fragrant man goods.” Their viral video  campaign has served to introduce a whole new audience to this once  old-school cologne.

Rebrand if your company name causes confusion

Rebranding comes into play when the original company identity has grown  outdated, confusing or outright misleading. The owners and staff can all agree  on the brand’s current position and message, but the customer can’t get past the  name itself. CompUSA struggles to brand itself as more than just computers.  Radio Shack remains mentally tethered to an old technology and a dilapidated  building. Burlington Coat Factory sells more than just coats. At some point, the  cost of clarifying a brand becomes such a drag co-efficient that it makes more  sense to start with a clean slate.

Would 3M be recognized as a global leader in innovation if it had remained  The Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company? Popular consumer electronics  company LG rebranded twice, from the original legacy name of Lak-Hui Chemical  Industrial Corporation to Lucky Goldstar, and in 1995 to their current moniker  of LG with the tag line “Life’s Good.”

Repositioning and rebranding keep a company current, relevant and  profitable

Both repositioning and rebranding serve the goal of greater brand clarity.  Repositioning highlights a company’s emerging role and redefines its new  territory in the marketplace, (often while keeping the legacy name in place,  e.g. Apple) Rebranding addresses the outward facing identity of the company,  typically the name and visual components, and helps to alleviate and/or correct  misconceptions about the direction of the business (e.g. 3M and KFC).

Rebranding and/or repositioning offer unique and specific benefits when  applied correctly. Clarifying the brand identity and market position allows  potential customers to place the company in the right mental “box” for easy and  accurate recall. This type of intuitive branding reduces customer confusion,  improves bottom line performance and positions your company for continued  success. With careful consideration, rebranding and repositioning will have your  customers remembering and revisiting you more often.

How about your company? Have you considered or attempted a rebrand? If so,  share the ups and downs of your experience so others can benefit.

Phillip Davis is president and owner of Tungsten Branding, strategic company branding consultants specializing in name development,  rebranding and brand positioning.

You’re an expert who knows how to get the work done, generate results and  make a difference to your customers and your colleagues. Naturally you want to  share how you do it all. But wait–your audience may not be ready for the  ‘How’.

Successful persuasion taps into people’s emotions and inspires them to  imagine a better situation. This is true whether you’re marketing IT products,  professional services or a cultural shift within your company. To be a  persuasive speaker you’ll need to lead the audience to an image of  perfection–or at least, improvement. Until they feel it, they won’t be ready to  do it.

Focus on the “what” and the “why”

In any speaking setting that is not training or a workshop, your presentation  must focus on “what” and “why.” The “what” is the action(s) they should take to  reach their goal. The “why” makes it clear that the “what” will help them reach  their goal.

Let’s look at an example: You are responsible for leading a major change of  behavior in your company. You could just lay down the law and threaten  punishment for anyone who resists. That isn’t likely to generate a favorable  response. You could offer a carrot–do this and you’ll get a reward. That’s also  a short-term approach that could lead to offering ever-increasing carrots.

First describe the behavioral change

The best approach is to describe the behavioral change, which is the “what.”  Describe it in many dimensions-how it will affect their daily actions, and also  their feelings, expectations and interactions. Then talk about the “why”–why is  the new behavior valuable to them as individuals; you might eventually talk  about why the change is valuable to the company as a whole, but whatever you do,  don’t start with that! People always put their self-interest first and  foremost.

The “what” and the “why” are more than enough for a one hour speech or  presentation. Give your audience of employees or colleagues time to savor the  image you’ve helped them picture. Encourage them to keep thinking about it.  Encourage them to add details to the picture; to discuss their visions with  their peers; to move from today and tomorrow to 6 months or a year ahead.

Avoid topics such as “5 Ways to Do X” or “The 7 Factors of Success” or “Three  Steps to Learning Y.” Instead, speak about benefits to the audience: “Success  Comes to Those Who Envision Change” or “You’re the Leader, So Lead.” “Success”  or “Leadership” are the “what” and the rest of your speech is the “why.”

Persuade first on an emotional level

People aren’t ready to be instructed how to do new behaviors until they’ve  fully internalized and integrated the new vision. It’s no different than the way  you might approach a new sport–if you can’t imagine how much you’ll enjoy  playing golf, you won’t learn how to play golf no matter how effective the  instructor. Your “What and Why” speech or presentation is the warm-up that makes  them ready for the “How.”

Persuade first on an emotional level and instruct later on an intellectual  level.

Business speakers who confidently engage their audiences meet their business  and personal objectives. Promotion? More revenue? Elite clients? You increase  your likelihood of success with high-quality business presentation skills. Susan  Trivers consults with and coaches executives and managers to persuade their  audiences to take actions across the spectrum of business goals. Learn more  about how you can become a great speaker at http://www.susantrivers.com and http://www.greatspeakingcoach.com

By Luciell Potestas Fernan

No matter how skilled and savvy you are in your career, no matter how  fascinating and cutting edge your work now is, it will someday happen: You will  roll out of bed, wonder what you’re doing with your life, and think about making  a change.

Few things are as certain as middle-aged angst, that dreaded feeling that  somehow life has passed you by or you’ve simply missed it somehow.

You question your choices, bemoan your current circumstances, and agonize  over the future. You start thinking about hair plugs and working out more. You  have a sudden urge to trade in the old car for a racy new model or the old wife  for a racy new supermodel.

When you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning

But more often than not, your agonizing centers around your job. You’ve  always hated it, or you once loved it but there’s no challenge anymore. You’ve  plateaued, you’re bored, you hate the boss or the wunderkind who just zipped by  you on the organizational chart. You want to dump that vice presidency to run a  bar in Mazatlan.

After all, life is short and getting shorter by the day, and  you realize you are closer to the end of your career than the beginning.

Here’s where some of the career advisers out there go a little hay-wire,  pushing people into radical career shifts, urging them to find their “bliss.” I  remember watching as the leader of a group career guidance session, sponsored by  a service that shall go unnamed, cajoled one attendee-a man who seemed quite  happy working as a manager for a computer retailing company and who, in fact,  seemed justifiably proud of the coveted promotion he had just earned-to scrap it  all because she saw his face light up when he talked about playing the guitar as  a kid.

Whoa, Nelly. For all she knew, the guy may have been a lousy guitarist.  And not every fanciful dream of youth is worth pursuing, despite the malarkey  pushed by TV movies of the week. For a thirtyish guy with a family, the  suggestion was, in my mind, outrageous.

You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and expertise

The idea of a radical career shift holds a powerful appeal to those in the  throes of a middle-aged crisis, and certainly these seismic shifts do work for  some. But let’s face it: You’ve spent your whole life building up skills and  expertise; that’s your career currency, and it’s usually far more valuable in  the industry you’re already in.

Now, I recognize that some gung-ho Boy Scouts out there are shaking their  heads, certain they won’t fall prey to this dire condition. They’re too  enthusiastic, and their work is too vital. If they even smell some angst in the

For the other 99 percent of  us, here are some tales from the midst of the morass to help shake us from our  doldrums and get us moving again.

What to do after residing so long at one address?

For twenty-seven years, Richard Dahlberg toiled for Massachusetts Financial  Services. Then, when the company wouldn’t assign him more staff so that he could  aggressively push for growth in the mutual funds he managed, he decided he  needed a change of scenery.

But what to do after residing so long at one address? Mr. Dahlberg decided to  stay within his sphere of knowledge, the financial services industry. After  looking at posts in two banks and a mutual fund, Mr. Dahlberg got an offer to be  chief investment officer in the equity asset management group at Salomon Bros.  It wasn’t a sure bet.

Equity management had always been a poor stepchild at  Salomon, representing at that time just $1 billion of the firm’s $13 billion  under management. Mr. Dahlberg wondered how committed Salomon would be to the  relatively new business. He also worried about the fact that Salomon was just  coming off a run of trading scandals and financial setbacks.

And at fifty-five  years of age, he would be giving up a secure position where he had been quite  successful. In the previous ten years, he had built Massachusetts Financial’s  balanced fund assets to $4.5 billion from $215 million. “I could have stayed  where I was for another ten years and enjoyed the annuity,” he says.

You don’t always know where you are going to end up

Don Crosbie, by contrast, simply walked away from his job as chief financial  officer of Dallas-based InterVoice, because he needed a rest after ten intense  years of helping to build the telecommunications start-up. “I did some  consulting, some sailing, tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,”  he says.

He spent a year flirting with investing in some companies and going on a few  job interviews before he decided to form Com Vest Partners, an investment  research boutique. The idle time didn’t worry him, he insists. He has an  explorer’s mentality, requiring new and exhilarating experiences. “You don’t  always know where you’re going to end up,” he says. “There’s always some  uncertainty, but in my mind, if you have the confidence, a door will open for  you.”

In contrast with Mr. Dahlberg, he believes that trying to forge a new career  while immersed in the old one usually doesn’t work. “You end up getting  trapped,” he says.

Take your time and evaluate a number of situations

While Mr. Crosbie would appear to have made a radical break, closer scrutiny  reveals that his new job trades on his well-developed financial analysis skills.  “It wasn’t as if I were going to be an astronaut,” he says.

Many midlifers, fearful that opportunities will dwindle with age, grab the  first job that seems to offer change. Take your time and “evaluate a number of  situations,” Mr. Dahlberg advises. “You have to find the right fit for you.”

If you want a more dramatic change, you have to do something drastic.

“I didn’t want to wake up at fifty one morning with someone in Seattle deciding our unit made no sense”

After sixteen years in the building materials business, Hoyt Gier was uneasy.  The senior sales executive was paid well, enjoyed his job, and figured he had a  reasonable shot at the CEO post. But, “I went to work for a Canadian firm, which  was bought by Belgians, which was bought by Germans,” he says. “I didn’t want to  wake up at fifty with someone in Brussels or Heidelberg or Seattle deciding our  unit made no sense; that petrified me.”

But he wondered how marketable he would be. “I worked for different  companies, but to someone outside the industry, it would look as if I’d been  doing the same thing my whole career,” he explains. So, at age forty, he quit  his six-figure job in Seattle and schlepped his wife and three young children to  Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dart-mouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business for an  MBA. It cost him about $250,000 in tuition and lost income, which he paid for by  selling his Redmond, Washington, home. The move puzzled his bosses, he says.  Even his parents questioned his judgment.

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of uncertainty?

In industries such as investment banking and consulting, the MBA is  practically a required entry card for those with management ambitions  -especially for those coming from completely different backgrounds. As Mr. Gier  notes, “You simply can’t get from where I started to where I am going without  coming through here.” Or someplace like it. He adds: “To break into something  completely different, you have to do something to catch someone’s  attention.”

Is an MBA a panacea for middle-aged managers floundering in a sea of  uncertainty? Is this the way for them to overcome the reluctance of companies to  invest in managers with gray hair who command six-figure incomes?

Of course not.

Some lack the inclination to return to an intense school program at such an  advanced age. In some industries, also, the degree would provide only a marginal  benefit. Before making such a precipitous and expensive leap, study the  backgrounds of the people who are successful in your company or industry of  choice. Are they MBA holders? What gaps exist between their experiences and  skills and yours, and are there simpler and less expensive ways to fill those  gaps?

MBA’s mean exposure to a wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential

Still, for managers seeking a midcourse correction, MBAs mean exposure to a  wider range of possibilities and a widely accepted credential. With high demand  for MBA holders, companies start recruiting early. In his second week of  classes, Mr. Gier recalls presentations by Ford, Microsoft, Dell, and Morgan  Stanley. He soon discovered the world of private client services.

It was just the kind of relationship-driven business he wanted. Following a  summer internship with Goldman, Sachs, he accepted the firm’s offer of full-time  employment after graduation. He couldn’t be happier about it. “Tuck exposed me  to many business possibilities new to me or previously thought to be out of  reach,” he says. “The business world looks a lot bigger to me now than it did  just a couple of years ago.”

Throughout his transition, Mr. Gier’s age wasn’t as much of an issue as he  feared. Interviewers never mentioned it directly, choosing instead to ask how he  would feel working with or reporting to a twenty-seven-year-old. “My response  was, ‘If I didn’t think I could run with these people in the workforce, I  wouldn’t have come here,’” Mr. Gier says.

“MBA’s from a top school opens doors, others do not”

Still, he acknowledges that his path isn’t for everybody. The tough,  competitive environment of the school-he worked late most nights on group  projects-is exhausting. And if you can’t land in one of the better schools, he  advises, forget it. “An MBA from a top school opens doors other MBAs do not,” he  says.

Further, he says, don’t go if you’re satisfied with your job, your career  path, your company’s prospects, and your opportunities to advance and find  challenging assignments. Don’t go if you’re convinced other companies, inside  your industry and out, will gladly pay for your skills and experience. Finally,  he says, don’t go if you don’t have the total support of your spouse. This kind  of change isn’t for the risk averse.

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By Steve Clements

The entire world is mourning the death of Steve Jobs. It is as though we knew  him personally. Yes, his products are beloved internationally. But it was his  ability as an innovator and a speaker that will keep his name alive forever.

As an innovator, Jobs did things his way-a revolutionary who rejected  accepted life routes to create, develop and market not only Apple but Pixar,  keeping his name alive forever.

Using visuals as opening a curtain of surprise

As a speaker, he was a maverick. To announce a new product, he completely  rejected the now-tiresome corporate concept of reading every word from  PowerPoint. Instead, he used his visuals as though he were opening a curtain of  surprise, stimulating delight and awe. Take a look at his announcement of any of  the new Apple products he was excited to introduce.

Personality Counts

Jobs brought his unique personality to his presentations. He combined a  child’s pride in what he had to introduce, a professional speaker’s drama about  the story he was unveiling, and a salesman’s ability to create a desire to  buy-ASAP!

His was not a standard corporate announcement. It was a relationship  he created with all of us. We wanted to share in his wondrous world. Isn’t that  what communications is all about?

How can you bring your own unique personality to your presentations? Consider  advocating to minimize the use of PowerPoint. Instead, discover what works best  for a particular presentation.

You Count!

- Is it simply graphics that support what you’re saying?

- Or, and this may be blasphemy, perhaps all that is needed is you!

If there is power in what you’re saying, whether it is informative,  persuasive or motivational, you should have the strength of delivery and  charisma to have both eyes focused on you. If your reaction is “Oh, I can’t do  that. I’m scared and would rather read the PowerPoint from the corner,” you’re  doing yourself and your company a disservice.

Work on it! Find that unique “you”  that can hold an audience in its grip with every line.

It will certainly be difficult to replace Jobs as a leader. It will be even  more difficult to replace him as the face, voice and personality of Apple.

Needed: A spokesman who stimulates our imagination

Apple, like every company, like your company, now has to search for a  spokesperson who stimulates our imagination and desire to buy. It won’t be easy  but the right spokesperson obviously makes the difference. Improve your  communications skills and you could become the “Jobs” in your job.

Steve Clements translates 40 plus years as executive trainer, Hollywood TV  producer/writer and academia (Professor Emeritus from Augusta State University  in TV/Cinema) into customized oral communications and media training programs  for Executive Speak/Write, Inc. (http://www.executivespeakwrite.com). This producer of over  3,000 national TV broadcasts now trains business professionals on how to be a  better “you” when speaking to audiences.

If you were to ask a person what a CRM is few years ago, chances are that  they won’t know what you are talking about. Nowadays, almost everyone in the  product and service industry knows about a CRM. In this article, I will discuss  the next step to customer service, the mobile CRM. Before going into the details  of mobile CRM for small businesses, let me you give a brief overview of what a  CRM software is.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is an electronic based data  management tool that provides a business with a streamlined system of data  gathering, storage, security and access. For example, the small business CRM  software is used to store customer related information such as name, address,  contact information and product or service availed of.

This information can be  accessed by any individual with proper security clearance either through a local  computer or online. Then the company can either assess a given customer or input  some more information such as last time called, concern, and date of resolution.

At any given time, different types of reports can also be made at the click of a  button such as number of complaints type of complaints, resolution time frame  and even disbursement dates.

Always remember, a small business CRM can be  tweaked to provide alerts at appropriate dates to make sure that a  representative does not forget important dates such as deadlines.

Mobile Small Business CRM: The Next Step

A small business CRM allowed business owners to easily access information  when they are in the office or if they have access to a computer. A mobile CRM  allows the same business owner to access substantially the same information via  mobile phones or tablet PC. This means that the ability to answer customer  queries, access data and record data is always with you 24 hours a day, seven  days a week.

A small business CRM in mobile form is not as simple as accessing the same  information viewable through your personal computer. This is not practical given  the difference in the size of the LED screen of a normal PC, even a laptop with  that of a mobile phone or a tablet.

Mobile CRM access means that a small  business CRM must undergo a few tweaks to make information concise and better  arranged to allow a slower processor to view and select data with ease.

Advantages of a Mobile Small Business CRM

Imagine yourself on a business trip with only your cellular phone or tablet  on hand. Your employee or co-worker calls you and says he has your customer on  the line and he wants to talk only to you. The customer is always right, so you  access your mobile internet browser, enter your security code and you are now  able to view the client’s portal.

You then take the call and smoothly process  the transaction. Detractors would argue that your co-worker or employee can do  the same job; however, actual business owners know that repeat customers are  made through personal rapport and loyalty.

Customers will also tell you that  they prefer to talk to one representative so that he or she does not have to  keep explaining the same thing over and over again.

And just before I drop my pen, if you need Expert Advice on How to Start a Business from scratch; please feel free to  visit my blog.

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There’s no longer any question that digital has a seat at the advertising table, although the dollars spent there don’t yet compare to the money spent on traditional media like television.

According to Q3 2011 research from media buying solutions provider STRATA, clients are becoming just as focused on digital media as they are on spot TV. US ad agencies reported 34% of clients were thinking most about online advertising in Q3, compared with 24% the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the number of clients whose primary focus was on spot TV dropped from 41% to an almost-even 35%.

The online marketing tactics in use by the agencies surveyed did not change much, with online display, search and social media coming out on top, their usage rates stable from quarter to quarter. On social media, similarly, priorities remained the same, with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter the clear leaders, though LinkedIn, in fourth position, gained ground.

The number of agencies purchasing mobile advertising for their clients also stayed relatively stable, at 23%, but the types of ads they were creating began to change. In Q3, display advertising took an even larger lead over SMS. More than half of agencies said they are now creating more mobile display ads for their clients than other mobile formats, compared to just 16% of agencies that are still mostly creating SMS ads.

The mobile devices being targeted by those ads were changing, too. Agencies cut their interest in BlackBerry by half between Q2 and Q3, according to STRATA. Still, Android-targeted efforts lagged behind iOS-focused ones.

eMarketer forecasts display will take 33% of mobile ad dollars in 2012, pushing it ahead of SMS and even with mobile search spending. It also estimates that the iPhone will lose its spot as the No. 1 smartphone in America by the end of this year, when Android’s share will far surpass it.

For complete data charts and story, go to e-Marketer.com

By Xavier A. Rault

Once upon a time, women managed the family finances, making decisions about  home purchases, clothing, food and other necessary items. If a store owner  provided poor service, there wasn’t much the customer could do. She might gossip  with the neighbors about it, or perhaps discuss it over a cup of coffee. But  ultimately, there was little competition for the store owner’s goods and the  complaints of one person had little impact. Life and profits – for the store  owner went on as usual.

Technology has changed the face of consumerism 

Fast forward to 2007. Technology has changed the face of consumerism,  empowering shoppers to be smarter, more demanding and more resourceful.

With  literally hundreds of retailers providing the same products at similar pricing,  today’s consumers have endless options and can tailor purchases based not just  on price or product availability, but on other variables like return policies,  ease of online purchasing and payment options.

Anger a customer today, and chances are the news will spread like wildfire  through YouTube, Myspace, Yelp, Angieslist and Amazon, as consumers “take to the  airwaves” to let other unsuspecting shoppers know of their experience.

According  to iProspect and Jupiter Research, 25 % of the U.S. population visits sites like  these at least once each month, sharing complaints and compliments about  retailers with other shoppers.

People rely on recommendations of other customers

In an online retail world where products can’t be  touched and the store owner has been replaced with a web page and Shopping Cart,  people have come to rely on the recommendations of other customers. Like the  shot heard “˜round the world, consumer complaints can and do make a  difference.

In just the past ten years, technology has turned most of us into savvy  Internet shoppers and driven prices downward, as consumers are able to purchase  24/7 and have their purchases delivered immediately. While this ability does not  negate the need for the human touch, many experts believe today’s technology is  just the tip of the iceberg.

Al Myers, senior vice president of TNS Retail Forward Inc., believes that  “for those consumers and companies who can handle it, technology will continue  to improve the whole proposition. It has to, because the industry can’t find  enough people, train enough people and the customer isn’t willing to pay for  better service when a competitor has it for a lower price.

Service with people makes it harder to compete

We’re not saying the  trusted salesperson will be replaced at Saks, Neiman’s or Nordstrom’s, but in  most of retail, providing service with people is going to make it harder for  them to compete.” Myers concluded, “It won’t be long before we are scanning  entire grocery carts and paying for its contents with a thumbprint. Mirrors will  send images to friends from dressing rooms, replacing the salesperson with the  vested interest in telling you it looks good.”

As retailers move from bricks  and mortar locations to Internet-driven environments, the balance between  operational needs and profits and customer demand for low prices and excellent  service will continue to be a difficult one. But will the customer experience  improve for those retailers who struggled with it to begin with?

As Myers noted, “The same companies that provide bad customer service will  provide bad technology and vice versa.”

Mystery  Shopping Companies Can Help You Reach Your Customers Expectations.  ICC/Decision Services (iccds.com) Can Help Your Customer Service Experience.