November 23, 2009

From “Schlubby” to Brilliant in Less Than Three Minutes

Folk singer Judy Collins, recalling one of her early encounters with Bob Dylan, said: “I saw this schlubby-looking guy singing Woody Guthrie songs badly…I thought he […]
November 17, 2009

Gathering Business-to-Business Customer Feedback: Three Rules to Break

I’m not saying sales and marketing leaders in the business-to-consumer (B2C) space have it easy. They don’t. But they often do have relatively easy access to […]
September 22, 2009

The Seven Deadly Sins of a B2B Voice of the Customer Program – and How to Avoid Them

As noted in a previous article, the current global economy presents a huge opportunity for business-to-business sales organizations to actively listen to their customers. But there […]
August 26, 2009

The Method is the Message

Just for a moment, imagine this scenario: A husband and wife are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary with a romantic dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant. […]
August 20, 2009

Success Story: How a Global B2B Supplier Uses the Customer Review Process to Build a Competitive Edge

THE CLIENT A Fortune 500 adhesive manufacturer supplying products to automotive manufacturers around the world. THE CHALLENGE It’s no secret that in the automotive industry, quality, […]
July 15, 2009

An Uncomfortable Truth: Your Most Important Customers Are Talking About You

We don’t need to remind you that these are difficult times. Keeping your best customers is the key to stabilizing your business, growing revenue, and maintaining […]
July 8, 2009

Beyond Customer Satisfaction: What Really Makes B2B Customers Loyal?

If you’ve seen the results from a survey of your customers’ satisfaction, you probably walked away with three things: Findings – good and bad – that […]
June 12, 2009

The Collapse of Supplier Trust – and Four Steps to Rebuild It

A recent article from the Harvard Business Review states that the level of trust organizations have in their suppliers is a casualty of the economic downturn. […]
May 13, 2009

Is There a Seat for Your Customer in Your Board Room?

We recently had the privilege of facilitating a Customer Board of Directors meeting for the services division of one of our clients, a Fortune 500 industrial […]