A simple statement …. and a big impact.   Mexican Insurance Store, an online insurance seller in Mexico (obviously) demonstrated clearly that small tactics make as much difference and big investments in technology and expertise.

The company followed a standard ‘best practice’ of adding free-form comment box at the bottom of its recent CSat survey.  But they took the call-to-action one step further than most companies by noting that the comments would reach the desk of the company president.  A small tactical move (and a significant commitment to customer centricity) seems to have had a dramatic impact on the quality of comments received. 

Our take is that this small bit of language addressed the biggest hurdle to customer proactiveness on CSat surveys: a lack of belief that their voice will lead to action.  Suggesting that the president would give the comments his attention simultaneously:

1. Shows that the company is not just ‘going through the motions’ with the survey
2. Ensures that valid comments will be actioned — since no one has more ability to drive action than the President of the company
3. Put a person at the receiving end of the survey — someone who customers could feel they are talking to.

Small tactical move … big potential impact of the impact / ROI of the survey.

Giftango Corporation, the global leader in digital gift card fulfillment, rewards, incentives and promotions technology, today launched its European subsidiary, Giftango International, with the opening of its Dublin office. UK based loyalty program manager Countdown and rewards and incentives provider Ovation Incentives are the first to launch Giftango powered digital gift card solutions in the market, featuring eight UK merchants. Giftango continues to expand its global footprint that now includes fifty of the largest loyalty, incentive, resell and mobile application companies and more than 300 merchants across the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe.

The Global Prepaid Exchange estimates the Euro Zone gift card and voucher market for gifting and corporate incentives to be approximately €21.8 billion with the UK representing approximately 25% of the total market (€4.59 billion). Although eGifting is still a small percentage of the total European gift card and voucher market (<1%), eGift offerings with brick and mortar merchants is growing rapidly and Giftango opened its European operation to support the growing demand.

Comerica Bank today announced the launch of the new comerica.com, a dynamic Web platform that will deliver an enhanced customer experience with improved speed and flexibility.  The announcement was made by James H. Weber, executive vice president and Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications for the Dallas-based banking company.

Our new online environment will feature a more intuitive architecture, expanded capabilities and even better security protocols, said Weber. The ultimate result will be a more robust and personalized user experience for customers and prospects alike.

Visitors to the new comerica.com will note the site's new design and branding, as well as functionality that allows for faster and easier navigation. The new comerica.com will also include a Customer Protection Center to help educate businesses, consumers and others on ways to protect account and personal information.

Verint® Systems Inc. today announced that Cabela’s® Incorporated—the leading specialty retailer and world's largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise—has recently completed the implementation of its Impact 360® solution across five contact center sites in Nebraska.

The specialty retailer selected Verint Impact 360 based on its unified software solution approach and proven, complementary functionality across quality monitoring, speech analytics, desktop and process analytics, performance management, eLearning and coaching, along with encryption management. With these capabilities, Cabela’s has the automated functionality, analytics and intelligence tools it will need to further its focus on the customer experience in conjunction with offering a wide, distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices.

Social media is supposed to be about dialogue. But if many consumers feel like they're banging their heads against a Facebook wall, they're not alone: Most complaints remain unanswered on Facebook and Twitter despite the boom in consumers turning to social media first for company complaints. Wacktrap.com says making complaints social is the solution, connecting customers and cutting the struggle to make consumers wait on businesses to respond. Founders Shannon Miller and Suzanne Ziesche say Wacktrap.com is a win-win for companies and customers, allowing consumers to do what they already do naturally - help one another.

A May 2012 American Express study finds that one in five Americans turn to social media first as a resource for complaints, even before any phone call. Fifty percent more people now choose the form of immediate dialogue than in 2011. But despite the trend in consumers turning online for help, the bulk of companies still fail to respond. Approximately 70% of complaints remain unanswered on Twitter alone.

Companies flock to spots like Facebook and Twitter for brand promotion but most prove less than chatty when it comes to responding to consumer complaints. "Businesses may appreciate the 'Likes' Facebook has to offer," says Ziesche. That doesn't mean companies appreciate dislikes shared in that same space.

Aside from the ‘cool factor’ and convenience for customers, the new iPad based cloud loyalty solution from FavoriteEats reinforces the ‘data deficit’ that traditional businesses feel in comparison to their online competitors.  Regardless of industry, the gap between online and offline in terms of data gathering is massive — leaving traditional businesses operating blind in comparison.

Loyalty programs represent a tremendous opportunity for traditional businesses to flip that advantage back in their favor.  The tendency of companies is to focus on the customer retention aspect of loyalty programs, but their value as a data source can sometime exceed that in value. 

The ‘cool factor’ — as the iPad solution from FavoriteEats exudes — can be a driver of customer participation, the most critical factor in making the data gathered from loyalty programs valuable and actionable.