When a customer is disgruntled, the act of solving his problem in a rational and authentic way – which means not hiding the truth – is an excellent opportunity to turn him into the most loyal customer you ever had. Does this mean we should mess up as a strategy? Of course not. You [.]. Blog Connected marketing Customer relationships Customer service Research conversion customer reviews reevoo reputation Right Now Retail Consumer Report MORE >>

According to one estimate, 3 million posts will be published today. Approximately 540,000 of these posts were written by professional bloggers trying to transition their audience from reading to buying. Others hope their posts are compelling enough to prompt a return visit. However, most bloggers aren’t making a dime from their blog. The reasons why haunt each blogger every night. Are they passionate enough? Are they engaging enough? Surprisingly, these are the wrong questions to ask. The reason why most blogs don’t make money can be traced back to one decision (or lack of one). How about you? MORE >>

? Smart businesses know that understanding your audience is key to your overall success. It doesn’t matter if you’re business-to-consumer or business-to-business focused – your audience, and their interaction with you, is what defines how well you meet your goals. Which is why this report from Exact Target is key reading for any business, small or large. Taking a look at the way different mobile phone users interact with different digital channels like Facebook, Twitter and email, etc, the report shows a definite split between smartphone users and non-smartphone users. Are You Thinking Smart? MORE >>

click to see the secret anti ad. Consumers Make (Parody) Ads Too. What happens when the consumer fights back against the advertiser (using social media channels)? Now that the customer has access to most of the same channels as companies, what happens when they decide to create anti-ads? Everyone from time to time has made a teensy little negative tweet on Twitter or status update on Facebook or some other online community against a company. “Oh I hate that new deodorant/car/lime green eyeshadow” we rant then move on. Warning: May Make Advertising Agencies Cry. Priceless. GetUp! MORE >>

? There’s a mindset among many business owners that they need to be on social media. Specifically, they need to be on Facebook; or Twitter; or LinkedIn; or have a blog; or look ahead to business options on Google Plus. This is usually fostered by fly-by-night consultants and agencies who tap into the fear factor so many businesses have about social media, and use blinding statistics and numbers about these platforms, and why a business needs to be on them. But so what? All these numbers and stats are doing is taking a generic approach to social media. But, again, that’s being generic. Research. MORE >>