When I was getting my feet wet in the consulting business I had a mentor tell me that, as I prepared for client meetings, I shouldn’t strive to be the “smartest guy in the room”. He must have noticed the intersection of a desire to succeed, a Type A personality and the tendency to be [...]

In the final part of our Three Part interview series with Rob Markey, Bain & Company, we share insights from Mr. Markey on how to better execute surveys, whether to introduce incentives to improve survey responses, and get his opinions on whether NPS or other metrics will eventually influence share prices on public exchanges.
Oh yes, [...]

My interview with Rob Markey about the new book, The Ultimate Question 2.0 “How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World”, continues today with a closer look at how the “score” has evolved into a “system”.
The book includes a number of case studies ranging from Charles Schwab to Apple Retail to The Progressive Group [...]

In a previous post I mentioned that I was the beneficiary of a serendipitous moment in which I was given the opportunity to interview Rob Markey, a partner in Bain & Company’s New York Office and head of the firm’s global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice.
The topic was a new book, The Ultimate Question 2.0 [...]

Of all the social media communications channels I invest in, Twitter is the most enigmatic to me.
I use it and find value in posts from both followers and those I follow. At the same time, I encounter quizzical looks from friends who think I am somehow child-like and time-wasting to be spending time writing updates [...]

Disappointing economic results were reported this week, with retail sales stagnating in August due to less than robust job growth and consumer confidence that continues to waiver. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that median income figures, adjusted for inflation, have declined 2.3% since 2009.
In related news, a report from the Conference Board on World Income [...]

Speak the word Loyalty and you get a range of predictable reactions. If you’re at any number of marketing conferences, the word association game leads to responses of “points”, “miles”, or “discounts”. If you mention loyalty to your friends on the golf course, the reactions range from conversation about one’s dog to “those crummy punch [...]

In business, there are things we believe in, things we sell, and things that work.
In a post last week, David Slavick offered advice to retailers on how to prepare and manage a “deal of the day” offer with Groupon, Living Social and others assembling collective buying discounts. That great information will be followed in the [...]

Neil Rogers was the original “shock jock” in South Florida radio. Not being a fan, I was in a clear minority as he stacked up top ratings year after year before retiring in 2009.
Part of Mr. Roger’s shtick was living in the gray area of FCC regulation, and he was reminded from time to time [...]

Trendy business buzzwords aren’t any fun until you form an opinion and seek feedback to get to the substance of the issue.
Customer Engagement is one of those terms that is being mentioned more frequently than Kim Kardashian was during the Super Bowl. It’s the 2010 version of “what’s hot, what’s new, what’s next?”
The question is, [...]