Must Read Classic Articles (continued)
These articles are keepers for customer retention
oriented, Data-Driven marketers; they are selected primarily because they
provide very short-in-supply case studies, metrics, or process models for
relationship marketing, customer retention, or customer loyalty marketing on the
Web. This is an archive; for the latest check out the blog.
Five
Battle-Tested Rules of Online Retail
March 18, 2001 eCompany NOW
Stating the obvious is something many magazines do well. But there's
enough retail metrics in this article to make it an interesting read. I
still can't believe people waste so much time and money on collecting
demographics; they're useless without understanding customer
behavior.
Winning
Customers' Confidence
March 18, 2001 Call Center Magazine
Good, fairly unbiased review of CRM issues, software functionality, and
techniques, told from the call center perspective - the place where it matters
most, I'd guess. No amount of fancy analytics makes up for poor service.
Taking
The Lead In The
Customer Satisfaction Game
March 18, 2001 Call Center Magazine
I hear a lot of talk about using surveys to determine customer satisfaction and
loyalty. Garbage. Customer behavior is the only thing that
conclusively demonstrates loyalty, as this article points out. I'm not
saying to dump surveys; just link them to actual behavior if you want actionable
results.
Are
We Relating Yet - You Tell Me
March 18, 2001 iMarketing news
Read this article. It talks about everything that is wrong with CRM - overtargeting,
focusing on demographics instead of behavior, the works. And of course, he
says RFM matters. But you bought my book,
so you know all this already, don't you? CRM is like using a jackhammer to
hang a picture; there are much cheaper ways to increase customer value.
Glad I saved you $5 million. Like this article? Read this one
and this one.
Put
Your Click-Through Data To Work
March 15, 2001 Planet IT
Now you're talking. First time I've seen it said anywhere but on this
site. The reason CRM has such a high failure rate is people don't know how
to use the data it generates. In many cases, you don't really need CRM
software; what you need are people who know how to use the data, and can get by
with basic data warehousing applications. Do yourself a favor. Get
someone to show you what can be done Pre-CRM, learn
the ropes, and you'll implement CRM right the first time.
Pan
For Gold In The Clickstream
March 12, 2001 Information Week
Wow, they make this stuff sound hard, and it's mostly because they are relying
on data mining as the analysis technique. Data mining anything is hard,
folks; it's like working on a PhD without ever going to high school. Use RFM
to figure out if there's anything worth mining in there first; then feed these
results into the mining process to give it a hand. Want somebody to do
this for you? Just ask me.
Web
Kiosks Spur Spending In Stores
March 12, 2001 Information Week
First time I've seen this much hard data on kiosk use; some surprises in here
for non-believers. As usual, success really depends on what kind of a
business you have.
Beyond
the Shopping Cart
March 8, 2001 Intelligent Enterprise
Warning! Hard core data miners only! Tremendous example of what can
be done if you know what you are doing. As the author states, "Be
quick in identifying your potential prospects because you have a very small
window of opportunity to close a sale and hold on to a visitor."
Couldn't agree more, folks. Interactive LifeCycles
are extremely short!
Customer
Loyalty Without the Points
DM News March 2, 2001
Customer Retention, we call it. Fact is, there is a tremendous amount you
can do to keep customers with you and raise their value - and it's not nearly as
hard as all the CRM companies keep telling you it is.
Fighting
Internal Resistance to CRM
DM News March 2, 2001
This article has some absolutely classic examples of the pitfalls inherent in
"silo thinking". Don't laugh too hard, this stuff happens all
the time - and you're next!
Customer
Relationships in the New Age
DM News March 2, 2001
So you're going to pick on RFM, eh? If you're
not using any method to assess future customer value and likelihood to respond,
RFM is a heck of a lot better than nothing. But I agree, the way RFM has
been used in the past, as a "snapshot" of behavior, is not optimal.
You have to look at behavior over time, which is exactly what the Drilling Down book
is about, as you can easily see in these examples.
Take Another Look at Customer Loyalty
February 26, 2001 iMarketing News
There is a lot of confusion around the use of the phrase "customer
loyalty", and as this article points out, behavioral evidence is the
best measure. He's right, and I tell you how to measure loyalty behavior
yourself right here.
Data
mining: Digging user info for gold
February 12, 2001 ZDNet
More data mining stuff. This article takes a more "sensible"
approach to the topic than many I've seen - it's not a cure-all, you have to
understand what it is and isn't. Great real-world example of an MSNBC mod
that came directly from looking at customer behavior, and support for the idea
of displaying behavior visually for decision-making. Yea, I know, same
technique my book
describes.
Handling
Missing Data Problems
January 29, 2001 DM News
A rarely discussed and somewhat gnarly subject, all budding database marketers
need to know this stuff. It's a huge problem when you rely on
self-reported customer demographics and you have lots of "gaps" in
your data. If you were using behavior for profiling instead of demos, you
wouldn't have any gaps; either the customer has activity or doesn't...
Use
CRM to Build Exit Barriers
January 29, 2001 DM News
This is an advanced idea for most people, but the "next level" of
customer retention programs does involve building barriers, and there is no
better way to do it than through behavioral segmentation. Changes in
behavior are the LifeCycle "triggers" used to put up the barriers -
the right product, the right offer, at the right time.
Finding Your Direct Marketing Retail Mantra
January 26, 2001 DM News
It's not just me saying this stuff, folks. Listen to another person
talking about how tracking customer behavior with RFM will transform your
business. Your demographic info means so much more when you understand the
behavior associated with it.
Applying the Unified Theory of Database Marketing Online
January 24, 2001 DM News
Yet another proponent of using RFM profiling as the
basis of customer retention efforts - tired and true, simple to understand and
execute. Also reviews other common applications of database marketing
online.
Marketing Isn’t Always Sell, Sell, Sell
January 19, 2001 DM News
Nice piece on topics you don't see much - "Kiss" programs with best
customers and "Go Away" programs with worst customers.
These ideas may seem strange to newbies in database marketing land; they're
fairly advanced programs, but extremely profitable. Read the
article to find out "What"; read my book to find out "How
To".
Personalize the Online Experience
December 7, 2000 DM News
Folks, this is not another one of those lame personalization articles.
This person speaks truth. Imagine, he says good customer retention starts
with targeted acquisition, and customers who come from different media have
different Lifetime Values. Plus, he thinks you
should do some customer analysis before you buy an analytical CRM
solution. Now where have I heard that before?
Leveraging Lifetime Customer Value
December 6, 2000 DM News
Now we're talking the talk. Customer value by media source, targeted
customer retention (not all customers, just the most profitable ones),
identifying current low value customers with high future value - this one's got
it all. And nothing you don't know how to do if you read the
book.
CRM Won’t Kill Database Marketing
December 5, 2000 DM News
This is a very simple idea with very powerful implications. As I said here,
what good is all this reactive CRM stuff if they don't come back to the
site? I usually get strange looks for my position. This guy probably
explains the position better than I have...
Proflowers.com Sows Seeds of Success
November 21, 2000 DM News
Great example of using RFM and demographics combined to produce very high ROI
e-mail campaigns - as explained in the Drilling Down book!
Wading Beyond the Click Stream
November 17, 2000 DM News
Good overview of customer behavior modeling including this site's favorite
approach - "tried and true" RFM. Will sound familiar to frequent
visitors.
Successful E-Marketing Gets Personal
November 16, 2000 DM News
My opinion - 'Net marketers are spending too much time and effort on working
with demographics, and ignore a much more powerful tool - simple customer
behavior measurement tools like RFM. I'm not the only one...
Go Beyond Targeting Best Customers
November 14, 2000 DM News
Wow, an article about subsidy costs, not a widely covered but very
important topic for anyone concentrating their marketing efforts on "best
customers". Critical read for those new to database marketing or
those who have been swept up in the "e-loyalty" movement. Of
course, measuring and avoiding subsidy costs is an entire chapter of the
Drilling Down book!
That
Elusive Customer Loyalty: How to
Build It, Learn From It, and Profit From It
November 9, 2000 Financial Times and
the Wharton School
Don't believe the industry pundits (me included)? How about some serious
academic analysis of the Drilling Down approach?
If
You Can't Buy Customers, Keep 'Em
November 1, 2000 eMarketer
Visitors to this site knew this already, right? Don't say I didn't tell ya it would work out this way....
Finders
Keepers
September 27, 2000 PC Magazine
Fairly extensive overview of customer retention, leaning hard on personalization
technology, with some metrics for those looking for things like average cost per
acquisition, average order size, and repeat purchase rate for comparison
purposes.
Get
Smarter
September 27, 2000 PC Magazine
Focuses on customer profiling and segmentation techniques used by
SmarterKids.com. Short article but good example of using testing and
surveys to optimize a site for increased profitability.
Calculating Visitor Value to Publishers
September 18, 2000 DM
News
Great article on deriving the value of a visit for pure publishing sites,
leading to calculating ROI and Lifetime
Value.
Where
is the ROI in CRM?
September
15, 2000 DM Review
Goes through a classic customer value segmentation process in the financial
industry to prove CRM is increasing LifeTime Value.
The Pros and Cons of Rules-Based
Analysis:
Rules-Based Targeting Increases Sales
September 13, 2000 DM News
This pair of articles is self explanatory, fellow Drillers.
The Pros and Cons of Rules-Based
Analysis:
Rules don’t paint the complete picture
September
13, 2000 DM News
Personalization Drives Retention
September
8, 2000 DM News
Good overview and some interesting measurement approaches.
Revenge
of the Original Spammers
August
22, 2000 Business 2.0
Essentially makes the case for a direct marketing, customer retention and
loyalty oriented approach to business on the Web.
Cubic
Zirconia, Going Fast
August 7, 2000 The Industry Standard
Great article about what iQVC, one of the most profitable online retailers, does
right. Basically, they do what's in the Drilling Down book. For
those who don't know, I was VP of Marketing & Programming at Home Shopping
Network, so I know a thing or three about the approach.
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the book with Free customer scoring software at:
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& Noble.com
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