C. U. @ CeBIT
I’m presenting at the DigitalRiver Consumer Electronics Conference, CeBIT, March 3 – 6, Hannover.
My presentation will be focusing on the customer experience, how manufacturers can best sell direct to consumers, and measuring success with the Net Promoter Score®, drawing on experiences with a few Consumer Electronics companies including Sony and Philips.
Details/registration for event here. Hope to see you there.
Consumer Electronics D2C e-marketing gallery
Seems the major electronics companies have Valentine’s Day on their minds…
Some examples of manufacturers D2C (direct to consumer) email marketing I’ve recently received from the online shops of Casio, Panasonic, Sony, Philips, Apple.
Barbie joins Manufacturers D2C
An article in Time Magazine (Botox for Barbie, Jan. 29, 2009) reports how Mattel are taking the Barbie concept direct to consumers with dedicated Barbie concept stores (“think Nike Store, but exceedingly pink”). In March, Mattel will begin direct to consumer (D2C) marketing by opening a 38,000-sq.-ft. (3,500 sq m) House of Barbie – the first of its kind in the world.
“What we’re doing in Shanghai is an indication for the future of the Barbie brand,” Dickson says. Mattel is already planning similar stores in Brazil and Mexico.
Comment: Like Apple, Casio, Sony, Lego and Nike before it, Mattel is the latest in a string of manufacturers adding a direct-to-consumer approach to their channel mix – the online Barbie shop is already selling Barbie Collectables (presumably to an older audience)
Net Promoter Score News, Feb ’09
Some news snippets on Net Promoter Score®:
RSC equip themselves with 64 NPS
According to their press release, Arizona based RSC Equipment Rental’s Net Promoter Score of 64 is World Class Compared to Other Industrial Services Companies.
RSC gained the Net Promoter Score of 64 based on feedback from more than 20,000 customer interviews. Results have improved every year, current 12-month average score is 64, which is a high performance among industrial services companies.
Erik Olsson, President and CEO says: “Being able to improve our score in this difficult economic environment is a strong testament to our focus on servicing the customer”
Sage adds 15-point increase to Net Promoter Score
The Sage Group has improved customer loyalty and product support benefits by engaging with customers using its ACT! contact and customer management software online community.
In the 12 months since its launch, the ACT! community has also served as a catalyst for product beta testing, increasing participation by over 300 percent in some cases, and has aided a 15-point increase in the ACT! brand’s customer loyalty score as measured by the Net Promoter score.
MWH Soft thank customers for big climb in NPS
In a message of thanks to customers, Paul F. Boulos, President of MWH Soft calls out record revenues and also growth in Net Promoter Score. “We measure customer feedback rigorously via a benchmark methodology called Net Promoter Score (NPS)… This metric reliably links to the economics of growth, and it’s one we always seek to maximize… In 2008, our NPS increased 12 percentage points year over year to a record 83%, one of the highest levels in any industry. This score reflects tangible customer value and a durable advantage that translate into sustained future growth. The hundreds of thank-you notes we received last year add unequivocal proof that we deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction.”
Polaris calls out NPS on Earnings Call
Although not giving away numbers, Polaris Industries named Net Promoter Score as one of their key metrics in their earnings call: “Our quality continues to improve significantly. Our net promoter score as reported by our end customers improved in three of our businesses for 2008,” says Scott Wine. CEO
SurePayroll sure about value of NPS metrics
In a nomination race that’s the customer service equivalent of the Oscars(R), SurePayroll has been named Finalist in Third Annual Stevie Awards for Customer Service.
SurePayroll is committed to excellent customer care, achieving well above what is considered world-class Net Promoter Scores for customer satisfaction. As a result of such a high customer approval rating, SurePayroll has seen an increase in the number of new customers referred by existing customers. During the first three quarters of 2008, SurePayroll acquired nearly 50 percent more customers from client referrals than the same timeframe in 2007. “My main passion is driving SurePayroll’s unwavering commitment to unbeatable customer service,” says Sean Harkleroad, Head of SurePayroll’s Customer Care Department. Press release here.
Blue Dart Express Commits to NPS
Announcing a profit increase of nearly 11%, the South Asia Blue Dart Express logistics company also noted their commitment to best in class service quality, measured by Net Promoter Score. Press release here.
"We're getting killed by bad customer reviews…"
I don’t avidly read Dilbert (I normally just don’t get the jokes) but I was sent this cartoon today by a dear friend and it made me laugh… Worth a look if you are collecting customer feedback or the Net Promoter Score® – “I need you to pretend you’re several different customers and write positive reviews.”
This of course follows some recent stories about how some companies had fixed some reviews in *ahem* their favour… see here and here…
I guess you can never be completely sure that companies are not gaming the system, and faking reviews, but with sheer volume of both positive and negative reviews you could be at least sure of a balanced view.
CustomerGauge by the way, has a sophisticated anti-gaming system that would have prevented fake comments from being presented. Look for more of this to come…
Last Chance to Register for Manufacturers D2C e-Commerce Event
Latest update: Confirmed senior attendees from Nike, Adidas, Reebok, O’Neill, Tommy Hilfiger, Sony, Canon, Philips, Nikon, NS HiSpeed, ABN Amro, Electrolux and Google. Still a few places left!
It’s an industry-wide round table to discuss how merchants can band together and help combat credit card fraud. You can also learn best practices in ecommerce, network with colleagues, and enjoy a presentation by Nike on their Nike-ID site.
Organised by Manufacturers D2C Europe (a non-profit association), this is our 2nd round table event.
The focus for this event is reducing fraud, led by an initiative by Nike to start an industry-wide collective approach. Everyone in e-commerce is aware of credit card fraud, and assume it is a acceptable cost of business. But the cost of fraud, and preventing fraud mean less money for sales and marketing – and in today’s environment every euro counts. Governments and banks have not shown leadership – it seems a good time for the industry to join together and stand up!
2nd Manufacturers D2C E-Commerce Round Table
Thursday 12 February 2009, 10h – 14h
Hilton Hotel, Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam NL
Strictly for qualified management professionals in leading e-commerce merchants.
There is no cost to attend (thanks to kind contribution from Nike)
Event details here: - hope to see you there.
