*Marketers Flying Blind: Marketers are leaving money on the table by not fully monetizing key relationships, according to the CMO Council's recent study, "Business Gain From
How You Retain." The study, which evaluated where and how marketers "operationalize" customer insight and intelligence to reduce customer churn, revealed the following
findings:
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Only 50% of global marketers reported having a strategy for further monetizing key account relationships;
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45% rated the effectiveness of customer relations management (CRM) systems as "deficient" or "needing more work";
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Only 15% rated themselves as extremely good or effective at integrating disparate customer data sources and repositories;
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More than 31% of companies surveyed had customer churn rates of more than 10%. In comparison, more than 62% said they desired or expected a churn level of less than 5%;
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Respondents believe customer churn significantly impacts business performance through revenue loss (60%), reduced profitability (40%) and greater marketing and re-
acquisition costs (36%);
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While more than 35% of respondents reported that the CMO or marketing department (39%) has primary responsibility for the customer analytics function, they are not
leveraging its value. More than 31% of those surveyed do no data mining at all, and 63% are only doing moderate levels of data mining for intelligence and insight; and,
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Key initiatives to increase customer retention include improving customer communications (65%); addressing complaints, problems and pain points (51%); and enhancing the
customer experience (55%).
Source: CMO Council
*Environmental Messages Misunderstood: According to the 2008 Green Gap Survey, conducted by Cone and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC), Americans
misunderstand the key phrases commonly used in environmental marketing and advertising. Among the findings:
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39% of surveyed Americans are preferentially buying products they believe to be "environmentally friendly," while 48% erroneously believe that products marked as green
or environmentally friendly have positive/beneficial impacts on the environment;
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Only 22% understand that "green" and "environmentally friendly" products more accurately describe products that have a less negative environmental impact than competing
versions;
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47% trust companies to tell the truth in environmental messaging;
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45% believe companies are accurately communicating information about their environmental impact; and,
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61% say they understand the environmental terms companies use in their advertising.
The survey also polled Americans on their view of government regulation of environmental marketing messages in light of the Federal Trade Commission's April 30, 2008, public
hearing on the subject, finding that:
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59% support a move by the government to ensure the accuracy of environmental messaging by regulating it; and,
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Americans also believe that certification by third-party organizations (80%); review and reporting by watchdog groups (78%); regulation by government (76%); and self-
policing by industry or business groups (75%) can play an important oversight role to ensure accuracy in environmental messaging.
The report also recommends five guidelines for environmental marketing: Be precise, be relevant, be a resource, be consistent and be realistic.
Source: Cone & BCCCC
*Reputation Key in Forging Partnerships: The 2008 Key Motivators Business Survey revealed the factors most important to an organization's choice in vendors or business
partners. Conducted by Porter Positioning, the findings include:
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93% of respondents said a company's reputation is "very important" when choosing a vendor or business partner;
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99% cite references as very important or preferred, but only 66% ask for them;
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95% believe proven results are very important or preferred, but only 31% actually ask for proof of results; and,
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50% said award-winning customer service is "very important," and 38.8% said award-winning products and services are "very important."
Source: Porter Positioning