'Dealer Locator' is one of those terms that seems to mean different things to different people. In short, a dealer locator is a tool that helps customers learn where-to-buy your product, but there are a variety of tools and ways to support this function. In the article below I explore some thoughts on this topic and broadly outline some different approaches. Anything to add?
Dealer locators generally fall into three categories:
1.
Query-able databases provide a good way fo…
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Added by Brett LaDove on October 26, 2009 at 2:30pm —
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Could you imagine if, on any page of your website, people could write whatever they wanted for anyone else to see? Of course, a variety of social media vehicles already allows any individual to comment on anything they want, and share it with whomever they want; but generally, their audience has been confined to people in their own social network, or to someone searching on the topic.
With the newly introduced
Google Si…
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Added by Brett LaDove on September 29, 2009 at 2:50pm —
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I’m often asked “What should our customer service group be measuring?” Of course, there are many things you could measure in the customer service arena, but I tend to think of metrics breaking down into two specific categories….those that measure
efficiency and those that measure
effectiveness. Depending on wh…
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Added by Brett LaDove on September 10, 2009 at 11:21am —
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The famed English author, Lewis Carroll, of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, once wrote "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." This quote is as true in Wonderland as it is in business. In business, clear goals, and well defined metrics are keys to success…
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Added by Brett LaDove on August 14, 2009 at 2:30pm —
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Every economy has it's triumphs and failures; this economy is no exception. I've met with quite a few people representing a wide variety of industries over the past several months -- a few interesting themes have emerged. A handful of companies who have managed their businesses conservatively during the boom…
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Added by Brett LaDove on April 15, 2009 at 6:00pm —
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I have been interested in online collaboration since the early days of the Internet, and as such have been an early adopter of a variety of collaboration tools. For several years, I have leveraged the best available tools whenever I had (or could create) an opportunity. As is often the case with early adoption, there have…
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Added by Brett LaDove on December 16, 2008 at 6:26pm —
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I will be leading a workshop here in Northern California in January, and I thought I would share the work-in-progress outline, as it think it will be of interest here as well. The focus of the program, which is primarily targeted to Management Consultants, is:
"Make 2009 the Best Yet!".
, and I'll be leading the break out session on Web 2.0.
Here's the official description:
"Like many buzz words t…
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Added by Brett LaDove on December 4, 2008 at 11:46am —
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I just reviewed a knowledgebase landscape analysis I did for a client back in early 2005. In this analysis I identified four 'key trends' that I predicted would significantly impact this area.
The key trends and technologies which I suggested would comprise an important part of the knowledgebase landscape were:
1. Search (external and internal the organization)
2. Text Analytics (the techniques to infer meaning from text)
3. RSS (Real Simple Syndication)
4. Wikis (collaboration platforms)
With…
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Added by Brett LaDove on November 14, 2008 at 10:00am —
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As I've mentioned before, blogging is not for everyone, but for those who want to share their ideas and thoughts more broadly, The people behind The Customer Care Network have created and begun distributing a widget that will allow other website owners and bloggers to add our blog feed to their sites -- in a catchy little widget. (It was already possible to add an RSS feed).
Take a look at the widget at the bottom right column of this page.
Adding a widget to your website or blog is as e…
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Added by Brett LaDove on September 23, 2008 at 9:40am —
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In college economics class the word "widget " was a term used to describe a product, when the product itself was irrelevant to the example. (i.e. if you have a warehouse full of widgets priced at $10/piece….). Wikipedia defines widget as: a placeholder name for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device.
Finally after all these years; widgets have made something of themselves -- they are now something real. In fact, these small programs represent a powerful and e…
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Added by Brett LaDove on September 19, 2008 at 2:32pm —
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The notion of companies blogging or micro-blogging (Twitter, etc.) makes plenty of sense, but let's face it....there's risk in starting one, isn't there?
First, let's explore why it might make sense for your company to blog (or micro-blog)? Your company is already on the web right? Remember what that took to get started? What information were you going to communicate? Who was going to say it? Who would approve the content? How often would it be updated? Clearly there were a lot of questions to…
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Added by Brett LaDove on September 9, 2008 at 6:30pm —
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Check them out.in the 'Forum' Section....post one yourself.
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Added by Brett LaDove on August 14, 2008 at 1:30pm —
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While I generally consider myself to be an early adopter, and at times a pioneer, of new business and marketing practices, I admit that I have been reluctant to fully embrace micro-blogging as anything but a time consuming habit for the truly obsessive-compulsive (and their equally OCD friends).
…
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Added by Brett LaDove on July 17, 2008 at 1:49pm —
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In reviewing the site statistics for the "The Customer Care Network", it occurred to me how similar networking is in the on-line and off-line channels. It's not surprising I suppose, that on this network, those members who are the most active....are also the most visible. Site members who have: invited others to join the network, started groups and forum topics, developed their page, and posted to their blog, tend to have the most page views.
…
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Added by Brett LaDove on June 11, 2008 at 1:49pm —
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One of the exciting features on this site, is that every member has the opportunity to post to a blog on his or her own page. I know, blogging is not for everyone, and there are somethings you probably can't talk about publicly, but some of you, (and you know who you are) have…
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Added by Brett LaDove on June 3, 2008 at 7:00pm —
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Do the 4 Ps of marketing just seem to not quite capture it anymore? Might there be more dimensions? I'd suggest that a fifth dimension; Relationships.
Brand power rises and falls, in part, as changes in customer perceptions and trust are impacted over time. While Price, Product, Promotion, and Placement are still core elements of marketing, none of them together or independently, effectively address the importance of: ease of purchase, on-time delivery, effective problem resolution; and many of…
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Added by Brett LaDove on May 19, 2008 at 4:00pm —
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Now that you've made it to this page, if you are a
professional who cares about customers, I do hope you will become a member. Joining the network is really quite effortless.
Much of the value of this site will come from it's members. I encourage those of you involved with professional associations and other organizations, to post your
Customer Care related events here. Members will have the opportunity to learn about your events, and even interact with one another before and afte…
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Added by Brett LaDove on May 11, 2008 at 5:00pm —
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