Is Customer Service the New Marketing?

The line between customer service and marketing is becoming blurred, and some companies are even counting customer service as a marketing expense. Although in the past there were definitive marketing and customer service “departments,” it makes sense to acknowledge their relationship and interaction for the overall good of the company.
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5 Ways to Get Great Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials help making selling your product easy. Potential prospects often want proof that your product works the way that you claim it does. Customer success stories help validate your product and your company in general. If a customer loves your product, you have an easy job on your hands.
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Moving from Customer Service to Customer Experience

We all know the difference between good and bad service, but in order to compete, you have to move beyond this and focus on the overall experience you create for your customers. Successful companies must shift their focus from providing satisfactory customer service to creating a memorable customer experience that builds loyalty.
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Dumbing Things Down Versus Radical Simplification

Our worlds are too complex; we seem to keep piling things onto everything we’ve done in the past. Too often, however, in response to this complexity and all the “tools” that have been put in place to manage it, instead of seeking simplification we dumb things down.
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Have You Called Your Office Lately?

Too often our customers and potential customers can see the holes in our first impressions much easier than we can. As a matter of fact, we are so familiar with our own business that it is hard to see with the eyes of an outsider.
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5 Ways to Brand Like the Fortune 500s

Branding can be daunting at the best of times. For small- to medium-size enterprises, budgets to address brand initiatives are just a fraction of what a Fortune 500 company may apply. If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly educating yourself on ways to fine-tune your brand.
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Set a Customer Service Culture with Three Steps to Welcome

What pleases one customer may easily disturb another. But you’ve got to do something. So what should you do? Should your customer service culture be reserved and polite, or outgoing and friendly? Should you be fast and efficient, or personal and attentive? Should you initiate contact and offer immediate help, or wait discreetly until you are asked?
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