Marina Natanova

For many companies, autumn is the time to review their expenditures and make annual plans. As I am writing these words, I almost hear thousands of CEOs ordering their teams to slash costs whenever possible. The crisis is coming! We need to save; profits are at stake!

Creating a working Voice of Customer program is not a simple task. You think of just starting to ask a few questions and nudging a few people in the right direction, and it seems fairly easy in the beginning, but then things start to get complicated. How do you prove that the questions you are asking are actually reflecting the situation? Why should the company pay for a separate questionnaire, while there is a perfectly fine 20-page-long annual marketing survey? Technology costs how much? Can’t we just use a (enter any free software name here) for that?

From Contact centre to Customer Value Centre: read our new opinion paper. As we are not at the CCW, please watch also our webinar!

Dear Reader,

Introduction to a highly opinionated thought paper.

In this paper we show how the current dealership model is not viable, and introduce 10 new business models, as well as a number of quick fixes to increase profitability of the network. Please join our webinar here

Creating a working Voice of Customer program is not a simple task. You think of just starting to ask a few questions and nudging a few people in the right direction, and it seems fairly easy in the beginning, but then things start to get complicated. How do you prove that the questions you are asking are actually reflecting the situation? Why should the company pay for a separate questionnaire, while there is a perfectly fine 20-page-long annual marketing survey? Technology costs how much?

There, you’ve got it – an approval to start an NPS program. You want it all, and you want it now. After all, you believe in the cause and want to make it happen. Here is a little something to help you start the process smoothly:

by: Marina Natanova

In September 2009 I left Russia for Belgium, to work for Futurelab. By that time I had worked internationally for 5 years, but the prospective of seeing “the West” from inside was thrilling. I had little illusions, though: when you see audit results * of a huge multinational across the globe, you stop feeling so bad about your own country’s opaque methods of dealing with advertising money. However even those little illusions I had, were enough to give me a surprise. 

So you want to start building your tree? Well, it is not an easy task. First, you must plant some roots. Then hammer some wood and bark on top of them. Tie on several branches and glue some blossom, for the bees to come over and pollinate them. Definitely glue some leaves to create a murmur in the air, so that the bees know you have a tree. Now wait for the bees, so that you can finally have fruit. Sometimes, to speed up the process, it helps to make a special offer for bees – e.g. “Pollinate 2 flowers, get honey from 3!”.

by: Marina Natanova

By: Marina Natanova