Erika Blanchard
Erika Blanchard
Erika Blanchard is the manager of digital marketing and social media for VIPdesk, a leading provider of Virtual Contact Center, Concierge and Loyalty Program Solutions. She is an experienced marketing and management professional with a passion for customer service and social media who has authored several eBooks and guides on Social Media and Web Apps.
Exceptional Customer Service: The Most Important Aspect of Customer Loyalty
Recently VIPdesk and Affinion Loyalty Group conducted a survey of Loyalty Marketing Professionals which revealed the importance of exceptional customer service, exclusive rewards and...
Linking Customer Loyalty to Business Outcomes
According to an article I recently came across by Chris Cottle, companies today, need to take a more holistic approach to creating greater customer...
With a World of Choices, Why Commit?
It makes you wonder why anyone is loyal to a product or a brand – or better yet more than one product or brand. Loyalty...
Article of Interest: Your Wallet Does Not Dictate Your Loyalty. So Why Does It Dictate Your Loyalty Program?
Did you know that the average loyalty program gives 3 to 5 percent of revenues back to the customer? It's true?and most loyalty programs...
Characteristics of a Great Concierge
In my previous post: Concierge Services: From the Hotel Lobby to the Palm of Your Hand, we discussed several different mediums where concierge services...
Article of Interest: Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Love You
The article Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Love You is a great article; but quite honestly, a lot of the information is mere...
Concierge Services: From the Hotel Lobby to the Palm of Your Hand
The Evolution of Concierge Services The origin of the word concierge is uncertain, but many believe that it comes from the Latin word "conserves," meaning...
Rewarding Excellent Service
I think you'll agree, finding a great parking spot can make your day, especially when you're running late or just simply want to finish...
When it Comes to Loyalty
How loyal are your most loyal customers? According to a recent study from Harvard Business School (HBS), the customers you think are the most loyal...
Customer Intelligence
Most contact centers are not staffed with people who can sell, or who enjoy selling; and in many cases, asking the average contact center...
How to REALLY Measure Loyalty
Sure, many companies measure loyalty, but are those companies measuring the right things? This may not be something that you've really thought about as...
What makes you different?
According to Forrester Research, 86% of companies say customer experience is a top strategic priority, and 76% of companies seek to differentiate based on...
How Effective Is Your Customer Loyalty Program?
I am a huge fan of Loyalty Programs – and for most of the ones I've joined, I feel I get value out of...
The Keys to a Successful Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs have been around for quite some time. One of the first real loyalty programs was S&H Green Stamps which emerged in the...
The Cost of Customer Loyalty Depends Upon Employee Engagement
I recently read an article by Eva Jenkins who pointed out some very interesting statistics on customer loyalty and employee engagement. According to a recent...
J.D. Power and Associates releases ‘Achieving Excellence in Customer Satisfaction’ Report and Names 40 Customer Service Champions for 2011
If you follow this blog regularly or follow us on Twitter, you know that we talk a lot about customer service – and how...
Friday March 4th is Employee Appreciation Day
Friday is Employee Appreciation Day – which means there's not much time to plan something for your team. If you weren't aware of this...
Delta Sends Its 11,000 Agents to Charm School
Delta is sending all of its customer facing representatives to charm school – a two billion dollar initiative – to help bring service with...
When it Comes to Customer Service – Zappos Just Gets It!
I'm a huge fan of Zappos – their philosophy, their culture and their obsession with customer service. Zappos has customer service down to a...