Jim Barnes
Jim Barnes
Jim Barnes is a consultant, speaker and author on customer relationship strategy and metrics, and on the creation of value for the customer. Barnes operates Barnes Marketing Associates, Inc. from his base in Canada. His latest book is Build Your Customer Strategy (John Wiley & Sons).
How Promotional Pricing Can Get You in Trouble With Your Most Loyal Customers
Promotional pricing is dangerous, particularly when a company is dealing with regular customers with whom it already has an established and seemingly solid relationship. We're...
The TRIPPING Point: How To Avoid Relationship-Ending Moves
I keep hearing of customer relationships with businesses that have been going along fairly well for some time, characterized by reasonably high levels of...
That’s All Very Well and Good, But I’ve Got a Business To Run Here
Some senior executives are in denial. They maintain that they and their companies are customer focused; yet, when it comes to really examining...
Tap Into a Wealth of Information: Put Your Employees on Advisory Councils
It seems there has been almost complete buy-in in forward-thinking firms to the notion that they must listen to customers and try to understand...
Now, Let’s Talk About the Employee Experience
There has been a lot of attention paid recently to the concept of the customer experience. Despite the fact that there is little...
What Are They REALLY Doing on Facebook and Why Should You Care?
Businesses typically struggle with new technologies and how to make them work in a business context. They flail about for years in some...
The Customer Service Bar Is Actually Lower Than You Think
You may think that customer service is improving, but it's a good bet that most of your customers would disagree. They are out...
Let Employees Depart From the Script and Sort Out Customer Problems
Everyone has a customer service horror story, especially at this time of year when a large percentage of the population is traveling for the...
What Are They Really Telling Us When They Say Service Stinks?
"I'll never go back there; the service is terrible!" "They were able to fix the problem that afternoon; what great service." "The service here is…
If You Really Want To Know What Your Customers Are Saying, Start With Your Employees
Front-line employees are often referred to as "boundary spanners" not just because they tread that boundary between the company and its customers, but because...
Where Does Customer Research Fit in Your Customer Strategy?
The more we know about customers the better we can serve them, help them get things done, and generally build retention and relationships. ...
So, Are You a “Best Supplier” to Your B2B Customers?
In the B2B space, it has become increasingly difficult to gain a competitive advantage on the basis of product quality or price. If...
The Small Wow! Simple Surprises Can Delight Customers
It's Wednesday afternoon and you've come home early because the new dining room furniture is being delivered at 3. Precisely at 3, the telephone...
There’s Customer-Centric, and Then There’s Customer-Centric
It seems to me that talk of customer-centric marketing or customer-centric retailing is an unnecessary redundancy. What is marketing if not customer-centric? ...
Customers Really Don’t know What To Expect: Why Asking About Customer Expectations Is Often Not Helpful
There is an obsessive emphasis on customer expectations in many businesses. I regularly get asked to explore what customers are expecting of the...
Think About “Fit.” It Will Build Relationships
There are some product and service categories where "fit" is critical and where firms are missing an opportunity. Customization and personalization are very...
Best Practices Aren’t Necessarily Best for Your Business
I am often asked by managers and executives to recommend "best practices" that they might emulate. What they are actually looking for are...
FISH: Why We Reward Short-Term Performance and Ignore Relationship Building
I assume, as to you are reading this on CustomerThink.com, that you are interested in customers and the building of long-term relationships with them....
Breaking News: Loyalty Programs Don’t Lead to Loyalty. Duh!
I have been arguing for years that loyalty programs have little or no effect on genuine customer loyalty and now there are solid data...
Why You Can’t Script a Customer Experience
The kinds of customer experience that make an impression on customers, those that have some potential to create a "wow" and to contribute to...