Customer loyalty isn’t absolute—you can’t divide customers simply into the loyal and disloyal. Experts, such as Das Narayandas of the Harvard Business School, contend that there are degrees of customer loyalty. Why is this important to know? Because the tactics you take to increase loyalty depend on the degree of loyalty already present. For example, retaining a customer at the vulnerable new relationship level is different than retaining a customer who has become impervio

Going rogue isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the world could use a few more practical rogues. I use the word to separate those who have some basis for their actions from those who act impulsively---to be clear, rogue can be good, but impulsive is always bad. Following are 6 instances where taking bold initiative has merit: 1. When You Know More than Everyone Else The reason you know more is either because you’ve done your homework or you have more experience is that

Always bear in mind that the endgame for MDF (market development funds) is at least lead generation and, depending on the channel partner, maybe sales. In other words, think like the MDF provider. First of all, many people use the terms “MDF” and “Co-Op Funds” interchangeably, but this is incorrect. The primary difference between the two is when they are requested and disbursed. Co-op Marketing Funds Defined: Co-op funds are given after sales have taken place—th

Sales and marketing often view leads differently—i.e. what actually qualifies as a lead and what is worth follow up. To uncover the disconnect, Rollworks surveyed 527 salespeople and 323 marketers. The results show that salespeople are most likely to reject leads if: 1. They don't fit the target account criteria (industry, company size, revenue) 2. They don't fit the target individual criteria (role, seniority), or 3. The contact doesn’t fill out a content form.

It may seem like someone is asking for advice—and they may think they want advice—but in reality all they want to do is vent or dump their problem off on you. So you need to assess if the person is actually asking for advice before opening your mouth. 1. Has this person told you what the problem is and why it is important? 2. Have they presented a few possible solutions—given you an indication that they have done some research and aren’t planning to hand the problem over to y