Customer Relationship Management


Recent Customer Relationship Management Articles

Need Customer Service Help? There’s a Bot for That

Online customer service 24/7 can be hard to swing on a small business budget. But there is another solution.  Read more

What a 9-Year-Old Can Teach You About Selling

If you want your conversations to have a real impact, you need to simplify your message.  Read more

How to Deal with Late Payments

When times are tough, customers take longer to pay their bills. You can count on it. Veteran entrepreneur Norm Brodsky says that's the wrong time to start th...  Read more

Customer Service Pop Quiz: Be Your Own Customer

When it comes to customer service, it's easy to assume that if there aren't any complaints, there's no need to improve it. Big mistake.  Read more

Great Product? That's Just the Start

Boost customer loyalty, create marketing opportunities, and shorten the sales cycle--without spending much doing it. Here's how.  Read more

Friday Fail: Customers Who Won't Pay

Tired of success stories? Every Friday on Inc.com we bring you epic tales of failure and shame. This week: worst excuses from delinquent customers.  Read more

Customer Service: 5 Rules for Handling Complaints

The Internet gives angry customers a megaphone; even one angry one can do a lot of damage. Here's how to defend your company and defuse a crisis.  Read more

Don't Discount: Here's Why

Emphasize the virtues of your product or service, rather than the price. It will keep your competitors at bay, and your customers close.  Read more

3 Rules for Building Business Relationships

Are you generating the most value from your professional relationships? Here are three ways to quickly inject some life into your network.  Read more

We Just Lost a Big Client. What to Do

Learn from four big mistakes. Then get up, dust off, and jump back in the game.  Read more

When Rivals Can Be Partners 

Lara Miller shares resources with other eco-friendly designers in Chicago, and competes on a global level.  Watch video

Better Online Customer Service 

Perfect your customer service, and your retention. Tips from Scott Gerber, founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council, and Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List.  Watch video

Keep Your Customers Coming Back

While results and ROI may be critical to keeping clients, building positive relationships proves to be the most important.  Read more

The 5 Smartest Things to Say to an Angry Customer

Forget trying to "win." Instead, make the customer feel you're working together to make things right.  Read more

Problem-Solving: What Your Style Says About You

Which problem-solving technique do you use? Here's four examples--as well as what each conveys about you and your company (for better or worse).  Read more

How to Use Foursquare to Get Customers 

How "hyper-local" targeting of prospective customers can help your business. Tips from Scott Gerber, founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council, and Joe Meyer...  Watch video

How Diapers.com Gets Customers Coming Back 

Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara lure moms to their websites to buy diapers, soaps, and other essentials. Quick delivery, simple experience, and good customer ser...  Watch video

How to Dig Deeper into Your Web Analytics

Get a better handle on what you're tracking and why. Here's a good place to start.  Read more

How Limbaugh's Gaffe Tainted Unwitting Brands

What if your brand was sucked into a controversy it had nothing to do with? Here's how it happens.  Read more

8 Guaranteed Ways to Drive Customers Away

If your long-term customers are leaving--and not coming back--you're probably making one of these mistakes.  Read more

10 Meaningless Sales Terms

At one time, these phrases made a real impact on potential customers. Not anymore.  Read more

Are You Bigger Than Your Widget?

The value of customer relationships runs much deeper than a good product or service.  Read more

Want to Delight Your Customers? Map How They Feel

Make sure every interaction you have with your customers inspires a positive emotion.  Read more

The 9 Circles of Customer Service Hell

Your customers are the cornerstone of your success. So why on earth are you torturing them?  Read more

Susan G. Komen: What to Do When a Good Cause Goes Bad

Cause marketing seems so simple... until it's not. How Susan G. Komen could have avoided a public relations disaster.  Read more

4 Reasons to Fire a Client

Sometimes walking away is worth millions of dollars in lost revenue.  Read more

66 Things You Should Know About Your Customer

To prove they know their customers, all my salespeople must answer 66 questions about them. None are about which products they buy.  Read more

When Did Being Nice Get So Complicated?

Giving back to the community is harder than it looks. What would you do in a situation like this?  Read more

You Can Win Customers for Life

Looking to build strong relationships with your clients? Master their personal styles.  Read more

Will That Prospect Buy From You?

Once trust is established, a potential customer is far more likely to buy.  Read more

Busy Customer? 3 Tips For Getting in the Door

As a business owner, you don't have time to waste on unsuccessful prospecting to busy decision-makers. Here's how to get your message across more quickly.  Read more

Best Way to Make Customers Forget Your Screw Up

Look for opportunities to show your customers the lengths to which you will go to deliver on your promise.  Read more

New Year's Advice: Don't Sell to Jerks

When you sell to people you truly can't stand, you make yourself less effective and hurt your sales growth.  Read more

What Unredeemed Rewards Really Say About Your Business

When customers don't cash in those points or credits they are sending you a message about how disloyal they are.  Read more

4 Common Questions That Irritate Customers

Ask any of these dumb questions during an initial conversation with a customer and you've probably lost the sale.  Read more