In a tough economy, gaining new customers can be a daunting task. For a lot of businesses, it may be next to impossible. That’s why keeping the customers you have—and keeping them satisfied—is now more important than ever.

A recent report from Forrester details the importance of customer service in a down economy. In the report, senior analyst Natalie Petouhoff accurately identifies four ways customer service impacts revenue:

1.    A good customer experience boosts repurchase probability and long-term loyalty
2.    Poor service leads a customer to defect
3.    A lackluster interaction may lead to lost opportunities
4.    Bad experiences also result in hidden … Continue Reading

Think fast! One of your sales reps or channel partners sends you a special pricing request at the eleventh hour. There’s no time to do any research into how this will impact your business, and this is a must-win deal. Time to go with your gut, right?

Well—don’t get me wrong. It isn’t that I doubt the abilities of your gut. In fact, I’m confident that your gut has made a lot of great decisions in the past. But there is a more reliable—not to mention defensible—solution that you might want to try.

Apprivo Special Pricing provides the transparency you … Continue Reading

Quiz time. You want to minimize channel conflict and improve sales alignment. What’s the best way to do that?

If you answered “Named Accounts,” then you’re absolutely right.

But named accounts aren’t a native feature of Salesforce. That means, in order to use named accounts, you’ll have to develop distinct lead assignment rules for every desired account. Even with a medium volume of accounts, this process will quickly become unmanageable.

Quiz time, part two. Is there an easier, more manageable way to apply a named accounts approach to Salesforce?

If you said “Yes,” well, don’t be too proud of yourself—it was a 50/50 shot.

With … Continue Reading