01.24.12 Verizon Activated 10.8 Million iPhones, 15 Million Androids in 2011 Verizon activated 4.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, at least a million more than its previous record, but investors were unenthusiastic because costs associated with offering the iPhone weighed heavily on Verizon’s earnings.
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01.24.12 Verizon Posts Loss on Pension Charges Verizon Communications on Tuesday reported a net loss of $2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, despite rising iPhone sales and revenue growth in its wireless business, compared with net income of $2.64 billion in the same quarter a year ago, the company said Tuesday.
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01.24.12 Apple's "Killer" iPhones, Killing Phone Company Margins Verizon, now down 6% for 2012, reported slightly disappointing results as a result of big sales of 1.2 million Apple iPhones in the 4th quarter of 2011. Reportedly, analyst expectations had been in a range from 980,000 to 1.3 million units with the…
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01.24.12 Telco TV delivery to grow to 71% IPTV by 2016 as hurdles fall Challenges like the cost of implementation, sometimes-soft consumer demand, operational expenses and questions about ROI potential have been roadblocks to IPTV expansion around the globe as well as in the United States.
But research company Ovum released a report last week that said…
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01.18.12 Zain Saudi Arabia telco's Q4 loss narrows Zain Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to 461 million riyals ($122.9 million) from 521 million riyals a year earlier, beating an analyst's forecast.
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12.23.11 CL&P: Residential customers to see lowest bill since 2005 BERLIN, CT - Residential customers of Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) should see their 2012 monthly utility bills go down to their lowest levels in nearly seven years, following approval of new rates by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).
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12.23.11 Utility report: Coastal Mississppi customers may see fee increases A state legislative review committee released a report this month critical of the Hancock County Utility Authority, alleging wasteful spending, lack of transparency and conflicts of interest.
It also states in the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure…
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12.23.11 The Smart Grid Solution: Giving Consumer Control Of Their Energy Use Rather than building new power generation to meet the rising demand for energy, utilities are increasingly turning to the latest smart grid technology to help reduce energy use during peak consumption times. These programs will profoundly change how all American households and …
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12.22.11 Fifth Third warns customers of fraudulent text, voice messages Fifth Third Bank has warned its customers to watch out for fraudulent text or voice mail messages that scam artists use to try to get customers’ credit or debit card data.
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12.22.11 Bank of America pays $335m damages for charging minorities higher interest rates Bank of America has agreed to pay a record $335million to settle civil charges that it discriminated against minority homebuyers.
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12.22.11 Southern Nevada electricity rates to climb Residents in southern Nevada will pay higher rates for electricity beginning Jan. 1 under an order issued by the state Public Utilities Commission authorizing NV Energy to raise its rates.
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12.22.11 Feds probe Verizon’s cable deals The Justice Department has confirmed that it is investigating Verizon Wireless’s airwaves and marketing deal with cable companies for any anti-competitive effects it may have on the telecommunications industry.
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12.21.11 GEICO overcharged 25,000 customers, gets fined Car insurer GEICO has been fined for overcharging thousands of customers in Washington by a total of $7.5 million, state insurance officials said Wednesday.
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12.21.11 Bankrate, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Insurance Lead Generation and Marketing Assets of InsWeb Corporation Bankrate, Inc. announced today that it has successfully completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of InsWeb Corporation relating to InsWeb's insurance lead generation and marketing business.
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12.21.11 Business of banking: Customers relish being more than a number When Nathanial Rowley and his family moved to Upper Kittitas County to open a business, Rowley knew what he wanted: a bank big enough to serve his personal and business needs and small enough to know him by name, not just his account number.
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12.21.11 ATT Donates $2 For Every Person Who Pledges Not To Text & Drive Want to make a charitable gift this holiday season? You could whip out your credit card and support any number of nonprofits online, but if money's a little tight why not let someone with deeper pockets make a contribution on your behalf? That's what AT&T promises to do -- and all…
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12.21.11 Racing With Nascar, Ballin’ With The NBA: Inside Sprint’s Fan-Centric Sports Marketing Game Plan Sprint is in the business of wireless telecommunications, but it uses race cars, basketballs, ski slopes and footballs to help its messages reach consumers.
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12.20.11 Is AT&T's data plan price hike justified? AT&T has jacked up the prices of its data service, but it's giving customers more bandwidth each month. Is the carrier offering its subscribers more bang for their buck or simply trying to squeeze more cash from its customers?
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12.19.11 Interest rate cuts irk online banking customers When the online banking site SmartyPig.com dropped its savings interest rates yet again recently, many of the institution's goal-oriented savers - who joined up to get better interest rates on their cash deposits - watched in dismay.
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12.02.11 Verizon Wireless makes marketing, airwave deal with three cable companies Verizon Wireless has reached an unorthodox deal with three major cable companies that could transform the way consumers get access to TV, cellphones and the Internet, setting up a consortium of firms with enormous power over mobile and home entertainment.
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08.31.11 Profits Falling, Banks Confront a Leaner Future Battered by a weak economy, the nation’s biggest banks are cutting jobs, consolidating businesses and scrambling for new sources of income in anticipation of a fundamentally altered financial landscape requiring leaner operations.
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03.25.11 SmartMeters: PG&E wants to charge users to opt out Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers afraid of the radiation from the company's wireless SmartMeter may soon have a choice:
Accept the device as is. Or ask PG&E to turn off the meter's transmitter - and pay higher monthly bills as a result. As much as $20 more per month.
Under…
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03.01.11 Smart Phones -- The Gateway to Utility-Customer Engagement Utilities usually have the luxury of not embracing the latest IT solutions as they emerge, but they must keep an eye on the trend and align their applications in the direction of evolution. In the ever changing information arena, everything, form the form of a computer to mode of usage…
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02.25.11 ANZ boss Mike Smith banks on Australian competition ANZ chief Mike Smith has mounted a vigorous defence of the state of competition in the banking sector, saying consumers and business get an amazing deal.
Political opportunism was driving the debate over a perceived lack of competition, Mr Smith said, and competition between the major…
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02.02.11 Insurers, Consumer Groups Tussle Over Appeals Rule The health insurance industry and consumer groups are facing off over a much touted provision in the new federal health law that allows patients to seek independent reviews of denials in coverage.
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01.13.11 Free Cell Phone Service for the Poor Assurance Wireless and TracFone offer it to millions—and Uncle Sam pays for it
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01.13.11 Frustration with Element Mobile Service Problem Grows Frustration mounts for thousands of Element Mobile customers who remain without cell phone service in Northeast Wisconsin.
The company says it's working to fix the problem and now offering compensation for its customers.
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01.05.11 Electricity Supplier Offers Town A Deal BERLIN — — A Pennsylvania-based electricity supplier has asked the town to endorse its local marketing efforts, offering the town a share of the proceeds from any business it gets.
Direct Energy presented its idea to the town council Tuesday. The council asked for more…
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10.18.10 Chevron Ad Campaign Answers Critics Head-On As Big Oil struggles to repair its image in the wake of the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Chevron Corp. is responding head-on to industry critics. The company's new ads, designed to evoke anti-industry posters, feature slogans such as "Oil companies should put their…
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08.10.10 Are You Sailing the Seven "Cs"? It’s no secret that customer retention is at the heart of every business’s marketing efforts. When customers begin tightening their belts and reevaluating every dollar they spend, smart businesses remember the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of your business’s business generally…
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08.07.10 Are You Ready for Customer Service 4.0? At CRM Evolution 2010, ThinkJar founder Esteban Kolsky says the future of customer service will be service provided by customers.
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07.23.10 The Secret to Winning in Today’s Marketplace This article explains that companies that adopt a customer-centric value chain will gain a sustainable competitive advantage.
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07.01.10 The Future Has Been Delivered to Your Mailbox "After 15 years in the direct-mail and printing industries in New Orleans, Burst knew that the most effective campaigns have a good offer and a good mailing list
. But he also knew that even the best lacked strong customer engagement and truly measurable results."
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06.24.10 Outsourced payment card services to take off by 2015 Surveys found that retailers lost US$100 billion from fraudulent transactions and from fees and interest costs associated with charge-backs in 2009. The other losers were banks, which lost US$11 billion, and consumers suffering losses amounting to US$4.8 billion from fraud.
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06.24.10 A look at Toyota's customer retention strategies When it was time to replace a car, over 60% of Toyota customers returned to Toyota. The company's internal marketing bible, "The Toyota Way in Sales and Marketing," states that Toyota’s success depends on totally satisfied customers. Toyota created "Lean CRM" to reason that the best way…
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06.17.10 Using BI, BPM Data to Change Business Processes Fast Actions reveal more than words, we know, and companies are watching carefully, using business intelligence and analytics tools to figure out what's happening in their markets. But it isn't just what makes a consumer buy a product or respond to an e-mail promotion that companies want to…
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06.17.10 Two Marketing Trends that Enhance Email's 'Killer' App Rep Your customer database can be analyzed to uncover which of your subscribers are not only most loyal, but most engaged with your brand via email, social networks and other channels. These can be targeted with special email programs designed to encourage sharing with social networks, writing…
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11.05.09 Third Quarter: Unilever N.V.: Continued good progress in volume, margin and cash flow Our new Customer Insight and Innovation Centre in New Jersey is driving growth and stronger business partnerships. The most recent recognition of this has been the award of 'Marketing Partner of the Year' by one of our major US customers.
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11.04.09 Direct mail 'most effective channel' for influencing buying decisions Direct mail has been found to be the most influential channel on purchasing decisions, according to a recent study.
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11.03.09 Your First Marketing Customer Should Be You Successful printers put pressure on the market with direct mailings, 1:1 printing, personalized URLs, multi-channel marketing, cross media promotions, and transpromo activities. But they also do one other thing that is lacking in the printing industry at large. They actually get out in…
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10.29.09 Sign spinners work to grab your attention : Guerilla marketing technique has evolved into profitable performance art Blog ads or cable television? E-mail marketing or direct mail? When you're sizing up advertising options, don't underestimate the power of riding a big red arrow like a bucking bronco. Sidewalk sign spinners, long used to lure Sunday drivers into housing developments and car dealerships,…
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10.26.09 Using survey tools to impact the lead-nurturing process Surveys are a critical component of a closed-loop feedback system whose value can extend beyond direct marketing to product development and partnership strategies.
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10.22.09 CSG Systems Continues to Add Capability and Strategic Value to Multi-Channel Communications Platform "By offering a wide variety of communications channels and the ability to personalize messages consistently across electronic, print, and other forms of interactive messaging, CSG empowers its clients to reach their customers in the most effective way and to have a comprehensive view of…
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10.19.09 Breaking Loyalty Barries with New Technologies: Five steps to successful data-driven customer communications. Marketers today recognize the importance of developing customer loyalty through customer-centric marketing efforts. Invest in product or service research up front to determine the ideal marketing analytics solution that will yield relevant customer insight.
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10.09.09 Cincom Sponsors Aberdeen Study on Customer Experience Management "Every customer experience is an opportunity to influence customer acquisition, customer retention, loyalty, and advocacy. That's why it's critical for organizations to start thinking about CEM from a structured methodical standpoint."
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11.30.99 Outsell and Scout Analytics Partner To Deliver Web-Based Subscription Analytics Services, Helping Paid Content Providers Drive New Revenue "As the economic downturn puts new pressures on revenues, information companies cannot afford a one-size-fits-all approach to subscriber relationships. Outsell Scout Analytics helps them better understand their customers and where the greatest value potential for their content exists at a…
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