Organizations that have optimized engagement have outperformed their competitors by 26% in gross margin and 85% in sales growth

Or so says Gallup in their description of world-class companies that utilize Customer Engagement (CE) strategies and measure their CE efforts. Furthermore, Gallup has developed an Engagement ratio that can provide companies with "a macro-level indicator of an organization's health that allows executives to track the proportion of fully engaged to actively disengaged customers".

"I Quit!" Fantasy was Funny, But Jet Blue Isn't Laughing

You've surely heard about the Jet Blue flight attendant, Steve Slater, who recently quit his job in grand fashion after a bust-up with an apparently rude passenger. If you're unaware of this story, then you're living under a rock, or your tv is broken and your internet connection is down, or you have no friends, or you're not alive!

As much as I can understand the humorous nature of the act, and the "hell yeah!" accolades that many are bestowing on Steve's "take this job and shove it" moment (everyone has such fantasies at some point, don't they?), this was an incredibly uncool, selfish thing to do.

Steve obviously - and understandably - felt victimized by the rude customer who ignored his instructions, used offensive language and even hit him on the head with an overhead compartment door.

So he got his revenge by doing what he did. And by the smile on his face shown in countless news reports, and the massive outpouring of support he's received from many, he feels good about what he did.

But Jet Blue doesn't feel good about what he did, and they're the real victims here. While Slater jets-off (pun intended) to internet celebrity and probable visits with Leno, Letterman and the rest, JetBlue is left to deal with the fallout of damage control.

File under "Need to Know" regarding Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction

Every business owner needs to know these 23 facts about customer loyalty and customer satisfaction, as compiled and presented by Adele Somers at Return on Behavior Magazine.

Organized in five categories, Somers provides compelling information that business owners need to keep in mind as they develop or enhance their customer engagement strategies.

• Facts about customer experiences and referrals
• Facts about customer retention and churn facts
• Facts about customer service and contact centers/call centers
• Facts about phone service
• Facts about customer service and contact centers and call centers

Will the "real" definition of Customer Engagement please stand up?

Theo Papadakis, customer engagement consultant at cScape, London, UK, provides an overview of customer engagement definitions where he begins with definitions of CE created by companies and then offers definitions from "individual thinkers".

While Theo and others define customer engagement as a concept, Interactive Softworks has developed software that enables customer engagement through direct and personalized multi-channel engagement; helping businesses and customers interact more effectively.

In spite of how one defines it, customer engagement should be about creating exceptional customer relationships through better business conversations and interactions, optimized business performance and improved customer acquisition, loyalty and retention campaigns.

A New Model for Customer Engagement

A new white paper from my company, Interactive Softworks, discusses a new model for customer engagement that is increasingly relevant for call centers of every size and focus.

Download it.

This white paper will discuss the six steps to effective customer engagement, including embracing a true multichannel strategy, having smarter conversations, delivering seamless experiences for delighted customers, enabling business collaboration, leveraging affiliates, partners and bundled offerings, and measuring customer retention, loyalty and revenue potential through real-time business analytics.

Additionally, this paper will take a closer look at ‘relationship architecture’ – the technology foundation that streamlines and helps manage all aspects of customer-facing business initiatives. Establishing a relationship architecture will provide lasting benefits to the company, partners and the customer, ultimately leading to success for the business.