Walker Information

 

Coverage

CRM WizKids: Taking CRM to the Next Level

 

Synopsis

Walker Information (www.walkerinfo.com ) Indianapolis, IN

One of the incongruities of the CRM industry is that many vendors have been able to publish high customer satisfaction rankings in the face of the high customer churn rates.  Cynics have said some of the surveys must have been rigged given these observations.  But the reality is far simpler and reflects a truth as old as surveying — it all depends on what you ask and how you ask it.

With satisfaction, we sometimes blithely ignore the difference between customers who feel they got “what they paid for”, and those who were satisfied-to-the-point-of-wanting-to-buy-more.  The last category is called “loyalty” and the difference between loyalty and satisfaction is self-evident.  Loyalty is really what every vendor wants more than anything, for the simple reason that loyal customers buy more.  But aside from repeat sales figures, how does one measure loyalty or better yet, predict and foster it?

Walker Information was started in 1939 as a market research company and it has evolved into a global leader in providing customer loyalty management (CLM) solutions.  Walker’s approach includes a body of knowledge based on decades of research into the issues surrounding customer loyalty as well as technologies that the company has assembled to provide companies with real-time, enterprise-wide customer feedback.

Through The Walker SmartLoyalty System®, an Internet-based solution, Walker enables companies to efficiently view and disseminate important customer information, providing information that company leaders can use to make strategic and tactical business decisions to increase customer loyalty and — ultimately — the bottom line.

Each year, the company conducts more than 1,200 research programs for 300 clients in a variety of industries, including commercial and industrial, communications, energy and utilities, financial services, health care, manufacturing, and technology.  Major clients include Allegheny Power, Anthem Health Plans, Bell Canada, CDW, Cisco Systems, Diebold, EMC², GE Aircraft Engines, Guidant, LensCrafters, Marsh & McLennan, Microsoft Business Solutions, Motorola, and Nalco Company.

Walker has emerged as a global leader in loyalty management at a time when corporations are in earnest pursuit of better ways to inspire loyalty in their customers.  We think customer loyalty should go hand in hand with CRM and our experience suggests that early adopters agree and that they are making customer loyalty an important part of their CRM strategies.