This announcement came today via the NRF:
To compete today, retailers must learn to dazzle their customers with a top-notch buying experience. This means moving beyond low prices and endless sales promotions. We know that customers who receive increased service levels become loyal, repetitive clients. As a result, all retailers are feeling the pressure to provide enhanced customer-centric services to their customers.
In this complimentary one hour webcast, Gregory Belkin of The Aberdeen Group will discuss how mid-size retailers are successfully addressing the challenge of customer centricity. Also on hand will be Steve Jackson, CIO of Harry Rosen, who will reveal how this high-end men's wear fashion retailer is meeting the customer-centricity challenge. Rounding out the panel will be Gail Stremlo, an IBM Retail Industry Executive, who will discuss the reasons why customer centricity has become so important, and how retailers can win at it. Join us to learn:
- Strategies for winning the customer centricity challenge
- How to extend your points of service using technology
- Steps you can take to improve customer centricity
Speaker:
Gregory Belkin
Research Analyst
The Aberdeen Group
Steve Jackson
CIO
Harry Rosen
Gail Stremlo
Retail Industry Segment Executive
IBM
Moderator:
Rick Gallagher
Publisher
STORES Magazine
When:
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at noon Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific
Duration:
One hour, including a Q&A session
Who should attend:
Retail Executives and Managers focused on improving and enhancing the customer experience
To register for the event,visit: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dOwQenAEyGxHmlMYeg
Although this maybe a great opportunity to listen to some great minds in their respective industries it would be important to note that the contributors all represent a either a large enterprise interpretation of customer service, which by consumer standards is somewhat lacking, or is highly influenced by a biased IT take on the customer centric view of a customer. IBM and others, too many to even try naming, in the IT field have a very distorted perspective of what customer centricity is and are based in a product first ideology rather than one that is based in a customer first ideology.
Is it worth listening too? No doubt there will be formidable perspectives expressed and various takes on customer centric processes expressed. It will no doubt be informative, but it will also be highly biased as to their understanding and perspective as to what a customer’s relationship to a customer centric concept is.
It will be mostly justification for their current operating positions and customer policies which are somewhat lackluster.
Posted by: Tim Whelan | June 17, 2006 10:26 PM | Permalink to Comment