Prepared Employees: Ready to Explain Bank Fees
January 13, 2011
Banks are thinking about imposing annual fees of $25 or $30 on debit cards, according to people familiar with bank strategies. Other banks will increase fees on checking accounts. For example, during 2011, Bank of America will offer four basic checking accounts in some states, instead of three. Three of the four will offer ways for customers to avoid fees, while the fourth, the Essentials account, has an unavoidable monthly fee between $6 and $9. Chase Bank will charge a $6 monthly fee on one of their checking accounts, however, customers can avoid the fee with a $500 or more monthly deposit to the account, or when they use their debit cards five times during the month.Retailers Compete for Holiday Customers
December 16, 2010
The holiday season brings out more examples of how competitive the retail landscape is in a sluggish economy. For example, stores start well before the traditional start of the holiday season to advertise offers. They hope that by starting earlier, they will entice customers to purchase from them, as opposed to the competition. Another reason stores increase early efforts is the fear that customers will be more reluctant to spend as weeks go by.Shop the Competition!
May 26, 2010
Gathering competitive business intelligence is an important step in retaining and gaining new customers. To help businesses get the information they need, Confero often executes competitor studies on a large scale and over a considerable length of time. However, there are ways for individual stores to conduct competitive analysis locally and effectively. One way is to use your existing employees as mystery shoppers. Here are simple steps to put a competitor evaluation plan into action:Mystery Shops Tell Part of Customer Experience
March 30, 2010Confero is best known for mystery shop services , which report on specific performance observations made during on site visits or phone calls. Our other services can add vital elements to your company’s customer experience knowledge. Not all research methods will benefit every business, but for some, these can provide valuable knowledge and more in depth insight into the customer experience:
Banks are thinking about 
The holiday season brings out more examples of how competitive the retail landscape is in a sluggish economy. For example, stores start well before the traditional start of the holiday season to advertise offers. They hope that by starting earlier, they will entice customers to purchase from them, as opposed to the competition. Another reason stores increase early efforts is the fear that customers will be more reluctant to spend as weeks go by.
Gathering competitive business intelligence is an important step in retaining and gaining new customers. To help businesses get the information they need, Confero often executes competitor studies on a large scale and over a considerable length of time. However, there are ways for individual stores to conduct competitive analysis locally and effectively. One way is to use your existing employees as mystery shoppers. Here are simple steps to put a competitor evaluation plan into action: