Ronni Marshak

Regular readers know that I am a Groupon/Living Social/Tippr/KGB Deals/Amazon Deals/Boston Deals/etc. groupie. I spend at least a half hour each day looking through the discount offers sent to my email to find the few that will save me money on things I really need and want. Not only do I take my Goddaughter out for dinner at least once a month (almost always discounted at least 50 percent by a deal coupon), but I have gotten great deals on at least five holiday presents, allowing me to be more generous than I can actually afford to be (and making me look like the best relative ever!).

For over a decade, customer experience execs and IT execs have been at loggerheads over the seemingly insurmountable task of transforming and redesigning the internal business processes and systems that get in customers’ way. We’ve been engaged in countless customer experience initiatives in which the obvious improvements that need to be made aren’t because there are intractable and/or expensive information technology-related initiatives that will take months or years.

So these black holes between organizational, functional or channel silos get handled with what one client calls “human middleware.” We make sure that our employees know how to circumvent the systems, override the policies in certain situations, and do what it takes to get things done for customers. But there’s another way, and it’s getting easier all the time. I used to call it the “WD40 and duct tape approach” to mimic the way my husband does temporary repairs on the...

I live in a student mecca in Boston. Many of the local businesses cater to the college student crowd, including local restaurants, clubs, clothing stores, and even youth-oriented laundromats. The merchandise, the atmosphere, and the prices, which often include discounts with a student ID, are terrific for students. But for old fogies like me, not so much. These are businesses that I tend to avoid.

However, there are some neighborhood businesses that attract the college...

With the dismal financial news that has hit us over the past few days, I’m worried. I thought I was doing well with my spending and my saving for retirement. But I don’t know what’s going to happen now. And I imagine that you, too, are concerned, both as individuals with financial burdens and as business people who worry that your company will get hit and your job might go away.

I’m sure you understand that your customers are equally concerned. There is already a lot of belt tightening on both the B2C and B2B fronts. Customers are going to consider, reconsider, and reconsider once again every purchase, including purchases currently in the works.

So what can you do…to protect your business, your job, and your customer relationships?

The first thing is what NOT to do. Don’t start cutting the funds for anything that impacts your customers’ experience with your brand. This is...