Panel: Acquisition vs. Optimization? Managing Marketing Dollars in a Downturn

Strategic well-crafted and well-executed marketing campaigns are more crucial today than ever before. But is it smarter to focus on customer acquisition or on current customer relationships? Tightened purse strings have challenged marketers to ask themselves this question. Hear best practices from the experts! In this panel Kevin Stirtz, Mary van de Wiel and Paul Cheney offer surprising and counter intuitive insights into the value of customer acquisition vs. customer optimization. Kevin Stirtz, “the Amazing Service Guy” helps companies increase revenue and profits by improving customer service. Stirtz has been quoted, interviewed and published in major media such as BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, the StarTribune, Smart Money and the Chicago Sun Times. His most recent book is “More Loyal Customers: 21 Real World Lessons to Keep Your Customers Coming Back” has won 5-star reviews at Amazon.com. Mary van de Wiel is one of the preeminent brand analysts. She is the founder of A New Brand Landscape & Co. where she focuses on creating new, bold and provocative brands that transform the everyday business experience. Her clients include Time Inc., American Airlines, Vogue, the News Corporation and Sony. Paul Chaney is the Internet Marketing Director for Bizzuka, a Web design and development firm. He also serves as President of the International Blogging and New Media Association (IBNMA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing blogging, podcasting and social media. He is currently writing a book on social media marketing to be published by Wiley entitled, The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media, set for release in September. Customer Management IQ's Blake Landau moderates this panel for www.customermanagementiq.com.