Carlson Marketing Enlists Help of Norwalk, Conn., Subsidiary
Wednesday, 11 January 2006
Carlson Marketing has unveiled a new global focus and growth strategy, and Norwalk-based Peppers & Rogers Group and its 1to1 Media publishing unit are playing key roles in the process.
The acquisition of customer relationship management consultancy Peppers & Rogers in August 2003 was an important step for Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing, said Mike Kust, the company's general manager and chief knowledge officer.
"One of the reasons we acquired Peppers & Rogers was because the 1to1 brand represents a respected voice in the marketplace. It represents thought leadership," Kust said.
Its print publication, 1to1 Magazine, highlights achievements, case histories and new developments in customer relationship management, a strategy stressed by Peppers & Rogers Group founders Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. The magazine has 60,000 subscribers, said Mike Dandrea, 1to1 Media publisher, estimating that when considering on-line readers, it has a total audience of 250,000.
At the time of the 2003 purchase, Jim Ryan, former Carlson Marketing president and chief executive officer, said Peppers & Rogers Group complemented the Minnesota firm's philosophy. Peppers & Rogers focuses on customer-based business strategies using a customer relationship management strategy.
Company founders Martha Rogers and Don Peppers, who have written several books on the topic, have said the success of their strategy can be measured through a process called return-on-customer.
Both remain solid contributors to the company, said Carlson spokesman Steve Solmonson, as Peppers & Rogers completes its new strategy. "Dan and Martha remain committed to the company. We have a huge demand for them as speakers around the world," he said.
The streamlining is a result of customer feedback, said Jim Schroer, president and chief executive officer of Carlson Marketing, adding that Peppers & Rogers has added experts to its global management team and its units have developed new Web sites.
Steve Luengo-Jones is a new managing partner of Peppers & Rogers Group in Europe. He led the launch of British Airways Executive Club Gold Card in the 1980s and participated in creation of a consulting model at EDS, called "E-Solutions" in the late 1990s.
As a result of the new marketing services strategy, Kust said he expects that the Norwalk staff will be expanded, coinciding with a move in the second quarter of the year from 20 Glover Ave. to 901 Main Avenue at The Towers at Merritt River.
In October, Building and Land Technology, Norwalk developer of The Towers at Merritt River, said that Peppers & Rogers would occupy 83,300 square feet on the second and third floors of the new 360,000-square-foot building.