Name: Louis

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Bio: Louis Columbus has over 20 years in the IT industry, specializing in product management, sales and marketing. Immediately before joining Cincom, Mr. Columbus was a Senior Analyst at AMR Research. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University and completed the Strategic Marketing Management Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has published 16 books on operating systems, peripherals and integration technologies.

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Steps To Creating Your Own Marketing Manifesto

March 5th, 2012

There are signs of life in the economy.

Bright glimmers of hope are starting to radiate from what had been some ominous, dark clouds of an economy that looked to be in retreat. Jobs continue to be created, industrial production is nearly back to its pre-recession levels, blue-chip stocks have re-couped their losses, and consumer confidence is finally climbing. These are the glimmers of hope that show an economy on the ... Read More



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Predicting 2012: The Year Quality of Customer Experience Becomes King

December 5th, 2011

The next twelve months will see a greater focus than ever before on the quality of customer experience permeating strategies, systems, applications and initiatives.

An efficiency and transaction mindset is driving many industries including airlines into a churn-based business model that is tough to escape from.

In 2012 many businesses will need to step up their efforts to make better use of internal systems ... Read More



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If You Want More Influence, Find More Passion

June 29th, 2011

Measuring online influence using Klout, PeerIndex, and analytics from many other firms competing in the emerging influence management market is growing fast and getting the attention of large investors.  Klout raised $8.5M in January, 2011 in a funding round led by two prestigious venture capital firms, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer (KPCB) sFund™ and Greycroft Partners. From a marketing, selling, and service standpoint the value of influence scores is being debated daily on Quora and ... Read More



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Are You Failing in Social Media?

May 27th, 2011

Nearly every marketing manager, director or VP who is attending my MBA class in International Marketing tells me that increasingly larger percentages of their budgets go to digital over traditional marketing. The primary driver is social media and the urgency to stay on top of what is going on with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the relentless need for content to fuel their corporate blogs. The students in my class are divided on the value of corporate blogs however; some see it as critical for defining thought leadership and others use them purely for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While they are split on this issue, the class is unanimous that the era of digital marketing driven by social media is here and moving very fast.

What does Success Look Like in Social ... Read More



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Ten Ideas for Increasing Performance of Your Social Media Strategy

March 23rd, 2011

Nearly every marketing manager, director or VP who is attending my MBA class in International Marketing tells me that increasingly larger percentages of their budgets go to digital over traditional marketing.  The primary driver is social media and the urgency to stay on top of what is going on with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the relentless need for content to fuel their corporate blogs.

The students in my class are divided on the value of corporate blogs however; some see it as critical for defining thought leadership and others use them purely for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  While they are split on this issue, the class is unanimous that the era of digital marketing driven by social media is here and moving very fast.

What does Success Look Like in ... Read More



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Nine Strategies to Tie Your Social Media Efforts to Sales and Customer Service

February 3rd, 2011

By Louis Columbus

Social media is enough to make any Marketing VP think they’ve found the Promised Land. Online global communities with easy access, no cost to participate and literally millions of people and companies joining every month, driving traffic estimates to the stratosphere. Social networks and their blistering growth is ... Read More



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Great Customer Management Lessons from Our Moms

May 9th, 2010

Moms have a knack for making learning so fun and real that their lessons just stick with you.  They teach through brilliant, hands-on examples.  Moms have the advantage of using life as their textbook, what happens to you as the lesson plan, and their absolute, unwavering loyalty as the foundation for growing.  Moms know what makes relationships tick, how to get you out of trouble, and best of all, the gentle art of diplomacy with Dads and other parents when things go awry.

It’s often said that those who excel in life are lucky enough to find the intersection of their passions and their expertise.  I’d say Moms are at that intersection; they give it their all, everyday.  And in giving so much of themselves they deliver some great lessons which so applicable to customer ... Read More



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Why A Company’s Loudest Critics Could Be Their Best Innovators

April 20th, 2010

The knee-jerk reaction of many company execs is to silence the loudest critics their companies have.  From the diplomatic to demanding, the approaches vary but the message often delivered to critics is the same: be gentle in your criticisms and generous in your praise – or go away.  Even in 2010 when blogs get much more traffic that newspaper websites, more time is spent on the Internet than watching television, and Facebook and Twitter both have more users than some nations have populations, companies are still ignoring their customers’ voices just because they are not positive.  What an opportunity to connect with customers and learn to improve.

Critics Can Be A Great Catalyst For Growth

The natural inclination of any one in marketing, product ... Read More



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How Early Adopters Help To Define New Software Applications

April 19th, 2010

There are an outstanding series of videos  sponsored by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.  One in particular is outstanding in the area of early adopter’s contributions to a start-up trying to sell software over the Internet. It features Eric Ries, co-founder and CTO of IMVU, best-selling author and board member for several companies.

In this segment he discusses how early adopters can often deliver excellent insights and help more effectively tailor a new application to specific market needs.   It’s well worth the time spent watching.  If you have time his entire talk given at Stanford in 2009 is worth checking out.