Jackie Huba

The warehouse is the last step in preparing a package before it lands in the hands of a customer. It's responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience. While this means it should be a key place to differentiate your brand's messaging, not many retailers recognize that order fulfillment represents an opportunity to capitalize on brand awareness. The fulfillment opportunity is responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience.

Want to know what customers really think of your company, product or service? Ask them! Some of the companies with terrific customer service employ the "customer plus-delta" approach, according to the authors of the new book "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force" (by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, $25, Dearborn Trade Publishing, www.dearborntrade.com). In the term "customer plus-delta," the "plus" stands for a recognition of what customer-service practices within your company work well, while the "delta" represents what needs to be improved. "Performing a customer plus-delta at various customer touch points gathers quantitative and qualitative data