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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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Cover Story
by Andrew Tellijohn
December 2007

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Trust your instincts

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Best Practices: Customer Relat

BEST PRACTICES: CUSTOMER RELATIONS

listen up
Finalists take care of customers by seeking their feedback 
FINALIST RUNDOWN
Advanced Informatics, online management tools for medical education: collects direct feedback from clients; adds requests to wish list database and reviews weekly.

Suzanne DuBois is client services director: 612.877.4569; sdubois@advancedinformatics.com; www.advancedinformatics.com
Engineered Products Co, supplies electrical specialty products: created a company scoreboard that measures service levels, increasing revenue, profits and employee profit sharing.

Jack Schuster is president: 800.336.1976; jschuster@engproducts.com; www.engproducts.com
Mike Otto Construction Inc, home remodeler: employs principles of sustainable building and remodeling long before the current ?green? wave; practices ?empathetic? remodeling.

Mike Otto is founder and president: 612.825.4568; www.moconstruction.com
ORBIT Systems Inc., IT consulting: developed numerous customer service programs including Customer Learning Center, implementation surveys, quarterly reviews, and more.

Chad Westrum is vice president of customer care: 651.767.3322; cdwestrum@orbits.net; www.orbits.net
VISI, Internet services provider: created the MyVisi Customer Portal, which allows customer-exclusive access to account information and services.

Mike Sowada  is CEO: 612.395.9000;
msowada@visi.com; www.visi.com
by Sarah Brouillard

IF YOU WANT your employees to treat your customers well, start by treating them well, believe the finalists for Best Practices in Customer Relations. Then, keep in close contact with customers and create programs that make their lives easier.

?Wish list? works
Advanced Informatics has provided online management tools for medical education programs at universities and hospitals since 1998.

But 2002 was the year ?things really took off for us,? says Suzanne DuBois, client services director. That?s when the Minneapolis-based company implemented a quality-assurance mechanism, called the wish list. Employees take requests for enhancements, changes or additional functionality, and use the suggestions to make their product better.

The company?s goals, however, are always moving targets. Medical education is g

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Sarah Brouillard

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