"Please hold — your call is important to us."If you've ever heard that sentence then you know what it's like to be "on hold" for customer service.

James Champy is the author of "Outsmart! How to Do What Your Competitors Can't." Champy profiles eight highly-successful firms as he develops his thesis that the key to outsmarting the competition is to focus on the external environment — including the customers.

At the 20th Annual Compete Through Service Symposium, hosted by the Center for Services Leadership at the W. P. CareySchool of Business, business leaders from all industries gathered to discuss (in part) how technology can help companies differentiate themselves in the market.

Thirty-seven years ago Roy Vallee was stocking shelves at a small electronics distribution company in Los Angeles. That small firm has grown up to become Avnet, Inc., a Fortune 500 firm located in Phoenix, Arizona.

By the time you reach your office every day you have already tapped into numbers of service systems.

Your dining companions are likely to influence how much you eat, or don’t eat, at lunch. Professor of Marketing Andrea Morales discovered that the amount of food your table mate orders may affect your own eating decisions.

"Attract more customers, retain the ones you have, and expand existing relationships." That is the magic formula for growth, according to Synovate's Chief Loyalty Architect Dr. Larry Crosby.

Charging for services involves an organizational shift.

Many companies have been shifting away from a sole focus on products and have added services in order to drive continued growth and differentiate themselves in an increasingly saturated marketplace. In fact, services account for 80 percent of the U.S.

Parsimony is a little like dancing, according to marketing Professor John Lastovicka. It's something anyone can learn, but some have more talent for it than others. What's more, the truly penny-wise take pleasure in their penny pinching.