The cold weather in New England is giving me the skiing itch . . . and making me think that if I get some new high-performance skis, I might finally get beyond the "advanced-intermediate" level I've been stuck at for 20 years. But the realist in me knows that the skis alone won't make me a better skier, I need to spend more time on the slopes working on my technique.

The same goes for how B2B marketers use automation. Investing in marketing automation doesn't automatically make your company better at marketing. In the research for my recent report on B2B marketing automation, I found that too many companies have invested in marketing automation platforms, only to use them as expensive email blasters. Despite the best intentions, B2B marketers fall into several traps along the way:

• The process trap. They don't get buy-in and support from the sales organization, so they generate more leads without changes to how sales works those leads.
• The content trap. They don't anticipate that effective, targeted lead nurturing greatly increases the content requirements.
• The skills trap. They don't have people with the skill sets to define their customer buying cycles and information needs at each stage.

I was delighted to see that Alan Partridge, one of my favourite comedy creations, is back. Steve Coogan’s cringeworthy Norfolk-based DJ hasn’t been on TV for eight years but will be starring in a series of Web-only shows sponsored by Fosters. They look like being the flagship content for a comedy-themed branded online channel, www.fostersfunny.co.uk. Aficionados will be interested to know that Alan is now plying his trade as a mid-morning DJ on “North Norfolk Digital.”

Webisodes were all the rage a couple of years back when the social network Bebo, among others, commissioned series such as Kate Modern, with funding from sponsors like Ford and P&G. But even though budgets were a fraction of TV budgets, the sums didn’t add up, and the nascent trend was all but killed off by the economic downturn. So, it’s intriguing to see that major talents such as Coogan (who recently co-starred opposite Will Ferrell in The Other Guys) and co-creator Armando Iannucci (a BAFTA winner for the fabulous The Thick Of It) have turned to the Web to revive perhaps their best-loved creation for 12 11-minute episodes. Presumably, there was a decent — if entirely justified — financial incentive to do so. Set against the cost of TV airtime, though, Fosters may have nabbed itself a bargain.

In customer service, we talk about “delighting” customers, providing an experience that is personalized to an individual's preferences and needs. The quest to delight goal is the goal of CRM and one-to-one marketing strategies. It is not easy to achieve and can have compelling results for a business.

But it makes me wonder — do your customers want to be delighted in customer service, or do they just want a hassle-free resolution?

Recently, my suitcase handle broke. I pride myself on my Ryan Bingham-like airport efficiency. Struggling with the broken handle forced me to slow every queue from security to boarding in a recurring tug-of-war with an uncooperative roller bag.

I contacted the company on the telephone and had a strikingly unmemorable conversation with the only meaningful takeaway being that I needed to go to the Web site to complete a warranty form. The form did not offer me the option to print before submitting nor send an acknowledgement email, raising my suspicions that this could require following up.

I was mistaken. A mere eight days later, a new suitcase arrived at my door.

It would have been nice if there was a note accompanying the new roller bag:  something to acknowledge my inconvenience, to express regret that the product didn’t perform, to at least address me by name. I didn’t receive any of these — just an anonymous box containing a new suitcase. And I was delighted.