ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a globally competitive marketplace, leading companies are turning to loyalty and customer relationship building to put the customer first and, as a result, to stand above the crowd.  SOCAP International, the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business, highlighted these critical themes at its 2012 Annual Conference, October 14-17, at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, CA.

SOCAP works with Fortune/Forbes 1000 companies to transform their customer care operations, enabling member organizations to better define the state of practice and to strive for the state of the art.  The Annual Conference once again proved to be a premier networking and professional development event, drawing hundreds of customer care executives and business partners from leading companies across the country.

Matthew R. D'Uva, CAE, President and CEO of the organization, summed up the highly successful event this way:  "The SOCAP Annual Conference offered an unsurpassed opportunity for customer care executives from top brand name companies to identify and share best practices, to build lasting professional relationships and to gain the types of business insights that can turn their customer care operations into a more powerful strategic advantage.  The SOCAP conference helped even the most customer-centric companies reach the next level."

Focused on the theme "Connecting with Your Customers through Collaborative Relationships," the SOCAP conference featured keynote presentations from best-selling author and leadership expert Jackie Freiberg; technology and innovation authority Scott Klososky; champion athlete and author Kyle Maynard; and internationally-recognized graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur Erik Wahl.

Breakout sessions offered the latest in thinking and practice on a range of topics, including:

• Building customer loyalty
• Engaging customers through mobility and social media
• Increasing customer satisfaction, quality and performance management
• Creating a customer service culture

The SOCAP Annual Conference also featured the 2012 Automotive Summit, October 17-18, with a concentrated focus on customer care issues impacting the automotive industry.  High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service author Micah Solomon led a post-conference workshop October 17 on building sustainable, profitable customer relationship programs.

A follow-up survey of attendees found 98 percent of respondents describing themselves as either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the event.

About SOCAP

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia and formed in 1973, SOCAP is composed of over 2,000 best-in-class customer care executives and professionals from over 100 brand name companies throughout the U.S. and Canada.  SOCAP is a member-driven organization committed to promoting customer care and engagement as competitive advantages.  SOCAP members include vice presidents, directors, and managers of customer care and consumer affairs as well as hundreds of business partners, individuals representing the solution provider community.  SOCAP member benefits include education and training, peer-to-peer networking, relationship building, partnership programs, conferences and seminars, news and information, research, and more.

Visit SOCAP on the web at www.socap.org.

For More Information:
Marjorie Bynum, VP, Education & Communications
marjorie@socap.org 
(703) 910-2473

SOURCE SOCAP International