8 ideas for building customer loyalty

1. Put your customers in the spotlight. Customers love to be part of your marketing efforts, and giving them visibility makes them feel the love. Profile customers in your newsletters, write about them in your blog, create a spotlight section in your store or website, or name a special sale day after them – all to give them their 15 minutes of fame. Read More >

Brand value hangs on customer experience

The customer experience could make or break your brand longevity. So portends a recent survey conducted by Strativity and Service Experts, Inc.—a leading customer experience firm. Read More >

There may be no other place in this country more influenced by a culture of “uncommon” customer service than in Northwest Arkansas.  You might even agree the standard was created, set, and raised here by Sam Walton. Yet, I think we’ve lost sight of what “uncommon service” really means. Read More >

The American Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990, “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, programs and services provided by state and local governments, goods and services provided by private companies, and in commercial facilities.” In government-speak, that means if you have a business open to the public, you have to provide accommodations for people with disabilities. Read More >

It has been a buzzword for some time now, but many of us still stumble when asked to put our value proposition into words. So what is a Value Proposition? Read More >

Ask a Millennial or Generation Z about branding and you may be confused by the conversation. Their concept of branding is the newest alternative to tattooing– an extreme body modification similar to branding cattle. That’s the conversation Andrea Thomas found herself in with a youth who fancied a career in branding. Read More >

In a world where options are exploding, yet attention spans are static, customers are actually looking for reasons to stay with — not replace — their current providers.  That’s what I’m finding as my firm compiles our annual Ten Supplier Mistakes report, which is based on hundreds of interviews with corporate decision-makers along with insights gained from our 2009 client work. Read More >

If you’ve ever wondered about the value of having a mission statement, either personally or professionally, listen in on the conversations that take place at any networking or business gathering you attend. I have a habit of circulating among people at any event, just listening to discussions. I do this for two reasons: First, I’m always looking for information, and second, I’m just plain curious about what makes people tick. It occurred to me after one event that people were, for the most part, discussing what they do and how they do it. Literally no one was talking about why. Read More >