Positioning on a price point: Dollar Tree

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Dollar Tree continues to harvest success from its unique positioning built on its value-oriented price point. According to a recent company press release…

How to save the center of the store

by Jeff Weidauer — Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Vestcom International, Inc.

The New York Times recently ran a piece exploring the shift in traffic from center store to perimeter in a typical supermarket. While the article was…

The most common mistake made during a customer experience change, and how to overcome it

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I was once called into see a new client who had a problem they wanted to discuss: "We undertook research about 18 months ago on how we could improve our…

Putting romance back into retail

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Retailing has changed more in the last 3 years than in the past 3 decades. Actually, it is the consumers who have changed. They are shopping 24/7/365 anywhere…

Total Wine & More: A toast to their success

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Total Wine & More is truly "America's Wine Superstore." Currently operating 80 superstores across 13 states, Total Wine is driven to maintain its…

Everything that's wrong with retail summed up in one question

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

During my presentation last week at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit, a question was asked that sums up everything that's wrong with retail…

His master's voice is in a tablet

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

I regularly get questions from smaller businesses on how to "take the leap" to customer commitment when they don't even have the scale and budget to invest in…

How to get your customers to picture regret

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

I was speaking at the Sturbridge Inn & Convention Center recently and had to print something at the business center. A guy was on the one computer checking…

Why Target’s ‘gay couple ad’ is in the spotlight

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

One of Target's banner ads promoting its wedding registry has gained significant attention this week. The ad, which has been running since April at the top of…

JCPenney: Not a pricing failure

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

There's a lot of talk about JCP's failed pricing strategy, but is it really the pricing that's off?

The missing link in retail customer experience

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

As I make my rounds teaching Retail University around the world, one of the most asked questions is "how do we transform customer experience in retail stores?…

Employment limbo

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Most employees leave a job for one of three reasons:

The Hippocratic Oath of customer experience

For thousands of years, physicians have been taking the Hippocratic Oath to "first do no harm." This philosophy is also excellent advice for anyone dealing…

Macy's novel approach to rolling out mobility in 800 stores

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you'll know that showrooming is one of the hottest topics in retailing. Consumers are increasingly using their…

Five ways to lose your Facebook business page fans

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Creating a Facebook business page for your small business and then growing your fan base has become a focus for many businesses and has the potential to be a…

Loyalty means never having to say, "Eat that second doughnut"

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

Smart marketers know that the key to winning customer loyalty is through using personal data in a way that benefits both the company and the consumer.

Do customers control your pricing?

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

The CEO of a staffing firm asked what I did for a living. When I told him that I help companies get higher prices regardless of what their competitors or the…

Why don't the old customer service ways work anymore?

by Micah Solomon — president, four aces inc

"Why don't the old ways work with customers anymore?" I hear this question frequently when I'm speaking at a business event or starting a new customer service…

Meet your new gift registry: Pinterest

I'm planning a party for my younger sister. Usually, I flip through magazines or ask friends for ideas. However, this time I went straight to Pinterest.

Klout: More social influence equals a better customer experience?

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

I was very interested to see that organizations are starting to provide a better customer experience to people that have more social influence. You may have…