Making the right choice ... for your customer

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

Retailers make subconscious choices between making things easier for themselves or delivering the best experience for their customers almost every day. We…

Putting for survival

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

Like a million other people, Major James Nesmeth dreamed of improving his golf game from his usual score in the 90s. Circumstances forced him to quit the game…

The spectacular marketing fail of JC Penney

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Ron Johnson, Penney's CEO, said last week that "coupons were a drug."

When will I see the results of my customer experience program?

by Colin Shaw — Founder & CEO, Beyond Philosophy

When we start working with a client to improve their customer experience I am often asked, "How long will it be before we see a result?" On the face of it…

Government-controlled pricing

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

A May 7, 2012 article in the Bankgok Post, "The price of ignorance can be high," highlights the folly of government interference in pricing. Why are…

Gen Y and Self-Service: A Love Story

I just finished interviewing retailers about their employee challenges. By far, the largest complaint was about managing Gen Y, and those same complaints were…

Call center coaching: Five tips to ensure your success

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Managing staff — in any form — is hard work and requires a well-stocked repertoire of people skills, business acumen, and the ability to juggle multiple…

Can you steal an experience?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

"Stealing an Experience" is completely different at the consumer and professional levels. At the consumer level, it might mean watching two movies on one…

How customers are driving mobile POS

by John Kenney — SVP, Business Development, Stella Nova Technologies

Retail stores are in a push for customers to drive their shopping experience—from selection to checkout. At the same time, customers are looking for a…

Social media has the power to kill pink slime

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Bettina Siegel is the poster child for what a blog can do.

Why customers seem scarce - part 3

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

In the previous two segments (1, 2) we learned how industry overcapacity, a dying industry and a perception that our competitors' offerings are superior cause…

When choosing means losing time

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

On a recent trip to a popular local pottery shop – the kind of place where everything is made on the premises by hand – I was faced with an unexpected dilemma…

You can trust the experts to be wrong

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

There are two types of experts, and it's very important to distinguish between them: There is the expert who can make something happen, and there is the expert…

Is Walmart losing out on deeper loyalty by not offering loyalty cards?

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

Walmart remains one of the few giant retailers which does not yet offer a customer loyalty card. In the new book, Walmart: Key Insights and Practical Lessons…

Another nail in the coffin of big box stores?

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

You don't need to look very far to see another article on the growth of online retailing. The phenomenon of online shopping is truly worldwide. While Amazon…

Why customers seem scarce - part 2

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

Last week we discussed how to grow your revenues, profits and customer bases when facing the challenges of industry overcapacity or a dying industry. Both…

Anything they can do, you can do better

by Aaron Shapiro — CEO, HUGE

Take a look at the first-class section on any airplane today; it's full of corporate leaders lugging around Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, searching…

Fact or excuse? It depends.

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

While working with executives, owners and managers I hear a lot of reasons why something did or did not happen. Recently I've noticed that sometimes it feels…

To ignite your customers, fire up your employees

I'm one of those connected customers. I scan QR codes. I read product reviews. I'm never without my phone and it is loaded and ready with Google Shopper, Red…

Two tales of retail showrooming

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

By now most folks have heard about "showrooming," the relatively new activity where consumers visit a brick and mortar store, look at a product they are…