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…

Why small retailers must work harder on customer service

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

This is a tale of two retailers, one of them a single-location local boutique shop, the other a major multinational corporation. One of them recently gave me…

Why Customers Seem Scarce - Part 1

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

Far too many sellers suffer believe that customers are scarce and that they can't raise prices for fear of losing the customers they have.

This Mother's Day, say it with plastic?

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Every year we spend billions of dollars trying to find a way to thank our mothers for labor pains and unconditional love, but it turns out our primary display…

Sometimes, taking care of non-customers makes your customers happier

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Caring about people isn't enough on its own to create a transformational customer experience. Without caring, however, treasured moments of genuine human…

Take your work seriously, don't take yourself seriously

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

"Dilbert," which is carried in 1,100 newspapers, has helped us laugh at the crazy dynamics of the workplace. Now if we could only start laughing at ourselves.

Six retailers who blew it - BIG

When I give presentations, I typically like to use case studies to show customers best practices. However, it is frequently the object lessons of who blew it…

When to use customer service games in training

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Customer service games can add spice to a training program. I ought to know, I wrote the book! Unfortunately, I've seen too many games used just because ...

Stop blabbing about innovation and start actually doing it

by Aaron Shapiro — CEO, HUGE

These days, every established company is at risk of having its industry — and its own business — disrupted by a startup. Cognizant of this, companies devote a…

A conversation about building great retail window displays

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

This weekend, MSNBC's "Your Business" ran a segment on the venerable retail window display, and how the basics of good window design are the same for everyone…

Beating the showrooming blues

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

Today's Wall Street Journal carries an article on what's being called "showrooming." This is a relatively new activity where shoppers go to a local brick &…

Are Best Buy's best days behind it?

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

The news that Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn left the company yesterday created quite a stir across Wall Street and the retail sector. It may also have consumers…

Bragability

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

Bragging is usually regarded as a less-than-admirable quality in a person, but I actually enjoy hearing people blow his/her own horn. Excessive self-importance…

The dangers of competitive pricing intelligence

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

Many businesses, particularly larger businesses, feel that competitive pricing intelligence is essential to their success. Is that true? Or will their…

Ford's options – when stock revs up workers

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

As a former shareholder of Ford Motor Co. who benefited handsomely from my two-year investment, I should not be one to criticize the payouts enjoyed by the…

Loyalty Limelight: Bloomingdale's rewards customers without credit

by Bryan Pearson — President, LoyaltyOne

The program: Bloomingdale's Loyallist Program

How to spot a winner

by Harvey Mackay — Author, Mackay Mitchell

Vietnam is wars ago on the American landscape. Nobody associates it with winning, yet it offered one of the best and most perceptive stories about winning I've…

Is Walmart losing customer trust?

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

In her Entrepreneur.com article "Seven Ways to Avoid Competing on Price," Carol Tice cites a WSL/Strategic Retail study that shows that "86 percent of…

Prices up, profits down

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

A recent Washington Post/Bloomberg Business article stated that Hormel Foods' fourth quarter 2011 profit slipped 3 percent. Price increases were blamed for…

Building loyalty the Hsieh way

by Lisa Biank Fasig — Director, JZMcBride and Associates

Perhaps it has something to do with our general fondness for footwear and do-goodery, because when it comes to delivering a positive image, Zappos.com walks…