Those of you who are Star Trek fans would have felt right at home with me the other day. I went to check out the new Microsoft store which just opened at Fashion Valley mall here in San Diego because I wanted to do a compare/contrast to the Apple store in the same mall. My fellow fans would have felt at home in the Microsoft store not because it was a cool look at the future of culture and technology, but rather because it seemed to be the Mirror Universe. (more…)
Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum 2010: Creating Breakthrough Customer Experiences featured a fantastic line-up of speakers — including company leaders from client organizations as diverse as H&R Block, FedEx, and Sprint, as well as thought leaders from Forrester and other service providers.
From all of the presentations, it was clear that “creating breakthrough customer experiences” (defined on Wikipedia as “the sum of all experiences a customer has with a supplier of goods or services, over the duration of their relationship with that supplier“) requires systematic, cultural, and organizational changes within a company. (more…)
Now that summer is officially here, I wanted to take a look back at the past 6 months and see what kinds of conversations had been sparked by brand as business bites. 
The following are the top posts from each month in terms of number of re-tweets, comments, or emails they generated – I’ve also included some of the commentary. I’d definitely like to hear more, so please take a look and then add your voice to the conversation by clicking on the “comments” link below. (more…)
Consensus Advisors just released their 2009-2010 Retailer Health Ratings (RHRs) report. 
The RHRs measure and compare retailers over a five-year period on:
The report and webinar were really interesting and so I thought I’d share some of the insights and my reactions. (more…)
“Differentiate or die” is probably a familiar mantra to all; and there’s a well-established albeit less pithy corollary – don’t sell the category, sell your brand. After all, given the overcrowded nature of most categories, the hope of success for most brands rests on their ability to stand out from their numerous competitors. And promoting the category usually only benefits the market leader. (more…)
I usually try to keep my critiques to categories I’ve worked in, primarily because I think it’s irresponsible for me to comment on what works and what doesn’t when I have little basis for my assessment other than being a consumer. So I initially demurred when some folks have asked for my POV on AT&T’s new campaign, Rethink Possible.
The other day I found myself doing something quite curious – after having placed an item into my grocery cart, I turned around, took it out, and returned it to the shelf. That momentary act wasn’t strange because I’m generally a decisive person — but rather because of what caused me to reverse my actions. My change of heart was prompted by a ½” inch square – or actually, the absence of it.
I’ve been working with a major retail brand and my engagement has included an audit and assessment of retail best practices. Although most of my work is proprietary, I wanted to share some of my findings here because I’ve found some really interesting patterns. (more…)
Ever since the phrase “you manage what you measure” made its way into the dialogue of corporate America, metrics have played an increasingly important role in the management of businesses. 
No one can argue the value of timely, detailed, and accurate measures of performance as assessments of effectiveness and guides for decision-making. Yet, which metrics are best remains highly debatable.
This week’s BusinessWeek features two stories back-to-back that together make an important point for all businesses trying to navigate today’s recessionary times. First is a piece on Target’s apparent move down market, “Look Who’s Stalking Wal-Mart.” 
It outlines several moves by Target that seem to be taken from Wal-Mart’s playbook. Then there’s the article, “Why Old Navy May Still Be at Sea,” 
relaying the cheap-chic retailer’s struggles and successes over the past few years. (more…)