brand-as-business bit: My latest Brand New Perspectives column in QSR Magazine answers a QSR operator’s question about keeping customers coming back. The piece outlines my thoughts on increasing purchase frequency — an objective of practically every marketer — I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the effectiveness of a heart-felt ‘thank you.’ Said with […]
brand-as-business bit: I just taught “Why Small Businesses Need Brands and How to Build Them,” a session in Marketing Profs University course on Marketing Your Small Business. I talked about how brands don’t only create value for large companies — they’re also important to small businesses. A couple of reasons: Small businesses need to build relationships […]
In the spirit of New York Times Magazine’s annual Year in Ideas, I’ve compiled an alphabetical digest of ideas, from A to Z, that I wrote, spoke, and passed along over the past 12 months. The following are excerpts — the original pieces linked. […]
(Here’s another installment of “brand experience briefs” — insights from my audits of new and interesting retail and restaurant concepts.) What: Subway Café […]
The holiday shopping season is upon us and retailers are trying to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the new retail reality. As a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article observed, “Americans don’t shop the way they used to.” […]
(This is the first installment of “brand experience briefs” — insights from my audits of new retail and restaurant concepts.) What: the Walmart.com store […]
I’m guessing most of you don’t frequently have the opportunity to tell your CEO to go take a crap, but that’s essentially what I did last year – and ever since, we’ve had a fruitful and rewarding relationship. […]
(Today’s post is the last in a mini-series of reviews of retail concepts that have caught my eye. I’ve already covered 77kids in Times Square and new Starbucks stores in Seattle. Hope you’ve enjoyed my takes on what makes a store more than a store – a real experience.) Central Market defies convention. The Texas-based […]
The adage “god is in the details” is usually offered in reference to a small mistake with big consequences. And when it comes to brand touchpoints, it’s commonly known how a screw-up here or a snafu there can cause significant damage to a brand’s image and equity. But often the most important details are ones […]
In just the past week, I’ve had several conversations about the future of retail – and how drastically shopping as we’ve known it is going to change. From these provocative discussions, it’s become clear to me that retailers must change the way think about and build their brands, or face extinction. […]