Monthly Archives: December 2011
Maybe it’s time to start a dialog about the concept of “Loyalty” as it relates to the business of business.
Written on December 30, 2011 at 4:33 pm, by Bart Foreman
We are seeing an increasing amount of web chatter at Loyalty360.org about the value of loyalty marketing programs. It reminds me of the old trading stamp programs like Gold Bond and S&H Green Stamps that were popular for three decades. They vanished rather quickly. Loyalty programs won’t die because there is too much invested in them, but we believe that in 2012 the marketing focus has to radically change.
As we close the year we will leave you with two quick thoughts:
- Customers are not loyal and loyalty programs do not make them loyal.
- Customers do not want a “relationship.” We do; they don’t.
Have a Happy New Year and get ready to rock.
Women’s shoes as an economic barometer.
Written on December 28, 2011 at 11:52 am, by Bart Foreman
Thanks to those of you who answered [Wednesday’s] blog question about the correlation between women’s heel heights and the economy. We definitely had some interesting responses and the results are not what you might expect; in fact, it is an inverse relationship. The IBM research shows that in an economic downturn, heel heights historically go up and stay up. Low heeled flapper shoes in the Roaring 20s were replaced with high heel pumps and platforms during the Great Depression. Platforms were revived during the 1970s oil crisis, reversing the preference for low-heeled sandals in the late 1960s. More recently, the low, thick heels of the 90s grunge period gave way to “Sex and the City” inspired stilettos following the dot-com bust at the turn of the century.
Today, bloggers are noting a decrease in heel height as we end 2011. Is it a hopeful sign or a shift to a mood of long-term austerity evolving among consumers? We will see.
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Written on December 26, 2011 at 7:00 am, by Bart Foreman
This is the last AH-ha! for the year and it has been a wild year, politically, economically and socially. There is a cautious optimism that business may be a little better as we send Father Time packing once again. The key word is cautious. We continue to search for the silver linings in the clouds but they are few and far between.
Part of the reason we remain cautious is because many businesses are stuck in the 80s when it comes to measuring performance. The local media continues to report that the CEO of Best Buy, the mega electronics retailer, remains on thin ice because he has placed greater emphasis on growing share of market rather than growing sales and margins. Since he assumed the CEO position a couple of years ago, the stock value of the company has dropped 40%.