Josh Stevens is the Groupawn, striving to live off Groupons for one year. If he’s successful, Groupon gains additional publicity in extreme fashion, all for the cost of $100,000 – the carrot in front of Josh until May 2011.
I’m neither a “WegPawn” or eligible for any incentive from Wegman’s, but I am considering moving in [...]

When I’m working with any of my business partners in the Customer Strategy Network, whether from the UK or New Zealand, I’m used to being treated as a second class citizen.
There is something about the British-influenced accent and manner of speech that simply makes everything they say sound more intelligent than my best shot. At the [...]

Passion. It’s what fuels the average person like you and I to enter and train for a local 10K race or even a sprint triathlon.
Passion. It’s what every event sponsor at these races is hoping to stoke up by their presence at the events.
Participating in the Open Water Swim festival this weekend in Ft. Myers, [...]

Banks traditionally build brand on the pillars of strength, reliability, security, and service. Few have developed a “personality” brand and I cannot think of one that has created a brand that evokes a passionate response from its fans as do Starbucks, Apple, and Coca-Cola.
Though banks are uncomfortable with the concept, many are essentially in the [...]

Yesterday was April 1. To my surprise, I received these fantastic offers from three of my favorite loyalty programs.
American Airlines AAdvantage sent me an email offering discounts on fares between some of my favorite and most traveled cities. They even distinguished between those cities which I frequent for business and those for personal or vacation [...]

Burgers are burgers, or are they?
With McDonald’s squarely on top of the QSR burger world, Burger King has resorted to some innovative advertising, to say the least. Visit their website, slide the bar marked “King” to the right, and you’ll find everything from “Subservient Chicken“, “Whopper Virgins“,  and “Simpsonize Me“. The chain has even launched [...]

Actually, I’m just scratching the surface, but pose a few questions to improve frequent flyer programs and make airline travel a bit more bearable for the masses.
What if the airlines …… ?

… would allow frequent flyers to use miles to pay for a bag check charge or, better yet, waive them for higher tier members? [...]

Trendy business buzzwords aren’t any fun until you form an opinion and seek feedback to get to the substance of the issue.
Customer Engagement is one of those terms that is being mentioned more frequently than Kim Kardashian was during the Super Bowl. It’s the 2010 version of “what’s hot, what’s new, what’s next?”
The question is, [...]

After spending the last few weeks thinking through reasonable responses to my new favorite question for 2010 “Do you think Social Media is here to stay?“, I’ve recently been re-directed to my “old” favorite question that I have been answering for 12 years “Do loyalty programs work?“
Without disappearing completely down that gopher-hole, I’ll just say [...]

I read some really great year end posts during the week leading up to New Year’s Day. Amidst the “Top 10/50/100″ lists, there were thoughtful, humorous, and motivational takes on how to evaluate 2009 and approach 2010 with energy and enthusiasm.
One or two that caused me to take my finger off the mouse and pause [...]