In the past week, business has taken me to Vancouver, BC and San Jose, Costa Rica with a pit stop in South Florida for a day or so at home. None of that was a big deal until my colleague Mike Atkin noted at dinner that we’ve been hitting these spots in conjunction with some [...]

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’ve been in way too many meetings lately where I have been asked the question “Is Social Media just a fad that will soon blow away?”
Fortunately, I’m well schooled in responding to skeptics since, for the past dozen years, I’ve been answering the classic question in my core business, “Does this Loyalty stuff really work?”
I [...]

Where is everyone’s Brand Loyalty? Is it with NBC, Leno or Conan? There’s no apparent popular effort to bring Leno back to the Tonight Show – but there is a whole lot of buzz on the Social Media web sites in support of Conan. Simply put, NBC would be stupid to let Conan go.

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 [...]

I’ve gotten into a bad habit with my children. Whenever they ask me about overzealous promises from a product advertisement, I just tell them “It’s probably not true, it’s just marketing stuff“.
The bad part is that I am instilling a degree of cynicism in the little ones, but then [...]

The end, when it came, was sudden. Just when it looked like the Saturn car company had been rescued by the Penske Group, the deal fell through and now, despite a loyal customer following, Saturn is no more.
As faithful Loyalty Truth readers know, I have blogged about Saturn in the past, noting its social media [...]

(Another reason your company needs a social media presence.)
Microsoft sucks. So does The Home Depot. Ditto Dell, Target and Dominos.  And while it may not surprise you to hear that Wal-Mart sucks, you may not have heard that beloved brands like Apple, Ikea and Starbucks suck as well.
The fact is that despite you or your [...]

Back in late-April, on these very Web pages, I called out the Saturn car company for its failure to engage with its customers.  As rumors circulated about the company’s potential sale—or imminent demise—I pointed out there was a glaring lack of information coming from the company’s ImSaturn social network site, a place where many true [...]

Speedbumps are everywhere.
They’re in my neighborhood, at the mall and also on the internet.  If you’re in new environs, speedbumps can by definition be mileposts of learning. Ever fly down the street in an unfamiliar area only to discover speedbumps the hard way? It’s not pleasant for you or your passengers and can do damage [...]