I borrowed the headline above from a recent B-to-B article by Jeff Ernst, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. I think it perfectly underscores something I’ve been saying for a while now: It’s about the power of the idea, not the tactic. (My compadre @billhanifin has a similar mantra: Technology enables. Imagination wins.)
While most companies [...]

I’m sensing a tipping point in how customers relate to loyalty program rewards, and my thinking goes like this: when customers choose which company to do business with, rewards just don’t matter like they used to.
My take is that the classic loyalty reward scheme—earning points toward “hard” rewards for repeatedly doing business with a company—has [...]

While Tom Rapsas was in New Jersey buying wiper blades at Pep Boys, I was buying shoes for my son at DSW.
The difference in our experience with the respective rewards programs at each company boils down to an essential and often overlooked element of the loyalty marketing value chain – associate training.
You can read about [...]

I’m not a car guy.
So why does Pep Boys want me in their loyalty program?
I was standing in line at my local Pep Boys auto parts store the other day. Not that I’m a car guy. I usually pay my trusty neighborhood mechanic Larry to do everything car-related.But the wife needed some new windshield wipers, [...]

If you’re like me and work on the creative side of the business, you’d like to believe that good communications and a healthy social dialog are the keys to building relationships and ensuring customer loyalty.
But the fact is, your company is often only as good as the people you have on the front line. One [...]

(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 [...]

Earlier this year, I blogged on Loyalty Truth about the Ford Fiesta Movement. As you may recall, the Ford motor company gave new Fiesta automobiles to 100 social media-savvy drivers for six months—hoping they would post videos and blog about the Fiesta, to build some buzz around the car’s early-2010 launch.
I really hadn’t heard much [...]

After more than 100 posts I can say that Loyalty Truth has achieved a degree of permanency.
Founded on my own conviction and commitment, it is a welcome relief to have help. I express my gratitude to guest contributors Tom Rapsas, Jim Kuschill, Brian Kryzanski, and Mike Capizzi. They have each written about aspects [...]

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 [...]

Until very recently I worked on the acquisition side of an auto insurance account, where  these days it’s all about the price—with virtually every auto insurer claiming they can save you $400 or $500 (which makes you wonder, if everyone can save you money, which companies are ripping people off?).
But perhaps the most eye-opening aspect [...]