Our thinking is appearing in publications around the world

Loyalty programs have become all about earn and burn: customers spend money, earn points and then redeem them. It's time to rethink this concept.

When thousands of people lost their jobs during the Great Depression, many of them started riding the rails across the country in search of work and food. Hobos, as they were called, had been hopping trains since the 1870s, working as migrant laborers wherever they could find a job. They often traveled by themselves, leading to the inevitable problem of knowing what to expect when arriving in an unfamiliar place. Some cities might be welcoming while others might be less hospitable. A farmer might feed those who worked his fields while others might turn you into the police. A secret language of signs was developed that informed hobos about what awaited them. To the casual observer, the signs were gibberish or graffiti; but to the hobo, they could mean the difference between a hot meal and a night in jail. And therein lies a key question for today’s companies to ask themselves:

For a few years now, the shiniest new toy in the digital marketplace has been the mobile app.

The proliferation has been amazing: The 1-millionth app went live as 2011 came to a close, and the pace has continued through 2012. The trend, Mobilewalla told theNew York Times, has been 15,000 mobile app releases per week.

Everyone wants to get a piece of this pie. And why not? The thing is that for all the really cool, highly successful apps there are hundreds, (thousands?) of others that are dumb, useless, or a joke.

JCPenney will be the retailer to watch this year. The company has launched a major rebranding effort with a full overhaul of its merchandising strategy, and Forbes is already touting it as the most interesting retailer in 2012.

Consumer brands have invested billions to create experiences built upon distinctive combinations of products, services and people. Companies on the business-to-business (B2B) side, however, are typically less focused on creating customer experiences as a way to achieve competitive advantage. And that might seem to make sense. Yet a closer look shows that the attributes describing B2B winners – reliability, accuracy, quality, ease – are often the hallmarks of a great customer experience. 

Got engagement? You’d better hope so. Customer engagement is an important indicator of marketing and value proposition performance. Kevin and Brian outline a three-step process for ensuring success.

Jay Milliken and Andres Nicholls discuss how strategy-led design and understanding customer behavior are the key elements for the success of Emart.

In this article, Fred and Chiaki outline the concept of Signature Touchpoints, the third dimension of marketing, which is just as important as new product development or campaign development to achieve breakthrough in both B2B and B2C markets.

In this article Roland and Tobias talk about the impact of social media on companies' marketing strategy and show how customers should be at the center of communication in this new networked era.
* Please note this article is in German.

Andy uses the example of the Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport to show three ways to "recombobulate" to better deal with the known uncertainties of today's business times and re-spark your creative edge.

Roland Bernhard talks about the importance of the new networked era based on social media and how marketers should be communicating more transparently about their brand.

Making customer-centricity a business priority is a process best undertaken with a long planning horizon. Chiaki and Fred talk about the 5 tenets to embrace to improve your customer relationships.

Customers may not know it, but senior executives are counting on them to help reinvent, reposition, re-ignite, and regain brand relevancy. In this article we use Hyundai, Microsoft, and Domino’s as examples of how to regain relevancy.

One of the strongest retail brands in the world is Muji. BrandJapan has measured brand strength for 1,100 brands in Japan for eight years. Muji always has ranked in the top 30—and usually in the top 20—a consistency shared by only three other retail brands. Few brands deliver more emotional and self-expressive benefits than does Muji. Yet, the Muji brand vision is not to be a brand. It is the no-brand brand.

This article features several Kellogg experts, including Scott Davis, and outlines keys to success for great global brands.

In this interview published in M&K, the leading Swiss marketing communications journal, Roland Bernhard addresses some of the most challenging topics marketers face today. Roland talks about customer experience, innovation and marketing accountability and explains how commanding these topics help marketers gain a competitive advantage, even in difficult times. *Please note, this article is in German.

Retailers have always been driven by the seasons. The holidays, of course, and particularly Christmas. Fall and back to school. The ushering-in of spring and summer, with promotions around fun and leisurely pursuits. Since the recession officially reared its head in January of 2008, retailing has added a new season to its lineup: The “season of discontent.”

Our second report in the series examines the customer experience in the UK’s supermarkets. The phenomenal change in the food retailing landscape over the last ten years clearly shows that consumers are more than happy to change brands. That change is not just based on price, but price combined with customer experience.

Our first report in an upcoming series examines the customer experience in the UK’s retail banking sector. Under the microscope for months, and the subject of intense criticism over its role in the current economic crisis, the banking sector perhaps has most to fear in terms of customer backlash.

The National Hockey League is a remarkable turnaround story serving as a lesson for brand reinvention.