CRM

Chances are you belong to a customer loyalty program. A recent Mintel report shows that 90 percent of U.S. adults have at least one loyalty membership. But here’s the question: Have you ever used the program or benefited from membership? If your answer is a hard no, you're not alone. The average consumer belongs to…

The world of commerce is continually changing and evolving as a direct impact of technological advances. In 2020, we learned how much technology can shape our experiences and how important it is to use it correctly to make customer journeys frictionless. Consumer expectations shift quickly, and everything in retail changes rapidly. In fact, I would…

Most brands know they must improve customer experience (CX) or risk losing customers. However, digital CX isn't about providing more content or using technology to streamline transactions. A digital experience needs to be a human experience. And human experiences are built on conversations — authentic ones between two people. A conversational platform lets brands reach…

Many of us crave the coming of Jan. 1 as a symbol of a fresh, new year dangling its promise of being oh so much better than the last. On many fronts, particularly humanitarian, we're anxious to move past the fear, upheaval and political angst of 2020. On the flip side, 2020 was an unprecedented…

Walking into a brick-and-mortar store today feels a bit apocalyptic. Employees now don gloves, facemasks and even the occasional face shield for added protection. There are stickers meticulously placed at six-foot intervals in front of checkout counters to help consumers abide by social distancing rules. Plexiglass shields now act as a protective barrier between cashiers…

Have you ever heard the saying, “what you don’t know can kill you”? The term holds true for retailers now more than ever. Customer loyalty is, in large part, driven by what a customer experiences throughout their journey with a brand. That journey may include things like shopping online or in-store, picking up curbside or…

Almost nine months after COVID-19 started making its mark on the United States, lockdown restrictions and widespread working-from-home offices have caused many American consumers to rethink their shopping habits. While we still don’t know exactly when the pandemic will be declared over, what is clear is that the post-pandemic retail world will be different to…

Amid the ongoing pandemic, economic turmoil, and political and social unrest, today’s brands are besieged by the need to act and communicate in ways that align with the tide of disruption that’s also overwhelming today’s consumers. It’s not just that brands need to be able to pivot, it’s that they need to be able to…

Consumer shopping behavior has changed, and the holidays will look different this year. Since in-store shopping has declined, brands are looking for ways to drive their e-commerce business and move the needle before the end of the year. However, the online space has become cluttered and confusing. Stand out by running chance-to-win promotions that are designed to motivate…

Paleontologists and evolutionary biologists often speak of “punctuated equilibrium” — a time of rapid evolutionary change following a long span of stasis. Such periods occur following a cataclysmic episode — e.g., the massive asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs. COVID-19 is a punctuated equilibrium event for retail. It changed everything, and many of these…