Hotels Try New Features With Test Rooms

New York Times, April 29, 2008 — It is known simply as the X-room. Set up last November at the Courtyard by Marriott in partnership with the University of Delaware in Newark, it is a test guest room. It is equipped with everything from waterproof mattresses to the experimental technology of wireless electricity (no plugs) to a specially designed Nintendo Wii game console for travelers. There is also a digital door display that lets guests see who is in the corridor.

Customer support phone numbers can be tough to find

Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2008 — Let's play a game: Find the customer support telephone number. There was a time when businesses actually welcomed phone calls from customers. Now, many go to extraordinary lengths to avoid calls, preferring that orders and support issues be handled online.

Could Interactive Media Help Save the Airline Industry?†

Virgin America Subtly Transforms Air Travel by Empowering Customers -- at the Touch of a Button

Advertising Age, April 21, 2008 — Earlier this month, as the airline industry was imploding once again — with American Airlines grounding hundreds of thousands of passengers during its faulty-wiring debacle, and as pilots were talking about possibly grounding the proposed Delta-Northwest merger for fear of getting burned in contract talks — I was happily flying on my new favorite airline, Virgin America.

It's All About Experience

Companies that try to create holistic experiences by emotionally engaging their consumers are flourishing

BusinessWeek, April 11, 2008 — Advances in manufacturing technology and the global reach of the Internet have leveled the playing field in the product marketplace. It wasn't long ago that time-to-market was two years, then 18 months, and then 12 months. Now, a competitor can knock off your "innovation" in six months or less. Many businesses understand that being "new" or "different" is no longer a differentiator. Countless companies are elbowing their way to the top with designs that are also "feature-rich" or "patent pending." Innovation in product design has lost its meaning and, therefore, its value.

There is still one frontier that remains wide open: experience innovation. This is the only type of business innovation that is not imitable, nor can it be commoditized, because it is... continue reading

Family, Friends Most Influential on Shoppers†

ZenithOptimedia Study: TV Still King for Branding

Advertising Age, April 9, 2008 — Recommendations from family and friends trump all other consumer touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases, according to new data from Publicis media network ZenithOptimedia

The Growing Influence of Online Social Shoppers

Who do consumers trust?

eMarketer, April 7, 2008 — According the Edelman “Trust Barometer,” consumers feel the most credible source for information about a company—and by inference, products— is a “person like themselves.” Now with social shopping sites, product blogs and online ratings and reviews, consumers have the means to communicate their opinions about products and companies to tens of thousands of other consumers “like themselves” at a critical point in the sales cycle—the beginning.

Starbucks Unveils New Strategic Initiatives To Transform and Innovate the Customer Experience

Also Announces Acquisition of The Coffee Equipment Company and its State of the Art Clover® Brewing System

Starbucks Corporate Site, March 20, 2008 — With more than 6,000 shareholders in attendance, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today unveiled a series of innovative customer-facing initiatives at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo, shared his vision for transforming the Starbucks customer experience and reinforcing a strong foundation from which to grow. The announcements marked the next stage of Starbucks transformation following nearly three months of passionate work that began with Schultz’s return as ceo on January 7.

Retailers Harness Digital Media for In-Store Experiences, Product Sampling†

Also Re-evaluating How to Deliver the Sunday Circular Through Mobile, Web

Advertising Age, March 19, 2008 — When it comes to retail spaces, marketers have perhaps the best opportunity to tie digital-marketing experiences to physical-marketing experiences. And marketers are experimenting with morphing circulars into mobile formats, implementing social media into in-store experiences and using technology to promote product sampling. In some cases, these technologies can be considered media in their own right.

Target's inner circle

They're brilliantly creative. They're enviably down-to-earth. They're universally imitated. And they're entering one of the most challenging periods the company has faced in 46 years

FORTUNE, March 18, 2008 — You'd think Robert Ulrich would be warming up for his victory lap right about now. The soon-to-retire CEO of Target Corp. should be easing into a lavish farewell tour filled with teary thank-yous, champagne-soaked sendoffs, and a book of leadership secrets. After all, in his 23 years at Target (almost 14 of them as CEO), Ulrich has transformed a Midwestern discounter into one of the most admired and imitated companies in the world. Target now ranks 33rd on the Fortune 500 - making it bigger than Microsoft, Pfizer, and PepsiCo, and more than double the size of Cisco Systems.

There's just one thing: Though everyone knows Target (TGT, Fortune 500), hardly anyone's even heard of Ulrich.

Customers Disappointed By Web Sites, Online Customer Service

MediaPost Publications, March 5, 2008 — WHEN IT COMES TO WEB recourses, consumer-centric companies are still failing to meet expectations, according to a new study of nearly 1,000 such companies and online shoppers.

Just 44% of consumers believe the information available on most company's Web sites meets their needs, found the study conducted by InQuira, a developer of automated self-service applications for Web-based sales and services, and research firm ServiceXRG.

And it's not for lack of trying, as a full 74.5% of consumers indicate that they use company sites to get information about products or services.