Zappos hits $1 billion sales

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Zappos, the online shoe and accessories company. They are a “new world” company that interests me immensely. The company just hit a major milestone 10 years in business and $1billion in sales. The CEO Tony Hsieh was interviewed recently about their success, interestingly rather than talk about the financial success of the company he focuses all his answers rather around the culture of the company, its values and its customers. You can read the interview below or visit Zappos’s website and read it there.

Tony Hsieh wants to build Zappos into a Virgin styled company, with Zappos Bank, hotels, airlines etc using ten guiding principles. Have a look at them they are not about financial returns or market share but have to do with the people side of the business…get these right and the financial rewards follow. With $1 billion sales in the bank I think Zappos is doing things right:

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The Myth of the Rational Buyer

What if what we understood about marketing wasn’t true? This is how the article from Fast Company, The Myth of the Rational Buyer: How too much thinking can hurt your brand, begins.

The author Mark Dziersk suggests that companies spend 95% of their time fussing over the 5% that the consumer thinks about when it comes to purchasing behaviour.

And as he points out, the average hypermarket in the US, carries more than 167 000 sku’s (units), compared to 40 000 in that late 1950’s. That’s a lot of product to choose from. And we’re missing what goes into consumer behaviour, then we’d better start doing things differently.

Read the full article here.

Brrr is kewl in South Africa

Thanks to my friend Bev from SimonSays Communications for this link.

The Sunday Times announced it’s ‘Times Generation Next’ cool brands survey results on 28 May 2009.

5000 tweens, teens and young adults between the ages of 8-22 were polled on their coolest brands, and Coke came out on tops with it’s Brrrr campaign.

Bizcommunity.com covered the results, and one interesting comment relating to the attitude of this segment and the economic downturn according to Jason Levin (MD of HDI Youth Marketeers) was,

“Young South Africans, unshaken by economic downturn, are as brand conscious as ever. Although there were some interesting shifts in the top rankers in some categories, we see growing similarity in votes by region, gender, race and sometimes even age around the coolest brands.”

For the rest of the results read the full article here. Nokia, Samsung, Nike, Puma, Sun City, Edgars, SAA, Mango, D&G, Levis and others all had a mention in achieving top spots or moving down the list from previous years.

Millenials reversing the trend

It’s always difficult convincing an adult audience, that from a Generational perspective, the so-called ‘Millennials’ (Gen Y, Echo Boomers) are going to be more civic minded, more conservative (whilst being more aware), and focus on rebuilding the planet (amongst other things). Mostly because their example of a Millennial is often one of their own kids. And let’s be honest, what parent thinks their own kids are going to be some of those things? Their kids are teenagers, and generally speaking teens are going through a life stage in which pushing the boundaries and experimenting are part and parcel of what they have to do in order to develop into healthy contributing adults.

So it’s with a smile of satisfaction that I point you to some research coming out of Canada (Project Teen Canada headed up by Reginald Bibby, a University of Lethbridge sociologist) that shows that today’s Millennial Generation are reversing some trends that you probably wouldn’t expect them to. Sex, Drugs, Family Values, having children, smoking.

This reversing trend has been captured beautifully in a short video clip entitled ‘Lost Generation‘. If you’ve not seen it, it’s worth a trip to YouTube see get a first hand view.

There are some thoughts about the role parents are playing in the reversing of these trends, but the article is summed up like this:

In the end, the kids will likely follow their own instincts. While they might be taking silent cues from their parents—and might even seek help in times of crisis—they’ve little time for adult authorities who worry about their futures. Jesse Lupini, the 17-year-old from Victoria, summed up the sentiment in a recent guest column for his local paper. “Adults have generated a number of teen stereotypes,” he writes. “Teens are irresponsible, untrustworthy, rude, sexually obsessed, loud, inclined to drink to excess, take drugs, eat badly . . . ” But how about the adults who lie, drive drunk and do drugs, Lupini asks? What about the corporations run by adults that market junk food and sexualized clothing to youth? What about the parents who buy that stuff for their kids? “Frankly,” he concludes, having worked up a rather adult-sounding rant, “it’s a wonder we’re coping as well as we are.”

TomorrowToday has been researching, exploring and communicating Generational Theory through our edutaining presentation ‘Mind the Gap‘ for 7 years now. We’re still as convinced as ever that it’s a framework every organisation needs to include in the multiple frameworks it uses to understand people dynamics and interactions.

Harvey Nichols- fab ad campaign

I’ve just come across this print advert campaign by Harvey Nichols, the high end clothing retailer. It’s a cracker and one of the best print campaigns I’ve seen in a long time. The first time I looked at it I don’t get it, but the vivid colours and imagery drew me in, further capturing my attention and making me think. The symbolisms that can be interpreted from the association between the dress and the “rockets” is subtle but brilliant… the advert rockets with innuendos… On further investigation I discovered that there is a complete range of 8 different adverts using the same creative concept. This is an awesome advert for the Generation X and Y generations… Look at the rest of the campaign and consider the symbolism behind each advert… Great ad campaign

ZAPPOS – delivering the WOW factor through service

Tony Hsieh, the 35 year old boss of Zappos.com, an online shoe retailer, has an ambitious goal. He aims to offer world beating customer service, no matter what industry Zappos expands into, be it shoes, hotels or airlines. So far Tony Hsieh is doing incredibly well. As other retailer suffer during the recession, Zappos just rang up a $1 billion sales.

Started in 1999, Zappos places great emphasis on company culture and core values. The company publishes a “Culture Book” annually that is made up of contributions from employees describing what the company culture means to them. The core value is to “deliver ‘wow’ through service.” These are the ten core values that Zappos employees live by:

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Can advertising be too effective?

Here is a great marketing case study. Swedish Airport Coaches conducted a study and determined that a bus trip save the equivalent of 50 car trips. They built an outdoor advertising display comprising of a bus built out of 50 disused cars. The advert has been hugely successful. It touches on carbon emissions issue which is topical, but more importantly the display is cleverly put together and became such an entertainment and item of interest, that it resulted in traffic jams! This advert touches at the heart of how to connect with younger generations. Here are some marketing tips for connecting with Gen X and Millennials which this advertising campaign does well:

- entertain them
- create campaigns that make them think
- dont make the message obvious
- use juxtaposition – and make things appear not as they are
- use humour and paradox

You can watch the video here: 50 cars or 1 bus?

Convincing Consumers to Spend Again

I got this excellent article from Booz and Hamilton’s ezine, “Strategy + Business”. It’s worth subscribing to.

To get consumers spending again, you need to get their attention. This means innovative marketing techniques – and everyone has to do this for the next few years. But how do you differentiate yourself from others who are doing the same?

Read the original here, or see an extended extract below.
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Everybody’s singing this song

Candle – earth hour

Great TV ad for Earth Hour. Gets everything right from a Gen X and Gen Y perspective… connects with their values, entertains and keeps them intrigued…(which is important because as adverts go it is long…a 90 seconds ad!) leaves them hanging on to find out more, very good use of music. Well done leo burnett and WWF… getting fab customer reviews on you tube too

click here to view advert

Barbie is 50 years old this week

Yes, Barbie – the doll – is 50 years old. As a father of three young daughters, I know Barbie. She (and her clones) are in my home. Is this good or bad? Too much rubbish has been written about this.

But, then in the New Statesman magazine, I read this fantastic little piece that put it brilliantly! By the way, this week’s edition of New Statesman is awesome! It looks at the crowds that changed the world in 1989 – get it and enjoy a brilliant magazine!

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Leo Burnett’s take on trends in 2009

Leo Burnett is the world’s 9th largest ad agency. They have produced two resources looking at trends they expect to see in 2009.

The first is a YouTube video that is a bit flashy (I mean literally flash-y) and focuses on advertising trends in 2009. The second was sent to me from a Facebook page, and is worth a read. I have reproduced it below.

Trends in 2009

New Realism
Economic conditions will profoundly affect our cultural context moving forward. As our creative content becomes more tangible and honest in reflection, we will be forced to be more realistic about everything over the coming years. The human story will be one of value reflection and reassessment, as both our priorities and purchases are examined in light of what is truly meaningful to us. As the language of hopes and dreams is replaced by one of pragmatism and prudence, new value systems will emerge. We will be more open to expressions that are confident, secure, uplifting, connected, honest and progressive.

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A Lesson in managing (potentially) irate customers

Last Tuesday was my busiest so far this year. Departing home by taxi just after 4am, I took the 5.27am train from Paddington to Taunton, arriving by 9am to set up for an opening keynote. After lunch, I was back at the station, heading back to London to lecture at the London Business School. I was due into Paddington at about 4pm.

The train was late into Taunton, due to a fault. We were assured it was fixed and sped off on the fast service, due to stop only in Reading. But an hour into the journey, the train came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. And there we sat. A long story short is that a freight train had broken down, blocking the tracks and reducing the national rail system to South West England to a parking lot. We sat and sat. Then moved a bit. Then sat some more.

Then, we made a stop at a tiny station, Bedwyn, I think it was. After half n hour, we were asked to disembark. Our train was pulled out of service and we were boarded onto the next train that came along a few minutes later. I can only guess they were trying to reduce the number of trains on the system.

But, now for the point of my story…

Sharing our train and equally distressed by the situation was the Chairman of the train company. He was brilliant. He kept us informed, apologised and later he literally opened the bar. He told us that he wanted the buffet car cleared out before we arrived in Paddington and that the cash register had been put away. He then personally walked up and down the train dispensing wine, chatting to passengers and creating great goodwill for First Great Western trains.

Good on him! A bad situation well handled.

The only question I have is whether we would have received the same treatment had the Chairman not been on board. Was he just following company policy? Was he MAKING policy? Or was he just doing something only he could do as Chairman?

Key consumer trends for an uncertain 2009

I was sent this simple article by a friend. It was published by Mintel in November 2008. Some food for thought.

Against a global background of citizens and businesses being shaken rudely into uncertainty by the economic crisis, Mintel has forecast the five main ways in which consumers are likely to adapt and make the best of 2009.

To begin with, in a kind of a backlash against the fast pace of the modern world, people will try to take greater control of their lives and find pleasure in the simple things, the company predicts.

Faced with financial insecurity, shoppers will seek out businesses and products they feel they can trust and, although they will inevitably cut back on their spending, consumers will continue to treat themselves to little luxuries and fun activities.

“People around the world are feeling insecure and are already looking to re-establish a sense of stability in their lives,” explained Joan Holleran, director of research for Mintel. “In the coming year, it will be more important than ever for businesses to respond quickly and creatively to changing consumer needs and desires as they become more selective in how they spend their money.”

The five consumer trends predicted for 2009 are:

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A question of Trust: Most Trusted Brands – really?

Honesty, integrity, trust, respect and probably customer service. Ask any corporate company what their “company values” are and you’ll almost certainly get this list (assuming the person you ask even knows). It’s so generic as to be useless, and certainly does not guide the behaviour or attitudes of the staff on a day-by-day basis. Of these values, “trust” is the most difficult to define. What does it mean to trust someone? Is trust earned, or do you choose to trust? These are not questions that will be discussed in the halls of many big companies. Yet, this elusive issue of “trust” continually raises its head.

For example, every year the Reader’s Digest polls it’s subscriber base to find out the “most trusted brands in Europe”. Whilst historically a UK based survey, it is trying hard to grow into Europe. Details can be found at their website here.

I am not a fan of these types of surveys. Best Company to work for, Best company to start a career, Best company to… – they all start out well, and then quickly become victims of their own success. Most of them require companies to subscribe to participate, most are run on a for-profit basis, and most have spurious sources (I have been part of roadshows that go from office to office announcing pay increases with big razzmatazz events, top class speakers and cash prizes, timed perfectly the day before questionnaires are distributed to staff – and, I promise you, I am not making that up!).

This survey of “trusted brands” has not just Reader’s Digest readers as it’s data base, but Reader’s Digest subscribers. Well, that will be representative of the general population, won’t it? On their website, they carefully explain how they weight their data sample to “accurately reflect the general population”. I am not going to argue, but an eyebrow is raised.

A bigger eyebrow is probably around the definition of “trust”. Again, their website provides detailed explanations of what they mean by this illusive concept. But, for me, as with many of these types of “empirical” studies, the proof is in the eating. Whatever the data says, does the end result make instinctive sense and does it explain some part of reality.

In a year when British Airways took over Terminal 5, and then proceeded to lose literally hundreds of thousands of passenger’s bags, and continue the decline in on-time schedules, the fact that they top the list of most trusted airline brands (and were number 5 overall) must surely indicate that there is a problem somewhere.

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A great Generation X advert

Pepsi have an excellent understanding of the driving values of each generation and they have produced a number of great adverts over the past few years. We often use Pepsi in our marketing workshops as case studies. I recently came across this new Pepsi advert which has great Generational appeal…

Catching Gen Y with pizza delivery

I’ve been reading a lot of commentary recently about how differently companies need to be targeting Gen Y (people born in the UK after 1988), both as an employee and consumer. The Harvard Business Review has great commentary on the subject, and I’ve just come across a good example by the The Economist who is targeting college students in the US using pizza delivery boxes. Pizzerias around college campuses received Economist branded pizza boxes detailing world production stats on the students favourite pizza ingredients such as cheese!

It’s novel, entertaining, educational and clever…all the things that Gen Y expect from a marketing campaign.

.

Put that in your iPod and er, listen to it

Here’s an interesting battle going on in the music industry, with Apple ‘threatening’ to close doors to iTunes, the dominant force in sales of digital music. (BBC has the full story)

If word gets out that music publishers are trying to stick it to consumers, and Apple is fighting to keep prices down on their behalf, well, there’s liable to be public backlash against the labels.

To be boring or to be entertaining?

Most conference exhibitors have a stand with panelling depicting the corporate logo, a few pretty pictures, TV screen and giveaways…pens, stress balls, playing cards etc… the problem is that all the corporate exhibitors do the same thing! Unless a customer knows what you do and who you are, all exhibitions tend to blend into the same ol same ol pot! Where is the innovation? Why spend thousands of pounds trying to connect with customers at a conference but then create no unique or memorable connection?

The task of getting greater connection has become even more difficult as Generation X and Millennials become decision makers for corporate companies…mainly because people from these generations demand an experience out of your marketing…they understand the rules of the game, they know you are selling to them, so if you are going to take up their time their attitiude is you had better entertain me!

I’m at the IFP conference today at the Celtic Manor Hotel in Wales where my colleague Graeme Codrington is presenting our Mind the Gap presentation on the different generations. Two companies stand out as exhibitors who are connecting with their customers. Investec Private Bank has a virtual golf simulator…clever because the Celtic Manor Hotel is the host of the 2010 Ryder Cup and because allowing conference delegates to come and swing a club enables them to make a lasting and memorable connection, the selling is left until later.

The Santander Group is leveraging off of their sponsorship of the McLaren F1 team. They have part of a life size F1 racing car replica which you get to sit in and race Lewis Hamilton…neat…staff crewing the stand are also dressing in F1 t-shirts creating a relaxed atmosphere.

No clues for which of the two stands out of about 50 or so at the IFP conference are getting the most interest and the most people connections!

Help yourself…PruHealth connecting with customers

Earlier today I walked out of Piccadilly Circus tube station and was feeling a bit parched. Low and behold PruHealth were there to quench my thirst with a bottle of water and signs saying. “Help yourself” …clever, now this is a campaign that will connect with Generation X!
Here are some reasons why:
- Gen Xer’s want immediate gratification… the water gave me immediate gratification connecting me with the PruHealth brand and quenched my thirst.
- Gen X love stories or lines with multiple meanings. They have grown up in a complex rapidly evolving world and have learned to view things from different angles. The strap line “Help yourself” had several meanings.
- Help yourself to a bottle of water… no questions asked no reasons given …cool!
- On reading the marketing splurb on the bottle, “Help yourself” was also referring living a healthy lifestyle and benefiting from PruHealth’s lower premiums…
- They even have a fab interactive web based tool called a pruhealth-o-meter …cool name, it’s a bit quirky and fun, try it out! click here
- Pru also handed out a miniture Frisbee with the bottle of water… I’m not sure what that was all about as I don’t think that catching a Frisbee is a very active sport…but maybe my dog will like it ?
- One quick recommendation, don’t use the get a quote button until the customer has finished playing with the pruhealth-o-meter. Gen Xers like to be entertained but don’t hit them with the sales prompt too early. They get that you are selling to them but let them have their entertainment first.
- It’s also a pity that the pruhealth-o-meter doesn’t work on my iPhone… an alternative html version would get around this, not as flash but would give Gen X connectivity all the time.

Overall a really good campaign, it’s simple, engaging hits a number of Gen X driving values and leaves the choice up to the consumer to decide if they want to help themselves.

Nice one Pru!

The Future of Publishing’s History

I am not the greatest fan of the publishing industry. The first paperback book, a massive innovation in the industry, was published this week in 1935, and sometimes it seems that was the last innovation the industry has seen. As a published author, the lead times in the industry are seriously frustrating and the processes archaic. But, hey, I suppose I shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds me (well, part feeds me – in a world dominated by the increasing valuation of intellectual capital and decreasing value of manual labour and intermediation, the publishing industry, with their paltry standard 12-15% of wholesale price paid in royalties stands as a bastion of anochronism).

But, today, I read of something that inspires some hope in me that the wonderful people of the publishing industry do have an eye on the future. Faber are going to be publishing out of print books on a once-off, on-demand basis. They have started with a limited catalog, but the concept itself could (and should) easily be extended to all books everywhere. With digital printing and even e-books, it should be very little extra work to take any book anywhere and reproduce it. Check out the announcement and details here. A nice idea, and one that I hope is copied, and inspires further innovation.

Just do It turns 20

Sometimes a product name, a slogan or an advertising campaign becomes lodged in societal consciousness, and embedded in our language forever. To generations of young people, such key phrases can instantly bring back memories of childhood and another time. I was recently listening to a radio phone in show in South Africa, and being reminded of “it’s not inside, it’s on top” and Panasonic’s “quest for zero defect”. You can do a fun test on your memories here. And there is a great list (that you can add to, of course) at Wikipedia.

Anyway, this is a short post to say that Nike’s “Just Do It” is 20 years old. Nice one!

Marketing with a WOW factor

Radiohead have used some fantastic new technology to record their latest single. Creativity-online.com says this about the new video “Radiohead’s latest video, for the track “House of Cards” from the In Rainbows album, uses real time 3D recording instead of cameras, utilizing highly technical structured light and Lidar laser-enhanced scanners to model lead singer Thom Yorke and provide an otherworldly narrative accompaniment to the song.”

This is cutting edge stuff and if any marketers want to do something to impress Generation X and the Millennial generation then this is it. But don’t wait as it is notoriously difficult to impress these two generations and it won’t be long before the use of this technology becomes “so like yesterday.” Act fast the application of this technology has some WOW factor something that is very difficult to create in marketing these days.

Have a look at the video

Because you are worth it – Good example of Gen X and Baby Boomer campaigns

L’Oreal have launched a recent TV ad campaign targeting Baby Boomers for their Men Expert Range. (see the advert here) It is a pretty good one…for Baby Boomers that is. L’Oreal have long identified the pulling power of celebrity endorsement and use Pierce Brosnan as the face of this campaign. Pierce tells us how he likes to “fight for the causes he believes in” and “find time for himself” – all good noble Boomer causes. Pierce is a great role model for Baby Boomers and he exudes the youth and vitality which are major core value for this cohort.

Contrast this with another “viewer created” advert which I found on YouTube for L’Oreal’s same product range. This spoof advert would appeal to Gen X (see the advert here) and uses humour and paradox to connect with Gen Xers.

For now L’Oreal have it right, using celbrity endorsements is the correct way to go with Baby Boomers, as their core target market, are entering their post middle age years and their obsession with staying young and looking good makes them the perfect target market for L’Oreal. However, as Gen Xers enter the mainstream I hope they pick up on the changing values and attitudes of this younger generation and ditch the celebrity endorsement angle, it just doesn’t work for Gen X.

L’Oreal give the guy who created the spoof advert a job in your marketing department he is obviously worth it!

Good with Money

Our global research has long been indicating that companies who concentrate more on who they are and less on what they sell will gain the competitive edge over their competitors.

The “who you are” is defined by the values a company lives by and how effectively the company’s values connect with the talent staff that work for them and the valuable customers that continue to shop with them.

One of the values that companies need to be demonstrating today is that of being ethically conscious. And this means more than just changing to efficient green light bulbs! It means living by the value…making business decisions, both strategic and operational, against the value even if it hurts the bottom line.

I came across a company that is doing great stuff in this sphere. Have a look at their marketing campaign The Co-Operative Bank is really promoting who they are and what they stand for, and most importantly their claims are back by some substantial meaningful and significant claims. They have turned down over £700m in revenue based on ethical decisions… now that is putting your money where your mouth is and living by the values they subscribe to. Impressive!!!

I’ll be reviewing this campaign and the company’s operations over the next few weeks and trying to find out more about their results, but I’ll stick my neck out here and make a prediction that their values based campaign is having a fantastic response from the Millennial, Gen X and Boomer generations, a unique achievement.

Tories target Generation X

According to The Sunday Telegraph, April 20, 2008, David Cameron, the Conservative Leader is channelling considerable resources into targeting people between the ages of 29 to 40. The Tories see this group of 3 million voters as being key to their success in the 2010 general election.

Research shows this group, often referred to as Generation X, to be a demanding and less forgiving than older generations. The Tories have identified that issues such as housing, transport, the environment, crime, education and the NHS are more relevant to Generation X than tax cutting pledges of the Labour Government. This may be so but David Cameron should well consider the core driving values of this Generation especially as all their literature is aimed at them. Generation X are highly suspicious of marketing especially political marketing and if the Tories want to connect with Generation X they will need to have an in depth understanding of the formative events that shape the attitudes, views and norms of this very dynamic and constantly changing Generation. Our experience shows that research is often already out of date before the ink is dry because once you define Generation X they have an uncanny knack of changing. Understanding their core values will help the Tories to predict these changes and connect with Generation X, a generation that is coming of age and reaching positions of economic and political influence.

To read the full article see The Telegraph

Baby Boomer marketing campaign on steroids

Marketers have long identified that Baby Boomers are attracted to products endorsed by celebrities. Louis Vuitton the French fashion design house has outdone itself with their current “where will life take you” marketing campaign. The list of celebrities is impressive with no less than Stefi Graf & Andre Agasi, Mikhail Gorbechev, Catherine Denevue and Rolling Stone’s guitarist Keith Richards all fronting the face of the campaign! “Countless Emotions…countless journeys” Louis Vuitton also tugs on the emotional heart strings of Boomers living life to the fullest and there is even a hint of nostalgia as all the celebrities are of yesteryear. Great campaign…if you are a boomer! Not sure how many Generation Xers this ad campaign will appeal to but I can’t imagine many and yet I’m sure that as Generation X approaches the heights of their careers (the oldest of the Gen Xers are nearly forty) they would form a large proportion of LV’s target audience.

Have a look at the campaigns micro site by following this link to the Louis Vuitton
site and then click on the LV core values film

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A lesson from politics…

Politics in America is hotting up and I’ve been curious to note that with all their charisma and pedigree the Clintons have started falling behind and even though Hillary did rally in New Hampshire primary they still trail Obama. Now I’m not into politics but what did interest me was what John Sviokla had to say on a new post in Harvard Business. He has identified that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama treat their supporters differently. Clinton considers her backers as “customers” while Obama sees his supporters as “members”

For example, Sviokla points out that their two web sites differ radically. On Obama’s you received “points” for each activity you do such as creating a profile, making your profile public, logging in, or befriending a link and you can “climb” this social/political ranking by engaging more–hosting events, linking to others, raising money and many other forms of participation. To anyone in the MySpace/Facebook generation this type of functionality is expected. In contrast, joining the Clinton web site gives you an identification tag like TZ3QQ7, so that any donations can be tracked – sounds just like the old style “frequent purchaser” numbers that everyone from CVS to American Airlines uses.

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Boomers Turning 60 – coming into their branding prime

Boomers are variously defined as those people born from the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s around the world. Most researchers use the end of the Second World War as a reference point, which means that as of 2006, this group of people has started to turn 60. They are not old, though. Don’t be confused about that. This demographic tidal wave will have a greater effect on institutions and businesses than the aging of any previous generation. Because of the size and spending power of the boomers, mature values and trends will dominate marketplace realities.

The Chief Marketer recently put out a list of 5 ways in which the Boomers will continue to shape the marketing and branding landscape. Here is what they said (from author, Brent Green):

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The 22 major factors that will shape the future of customer loyalty

I picked this up recently. I think it is a year old, but still good info.

My reference says it is by Peter Clark (co-author, The Loyalty Guide) and was sourced from The Wise Marketer

While we must look into the past to find out why customers defect, stay loyal, or advocate a brand, we also need to see changes coming. Here we detail the 22 major factors that are set to shape the future of customer loyalty programmes around the world…

In this article, we’ve drawn guidance and data from the 36 chapters of The Loyalty Guide Volume II (May 2006, Wise Research), to offer practical insights into the technological developments, market trends, business strategies, and behavioural shifts that will define and shape successful loyalty initiatives up to 2010. We have purposely kept our focus on practical developments rather than merely expounding theory.

Paradigm shifts have a nasty habit of turning up just when they’re least expected… The most obvious way of predicting future trends is to examine what has happened so far and then make projections from that. But that is fraught with danger because paradigm shifts have a nasty habit of turning up just when they’re least expected. Who would have predicted even ten years ago that the mail and the fax would have been relegated to the extent that they have by e-mail? And with the rapid growth of spam and online fraud, e-mail is already getting much harder to use for reliable customer contact. Another shift is already overdue.

Some of these factors we discuss here are already known to loyalty marketers, but their importance in shaping the industry means they shouldn’t be dismissed from our attention when planning ahead. But others are new and perhaps even surprising, and are likely to become the key points of differentiation between loyalty programmes that succeed and those that don’t.

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The Airbus A380 is delivered – but will it deliver?

The long awaited monster passenger plane, the Airbus A380, is now ready for delivery. In fact, Air Singapore today took delivery of their first plane with much pomp and ceremony. Read about it here at the international airlines news, and read about the financial details at Forbes.com.

Some people have said:

• The plane is too late – the market has moved on, and there won’t be enough orders to pay for it.
• Given the delays and increases in development costs, they need to sell almost double the estimated number of planes to turn a profit.
• Its unlikely the market will be able to absorb the additional planes they need to sell.
• The plane will become obsolete before they sell 400 units.
• The plane is too big – no-one wants to fly with that many people.

In fact, these things were all said of the Boeing 747 when it was introduced to the market in 1970. Some people are saying very similar things of the A380 today. They have obviously not looked at the past and learnt from it. That’s a problem everywhere today, isn’t it?