Value

BE PERFECT or BE EXCELLENT: The Art of Getting Real

Sometimes we teach because we have something to share and other times we teach because we have something to learn.  This is one of those cases where I am exploring an issue for myself as much as I am addressing it for you. How do we balance all the demands necessary to serve the needs…

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Are your property values up? Thank Starbucks

What does brand equity get you?  Among other things – happy neighbors!  According to recent reports, when a Starbucks opens nearby your property values rise – alot.  Before you think this phenomena occurs anytime a multi-national company opens its doors in your vicinity, the research also shows that its better to have Starbucks than Dunkin…

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Would you have your wedding at Starbucks? Becoming a Beloved Brand

So would you?  Would you have your wedding at Starbucks?  How about your reception? Lets switch venues, how about at Taco Bell or Subway? While I have never heard of a Taco Bell reception, I have been tracking the phenomena of Starbucks weddings and receptions since I worked on my first book about the company…

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Wireless Charging at a Starbucks Near You! Partnering in the Removal of Pain/Drain Points

You have seen us. If you are honest you will admit to being one of us. We are the people trying to appear inconspicuous as we feverishly look for an available power outlet to recharge our laptops, tablets, or cellular phones. We are easily located in a wide number of locations including airports and Starbucks…

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Exploiting Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Think Authenticity When Doing Cause Marketing

As a person, who lost his wife to a six-year battle with breast cancer the month of October is bitter sweet. I am heartened by so many organizations championing the cause of breast cancer awareness, research, and treatment – the month is awash with television ads, corporate buildings bedecked with large pink ribbons, and businesses…

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Walk A Mile In Their Shoes – Mapping Your Customers’ Journey

Sometimes we are too close to something – a process, an idea, a product or service – to see it with true, objective clarity and perspective.  This can be especially (and paradoxically) true when a notion is born from our own brains.  We think we know what it looks, smells and feels like to be…

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Forging a Digital Connection of Trust and Relevance

Many business leaders have a love/hate relationship with technology.  On the one hand, technological advances offer great business opportunities.  On the other hand, the infrastructure costs associated with technology shifts and the rapid pace of technological change pose strategic and operational challenges.  Although some business leaders fall in love with technology for technology’s sake leaders…

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Easy Wins

Ahhh, summer – a season of sunshine, valiant efforts to slow one’s life down, and vacation travel.  It’s hard not to notice, however, how our great escape efforts are often marked by so much preparatory and participatory stress. Marketing guru (and a man who was kind enough to endorse my Zappos Experience book) Seth Godin recently posted…

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Beloved Brands Think Differently

Working remotely, I am sitting in a Starbucks with my laptop.  (As you may have surmised, I’ve been having a substantive long-term relationship with the brand.)  Across the way, a woman was also working away on her computer when…it happened.  A keystroke run amok sends her beverage sailing across the table and onto the floor,…

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How to turn problems into customer loyalty

I recently visited a store to make a return.  I suspect that few people relish this particular type of retail encounter – not the employees, not the customers. Both sides often seem prepared for a debate at best and an argument at worst.  It is an unexpected relief when the experience is seamless. The product…

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FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article