Sperry, Hutchinson, and the Hotel, Part III

In Sperry, Hutchinson, and the Hotel Part I and Part II we looked at the history and common pitfalls of customer loyalty programs. So far, I’ve been less than enthusiastic. Not about the concept, you understand, but about most of the programs in use as we commonly see...

Sperry, Hutchinson, and the Hotel, Part II

We ended Sperry, Hutchinson, and the Hotel, Part I with a promise of Chuck’s personal hotel story, and posed this question: Can you buy customer loyalty?Let’s start with the hotel story.I have business in Austin every few months. A couple of years ago I started...

Sperry, Hutchinson, and the Hotel, Part I.

Are customer loyalty programs a good thing for retail? Should you have one? Do you participate in any? In part two of this article, I’ll tell you a story about a hotel’s loyalty program from my own experience, and share with you both rational and emotional...

Managing the Gap, Part Deux

From my “in” box:Chuck;I always look forward to your articles. I don’t always agree, however. And today, I’d like to argue one point with you that you mention in your Managing the Gap article.You stated that “Without advertising,...

Managing the Gap

“All advertising does is try to convince people to buy things they don’t want and don’t need.”Ever heard that? If you have, it was probably a statement made by an employee. A non-sales employee of some large company. A non-sales employee who doesn’t understand...