Joan Treistman

A formal social media policy for employees will be very difficult to craft. The guidelines would have to be very clear and that is not always possible. Look at what happened in Cartegena, Columbia. Secret Service agents have very rigid rules for their behavior, but it didn't stop them...

There are two themes in this article. One has to do with "cyber stalking". The other has to do with influencing behavior.

If I am not mistaken, marketers have always been trying to influence purchase behavior. That is the purpose of marketing.

While cyber stalking may be a new technique...

I agree with Doug's points. I would add that role playing is an excellent way to train staff. If they have the experience of being the customer as well as the employee, they will know how it feels on both sides of the fence.

Most recently I have noticed...

1. Tell me about 3 of the purchases you made in the past few weeks that you would classify as "the first time I ever bought that item or brand".
2. (For each item mentioned...) What was it that got you to buy that particular product? Did you...

Everyone seems to be in agreement. For sales people who are ineffective customer service advocates, the tablet won't overcome the problem. For retailers that understand this and offer the tablet along with the skills of using it to enhance relationships, the tablet can be a great asset.

Costco's array of online products and services extends well beyond their warehouse inventory. To the extent that they promote what they already have to their loyal customers and are able to enhance awareness of their offerings to the rest of the world, their revenues will multiply beyond expectations. Reading...

For some of the metrics quoted I would expect comparable reactions among those who don't use social media. For example, choosing who to continue doing business with. Where social media trumps word of mouth is its ability to let more people know an opinion more quickly. And that's where...

The Uniqlo store on 5th Avenue and 53rd Street is a great consumer experience and tourist destination. While they must have a website to at least satisfy loyal customers, I don't believe it's the way to "crack" the market they serve. Uniqlo in the flesh embraces effectiveness of merchandising...

How important is it to those leading the CEO search to find someone who can make a positive difference? As far as I know there is no performance review associated with CEO searches. Stock prices are hard to control, but the CEO is accountable for revenue growth and profit...

This article is soooo retro. I love it. "Exceeded expectations" and "delight" characterize what it was and what it is to achieve bragging rights. Interestingly it comes naturally when you've accomplished making people feel good about their experience in your store ... over and over again. In some ways...