One year ago this month, I launched this blog with a little trepidation and a few heartfelt words about customer intimacy, privacy and how much the industry has changed over the past two decades.
Now as I look back, I am impressed by how much change occurred in just the past 12 months.
In 2012, the term “showrooming” became a household word; an app called “Pay with Square” enabled small-business merchants to identify shoppers as soon as they walked in the door; Microsoft filed patents for tracking systems that could detect a computer user’s emotions; and Facebook went public, largely on the power of its users’ data.
Meanwhile my book, The Loyalty Leap, published and LoyaltyOne expanded deeper into the booming international markets of India and Brazil.
All of these events reinforce what I said one year ago: That while the power of customer data is much greater today, achieving customer intimacy can still be an uphill battle. Companies find themselves with loads of data, but are not clear of how to use it in a way that benefits both them and their customers.
It takes a leap of faith in the data, and it takes a leap in how you operate your company, from one that may be focused on products or services to one that puts the customer at the heart of its purposes.
As I look back on more than 100 blog posts, I know the industry is getting there. I’d like to show you how. Below I have listed what I feel are the blog items that reflect the industry’s most marked accomplishments and innovations.
Let’s hope next year at this time, we have even more to share.
The Three Rs of Loyalty: A Life Lesson from the Classroom to the Boardroom
Intimacy in the Aisles: How to Distinguish the Customer Experience
Social relevance as more than a pet project
Guide to Good Manners Online: It’s Transparent
Measuring True Loyalty in the True North
Wanted: Data Processors; Responsibility Required
Loyalty in any language means loyalty
We All Have a Price, As Long as It is a Fair One
