Pivot Point: Color Me Loyal

Let’s face it: Without loyalty, a brand isn’t a brand. We would love to be able to claim that we planned our annual “loyalty” issue to coincide with our annual Hub Prize competition, but, in truth, it’s just a happy coincidence. The pairing is so serendipitous because the Hub Prize honors excellence in the retail experience, which truly is a pivot point of building and sustaining customer loyalty.

Think about the brands that enjoy the most intense loyalty today — Apple, Whole Foods, Amazon, JetBlue, for example. They each provide a stellar retail experience, be it online, in-store or, in JetBlue’s case, inflight. True, a great product is equally critical to brand loyalty. But absent a great retail experience, even insanely great products will lose their fans. And let’s face it: Without loyalty, a brand isn’t a brand. read>>