Our Marketing Blog

Our industry is ever-changing. Get insights and perspective from our experts as we share our knowledge and experience on how to successfully navigate the marketing landscape.

Amazon Unveils Futuristic Checkout-Free Grocery Store

Amazon announced today through a video posted online that it’s testing a grocery store in hometown Seattle that has no checkout process, much less checkout lines. The store, dubbed Amazon Go, requires customers to launch a QR-code based app, which they scan upon walking into the site. The retailer’s “Just Walk Out” technology detects when products are removed from or returned to shelves, keeps track of them in a virtual cart, and totals the cost when customers depart the store. Grab and go.

  • 1 min read
  • December 5, 2016

The Real Story Behind McDonald’s Mysterious 'Gold Card' — The Ticket to Unlimited Free Fast Food That Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Have in Their Wallets

When Rob Lowe appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live with a golden McDonald’s card last year, one big question remained: How could the Average Joe get his own card that granted him access to unlimited McDonald's? Not easily, a little sleuthing revealed. Not a piece of hotcake.

  • November 29, 2016

Walmart, Lowe's, and Whole Foods are Banking on This to Compete With Amazon

The rise of automation in the fast-food industry has made headlines in recent months, as chains such as Panera and McDonald's have heavily invested in tech that threatens to eventually replace human workers. Now the grocery and retail industry is looking to get in on automation as well. Walmart recently patented a system of self-driving shopping carts with mini robots that can complete a long list of duties once reserved for human employees. Shopping without the work.

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  • September 22, 2016

The CEO Guide to Customer Experience

What do my customers want? The savviest executives are asking this question more frequently than ever, and rightly so – they understand they are in the customer experience business, and that how an organization delivers for customers is as important as what it delivers. In this guide, experts explore the fundamentals of customer interaction and the steps necessary to redesign the business in a more customer-centric fashion. Putting customers first.

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  • August 18, 2016

Retailers Like J. Crew Are Obsessed With Data. (And It’s Killing Your Shopping Experience.)

As shoppers ourselves, it’s a routine we already know extremely well by now. It goes like this: You walk into your favorite fashion retail store. You’re welcomed by a retail floor assistant. They repeatedly greet you with a scripted engagement every three minutes until you checkout or leave. You may think it is over at this point, but really it’s just the beginning. Double down on digital instead.

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  • August 17, 2016

The Evolution of Marketing Platforms: From Automation to Journeys

In the beginning, marketing automation platforms basically involved if/then rules: if a customer takes this action, show this response. But overlapping e-mail campaigns with if/then rules become very complicated very quickly, especially when you’re talking about millions of customers, each one in a different frame of mind, and each expecting his/her own personalized experience. As a result, marketing platforms are evolving to the newer approach of customer journeys that are often guided by machine learning. It's all about the customer journey.

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  • July 19, 2016

Facebook's Chatbots Now Know Customers' Names And Preferences

Facebook has added a raft of new features to its Messenger chatbots, including linking a customer's account so a bot can make personalized suggestions. The new account-linking feature would allow customers to link, for example, their account with a book retailer to the brand chatbot. The chatbot can then suggest new books based on what the customer has purchased before. Facebook knows me so well.

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  • July 1, 2016

How Amazon Prime Became a Successful Loyalty Program

Amazon Prime is the greatest and most misunderstood loyalty program ever created. This is a loyalty program with no point system. It’s $99 a year to be a part of. Prime is not about free shipping or fast shipping. There are no discounts. Prime, at its core, is about changing consumer behavior by reducing friction - and companies and brands could learn a lot. The price is right.

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  • June 28, 2016

Walmart Teams Up With Uber and Lyft For Grocery Delivery Test

Walmart has lined up two key new partners in combatting the latest challenge with Amazon: grocery delivery. Ride sharing giants Uber and Lyft will be partnering with Walmart for home deliveries to small areas of Denver and Phoenix to start, with discussions to expand. Will Walmart’s “always low prices” be enough to compete with a powerhouse like Amazon? Let’s get ready to rumble…

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  • June 3, 2016

When Customer Service Goes Wrong: Who the Heck is Running the ASOS Facebook?

The ASOS Facebook page in Australia seems to have been taken over by bots, trolls or sleepy staff. Despite ASOS' insistence that its replies are not auto-responses, Facebook posters have converged onto the page and amusing comments continue to receive similar replies, no matter what they’re saying. The robot revolution might not be all it's cracked up to be.

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