Retention and Relationships

There is an outstanding discussion between Vinton Cerf and Esther Dyson at wsj.com that is definitely worth reading.

The fascinating part is their discussion of attention.  If there truly is an emerging shift in how individuals value themselves (Adults define themselves by what they own and wear, Kids by who pays attention to them), there are staggering changes to the concept of brands and brand relationships on the horizon.

It’s not difficult to envision a world 20 years from now where individual expression is everything, and conformity is nothing.  Functional and performance brands will still thrive, but attitudinal brands will become niche-oriented to survive.

The relationships that brands have with their customers will become even more important, since holding on to core customers will be an absolute requirement for survival.

This blog will focus on the intersection of marketing and technology around managing customer relationships in consumer and retail businesses.

Sounds droll, but if you are in this profession you know how difficult it can be to be successful, and how much change there is in the space.

I keep hearing how the typical CMO tenure continues to drop, and I’m convinced its because marketers with traditional training underestimate the effectiveness of relationship and technology-based marketing and advertising. 

There is, finally, a wave of new practitioners in the space (still mostly at the VP and Director level), for whom an holistic understanding of customer relationships, regardless of interaction channel, is their mantra.

If you are part of this new wave, this blog is for you.