how well do you know me?

As for retailers, it is crucial for them to know me very well if they want my business. I think some do a really great job and some can't seem to get the hang of it. In my opinion, they really need to integrate the answers to these questions in order to start down the road of success.

o who are your most valuable customers?
o what do they need?
o what motivates them to purchase?
o can you customize aspects of your busines to meet customer's needs?

These days it doesn't matter how many times during experiments the company's product/service performs wonderfully, if it is not something we want or need, most likely it will not survive. More and more it is the customers who define what companies need to deliver. We define what the "store" is. By knowing who your most valuable customers are and anticipating their needs, companies can leverage that information across marketing, sales, and operations. They become successful when they are able to mix this into our store experience to make it meaningful for us.

A good approach to consider when thinking about their business would be to take customer surveys, and lots of them. But it is important to create some sort of incentive so that customers like myself will first- want to do complete the survey, and second- complete it well. For example, sporadically after each transaction at Banana Republic the register will spit out a customer survey opportunity. It typically says that a customer can receive a percentage off their next purchase if they go online and fill out a survey on their experience visiting that particular Banana Republic store that day. The survey takes a good five to ten minutes- as long as you actually think about the service you received. I find that I do. Then you get a discount code good for three months. Too bad there's no alarm that reminds you to bring it with you when you go shopping AND then also pull it out of your wallet where it's been folded for a very long time. After all, the discount is only worthwhile if you use it!



Some more points on customer satisfaction surveys- they are often regarded as the most accurate barometers for predicting the success of a company. Because they directly ask about the critical success factors of a business, when done effectively, customer satisfaction surveys can deliver powerful, incisive information and provide ways to gain a competitive edge. Companies are able to gather, measure, and analyze valuable information with more accuracy, consistency, and in less time than ever before. Obtaining customer feedback quickly helps make sure that a business is meeting (and hopefully exceeding) customer expectations. It also allows visibility to where changes should be made to increase satisfaction and overall success.

Which actually after doing some more research on Banana for the blog's purpose, I found out that the division of San Francisco-based retailer Gap has signed nine musicians to appear in the upcoming print, outdoor, online and direct mail campaign, which starts Feb. 18. They will be welcoming artists such as Liz Phair, Sara Bareilles, Tommy Torres and band OK Go! They will appear in Banana Republic’s spring and summer 2009 collections. Online, Banana Republic will also feature artist interviews, free downloads and performances. It's funny how companies think that these things will be a solution for the decline in sales or at least attract us into the store to see what they have- the other funny thing is, it will bring in many of us. Becuase like the L'Oreal and Miss Clairol commericals we saw, we long to be like these women/famous artists we see on TV- and really, to us, using the same hair coloring or wearing the same clothes gets us one step closer.