In-Store Customer Engagement

In 1997 Starbucks taught us a valuable marketing lesson when they introduced their first-ever festive Holiday Cup. Since then, their red cup designs have become symbolic, signalling the unofficial start of the holiday season 🎄 Today, many other cafes and coffee chains release their own winter cup designs. So why does a simple change in design make millions of people feel like Christmas has officially arrived? The person behind these designs is Starbucks Creative Director Kristy Cameron who commented in a press release: “There’s something unmistakably magical about that moment the cups arrive – it’s as if the season officially begins” As a marketer, I couldn’t agree more. This year’s holiday cup theme was inspired by the green and red aprons worn by Starbucks baristas: • Merry Apron Strings (in both red and green) → celebrates the annual shift from green to holiday red aprons • Coffeehouse Plaid → makes the cups feel like they’re wrapped in festive gift packaging • Cold Cups → feature ribbon-like red and green designs Each cup also includes a blank tag on the back, which is perfect for a personalised message and a thoughtful little touchpoint! Their 15-second spot, created by Stagwell and set to The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles, shows charming cartoon ice skaters dancing around holiday drinks (Caramel Brulée Latte, Peppermint Mocha and Iced Gingerbread Chai), continuing the story behind the festive designs. On Starbucks’ Instagram alone, several videos on their festive designs and red cups have over 1 million views. Even the teaser for their official Red Cup Day which took place on November 13th received over 8.2 million views. But it doesn’t stop there. The design story continues in-store, too, with evergreen garlands, velvet ribbons and campaign visuals playing throughout Starbucks coffee chains. For over 5 years, I’ve analysed Starbucks’ holiday campaign because it made me curious around how brands become part of cultural rituals. They’ve built an emotional connection that links the consumer, the holiday season and the Starbucks brand. Between now and Christmas the festive cups will fill your social stories and grid. This generates a bank of UGC, free publicity and media coverage for Starbucks. It proves the power of seasonal marketing and the impact of changing your packaging. Because it’s a reminder that Starbucks isn’t just selling coffee, they’re selling the experience of visiting, whether you sit in, drive thru or takeaway. They’ve transformed a simple cup into an iconic representation of their brand experience. And as marketers, we can learn from Starbucks success by: - Build emotion around seasonal moments - Design experiences customers want to share - Tap into existing rituals rather than trying to create new ones Let me know your thoughts on this year’s cup design! ❤️ Images credit 2 & 3: Starbucks Instagram.

What makes Sephora’s 38m+ member Beauty Insider program so effective? I sat down with Emmy Brown Berlind, SEPHORA’s SVP & GM Loyalty to find out. The podcast link is in the first comment. Really worth a listen for anybody working in loyalty – Emmy (and Sephora) are doing some brilliant stuff. Here are the big three themes for me (with an example of how they bring it to life): 1️⃣ Valuable, not transactional 1️⃣ → Members get real value for desired actions, BUT it isn’t just a simple earn-and-burn proposition or a barrage of discounts. Sephora really keeps the rewards fresh, with an ever-evolving mix of items available in the Rewards Bazaar, changing birthday gifts, etc. 💡 Example: last month, Sephora added an exclusive Rare Beauty (Selena Gomez’s brand) bundle with a vanity mirror, journal, hair clips, etc on the Rewards Bazaar, redeemable for 1000 points. 2️⃣ Personalized, not spammy 2️⃣ → Beauty is a really personal category. Brands waste lots of calories sending irrelevant messages to customers. Sephora uses Beauty Insider as their data engine, rewarding members for sharing data and putting it to use in a transparent, valuable way. 💡 Example: Sephora runs gamified challenges like Passport to Beauty which reward members for sharing relevant data and learning about Sephora’s offering, like 100 points for coming in-store for a ColorIQ shade matching. 3️⃣ Omnichannel, not siloed 3️⃣ → The BI program rewards members who are engaging across Sephora’s shopping and marketing channels. The in-store experience rocks and leads to tons of new product discovery, so they invest heavily in celebrating & promoting that. They’re also expanding to be in 1,100 Kohl's stores nationwide by 2025, so the in-store experience is incredibly accessible. 💡 Example: one of the Passport to Beauty ‘stamps’ was Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS), which helps members get their items same-day while discovering new products. This is a best-in-class program in so many ways. Most importantly, it’s just plain fun for members. Gamified, evolving, omnichannel, and filled with tons of ‘wow’ moments. Definitely one of our most innovative customers at Talon.One. We’re thrilled to be supporting them on program tech. Check it out – would love to hear your thoughts 💄 https://hubs.li/Q02nx7BV0 #loyaltyprograms #loyaltymarketing #customerloyalty #sephora

Why so many safety software demos miss the mark and what to do about it... Over the past few years, I’ve been involved in a wide range of enterprise software procurements for health and safety. As part of these engagements, I’ve sat through countless product demonstrations and I’ve noticed recurring themes. Too often, vendors treat demonstrations as an extended sales pitch: a whirlwind tour of features, dashboards, AI modules, mobile apps, ESG tracking and every other capability in their toolbox. That’s fine for a first sales demo. But beyond that initial overview, the focus should shift. Once you're inside a competitive bid or RFP process, the demo is no longer about the vendor; it’s about the customer. A shift from "Check out what our software can do!” to “This is how our software can help solve your most pressing problems and prepare you for the challenges you haven’t faced yet” That means: Configuring the demo to reflect the organisation’s actual workflows. Demonstrating how the platform enables better decision-making, supports critical processes and reduces the manual effort and mental load currently carried by humans and spreadsheets. Showing how the solution can evolve to meet emerging needs, not just yesterday’s pain points. This isn’t just on vendors though... Organisations need to show up with clear problem statements and a sense of where they’re headed. What’s not working now? What’s likely to change? What capabilities will be essential two years from now? Procurement, at its best is a co-design process. If you’re selecting software, don’t ask for a software demo. Ask for a demonstration of understanding — and foresight. And if you’re a vendor, don’t just show off your tech. Show how it can make a difference to your customer. #safetytech

You don’t build loyalty through rewards—you reward customers for already being loyal. Big difference. Loyalty programs are primarily designed for customers who have already demonstrated consistent engagement and loyalty to your brand. The goal isn’t to create loyalty through rewards, but to recognize and strengthen it. By offering rewards, perks, and recognition, you can maximize their lifetime value, whether by increasing purchase frequency, boosting basket size, or encouraging referrals. Tactics like tiered rewards, exclusive access, and personalized incentives help reinforce their commitment and make them feel valued. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:  For customers with the potential to become loyal, the strategy shifts. These customers have shown higher engagement but haven't fully crossed into the loyal customer category. To convert them, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is key. Tailor rewards based on their behaviors and preferences to create a sense of exclusivity and recognition. It’s also crucial to stay top of mind through strategic touchpoints—whether via targeted email campaigns, loyalty app notifications, or personalized offers that speak directly to their interests. Offering a path to higher-tier rewards as they engage more frequently can further motivate them to commit to your brand long-term. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀:  Casual customers require a different approach. They won’t become loyal overnight, and the objective here is gradual nurturing. For this segment, it's all about increasing touchpoints and staying relevant. Broader offers, such as discounts, time-sensitive promotions, or entry-level rewards, help keep them engaged without overwhelming them. The goal is to activate them periodically, ensuring they interact with your brand from time to time. By keeping consistent offers flowing, you maintain visibility, and over time, some of these casual customers may transition into the potential loyal customer segment. ----- Ultimately, loyalty is about retention, not conversion. The focus is on maintaining a strong relationship with those who already support your brand and steadily nurturing others to deepen their commitment over time.

🎯 After what I can safely say is hundreds of B2B SaaS sales interactions, the biggest make-or-break is mastering the demo execution. Here's what changed the game for us at Data Dumpling: No. 1 - Never wing it Never. No. 2 - Don't jump straight to the demo Spend the first half of the call understanding their current tool stack and pain points. Later on, when you're actually walking them through the demo, you're using the words they're using and describing a solution to their pain point using language that resonates with them. No. 3 - Prepare to personalize  Generic screenshots are conversion killers. Try to create customer-specific mockups that showcase their solution within the prospect's actual brand environment. This isn't just about cute customization—it's about helping prospects visualize their future state, making the buying decision feel less like a leap of faith. No. 4 - Friction-Free Next Steps The demo-to-close gap often widens when next steps aren't crystal clear. Our conversions nearly doubled when we consciously ended every demo with exactly two clear actions the prospect can take. After that, we'd reinforce these same steps in follow-up communications. Complexity kills momentum. No. 5 - Multi-Touchpoint Relationship Building As a founder leading sales for the first time, my biggest learning has been that demos exist within a broader relationship context. By connecting with prospects across multiple channels (email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp/text) before and after the demo, you stay top-of-mind throughout the entire evaluation process. Building a cool product isn't enough anymore (esp. when AI can copy it in no time) - I found that it pays to stand out by just taking the time to make each prospect feel special. What patterns have you noticed in your most successful prospect interactions?

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. They rely on the product to do the heavy lifting. “If they see it, they’ll get it,” they say. 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞. The problem is that demos often showcase capability, not relevance. Buyers leave impressed but unmoved. The product that works is adaptive demonstration: workflows and examples tailored not just to the industry, but to the buyer’s actual day-to-day frustrations. Modern demo tools allow this, but it still requires a seller who knows how to turn functionality into personal value. The solution is a demo that feels like a preview of their future success. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬. 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 When a buyer can picture themselves winning, the deal accelerates........

Luxury retail is entering a more demanding era. Clients no longer judge a boutique only by its location, architecture, product selection, or visual merchandising. These elements still matter, but they are only the visible part of the experience. What increasingly makes the difference is the quality of the human interaction: the welcome, the rhythm of the conversation, the ability to listen, the relevance of the questions, the precision of the advice, and the emotional intelligence of the sales advisor. A luxury boutique should never feel like a beautiful showroom with expensive objects inside. It should feel like a controlled brand universe where every detail helps the client understand, desire, and trust the brand. The point of sale is not just a commercial space. It is where strategy becomes visible. It is where positioning, heritage, training, service standards, merchandising, storytelling, and clienteling either come together or reveal their weaknesses. In that sense, retail is one of the most demanding expressions of brand management. This is why retail experience cannot be managed only through scripts or checklists. Luxury clients are too diverse, too informed, and often too sensitive to artificial service. They expect attention without pressure, expertise without arrogance, discretion without indifference, and personalization without intrusion. The challenge is to create a service culture that is structured enough to be consistent, but refined enough to remain natural. For luxury brands, the boutique is also one of the strongest sources of strategic intelligence. What clients ask, what they hesitate about, how they react to prices, which stories make them curious, which products they want to try, and which objections come back repeatedly can reveal more than many formal reports. But this requires teams to observe, share, and analyze what happens on the floor, not only report sales numbers. It also requires managers who can translate these signals into training priorities, merchandising decisions, and stronger client journeys. The future of luxury retail will belong to brands that can connect beauty, service, business discipline, and human understanding. Store design may attract attention. Product excellence may create desire. But the client experience is often what transforms interest into confidence, confidence into purchase, and purchase into loyalty, especially when growth is harder and clients are more selective across international markets. This is where I help luxury and premium brands, retail teams, executives, and institutions. I support them in analyzing client journeys, strengthening sales rituals, improving service culture, training teams, and turning retail observations into strategic recommendations for stronger performance and long-term desirability. #LuxuryRetail #ClientExperience #LuxuryStrategy #RetailExcellence #LuxuryTraining

You want B2B Buyer honesty? I’m a CEO. I took 100+ demos, and I can say this with absolute certainty—Buyers care about your product 10x LESS than what you think. They nod, smile, say “cool”... but silently worry: Is it doomed to fail? Is the timing off? Why not the 50% cheaper option? Product is only a means to an end. Here are the 6 things buyers ACTUALLY want in demos: OUTBOUND DEMOS: 1. Context First; Demo Second If there's no active project, your demo = noise. Give me clear context first: What is this? Which burning problem does it solve for peers? Why did you think it might be relevant to me? Don’t force me to connect the dots. Make it effortless to see the relevance. 2. Pain Killers; Not Vitamins Every tool seems useful— few feel urgent. During your demo, buyers think, “Is this critical?”, “Right now?” Our list of problems is endless. Don’t just find pain. Clearly show how you solve my #1 priority TODAY, or you’ve already lost me. 3. Proof and Peer Insights If your category is new or unfamiliar to me, I don’t just need its theoretical value—I need evidence. Show exactly how peers win with your product (and how they’re thinking about things differently). Peer confidence reduces risk instantly. INBOUND DEMOS: 1. Your UVP, Not 10 Differentiators Buyers will share your product internally in ONE sentence. It’s all they’ll remember (Not the top 10 differentiators that you demo). Be the one feeding it to them. Positioning is NOT marketing fluff; it’s your go-to in competitive deals. 2. Help in Navigating Buying An 'Active Project’ does not mean it's just about 'Why You'. Our business case might be half-baked, our requirements or evaluation process might be setting us up to fail. Don’t just ‘sell’ your UVP. Guide us so we can avoid project failure. 3. Prove You’ll Deliver, Not Just Sell Your awards, patents, and fancy product slides don’t mean squat. I want evidence you're going to deliver post-signature. Show me your onboarding, adoption, and customer success. I want to buy a partnership, not a product. —— Buyers don’t buy products. They buy confidence in outcomes. Stop demoing. Start proving you’ll deliver.

At $10M ARR, we stopped giving product tours. Our close rate went up. Most demos lose the deal before they even start. They throw every feature at the prospect. They rush through setup. They talk too much and listen too little. A great demo isn’t about showing the product. It’s about making the prospect want to explore it themselves. For context: Recall.ai is the API for meeting recording on every platform like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Slack Huddles, and in-person. 1/ Set the stage before screen sharing. Start with a quick recap of discovery. This reminds them why they’re here, catches up new stakeholders, and gives them a chance to correct anything we got wrong. 2/ Show, don’t tell, but let them lead. Only demo what matters. Out of a 1-hour call, product demo is just 10 minutes. We keep other features visible but untouched. Prospects lean in and ask about them. 3/ Separate product questions from pricing questions. If they ask about pricing mid-demo, don’t answer yet. Push for final product questions first, then handle pricing objections. Keeps the conversation structured. A great demo doesn’t sell. It removes friction. Save this for your next demo. It’ll change how you run sales calls.

I analyzed 100+ loyalty programs in the last 30 days. Most brands still run loyalty like it’s 2009: Earn points, get a discount, repeat. The top 10%? They’re using loyalty to change behavior- not just reward it. If I were Head of Loyalty at a $10B+ brand today, here’s exactly what I’d do to build a program that drives LTV, repeat purchases, and real retention: 1. Stop Giving Away Loyalty - Make Them Pay for It Costco, RH, Barnes & Noble. When customers pay upfront, they buy in - literally and psychologically. Forget free points. Paid memberships = commitment, retention, higher LTV and emotional sunk cost. 2. Make Loyalty Required, Not Optional - Integrate Directly into Payments Starbucks preloads!!! When rewards are embedded in how people pay, behavior shifts faster, and for longer. This is probably the biggest opportunity in loyalty right now. 3. Forget Delayed Points - Instant Gratification is More Important Immediate dopamine beats theoretical future savings. Slow accumulation = slow engagement. Instant offers = repeat behavior. The 2nd purchase matters more than the 10th. 4. Make Loyalty Emotional, Not Transactional REI, North Face, Sephora. Customers want to belong, not just save. Identity, community, and shared values are outperforming cashbacks and discounts in driving long-term loyalty. Loyalty isn’t just a discount strategy, it’s a brand strategy. 5. Invest in Status + Experiences, not Generic Perks This isn't just theory – with companies like Rapha and Lululemon offering loyalty members exclusive product drops, community events and behind-the-scenes experiences. Lean into waitlists and exclusive product drops. Less financial. More status + psychological “being in the club.” 6. Reward Engagement, Not Just Transactions MoxieLash, Pacifica, Lucy & Yak. UGC. Reviews. Referrals. Loyalty now means participation. The modern flywheel starts before checkout - and lasts far beyond it. ~~ Bottom line? If your loyalty program is still playing a game from 15 years ago, your customers are going to find better options. Today, the best brands in 2025 aren’t just rewarding loyalty- they're engineering it. PS: We analyzed 100+ programs across QSR, retail, travel, and fintech. Next week I’ll share the Top 30 loyalty programs leading the way. Stay tuned🙏