Not all loyalty programs are created equal: some work like super glue to keep customers coming back again and again while others can backfire. Loyalty programs can backfire when they put too much of a burden on the customer for participation. In order to do it right, companies should look for ways to make their loyalty programs as convenient and transparent as possible to the customer.

In today's business world, implementing projects is the way that things get done. Projects are conceived and reviewed nearly every day, but not every project is created equal. Some projects can create results that go straight to the bottom line, while others languish to generate any tangible results.

Hopefully, everyone will experience their fair share of good projects in their career; Good projects that deliver what was promised on-time and on-budget and ends with a ticker tape parade through the cubicle aisles.

Is your business stuck in neutral, or worse, drifting backwards? It doesn't have to be that way. Some companies have figured out the secret for achieving ultra high business performance, and it has nothing to do with anything you'll find on the balance sheet.

An elite set of companies have uncovered the secrets of customer experience to achieve ultra high business performance.

As an American consumer, chances are that you have been offended in some way by a company this year. It hasn't always been that way. Before the current era of mass-everything, there was a real connection between proprietor and customer: a connection that continues to be the envy of most businesses today.

Let me take you back to a time when the customer and business had a real - not artificial - relationship.

If you've listened to your customers - or attended a retail industry conference - over the past five years, then you know that cross-channel retailing continues to be a hot topic. Not only are more and more Americans going online, but a growing percent of them use the Internet to research and purchase products. Retailers can no longer fudge their online experience; customer expectations for online customer service levels are also rising.

Recent news coming from Wall Street won't exactly fill your stockings with Holiday cheer. In fact, it may make you think about tucking a bit of your discretionary cash under the mattress for the proverbial rainy day. If the economy does sour, what will your customers do? Will they continue to spend as they always have, or will they begin to pare back spending?

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Imagine what would happen if you had dozens of architects and hundreds of contractors all working on your business. Now image if there was no master plan and each individual spoke his or her own unique language. It's not hard to imagine that you would have something that would resemble the Winchester House - the now-famous 160-room house that was cobbled together over a 38-year span with no master plan.

As customer experience management (CEM) continues to gain importance in the minds of today's CEOs, more and more companies are taking on customer experience management projects to improve customer satisfaction, develop better customer insights, nurture customer loyalty and advocacy, and improve customer lifetime value. The rapid rise to the top echelons of strategic priority has brought an unfortunate side affect; numerous customer experience management myths have begun to form due to a flood of conflicting definitions, perspectives and over-hyped promises.

When projects need a strong dose of strategy & direction, leaning solely on requirements just won't cut it anymore.

If you've been a part of any business project during your professional career, you've seen the basic formula before: Project teams analyze the current state, identify requirements, and then implement a solution that best meets the requirements.

Loyalty cards have invaded and have taken over our lives! It all started innocently enough. It seemed like no big deal when airlines and hotels embraced the 'frequent' traveler rewards programs. We consumers embraced the idea of earning rewards for our travel.

Little did we know that loyalty cards would band together and plot to overtake our lives! The momentum built slowly so that we wouldn't notice.