Welcome to 2009 and what could be a tough year ahead for business and consumers alike. Depending what you read, it is either all doom and gloom or there is a sniff of a financial recovery in the wind. The one thing that is for sure is that the world has changed in the last 12 months and I believe it is not all bad.
 
I recently read a great article by William C. Taylor on Harvard Business Online about the need to invest wisely during these difficult times and he posed this question.
 
"If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would really miss you and why?"
 
"Why might a company be missed? Because it's providing a product or service so unique that it can't be provided nearly as well by any other company. Because it's forged a uniquely emotional connection with customers that other companies can't replicate. Precious few companies meet any of these criteria -- which may be why so many companies feel like they're on the verge of going out of business, even in good times."
 
While as the article mentions, few companies have taken the time to create that emotional tie with their consumers there are a few who have done it very well. Take Zappos (http://www.zappos.com/) for example. They aligned their entire company to focus on outstanding customer service and combined with a customer loyalty and relationship marketing strategy have created incredible loyalty through engagement with the brand and its values. With reported revenue in 2007 of US$840 million, Zappos are forecasting to top the US$1 billion mark for 2008. Not bad for a company that sells shoes!
 
In 2009 with businesses looking for the silver bullet to solve all their problems, maybe it is as simple as thinking about who your customers are and investing time in creating and maintaining a bond to endure any financial crisis.

Full article here: http://tinyurl.com/7k7mtj

I know this has been around for a while but it is still great!