Good morning guys! Happy Monday to all. I hope you are rested from the weekend andready to start a brand new, productive week. Here is a weekly roundup of some great articles to get your brain started. (If you want them more in real-time, be sure to follow me on social media – Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!)
- We all have our blind-spots in life – things we just simply don’t see. This article discusses how you can know (and deal with) yours as a leader: bit.ly/28RLyT6
- This article highlights a few things you might want to be aware of so you don’t look unprofessional in meetings: on.inc.com/293W6Ag
- The big news of late last week was the UK voters choosing to leave the EU. I called it…wrong. This article hit on some of the fallout from that referendum: read.bi/28RDLK0
- Ulta Beauty’s bricks-and-mortar strategy seem to be working. This article discusses why theirs is working when other retailers are struggling: on.wsj.com/28QcjtA
- 2016 has been a tough on for tech IPOs. Twilio, one of the few to go public this year, priced above expectations and did great on day one: read.bi/28Sd6Nx
- The secret to social media is not just eyeballs , but deeper engagement, This article gives us tips for how to increase your company’s level of social media engagement: mklnd.com/28ZxXMu
- We can learn a lot from very successful people. This article hits on the things theynever do: on.inc.com/28RemkZ
- Do you have trouble staying focus don your work? This article discusses some ways that we can control our technology to stay better focused: bit.ly/28NAqIj
- Leaders can find it hard to stay creative. This article provides some good tips for how you can maintain your creativity even as you lead a business: bit.ly/28MnS58
- Two years ago Fab.com folded. This article shared some ideas about what we can learn from it: on.inc.com/28MpkVP
- If you are planning an online business you will come across a ton of things that must be done. This article shares some things NOT to do before you launch: huff.to/28JuH6i
- Disengaged customers can be won back. In this article you will find some tips for how to re-engage with your disengaged customers: mklnd.com/28K5eNe
- Psychology can be a secret to improving social media engagement. This article discusses how social media affects our brain and how that can impact our strategic approach: bit.ly/28JvVDo
Last week I was very focused on the topic of premium brands and how too often they do not seem to be accompanied by a premium level of service. I shared some tips to help you avoid that trap:
- Knowledgeable, personable employees are critical to deliver service to support our premium brand. Are you hiring right?
- Find ways to go WAY beyond what customers expect to deliver high-end service for your luxury brand.
- Personalization of communication and products/services is a key to delivering a premium brand.
- If you have a premium brand, assess whether you are providing premium service to earn a premium price?
I wrote my latest blog post about this issue as well: “What Happened to Premium Brands’ Premium Service?“. I hope you give it a read and let me know what you think.