If you are grappling with how to build your brand so you can create truly extraordinary experiences for your customers, you're in luck.

Brand building expert Denise Lee Yohn has released her second book titled Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do. It will inspire and guide you onto a path for transforming your brand into one that builds and sustains your business.

Denise shared an advance copy of her book with me; I really enjoyed the seven case studies detailed and how each illustrates a brand-building principle from her first book, including specific recommendations on how to focus on that principle for your business. You will, too.

(See What Great Brands Do By Denise Lee Yohn for perspective on Denise's first book.)

Wondering how to deal with the biggest inbound content challenges facing us? According to Steve Rubel, the solution is to Communicate in Constellations: Connect the Dots. See the Bigger Story.

As he explains, 

"One of the most critical issues facing marketers today is the sheer proliferation of content... [It} is only going to get harder to reach and connect with increasingly distracted audiences..."

When you're in a relationship, thoughtfulness indicates that love's involved. Assuming you love your customers, how does your customer experience express that love and thoughtfulness?

A Thoughtful Customer Experiences Seems Like a No-Brainer, No?

If you're paying attention to your business, you're aware that things are different. Customers are more knowledgeable, more demanding, less trusting and have higher expectations of their overall customer experience. For many decisions, they have more choices (including doing nothing). Being thoughtful is definitely a point of business differentiation - especially now in the world of ZMOT.

When's the last time you visited the Met - virtually or in person? There are social media marketing lessons to be learned from those interactions as Sree Sreenivasan shared during #BRITEconf 2015.

Placing the Met Into Digital Perspective

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is an amazing institution. It has history, remarkable works of art, endless cultural icons in a setting that brings ancient worlds to life, helps you understand context and generally elevates the soul.

Whether you are a physical retailer or an ecommerce based one, location matters. That's according to  David R. Bell from Wharton, author of Location is (still) everything: why the real world matters for e-commerce, who presented findings from his book at #BRITEconf 2015. Note, though, that it's location with a twist: think location of the customer.

Have you noticed how connecting with customers has gotten more challenging? Gone are the days when brands called the shots, considering themselves the only experts. Consumers rule. Not only do they have infinite options, but they are digitally savvy, have access to knowledge and want to participate in the brands they care about. As marketers we must learn how to market in a world of demand.

PepsiCo Snacks Group Knows How To Market In a World of Demand

Ann Mukherjee, President, Global Snacks Group and PepsiCo Global Insights, is no stranger to the world of demand. Since joining PepsiCo in 2005, she has actively involved consumers from around the globe in developing new snack flavors, redefining the brand, and creating user generated advertising: 

Wondering how to breathe new life into your store or business? One solution is through digital marketing so your business can come alive for those who start their purchase journey online. Here are my thoughts on this topic.

Reenergize your store with digital marketing

By Christine B. Whittemore

Have you considered how digital marketing – which includes social elements – reenergizes the retail store experience?

Do you believe that digital businesses will wipe out physical ones? If yes, you won't be too interested in digital-physical mashups and how they affect inbound marketing and retail. If no, read on!

The Future of Retail: Digital + Physical

Given that we are physical beings with physical needs and a deep appreciation for destination-worthy customer experiences, I doubt that brick-and-mortar businesses will be replaced by digital-only ones.

However, any business that totally ignores the online world and the fact that most customers start the purchase journey researching online will be very, very sorry.