"Our Take" - Trust and Loyalty

(Past Editions by: Date, Title, Topic)

 
About "Our Take" 
"Our Take" is a collection of daily vignettes covering a wide range of CRM topics. It's an attempt to add our own spin to the world of CRM. We will use the column to share our perspectives, opinions, epiphanies, web nuggets, or quite frankly anything that moves us. Get ready to expect the unexpected. And, don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.
 
 
7/25/07 - Trust and Loyalty
I just have to vent a bit. I very much enjoy July because I can wake up every morning to daily coverage of the Tour de France. If you have never watched the Tour, it may be even more fun to watch without Lance. Don't tell him that.
 
This year, the race has a dark cloud over it regarding last year's winner and his alleged use of drugs. So much so that officials have worked extra hard to offer a "clean" race. Yesterday, the cloud got darker as a stage winner tested positive for doping. He and his team were asked to leave. I love the Tour but I just can't tell what I'm watching - a race among athletes or the best covert medicine available.
 
Broaden your view of sports and we have allegations of NBA officials involved in betting. We also have a home run king set to best one of sports biggest records amidst allegations of steroid use. On and on and on. And we continue to pay top money to attend these sporting events. Although I can't trust what I'm watching, I trust the powers that be will eventually get control of the situation. Is that naive loyalty?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
7/26/07 - More about Trust and Loyalty
Your email responses to yesterday's column about trust and loyalty tell me how important these two values are to you. And just as I thought the Tour de France had hit an all time low with new allegations of drug use, it somehow finds a way to find a new low when the leader of the tour was pulled from the race due to breaking the rules associated with drug use.
 
Today's stage of the tour is being done without a wearer of the maillot jaune, or yellow jersey. The second place rider has the right to wear the maillot jaune but he chose not to wear it because he had not earned it on the road. So amidst the disgrace of such a popular world event on a world stage, a bit of honor can be found. That's a start.
 
Drug use has been a big problem in cycling for a long time. However, the new way that it is being dealt with is promising. While this may be cycling's darkest days, it may actually be historically recorded as one of its best days - the event that prompted changes for clean racing. Mark my words, I think other sports will eventually hit these lows and eventually make real change. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the fans (read: customers:) and what they want.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
7/27/07 - Do We Care?
I've been talking about trust and loyalty with regard to customers common known as sporting fans in the context of the current Tour de France. Does the average fan care if riders dope? After all, the end result is performance enhancement and don't we want to see the best performance? However, when one group has an advantage over another group by benefit something beyond natural ability, training and perseverance, it is difficult to know what we are watching. Are we watching true human feats or something artificially stimulated? Do we care?
 
I think most do in the long run. The TdF is more than 20 days of racing in July. Crowds on certain days exceeds one million people. Some fans camp on the side of Alpines or Pyrenees mountains for days anticipating the arrival of the cyclists. Total spectator time is often less than an hour and may be as little as just a few seconds. Now that is loyalty!
 
Do the numbers. Millions of people coming from all over the world to catch a glimpse of two hundred guys race bikes. They stay for many days and spend thousands of dollars on travel and tourism. That is why cities compete so fiercely to host the start or finish of a tour stage. That is why sponsors spend so much to promote their brands along the route. Without trust, eventually the whole business model crumbles to the status of a "sport" known more as entertainment than sport. Can you say professional wrestling? More on the money side of loyalty next week.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
7/30/07 - Loyalty and the TdF Recap
Last week, I talked about how doping scandals will affect the future of professional sports using the Tour de France (TdF) as an example of the relationship between trust and loyalty. Many readers responded with resignation saying that drug enhanced performance will always exist as long as there is big money involved. We have seen little change to convince us otherwise.
 
With regard to the tour, the crowds continued to line the streets of France in equal or greater numbers. So from a fan perspective, loyalty remains even as trust erodes. However, what about the money side? Will the sponsors continue to line the pockets of the Tour?
 
Even before some of the doping announcements were made, several high-profile sponsors were already on the brink of giving up on cycling. T-Mobile, sponsor of one major team, says it will announce its future shortly after the Tour ends. It's suspected that Adidas and Audi are on the way out. Volkswagen's Czech unit Skoda, one of the Tour's four main sponsors, is deciding whether to continue. Discovery Channel, backer of the U.S.-based team, is ending its involvement. Will the departure of big money force real changes to re-establish an equilibrium between trust and loyalty?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
7/31/07 - Connect the Dots
Trust and loyalty. Care and compassion. These are four powerful words for the world of customer relationship management.
 
I have a homework assignment for you today. Take a minute to read what has been written about trust and loyalty. Next, compare that to what we wrote last month about care and compassion. Now tell me your thoughts about how the ideas work independently in your organization and how they correlate to each other.
 
It will only take few moments to review the readings. I imagine at least one big thought will come to mind right away. Please do share.
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
11/16/07 - More on Trust and Loyalty
A while ago, I spent time talking about the relationship between trust and loyalty. The topic received quite a bit of response. There is one response I didn't get to at the time but I kept to shared with you at some point. The poignant comments have remained with me for quite some time and I thought I want to share them with you. Think about this:
 
"You can't trust the powers that be. Clinton-Lewinski. Iran-Contra. Enron. MCI-Worldcom. Iraq WMD. Integrity is no longer valued. Kids learn to cheat in school, and when it comes to standardized tests that impact their bonus, teachers encourage them to cheat. Athletes have turned cheating into a high-tech science. Self-respect is derived from available cash flow, not honesty or hard-work or self-sacrifice. Cynicism rules and people are living down to reduced expectations. If no one is trustworthy, you cannot operate as you would in an environment of trust. Loyalty in the business sphere has been reduced to a measure on a spreadsheet."
 
There are more comments but you certainly get the "glass is half empty" perspective. I'm more of a glass is half full kind of guy, but the realities of the comments make me take pause. A true trust-loyalty relationship is certainly an exception in today's world. That is why it is so valuable if you can create it and share it. Do you agree?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)