I am huge fan of Nordstrom. They have famed customer service and that is one of the reasons why I shop there. But even I was surprised by this.

Last week I was shopping at Nordstrom and bought merchadise at a few departments. The strip on my Nordstrom VISA card had apparently stopped working because each cashier had trouble swiping the card and had to resort to typing in the numbers into the register. I made an offhand comment to one of the cashieres that I would have to call in to the card customer service later and request a new card.

Of course that became just one more thing on my to-do list and I didn’t call in. To my surprise, I opened my mail on Saturday and there was a brand new shiny silver Nordstrom VISA card. Apparently one of the cashiers took it upon themselves to order a new one for me. Awesome.

I didn’t ask for a new card but one of the cashiers took the initiative to delight this customer. And that is customer service worth talking about. 

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Hi there!  

Here’s my speaking schedule including book tour events. If you live in one these cities, I looking forward to seeing you!!

• May 8: Austin – book tour event (private)
• May 10: Orlando – book tour event (private)
• May 21: Chicago – WOMMA WOMM-U Conference. Use my discount code WUSpeak50 to get $50 off registration.
• Jun 2: Orlando – book tour event (private)
• Jun 12: Milan, Italy – private event
• Jun 20: Salt Lake City – book tour event (public) sponsored by SoulSalt. Get tickets here. 
• Jun 27: Las Vegas – Confirmit Conference
• Jul 11: Chicago – book tour event (public), details TBD
• Juy 16: Portland – book tour event (public). Get tickets here.
• Sept 17: Las Vegas: Brand ManageCamp conference

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Thanks to all who participated in the Monster Loyalty pre-order giveaway by purchasing a book before launch. The winners are:

1st PRIZE:  Joey Coleman, Chief Experience Composer at Design Symphony

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics
• 2 Lady Gaga art prints by rock and roll pop artist Kii Arens, signed and numbered

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics
• 3 Lady Gaga prints designed by Kii Arens (unsigned)

3rd PRIZE: Lori Magno, DIGITAS

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics

Congratulations everyone!

I am excited to announce that Monster Loyalty is now available!

This is a book that I am extremely excited about because it argues that Lady Gaga didn’t become the success she is today based solely on her talent. She did so by engendering immense loyalty from her fans – not just through her music – but through the message she embodies and the community she has built around that message.  In four short years, Lady Gaga has built an army of passionate fans that numbers in the tens of millions around the globe. My book explores how she did it, uncovering seven loyalty lessons and providing a playbook for building this kind of loyalty in any organization.

I’m big on inspiring examples and this book is no exception. With examples from businesses such as MINI, Fiskars, and Maker’s Mark, Monster Loyalty offers a complete case study that can be modeled in companies large and small to build, maintain, and expand the core customer base central to their success.

My hope is that by studying and employing Lady Gaga’s intuitive customer strategies, readers will be equipped to improve their customer loyalty.

Monster Loyalty is available on Amazon, B&N, 800-CEO-READ and anywhere books are sold.

For those who read the book and enjoy it, I would so appreciate it if you would consider writing a review for the book on Amazon and sharing your thoughts via social media.

In addition, I’d love for you to consider a simple question: when have you either exhibited profound customer loyalty? I’d love for you to share an anecdote about the time (and why it occurred) on your blog, Twitter or even Instagram. Tag the post #monsterloyalty (My post is here.) 

Thanks for sharing in the excitement of this launch—I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!

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If you live in Austin, Texas, or will be here on May 1, I hope you will join me for the launch party for my new book, Monster Loyalty. The Gaga-themed party is also a benefit with 100% of ticket sales going to Equality Texas which educates and advocates on behalf of LGBT Texans, a non-profit doing amazing work to fight for a cause that I, and Lady Gaga, believe in.

We will also have:

• A Gaga-themed performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4 finalist Phi Phi O’Hara
• Showcasing your Poker Face at the Gaga Photo Booth
• Gaga-themed cocktails
• And more surprises!

If you can’t make it to the party, please consider making a contribution to Equality Texas by purchasing a “Money Honey” ticket and giving what you can. 

G E T   T I C K E T S   H E R E.

Thanks to our sponsors for making this fundraiser possible:

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Mack Collier is a social media strategist, trainer, and speaker who specializes in helping companies better connect with their customers and cultivate fans for their brands. His brand new book, “Think Like a Rock Star,” examines the marketing and social media strategies of actual rock stars like Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, Jewel, Amanda Palmer and others and shares how any company can learn from them to create emotional connections with customers. Here’s a Q&A I did with Mack about the book: 

Q. What does it mean to ‘”Think Like a Rock Star?”
A. If you look at any number of studies and surveys designed to assess the top marketing goals for most companies, ‘Acquire New Customers’ is usually the top priority. This is where most companies spend the majority of their marketing dollars, and expanding the customer base is what they focus most of their efforts on.

The difference with rock stars is that they focus on connecting with their fans.  And not just their fans, but they purposely seek out their biggest and most passionate fans, and look for ways to create amazing experiences for them, and to create deeper connections with them. Of course you know this from studying how Lady Gaga has created a special bond with her Little Monsters (I have already pre-ordered Monster Loyalty, can’t wait to read it!).

The rock stars’ approach is so interesting because they are connecting with their biggest fan with the understanding that those fans will acquire new customers for them. They aren’t spending millions on crappy marketing designed to get the attention of people (new customers) that have little to no affinity for them. Instead rock stars understand that their ability to acquire new customers tomorrow depends on how they delight their existing fans today.

Q. What was the biggest surprise in writing this book?
A. Really the main reason why I wanted to write this book was to learn how rock stars can so easily create and cultivate fans, so that companies could then apply that same process, and more easily cultivate fans themselves. I assumed there was some “secret sauce” and a “trick” that rock stars did that simply made it easier for them to cultivate fans.

Instead, I learned that rock stars relentless communicate two very important messages to their fans:  1 – “I appreciate you”  2 – “I love you”.  That’s it. And as a result, their biggest fans appreciate them and love them right back. Rock stars also thrive off connecting with their most passionate customers, whereas most companies want to keep their customers at arm’s length. Rock stars look for ways to embrace their fans, and that makes it much easier for their fans to trust them, which makes it easier for their fans to advocate on the rock star’s behalf.

Q. And that makes it easier for fans to buy from that rock star right?
A. Exactly. I think most companies strive to have a transactional relationship with their customers. They want to create a product, and sell it to their customers. That’s it. I think most rock stars want to have an emotional relationship with their fans. As Kathy Sierra said in the foreword of the book, rock stars want to make their fans better. They honestly do love their fans, and they want that emotional relationship with their fans, because they understand that it will lead to sales. Rock stars understand that customers buy from brands that they love and trust. And they tell others to buy from that brand as well. It doesn’t matter if that brand is a company or a rock star.

Rock stars have always understand the value of connecting directly with their customers, whereas thanks to new social media tools, companies are having to learn these lessons the hard way. The future of successful marketing lies with the companies that learn to speak in the same voice as their customer. Think Like a Rock Star was written to help companies get to that place where they not only understand their customers, but actually cultivate fans that love them.

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I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was born near Pittsburgh and watched them win 4 four Super Bowls as I was growing up in the ’70′s. I run the Steelers fan club here in Austin. I own six Terrible Towels and went to the Super Bowl in 2011 to see the Steelers play. When I was considering getting a tattoo — almost all Austin, Texas residents have one — I knew getting the Steelers logo was a safe bet because I knew I would love them for life.

I am a Steelers “One Percenter,” one of the die-hard super fans that make up about 1% of a customer base. This One Percenter concept is based on research from my previous book, Citizen Marketers. My coauthor and I discovered that the most highly engaged particpants in a community make up a tiny percentage of the overall customer base but are vocal passionate evangelists who bring new customers into the fold through word of mouth.

In my upcoming book Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics, I discuss how Lady Gaga has built a following numbering in the millions worldwide but focuses most of her efforts on engaging her One Percenters, her “Little Monsters.” In my four years of research, I’ve been amazed at the depth of “monster loyalty” that these fans show for Gaga.

In consulting with companies over the years, I find that many companies and brands don’t know who their One Percenters are, or even if they have any. So let’s find out how much monster loyalty is out there for products and brands.

What product/company/brand/non-profit do YOU have monster loyalty for? What is the craziest thing you have ever done to show your love for a brand? Maybe not a tattoo but I would love to hear about how much you love this product or brand and have you share your loyalty for the world to see.

Share your story in a blog post, upload an Instagram picture, or write a tweet about your fanaticism for a brand/product/company and tag it #monsterloyalty. The amazing folks at FeedMagnet are aggregating all of the social content based on the #monsterloyalty hashtag for all to see. Check it out here!

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With more than 35 million Twitter followers and 56 million Facebook fans, the woman previously known as Stefani Germanotta is now one of most well-known pop stars in the world. Without a day of business school, Lady Gaga has cultivated the kind of passionate following that businesses dream about.

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This contest is especially for all the Lady Gaga fans out there!

There are a million reasons to remain a loyal fan to Mother Monster, and I want to hear yours. Pre-order my upcoming book Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics (Portfolio, May 2) and send your receipt to monsterloyalty@gmail.com, along with the reason you’re an unwavering Gaga fanatic, and you could win one of these prizes:

1st PRIZE:

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics
• 2 Lady Gaga art prints by rock and roll pop artist Kii Arens, signed and numbered 

2nd PRIZE:

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics
• 3 Lady Gaga prints designed by Kii Arens (unsigned)

3rd PRIZE:

• 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics

The contest ends Tuesday, April 30th at midnight PST*. The winners will be e-mailed individually and announced on May 2nd on this blog  

Good luck and paws up, little monsters! #monsterloyalty

Suggested retailers: 

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Book-A-Million

* One entry per person.

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It’s Lady Gaga‘s 27th birthday today. Her passionately loyal, worldwide fan base is sending her birthday wishes today but also sharing how she has changed their world for the better, through her music and actions. Her message of kindness, acceptance and tolerance is making a difference. Skeptical? Watch this video from Indonesian Little Monsters.

Happy birthday Mother Monster. Paws up!

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