U2, Apple, Marketing, and Trust

Did you end up with a bunch of free U2 songs on your device, even if you have absolutely no interest in the band whatsoever (click here)?

I know, I know, you are a marketer and you think Apple did something noble by paying U2 $$$ to give you access to free music. It's a "gift without purchase"! Unless you don't like U2. Then what do you think it is?

The number one question I'm fielding here in late summer is this one ... "why, beyond our loyal customer base, are the rest of our customers defecting"?

I see this, over and over and over again. Loyal customers largely hang in there ... while the middle and the bottom of the customer file falls away, slowly. It's what is killing retail. It killed catalogers. 

I have to wonder ... do infrequent customers trust us? Do they trust us when they take advantage of a free shipping offer, only to see 30% off plus free shipping two weeks later?

If you are not a fan of U2, then Apple just gave up a slice of trust. You can probably get away with this a few times.

Measure how infrequent customers perform. If infrequent customer productivity is on the decline, consider whether the customer trusts your business model.