Topic: Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Differentiate Your Business: Improve Your "Over the Phone" Customer Experience

Many companies obsess over their customer experience, creating a fancy Web site, finding the right furniture for their reception area, and investing a ton of time and money implementing a CRM system to track customers' preferences and shopping patterns. And how many companies spend the same amount of time and effort managing their "over the phone" customer experience?READ»

Social Networking Affects Brains Like Falling in Love

Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical in our brains. And that should be a wake-up call for every company.READ»

• Inside the Penenberg Brain
• Hot Topic

Google's Blue Dot Alerts Shoppers to The Last Tickle Me Elmo On Earth

Google has just added a nifty little blue dot feature to its Shopping search feature. Anyone with either an iPhone, Palm WebOS phone, or any Android-powered device will be able to discover immediately if the item they're after is in ...READ»

Google's Blue Dot Alerts Shoppers to the Last Tickle Me Elmo on Earth

Google has just added a nifty little 'blue dot' feature to its mobile Shopping search engine. Anyone with either an iPhone, Palm WebOS phone, or any Android-powered device will be able to discover immediately if the item they're ...READ»

Maybe Beige Really Is the New Black

Yesterday the Federal Reserve issued findings from a recent survey of the economy, something it calls the Beige Book (which is totally not code for a new Pottery Barn catalogue). In compiling the report, the Fed slices the country ...READ»

• Read more from The Upswing.

James Saavedra – Los Angeles Interior Designer Infuses Beauty & Style for Changing Times

As an interior designer based in Los Angeles, James Saavedra has worked on high-end residential design projects, developed products with Pottery Barn, and offered design expertise on TLC’s Clean Sweep TV show in which designers ...READ»

Non-Toxic Toyland

Against a backdrop of product recalls, Pottery Barn Kids raises the bar with eco-friendly toys and a focus on integrity.READ»

The Rise and Fall of Design Within Reach

This article, originally published in the December 2009 issue of the magazine, won the 2010 Deadline Club Award for Best Business Feature.READ»

• Seeing Double: Is It DWR or Someone Else?

The Marcel Wanders Collection You Won't See at Target This Holiday

The witty Dutch designer played it safe for the discount retailer, but a new behind-the-scenes look book released by his studio reveals the Christmas that could have been.READ»

Introducing Guest Blogger Paula Wallace: Taking Us Back to School in Style

Savannah, Georgia is probably the last place you'd expect to find a bubbling hub of design innovation. But one visit to the boutique that sells the work by students at the Savannah College of Art and Design and you'll see that this is not some student shop; this is a world-class design store.READ»

• Paula Wallace's Design (Education) Is Changing blog

Psychology of Technology: Microsoft Has Lost its Mojo: An Open Letter to Bill Gates

Dear Bill, I know you've been retired from Microsoft's day-to-day operations for about a year now and Steve B. is running the show, but you are still Chairman of the Board and the public identity of Microsoft. That's why I'm writing you, Bill, because Microsoft is still your company and it needs you. Think modified Pottery Barn rule: you own it, you broke it, you fix it. READ»

Eight Stylish Essentials for All Your Grilling Needs

Here's some of the best-designed stuff available for your July 4th BBQ.READ»

Shawn Baldwin from CMG interviews David Thomson the best selling author of Blueprint to a Billion

Shawn Baldwin from CMG (Chicago) Critical Capital Management Series 2009READ»

Organic Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives?

Admit it: you don't pay always attention to whether the products you buy contain organic cotton or regular cotton. Neither do I, so it's a good thing that major companies are taking it upon themselves to use organic ...READ»

Internet Retailer reports 150% growth in Fiscal Year 2008 despite downturn in economy.

Outdoor gear for kids internet retailer, UpsideOver.com, reports extreme growth due to "Staycations", internet growth and strong management team. New York, NY (PRWEB) January 5, 2008 -- Upside Over Inc., (http://Upsideover.com), ...READ»

Next-Gen Job Sites

These next-gen job websites seek to replace executive-search firms and spirit-crushing job boards with cash incentives, matching algorithms, and social networks.READ»

• Top Jobs 2009
• The Top Jobs for 2009
• What Should I Do with My Life, Now?

A Chocolate Maker is Buffeted By Global Forces Beyond His Control

How long can he stay profitable?READ»

Luxury's Long Tail

Thanks largely to the deluxe-uccinos at Starbucks and the Michael Graves teapot at Target, it's now an article of faith that luxury is within reach of nearly every man, woman and child. But it also raises an enduring question: When a ...READ»

The Business of Broadway

How fresh ideas from finance, film, and TV are creating new opportunities for the theaterREAD»

• The Business of Broadway
• The State of Mobile Advertising

Shopping Malls in 2028

1988 - The shopping mall is a big hit.  Suburban sprawl leads to malls in every corner you look.  2008 - As malls have fallen from favor (see deadmalls.com), new renovations spring up to make malls more of an entertainment ...READ»

How Pottery Barn Wins with Style

Plenty of companies compete on price and features. How do you keep demanding customers coming back for more? Pottery Barn's secret for growth in a brutally competitive business: Our brand is a state of mind," says one top executive. "And customers can make it their own."READ»

Customers First Local Hero: Elephant Pharmacy

Elephant Pharmacy Who doesn't hate going to the drug store? There's usually a child crying, some insurance screw-up, and a process that adds insult to infirmity. Elephant Pharmacy aims to reconceive the drug store as a place ...READ»

Hot Wheels

How do you get a soccer mom to shell out $749 for a stroller? Design it so it'll grow right along with junior. Dad will think it's cool, too.READ»

Shopping Sites With Sizzle

Just in time for Christmas, a team of hard-shopping Web analysts hands out eGold awards to the best e-commerce sites -- and eBomb awards to those that may deliver a lump of coal this holiday season.READ»

Who's Fast Hall of Fame: Brand Builders

Brand builders forging product identities that endure and entice.READ»