Fair versus Equal

Back to the debate of tangibles? Yes, ofcourse!

I know not a lot of people have patience for this math mumbo-jumbo but here is where I was going with the concept. Brand and particularly in the service sector incentivize customers through promotions either to attract or retain them various strategies (popularly refered to as CRM-Customer Relationship Management, a glorified way of nurturing your customer). Even the best laid plans are often abused, the least attractive shoppers often endup with maximum gains and the loyalists miss the cream.

In a debate between fair and equal, the rewards are established fairly from the opint of view of the marketer but redeemed fairly from the point of view of the customer and consumer. Fair is intangible and is obviously a function of the point of view where as equality is tangible and independent of points of view.

So the fnudamental question in my mind was should a brand pursue fairness and run the risk of some very happy customers or equality and averaged happiness across the entire customer base? One option is to establish and offer equality through baseline brand attributes of service, quality, assortment while fairness in community causes. As for the rewards, let the experience be a reward in itself?