Readers, allow me a few miscellaneous thoughts as I head out on a long-awaited vacation:

• Most of my posts have been rather lengthy and fact-filled.  Earlier this year I had lots of time to write – probably more than most readers had time to digest.  But, since I realize that blogs are meant to be “short and sweet” observations, and because I started a new job that’s rapidly ramping up, look for thecustomerbitesback.com posts to become a bit more succinct.
• As mentioned in previous posts, I am preparing to deploy the full B2B thought leadership marketing toolkit for my new company, Vantiv.  Look for my blog to focus on how that process is developing.  We’ll be conducting some research about customer experience for financial services customers – focused on adoption of new payment processing options such as eWallets and Social Payments.  We’ll learn together about how customers feel about new ways to shop and pay.  See, for example, this interesting article on mobile shopping.
• Developing a cohesive thought leadership program is a big project.  Here’s a company that’s doing it well:  www.sitecore.net.  Sitecore makes content management systems for websites.  Not an incredibly sexy topic, but the website is full of well-executed thought leadership that makes CMS accessible, and positions Sitecore as a leading provider.  Check out how well the videos, downloads, blogs, and other program elements work together.  I bet it’s generating lots of attention and qualified leads.  Kudos to them for understanding how it all works together.

Now it’s time to pack and check the weather forecast for Florida again.  I’ve got my eye on hurricane Katia – just hope she isn’t looking my way!  Have a happy holiday weekend.