Event to focus on maintaining connection with customers

Be careful in this recession not to cut out the things that core customers love about your brand, or they might wind up in the arms of a competitor.

"The idea is, you have to understand those small and big things you do that people connect with," said Robert S. Kelley, president of Pure Culture Consulting in Midlothian. Ask them and be observant.

During a recession, Kelley said, people start shopping around, focusing more on price than brand loyalty.

You will lose core customers if -- while trying to trim costs -- you cut out what connects people to your brand, he said.

Kelley will speak on the topic "Building and Sustaining an Emotional Connection with Your Customers" on Thursday in the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies, 28 Westhampton Way, in Richmond.

The event, sponsored by the Richmond Chapter of the American Marketing Association, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch starts at noon. Kelley is scheduled to speak at 12:20. Attendees will get to ask questions.

Register online today at www. amarichmond.org.

The cost is $25 for members; $40 for nonmembers; $20 for students.

-- Iris Taylor