• USA Today, Monday, April 23, 2007 11 AM

Jonathan Tisch, chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, says the most basic lesson he learned is applicable to all marketers in the business of attracting and keeping customers: Turn customers into guests. Tisch recently published "Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough" with co-writer Karl Weber.

The book salutes Urban Outfitters for harnessing "the power of welcome to attract customers." The retailer, for example, doesn't limit its offerings to clothes. The managers start with what interests their customers and assembles a collection of items that will appeal, such as furniture, jewelry, housewares and music.

To keep people interested, the look of a store is constantly tweaked with daily shipments of new merchandise and twice-monthly store redesigns. Other organizations might want to consider fresh Web site content every week, a regularly updated newsletter or even a redesign of their logo. Tisch and Weber also offer short profiles of Commerce Bank, In-N-Out Burger; and Duke University Medical Center.

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