Oprah's Last Season

Yesterday was day one of the last season of The Oprah Show, at least this current installment which has now lasted a whopping 25 years! It's sure to be a full season of goodbyes, and the premiere episode did not disappoint.

She danced with Travolta, she was serenaded by Paul Simon, she was surprised by Don Johnson ... what more could a girl want (or a fan for that matter)? This is going to be a season full of celebrities and surprises. But Oprah says that the celebrities are not coming on to promote their projects anymore -- they are coming on just to talk. That's cool.

Most interesting to me? Oprah's taking a page out of the CRM (customer relationship marketing) book. Her audience was filled with superfans, uber-fans, premiere fans, her most rabid fans. Her most loyal. She catered to them to reach the others. A great strategy when in fact you want to move your fan base to a new place -- like a new network. Oprah literally drove a bunch of them from Boston directly onto the stage. She's taking 300 of them on a trip to Australia, for goodness sake.

The CRM strategy? Focus on your most loyal consumers. Treat them like royalty, add value to their lives like never before, and then use them as ambassadors for when you make the switch. Others will follow.

She's brilliant.

What's your experience? Jim.