This week I had a lot of grist for our weekly newsletter mill. I had to choose between opining on the success of Kim Kardashian’s shoe line and yet another study putting real numbers around the seemingly squishy statement that good customer service is just smart business. In the end, both news items were interesting enough to merit coverage. They illustrate two ways we can distinguish ourselves from the competition: brand/product leadership and customer service.

Even though I know my partners and many of you are cringing now, we’ll start with Kim Kardashian’s ecommerce enterprise, ShoeDazzle. While Ms. Kardashian may be the butt of many jokes, she has proven to be incredibly savvy to what her fans and followers expect. We’ve already written about how she engaged her fans and Twitter followers in designing her perfume packaging. Now ShoeDazzle has attracted the attention of potential buyers like Amazon. The concept is reminiscent of the Columbia Record Club (as CNBC pointed out) and is already generating $70 million in annual revenue. Basically, members pay $39.95 a month to have a pair of shoes selected and shipped to them. Members can opt out in the first five days by visiting the site and taking a look at what was selected. Is it catching on? A MILLION women are filling out an online style survey each month. Its Facebook page has 900,000 followers. I would say it’s catching on, for sure.

Behind the Kardashian brand madness are some sound business principles we’re all aware of. All items sold on the site are private label product. The company has control of its entire supply chain, from design to source to shipment. There are mobile apps for both the iPhone and Android devices. And of course, cross-sells are available on the site, helping you accessorize those shoes that were chosen for you.

Ms. Kardashian is determined to maintain a competitive price point. She’s also determined to bring the brand to an IPO, rather than selling early. What amazed me most when I went to the site was that it wasn’t as Kardashian focused as I thought it would be. In fact it highlights six other stylists who also help design the products. She’s actually willing to share the spotlight as long as she’s included in it. You could say it’s the Paris Hilton phenomenon done right.

Think about it. Some percentage of the population, a not insubstantial one, trusts 30 year old Kim Kardashian enough to outsource their shoe selection to her. How many of us could say the same about our brands? Not even Apple, Amazon or Netflix have been bold enough to do this. They’ll recommend, but that’s about it. Give the woman her props. She knows how to build a brand.

Now we’ll move on to yet another survey on the importance of Customer Service, this one conducted by American Express. This survey found that 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. Not surprisingly, these same consumers know most of us aren’t making good on our customer service promise. Sixty percent believe businesses have NOT upped the ante on customer service, while 26% believe companies are paying LESS attention to service.

We know from our annual Store benchmark surveys that payroll-to-sales ratios mostly continue to decline. Well guys, we’re busted. The consumer knows. Certainly the market is price competitive. Fifty-eight percent of respondents to this year’s pricing benchmark survey (you can download the report here…) believe their biggest pricing challenge is extreme consumer price sensitivity, and 74% expect to see margin erosion because of the price competitive environment. That may indeed be true, but we have a lot of latitude to operate within that environment. Nordstrom is giving its associates mobile devices to add service. Ms. Kardashian is maintaining a very competitive price point in her style universe. Both are over-performing.

We continue to pound on these two subjects — brand/product and service, because operational excellence is no longer a differentiator. It is table stakes — think back to the Kardashian supply chain and think about the performance of the kings of operational excellence, Walmart. We must find ways to re-engage our existing customers and bring in new ones. It feels like a combination of 21^st Century technology and early 20^th Century service.

I’d LOVE to stop writing about the Kardashians. I really would. But when someone’s knocking the ball out of the park, it’s got to be mentioned. Help us out! Delight your customers so we can write about YOU. My partners would be really grateful.