Killing the Golden Goose – Part 2

Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix (NFLX) has cemented his position on my Hall of Shame. Whether hubris (outrageous arrogance) or stupidity, Netflix has taken an ill-advised price increase and transformed it into a runaway train that threatens to jeopardize the company. The story began when Reed Hastings and his management team, after doing apparently no market research, decided to raise their prices by approximately 60 percent. This action was taken amidst a continuous stream of record earnings, customer loyalty and a growing customer base.

Read More

The Coming Convergence of Alternative Payments and Digital Marketing Strategy

During October, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the BAI Retail Delivery Summit 2011 and the 3rd Mobile Contactless Payment Innovations Summit. These shows discussed various aspects of banking and payment convergence with digital mobile devices. The majority of the presenters focused on the technology and near field communications issues. But there were a few speakers who had different perspectives.

Read More

Top 6 – November 2011

“The only profit center is the customer” Peter Drucker Corporations are psychopaths? Pricing errors, specifically price communication errors, are deadly for career and corporation. Witness Reed Hastings & Netflix. Corporations are people? One person’s blunder is another’s opportunity. Corporations serve needs? All of the above or pick & choose.

Read More