Archive for 2006
Big Online Wins for B-Markets
Ever since the internet breached the boundaries of military and academic communications, its commercial application has expanded at a pace that appears only limited by mankind’s impediments against reorganizing social structures. While certain philosophical considerations are likely to be raised by these statements, we would prefer to get down to the more practical economic opportunities…
Read More New Web Communications Tool
Attacks Problem of Press Release Accountability
The scenario has been played out thousands of time between public relations agencies and clients. The agency reports on its results from a press release and produces a quantity of articles or clippings to show the client the level of activity and exposure and “results” produced from the press release. The client, usually duly impressed…
Read MoreValue-Added Pricing A Strategic Weapon Against the Low-Priced Competitor
The conventional wisdom holds that in a competitive marketplace the seller that offers the lowest price will always beat out its competitors. When I first started teaching marketing cases to undergraduates at DePaul University, they invariably offered cutting prices as the universal solution to every marketing dilemma. So ingrained is low pricing in the customer’s…
Read MorePrice Leadership Denied in LCD Panel Industry
In terms of drama, the LCD market has pressed my adrenaline gland for the past five years. Just last month, it hit the accelerator pedal again. What follows is a case study of a failed attempt to assert price leadership. On June 15th, the Wall Street Journal reported an announcement from AU Optronics that was…
Read MoreFractional Ownership: The Renaissance of TimeShare
In the December 2005 edition of this journal, I wrote about some of the developments and milestones that were witnessed in The World of Pricing in 2005. As we pass the half way point of this year, is it too early to speculate on what might be one of the most important developments for 2006?…
Read MoreTiE Midwest – “Capital Efficiency for Growing Businesses”
Moderator, Matt McCall, Portage Venture Partners Mike Domek, CEO, TicketsNow Jason Fried, CEO, 37 Signals Lucas Roh, CEO, Hostway Hosted in Chicago by the law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas Matt: How did you manage to build your business without venture capital funding? Lucas: We try to keep the revenues greater than expense! (Audience…
Read MoreIntel, Market Development Funds, and Distributors
If you want to frustrate a bootstrapped entrepreneur, tell them to pay for their distributors’ advertising. Then, to really get them confused, tell them that it is cost efficient. This may be what advising entrepreneurs in Market Development Funds is like, but no one said good advice and popular advice were the same. In this…
Read MoreIn Bringing Products to Market, Speed is of the Essence
The cover article in the March 27, 2006, BUSINESS WEEK, provides excellent insight for small-to-medium-size businesses seeking to streamline production and distribution systems to gain competitive advantage. The article is entitled “Speed Demons; How Smart Companies Are Creating New Products – And Whole New Businesses – Almost Overnight.” Authors Steve Hamm and Ian Rowley observe:…
Read MoreWant To Be a Winner? Play Hardball
When it comes to competitive advantage, “playing hardball is not an option, it is a requirement for winning,” according to George Stalk Jr. and Rob Lachenauer, two Boston Consulting Group executives who authored “Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win.” Stalk and Lachenauer provide a remarkable perspective on competitive advantage. In a…
Read MoreAre You in a Hawk, Seagull, or Mouse Market?
Not all business markets are alike, much less are all business problems. But the fact that every business challenge is unique does not give executives, and the gurus who advise them, permission to fastidiously adhere to singular paradigms nor succumb to overwhelming fear in the face of uncertainty. Rather, it allows them to approach their…
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