Archive for 2007
Fire Sale or Hold Inventory? Hovnanian Enterprises, Lennar, KB Homes
When demand for a product decreases dramatically and the company overshoots production requirements, what should executives do? Hold prices and be patient or hold a fire sale and take what they can? That is precisely the question facing homebuilders. For the most part, these executives are choosing discounts, including Hovnanian Enterprises which reportedly held a…
Read MoreLetter to the Editor: ‘Dancing Together: xBox, PS3, and Wii’
I wanted to comment on a couple things from, ‘Dancing Together: xBox, PS3, and Wii‘. Fist of all I’d like to respond to when you said, “In other words, Sony isn’t interested in offering multiple version of the PS3 but is willing to increase its costs by adding a larger hard drive while not increasing…
Read MoreTop 6 – October 2007
For good mushrooms, take a walk in the woods Mark Leslie, a former entrepreneur who founded and was CEO of Veritas Software, suggest management go through the Sales Learning Curve and involve all aspects of the firm during this stage. In going up Sales Learning Curve, close the gap between what an entrepreneur think salespeople…
Read MoreIs GM Being Vigilant in Transaction Price Management?
It is said that the difference between an economist and a pit-trader is that the economist lets newspapers pile up on their desk to read over the weekend, while the pit-trader anxiously peruses them daily upon awakening. The same may be said of a pricing strategist versus a pricing neophyte. Recently, GM announced its summer…
Read MoreWill Emerging Mobile Marketing Evolve to Measure ROI, Deliver Passionate, Relevant Users and Reporting?
It’s 1997 again! No you’re not in a time machine! Take a look at some of the mobile ad startups out there and what do you see? A counter for ads served. No ROI, no relevancy just a mad rush to push out ads to anyone, anywhere at anytime. Remember counters? Back in 1997 they…
Read MoreDancing Together: xBox, PS3, and Wii
In the gaming industry, as in other technology driven industries, products are enhanced and prices evolve rapidly. In 1991, D’Aveni characterized this fast moving dance as hypercompetition. It appears that Microsoft and Sony are fast dancing again while Nintendo is sitting it out. Sony Took the First Step On the 9th of July, 2007, Sony…
Read MoreTop 6 – September 2007
Every Southern Swamp Has Its Water Moccasins Fluidity naturally exists in perceptions of value and price. A pricing artist shapes the surface so that the fluid flows to the desired point. Watch out for snake oil salesman. Its good to jump in early and learn before the competitors, but every southern swamp has its water…
Read MoreHR Help for the Entrepreneur
In addition to the financial, legal and marketing decisions that some entrepreneurs are forced to make for the first time in their careers, there are also a slew of “people” decisions that come with the territory. The Stanford Graduate School of Business’ Center for Entrepreneurial Studies recently held its second alumni entrepreneur’s reunion. One of…
Read MoreThe Case for Strategic Product Marketing
The trouble with the outbound role of product marketing is that we have an identity crisis on our hands-we’re misunderstood, misguided, and misaligned-and as a result, great products are either missing their potential or failing altogether. Executives and other members of management have wide-ranging expectations of product marketing that are almost never focused on strategy…
Read MoreStrategic Implications of Leegin Price Floor Ruling
In a landmark case, the US Supreme Court removed a barrier to vertical price floors in a 5-4 ruling on Leegin v. PSKS on June 28th. While the court’s decision leaves room for future anti-competitive lawsuits and therefore ensures that case law will determine the legal framework for future decisions, it also opens the possibility…
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