Archive for 2011
Infographic: How Netflix is Destroying Blockbuster
What Happened?
True stories featuring Brand Keys 2010 predictions on categories ranging from copiers to cameras, and brands from Ford to Facebook, comparing what the leader in brand loyalty and engagement measurement said would happen against what actually did happen in the marketplace. http://www.brandkeys.com/brand-stories/\
Read MoreTop 6 – February 2011
“You’ve got to go out there and kill what you’re going to eat.” Andrew Mason, CEO Groupon Anytime someone says they are doing something for your benefit, QUESTION. The end goal of any sales meeting is to produce more sales, period. SELL The mermaid is a complex design, and most customers will recognize this symbol…
Read MoreThe Starbucks logo wasn’t broke, but they fixed it anyway
Chief executive Howard Schultz had the right idea about evolving the Starbucks logo, but his solution shows some of the hubris that got the company into trouble a few years ago.
The best brands are built upon a clear business strategy translated into a clear brand strategy. A brand strategy is consistently communicated to both internal and external audiences until it becomes the DNA of both employees and customers. Starbucks accomplished this mission, and then killed it.
Read MoreBorders and Blockbuster: Throwing Money Down a Rat Hole
It now appears that Border’s and Blockbuster will get their life-saving transfusions of cash and will live to fight another day. As P.T. Barnum once said: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Neither of these companies deserves to survive.
Read MoreAmerican Airlines vs. Sabre Holdings: Destruction or Creation of Airline Traveler Value?
In January 2011, American Airlines (AMR) and Sabre Holdings, parent company of Travelocity, came to loggerheads over content, fees, and the role of global distribution systems in the future of air travel. While American Airlines seeks to gain efficiencies and customer intimacy by encouraging customers and ticket brokers to connect directly with the American Airlines information systems, Sabre Holdings decries a reduction of choice and transparency and responds with a lower placement of American Airlines offerings in their distribution system.
Is American Airlines squeezing the distributors and harming customers or is this a strategic shift that improves welfare?
Read MoreNuts & Bolts of Sales Management, Book Review
Time and again, Treace noticed the same sales and corporate management missteps that led to poor performance in failing companies. In Treace’s book, these all-too-common errors are described along with practical, proven solutions to help sales executives and non-sales executives evaluate and cooperatively support the company’s sales efforts. This practical information is what you didn’t learn in business school.
Below are a few of the topics covered in the book, each of which will provide readers with a strong foundation for understanding how to build an outstanding sales operation—whether they are a CEO, CFO, COO, sales manager, or sales rep wishing to move into management.
Read MorePigs Talking
Pigs Talking on “The ‘Free’ Model”, a take on Wiglaf Journal emerging media editor David Dalka on Dear Facebook, Please Return Our Social Networking Space
Read MoreTop 6 – January 2011
“No sensible person would claim that [quantification] can tell the whole story.” Angus Maddison, professor at the University of Groningen and authority of quantitative macroeconomic history, (1926-2010) The purpose of the firm is to serve customers profitably. Value exchange is the driver of all transactions. Understand the value to the customer to understand your market…
Read MorePricing Strategy: Pricking the Veil of Value Exchange
Our understanding of pricing has come a long way since the 1890 when Alfred Marshall published his treatise on the economic scissors of supply and demand, and it is time for practice to catch-up. To go beyond the price to value mantra and create clarity in the actions and decisions executives should make, we can draw from the marketing orientation of the firm and an economic understanding of value exchange. In this article, we provide an outline of the path to better pricing.
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