The Purpose of Business and Pricing

Milton Friedman must be turning over in his grave. 49 years after penning an op-ed in the New York Times on the primacy of shareholder value in driving business decisions, the Business Roundtable has declared the idea moribund. Signed by 181 CEOs of large corporations, the Business Roundtable recently declared that companies should consider a…

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Target and Walmart Score Some Points Against Amazon

Amazon Prime

Anyone who follows the retail industry is aware of the relentless ascent of Amazon, a tech giant that has completely transformed the way that millions of people worldwide purchase products. Perhaps Amazon’s most famous innovation is Amazon Prime, a subscription service that includes free two-day delivery on millions of items for sale on their online…

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What I (Re)Learned from Writing a Book

The New Invisible Hand: Five Revolutions in the Digital Economy

My book, The New Invisible Hand: Five Revolutions in the Digital Economy, has been out for six weeks, and I’ve been floored with the positive response from colleagues, connections, clients…and even some competitors! It is rewarding to have an Amazon Bestseller and see the topics resonating with so many people. I want to take a…

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Strategic Movements: September 2019

J.M. Smucker Co Passed Input Savings onto Price Cuts. Profits? They fell of course. Q2 2019 found that net sales (revenue) decreased 6%, and profits suffered more.  From a pricing perspective, this is completely to be expected.  Why would an executive do something proven to harm profits?  CEO Mark Smucker spoke about the dramatic decrease…

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Organizing for Pricing Excellence

Organizing for pricing excellence: the pricing organization

What organizational factors make for pricing excellence in a company? Moorman and Day discussed the academic research on the development of excellence in marketing organizations.  We find truths in their work that translate well to the specific field of pricing, one of the four elements of the marketing mix. One could describe pricing excellence as…

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The Relationship of Price and Demand

Sigmoid Price Response Function

For this article, I am going to discuss how we model the relationship between price and demand. Most people have an intuitive understanding that when the price of a good increases, the demand will decrease. Conversely, when the price of a good decreases, the demand will increase. The change in demand according to a change…

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Being Threatened by Bill Gates

The New Invisible Hand: Five Revolutions in the Digital Economy

The following is an excerpt from my new Amazon bestseller, The New Invisible Hand: Five Revolutions in the Digital Economy. This story from the earlier days of digital disruption helps to set the scene: technological forces of change transform entire industries, and it is incumbent upon executives to take advantage of their new opportunities. **…

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Tribal Marketing – A Step Beyond Segmentation

Tribal marketing and its implications for brand marketing

“Tribalism,” that loaded word that has become a part of today’s political environment, has also entered the brand marketing world. The “tribes” idea, a powerful concept for leaders and marketers, addresses the way people develop an intense loyalty around a brand and form a rigid bond with that brand. It is step beyond market segmentation…

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