A few months ago we were fortunate enough to be doing a course for a major drinks provider in Asia. To kick off the programme we asked the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to say a few words to the marketing team. Expecting the usual presentation about how market share and profit is growing (or falling),…
Read moreTactics Follow Strategy
Tactics always follow strategy. That is to say that portfolio strategy, segmentation strategy and positioning strategy must be translated into something meaningful to the customer – these are the tactics (remember the four P’s?). Tactics must fit the target segment, not the other way around. In designing your tactics – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place…
Read moreWalmart vs. Visa… Enroll and Control
Ever heard of Thunder Bay Ontario? Didn’t think so; but there in a remote part of Canada, where the moose population outnumbers humans, the game of supremacy for the world payment market will tip off in mid July. As of July 18th the three Walmart stores in Thunder Bay will no longer accept Visa as…
Read moreCommunity Power
Anyone who’s attended a university business lecture has been subjected to Michel Porter’s Five Forces. If you were able to work in “bargaining power of suppliers”, “bargaining power of customers”, “threat of new entrants”, “threat of substitutes” and “competitive rivalry” into your university paper, profs would trip all over themselves to give you an A….
Read moreStop Using Your Instincts and Start Using Insights!
Lydia was a region in Asia Minor famed for its great wealth. Lydia prospered in the 7th and 6th centuries BC and grew most powerful during the reign of King Croesus. Wanting to expand his empire Croesus looked for a forecaster who could help him make a decision. He asked seven oracles to predict what…
Read moreSaucy Choices
Campbell’s had a problem. Focus group after focus group told them that their Prego spaghetti sauce tasted better than the competitor’s Ragu Spaghetti Sauce. On every aspect, consumers told Campbell’s that Prego was better. The taste was better, the colour, was better, the texture was better! When you poured Prego on the spaghetti it sat…
Read morePost-merger: Are You Ready?
Many of you reading this have been involved in at least one takeover. Data tells us that most of these have gone poorly and the expected value promised by consultants and senior management largely fails to materialize. Fact is takeovers have a higher probability of destroying value than creating it. Does anyone get it right?…
Read more