The backstory starts in the pre-internet age when sales folks were very reluctant to adopt technology because they wanted to keep their leads to themselves. After all, commissions were earned depending on who “closed” the sale. Similarly in direct mail and catalogs, the coupon code and a mailed in order identified which mailing worked. As digital and internet marketing developed, the legacy metrics were adopted and “last click attribution” became important. If you think about it “last click” or the ad that you clicked mirrored the “sales closing” and fitted neatly with the old direct mail coupon code model. All you had to do was to put a code on the ad, email and upon checkout just match the ad to the transaction and “Eureka” you had attributed the ad spend, specific email or ad to the purchase.
Author Archives: StratoServe
Forever 21 : What is your strength – that customers value?
It is sad to see that Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy. Their backstory is fascinating and the 5 minute video backstory of Korean immigrants achieving the “American Dream” by Business Insider is worth watching.
Unlike the typical sad “decline of US malls” story and rise of “online retail” the Forever 21 story has important lessons for all businesses. It is also an eerie reminder of the the New Coke fiasco, To recap, Coca Cola did not realize in the eighties that customers did not drink Coke for taste but it was all about being American – a much deeper meaning.
Purpose of a Corporation : What every American needs to know
The most exciting thing for business over the 2019 summer was when the Business Roundtable put out a Statement on the “Purpose of the Corporation.” Signed by 181 American CEO’s all of whose brands are well known to consumers or businesses, the statement reflects the changing times. Download the Roundtable Statement here and check out the 181 signatures from many CEO’s of companies you are already familiar with.American politicians have been telling us what we know to be true – the “American Dream” eludes most folks today due to rapid changes in globalization and technology. Thankfully, leaders of American businesses have taken notice and have decided to move their focus from the “next quarter” to “long term shareholder value” on the shareholder element and have included all stakeholders in the “Purpose of the Corporation”. The times have truly changed in the last decade with all stakeholders having a voice on social media and the old dictum of “just focus on shareholder (short-term) value” can no longer work. See Eric Posner’s article “Milton Friedman was wrong” in the Atlantic.
The recycling crisis -what should you NOT be putting in your recycle bin
Monday was Earth Day and it’s a good time to think about the recycling crisis facing the US. Last year China that took in most of the developed world’s recyclable trash decided to up it’s quality standards. Do recyclables going into the recycle bin have quality standards ?- the surprised reader might wonder. Yes they do as this article in Mercury News explains. It is timely for all to understand what you should NOT be putting in the recycle bin.
How TJX and Costco drive foot traffic in the digital age
The TJX group (including brands like TJMax, Marshalls, HomeGoods etc.) and Costco seem to be always crowded. And when you look at long checkout lines you know they must be doing something right in the digital age.
Why Dollar Stores are doing pretty well in a digital world
Next time you pass a Dollar Store in the US (including Dollar Tree and Dollar General) observe the parking lot. In towns rich and not so rich you’ll find that the parking lot is full most of the time.If you have not gone into a Dollar Store recently – do so and then compare the merchandise to Walmart. For a dollar the quality is not bad.
Dollar Stores took off after the 2008 recession and there are more Dollar Stores than McDonald’s in the USA. Between Dollar Tree and Dollar General there are 30,000 stores and these are very densely seen in the mid-west and the farmlands of middle America. A recent article “Sign of hope or worry- when the dollar store comes to town” describes the mixed bag that these stores are for local communities.
What is 5 G? How marketers can get ready for 2020
The two biggest attractions for marketers with 5G will be:1) Mobility: With mobile use already at 3 hers 35 minutes a day in the US expectations are that mobile will surpass TV in terms of time spent in 2019. And that’s before 5G really kicks in.
2)Fast=Decrease in latency: Latency or the delay between asking and getting replies due to network speeds will vastly improve. Google will get even faster replies but also even your messaging can get faster. The day is not far away when at a restaurant you see the dessert ads on your phone even before the waiter asks at the end of your meal!
Github acquisition by Microsoft: Managing in the Knowledge Age
Enter big, bad, old world, clunky Microsoft who acquires Github last year and the Internet exploded with jokes. Both Bill Gates and Steve Balmer were tough industrial age managers and Satya Nadella realized that the world had changed- see “How Microsoft got its groove back.”Command and Control” and top down strategy days are over in the knowledge age.
“Dating Sunday” and Customer Relationship Management
The tectonic shift in marketing occurred in the late 1980’s and 1990’s particularly with the publication of Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987) that spelt out the parallel between the long term human marriage and business relationships. It was earlier in Europe that scholars of the European Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group figured out that B2B relationships are long term that B2B marketers who really sold anything already used.Similarly in B2C marketers had been using customer relationships data for a hundred years in direct ma
The Furniture Brand Fiasco – resolve to Google your brand reviews in 2019
2019 has rolled in and understanding the digital assault on Brands is timely.Brand owners don’t seem to Google their own brands. How could many brands with 1.5 star reviews still be in the market? Our guess is that managements don’t seem to checking. If they checked, they’d find solutions to this brand fiasco.