Unless we create a culture of innovation, our business will be left behind. This requires the knowing of what to do and the ability to do it. Easy to say, not easy to do, in fact 70% of corporate initiatives fail to be initiated. (or so says Michael Jarrett, a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at … Continue reading
Tagged with choice …
The growth strategy and the pain of change
Do you know what your customers want, but feel it is too far out of your business comfort zone to give it to them? Doing something new often involves standing in the pain of change…. it involves being vulnerable, letting go of the comfort of the status quo, and experiencing the risk of doing it … Continue reading
The way you make me feel, and the brands we love
The fundamental driver of brand value today, comes back to one simple principle, customers know ‘how they spend money, creates the world around them’. They just don’t want to get their needs met, they want to connect to a purpose greater than themselves. Brands that reign supreme today, are brands that build emotional connections and … Continue reading
Choice overwhelm is making brand simplicity reign
Before media fragmented to the extent it has today, customers were far more predictable. You could get their awareness through a focused choice of mass media and when you did, you could gently nudge them through the brand funnel to purchase. It was a lean, mean, lead generating machine, and all you had to do … Continue reading
Your frontline as co creators of the brand- see how it has made Lululemon the darling of analysts
They stand at the moment of truth, listening to and managing the customer, day in and day out. They often understand intimately the pedals and breaks to a customer sale or a great customer experience. Their buy in to the brand is critical for its successful execution. All this and still, many businesses fail to … Continue reading
How your brand is your growth strategy – with examples from IBM’s Smarterplanet
A brand in its most essential form, is the value generating qualities of the business that drives margin over the cost of goods and services. It is also the set of emotional connections, which have a transformative promise in your customers’ lives. By using the brand plan as a road map for growth, your business … Continue reading
Behavioural data allows the brand to wrap itself around the customer’s needs- the Movenbak case study
Watch out for Movenbank who is negotiating entry into retail banking into the US and Australia, with an offer that opens up more choice, that will be deliciously simple for customers and could be dangerously effective for retail banks. Here it is a business model that depends on customer insights at the front end of … Continue reading
Branded value chains, making your business visible to the consumer
Radical innovations in the value chain, are creating promises that sit above the specifics of a product or a solution. Brands are saying, we stand in this space, we stand for this promise, and we are constantly improving. Branded business concepts that are brought to life through branded value chains, are increasingly the way business creates … Continue reading
The cloud undermines the competitive advantage of scale
or so says Maxwell Wessel of the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard. As Wessel points out, some companies have been able to leverage scale rather than innovation as a point of sustainable competitive advantage. Advantages of scale, such as discounts through the buying muscle of retailers and the scale of distribution for packaged … Continue reading
Invest in brands where CEO’s care for customers
Whenever I hear people talking about the dark side of capitalism, I turn to the principles of Warren Buffet, which remind me, that the best of human nature can bring immense success. In his letters to his investors, Buffet shares that he invests in companies where CEO’s care about customers. Buffet has found the genuine … Continue reading
