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Strategic Movements: August 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD August 24, 2017

What better way to attract customers than with a discount? I’ll tell you what is a better way: Redefine your business into something customers actually want to engage as a first resort, not as a cheap resort.

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Valuing Benefits: Weighted Average or Economic Impact?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 19, 2017

Because the exchange value approach examines the focal product against its next nearest competitor from the viewpoint of a specific market segment, it creates a focused picture of how an offering is likely to be evaluated by that specific segment. If more segments and competitors are to be considered, more models of the Exchange Value to Customer are needed. This leads to better and more accurate pricing on a segment-by-segment basis.

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Strategic Consulting as Detective and Diplomat

By Kyle T. Westra July 19, 2017

“Strategy consultant” is a job title that is can mean everything and nothing. It’s no surprise that people have trouble understanding what skills are necessary for a strategy consultant, let alone what the role even normally entails.

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Rules of Retailing and Changing

By James T. Berger July 19, 2017

Prof. Haskett defines the “wheel of retailing” as the concept where retailers enter the market through low-price strategies to build market share. With the high market share, the retailer would shift its strategy from attracting new customers to increasing profit margins through higher pricing. In implementing the higher pricing strategy, the retailer opens spaced for a new lower price retailer to come into the market as the wheel turns.

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The Right Personality For The Right Negotiation

By Pravin Vemuri July 19, 2017

Negotiations are no different, although not as dramatic and not as much a matter of life or death. Not surprisingly, on occasion, they devolve into a hypercompetitive, personality-driven blood sport

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Strategic Movements: July 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 19, 2017

What will Gillette do? As a starter, they cut prices by 12%. Good for consumers (and society overall), bad for investors. Competition’s role is to drive prices down and quality up. This is part of the reason private capitalism is better than state-controlled enterprise.

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Sales, Marketing, Finance and Pricing in Price Management

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 16, 2017

Our own research—that of Homburg, Jensen, and Hahn—as well as research by Hinterhuber and still other works by Liozu, repeatedly indicated firms that engage sales, marketing finance, and pricing leaders in pricing decisions outperform those that don’t. At this point, we may even call this settled managerial science.

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Who Will Survive the Retail Revolution?

By James T. Berger June 16, 2017

In The Future of Shopping, a 2011 article by Darrell Rigby—a partner in the Boston office of Bain & Company—sees retail today as part of a 50-year cycle. Rigby writes 150 years ago, the railroads promoted the growth of big cities and the rise of the department store. One hundred years ago, the automobile made possible the shopping center and 50 years ago, we saw the rise of the Big Box category killers.

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A Wiglaf Prediction

By Tim J. Smith, PhD June 16, 2017

“As for his real estate properties, my advice would be to divest himself of all his upscale properties. The cash infusion this would generate would encourage Trump to develop a large chain of medium-priced hotels in smaller markets. They would cater to the Trump voting bloc, and could also be very profitable.”

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Strategic Movements: May 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD May 16, 2017

Let me get this right: Grainger’s “pricing action” was to lower prices. The result was higher volumes and lower gross profits.  The aim was a clear market share take. And CEO Donald Macpherson is happy with the result?

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