Archives tagged: customer loyalty
Declining profits and hammered by investors, Best Buy and J.C. Penney are having a tough go. Some seem to believe traditional brick and mortar retailers are circling the drain as US consumers switch to online channels. But take a deeper look, and you will find that both show promise.
More How did Monsanto address the expiration of their patent on glyphosate and the entrance of Chinese competitors? What were the results of their actions?
More What secrets can we gain from Bezos, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Mackey, Kelleher, and Walton? Examine Fortune’s 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time.
More Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix (NFLX) has cemented his position on my Hall of Shame. Whether hubris (outrageous arrogance) or stupidity, Netflix has taken an ill-advised price increase and transformed it into a runaway train that threatens to jeopardize the company. The story began when Reed Hastings and his management team, after doing apparently no market research, decided to raise their prices by approximately 60 percent. This action was taken amidst a continuous stream of record earnings, customer loyalty and a growing customer base.
More In a marketing blunder that rivals Coca Cola’s (temporary) abandonment of its original formula in favor of the sweeter “New Coke,” Netflix (NFLX), despite its incredible success and customer affection, decided to raise its prices 60 percent. Stock tumbled 19 percent. One million customers instantly abandoned Netflix. Was this incredible greed, stupidity or just plain ignorance?
More While the GROUPON model — the idea of getting a $50 meal for $15 — is clearly compelling to consumers, does it work for the retailer?
More Most pricing strategists would agree that having a low price is not a competitive advantage in and of itself. In fact, thinking that low prices are always a good strategy for competition is deeply misguided. However, at times, targeting low prices can lead to a strategic focus which delivers tremendous results. For example, Ikea, Wal-Mart, and Southwest Airlines all have low prices and profitably take market share. In this article, we will examine the flaws of assuming low prices is a good competitive strategy, then demonstrate how one firm, Southwest Airlines, redefined the product through target pricing to win the market profitably.
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“Here lies a humanist.” Abdurrahman Wahid, First Democratically Elected President of Indonesia, 1940-2009 Utility defines value. Does your new idea meet this…
More By most indicators, the major economies of the world are coming out of the deepest global recession a lifetime. Yet, the recovery is far from a return to pre-recessionary trends. Executives might be hoping for return to strong growth, yet most of should expect a tepid climate at best. How should they react? Read on.
More Choice is good, more choice is better … or is it? Is it always better to offer customers more choices, or should companies restrict the choices available to customers in some situations?
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