Insights Blog

I’m one of the lucky ones. I have an unlimited data, text, and calling plan with my wireless carrier. I signed up with early iPhone and have yet to change my device. My family is also on the plan. But I know if any member of my family wants to change their device, I’ll get the hard sell to switch from an unlimited data plan to a limited one.

Profit-Motivated Pricing

A few months ago Verizon announced that they would no longer sell a discounted device to anyone unwilling to change to a tiered data plan. AT&T has said that anyone wanting to use Facetime on their network needs to be on a tiered plan.

It’s obvious why they are doing this. They built a 4G network, and they want to recoup the investment. At the same time, usage patterns are changing dramatically. While texting and calling are falling, data is increasing at an incredible rate.

We believe that a fair price is appropriate for increased value. But we also believe Verizon and ATT missed an opportunity. Their very visible pricing moves scream that they are all about growing their profits at the expense of the consumers.

How do you measure health? It's more than just how good you feel. When you go to the doctor for a check-up, you want to know if your heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs are healthy in comparison to other people, especially the strongest and healthiest specimens. Your marketing program deserves the same perspective.

A few months ago, Forrester released a report regarding the impact of what they call the Facebook Factor. Unsurprisingly, they found that fans of a brand are more likely to purchase that brand than non-fans. More importantly, Forrester noted that the real value of fans is brand advocacy—fans are more likely to recommend a purchase or give a positive review.

Next, I read yet another study saying that up to 85% of people surveyed had changed a purchase decision based upon a positive or negative review. This review might be from a friend, but it could also be a complete stranger promoting or trashing a product. Clearly the more people you have saying positive things about your brand, the better off you are. Last night, for example, I know I wasn’t the only diner in town choosing my restaurant based on reviews from Yelp. Finally, a recent CMO Council survey found that while brand advocates are interested in social content, their loyalty to the brand is far more important. In other words, brand advocates are advocates because they believe in the brand.

This article discusses Why Apple Is a Great Marketer and provides 10 reasons for Apple’s success.

After a rocky 2010 dominated by the Great Recession, we're gearing up for big things in 2011. EMM Group has identified seven developments that we believe will have a significant impact on how companies, clients, and customers interact over the new year.

The Wall Street Journal reports July retail sales grew, but those gains were made primarily by the automative sector and gas. Inflation remained very low; in fact prices rose primarily because of higher energy prices. Pure retailers and merchants continue to struggle.

In our quest for organic growth, we can often be our own worst enemy. In the development of a win share strategy one of the most obvious, critical but often neglected question is – what market are we trying to get an additional share of? When marketers or executives are asked this question their response is usually formed on the basis of their product or service category i.e. we are in the credit card market, the market for inventory finance or the market for car audio systems. Sometimes this is even taken to the next level by adding entry-level, mid-range, premium and super-premium labels before the product/service category.

It’s amazing to me how the same thoughts and concepts seem to circle through the management world over and over again. Take innovation. There is so much buzz and hype about how innovation is the panacea of any company’s growth problems. If only every company could start behaving like Apple.

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad, a leader in marketing management principles, died on April 16, 2010 of a previously undiagnosed lung illness at age 68. In his book The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Prahalad cast the world's roughly two billion impoverished citizens not as lacking any purchasing power, but as a customer segment with unique needs for value and price. Segmentation is a foundational step in the Organic Growth Framework, and many companies followed Prahalad's guidance successfully to enter emerging markets. In one case he consulted with a global brand to produce small, individual packets of shampoo.

"The most creative individuals, teams and organizations are extremely disciplined. But it is a special kind of discipline—one that unlashes creativity in the service of developing important innovations." - Curt Carlson, founder of the Carlson Companies.