Apr 30, 2009 | Marketing
Archimedes theorised that “With a long enough lever, you could move the world”
It appears that the web is such a lever, as the world has changed as a result of the leverage applied by the development of the web.
The internet bubble may have burst in the nineties, but the wild predictions made at the time are by and large coming to fruition, just a decade later, largely by different businesses, and with a clearer path to commercial sustainability, using the “old economy” disciplines of finding a way to solve a customers problem, or reduce his costs, whilst proactively managing your own assets, as the way to profitability.
Apr 29, 2009 | Marketing
There is a difference between telling someone what to do (management) and inciting a movement (leadership).
Managers use organisational structures to get stuff done, leaders create momentum by enabling connections to be made amongst like minded people, and showing the way.
You need 2 things to generate momentum:
- A shared passion
- A way to communicate.
The web has changed the dynamics, but not the rules, they are as old as human interaction.
Apr 28, 2009 | Demand chains
Trust is often cited as the key in making relationships, personal or commercial work. What is sometimes poorly understood is that trust is an outcome of lots of other things, primary amongst them is truth, along with consideration of the others point of view, meeting others needs, and compatibility of objectives, to name just a few.
In relationships between businesses, there is the added complication that there are usually many people involved, and as businesses are inanimate, it comes down to the behavior of people.
Just as most of us were told as kids, telling the truth is sometimes difficult, but it is far easier than the alternative, and has lasting effects on the relationship.
Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
The rules of the game have changed, marketing is about the engagement of customers.
My definition of marketing, is” the recognition, building, protecting and leveraging competitive advantage”
Engagement by consumers in the brand proposition is what that is all about.
No longer is average stuff for average consumers, marketed with “noise” good enough, the product (be it physical or a service) must be some combination of new, different, offer a unique solution, be beautifully designed, or simplify, to somehow engage customers so they can see value beyond the cheapest price.
Apr 24, 2009 | Demand chains, Marketing
The usual, and correct view of a supply chain is a number of competitors at each point in the chain competing to provide the goods and services necessary to send the goods along to the next stage. The classic is the Australian wool chain, where the agents compete to broker the wool, the scourers compete amongst themselves, as do the top-makers, weavers, and so on. This all takes a lot of time and energy, competing horizontally.
Well developed demand chains by contrast compete vertically. They are driven by demand, and each point in the chain works collaboratively with the others to best meet the customers need. Slowly, the competitive environment is altering, and competition at the point of sale is becoming a competition between competing supply chains, not just competing retailers.
The benefits of this type of activity are potentially huge.
Wool Connect, a group of wool producers has its wool in shops as socks after a couple of months, rather than a couple of years as would be the norm, and they know where the wool goes, and they get a premium for a premium product.
www.woolconnect.com
