Changes and improvements in parcel delivery options will give a boost to e-commerce sites in 2015, according to a new report by Fastlane International. The internet retail delivery and international parcel market is poised for some “significant developments” next year, including increased delivery options, the growth of Sunday and same-day delivers, better ‘signature’ proof systems […]
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Make eWoM Work for You
Marketing professionals know that social media marketing is word-of-mouth selling multiplied by a million. Philosophically, electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) is a logical context for any marketing campaign, but practically, implementing eWoM so that it drives web traffic and convertible sales is another matter. We Are All Connected In an article published in the journal of Business […]
An in-depth Q&A on Social Media
Social media–it’s a hot topic. Much has been written about how important social media is, how to measure it, the pitfalls of doing it, and how it will transform marketing as we know it. What has been missing from these social media discussions is how companies can leverage social media to better understand consumers and […]
Formulating Breakthrough Strategy and the Making of the Damascene Sword
The making of the Damascene, the Samurai, or the Viking sword, took time. Each blade was meticulously shaped by hand into hundred layers of steel. This was the secret of its superiority. Each blade was also special and unique due to the passion involved in the making. This was the case over 1000 years ago, because […]
Selling the Solution, Not the Product
Selling can be sleazy when it’s manipulative. “Let me convince you to do something, so I’ll get what I want.” If you want to grow your business, and feel good about yourself at the same time, it’s necessary to change the way you think about “selling.” Everyone buys things. If you provide a product or […]
The Most Common Sales Fallacies
For many years, I have struggled and beaten off my competition through hard work and failures. I have read many books and many articles on how to be the best Salesman or the Best Marketer and have tried implementing all the advice. I am sick to death of all of these How-To guides and the […]
Innovators or Sheep?
Have you ever notice that so many companies want to be visionary? Able to predict future products and services you need; but yet they also say they respond to market demand by being market-driven. Seems to me that’s an oxymoron. Can you be both market-driving and market-driven? To disruptively break free from reactive business strategy […]
Who Is the Customer and Why Are They Different?
Editor’s Note: The author is an expert and practitioner of the growth strategy framework, Delta Model. The Delta Model is based on the teachings of MIT professors Dean Wilde and Arnoldo Hax. It aims to change your strategic thinking, identify new sources of revenue, and transform your overall organization. This article is based on the business principles taught […]
Brand Not Product
One of my early roles was in a Call Centre environment, but I still see the same culture 15+ years later! We only received inbound calls, so invariably people always had questions or problems they needed solving. We were called ‘customer service’ but, we were actually just a sales team. I was a fantastic salesman, […]
Strategic Planning Demystified with the Mindmap
Editor’s Note: Dr. Stephen M. Sweid is a business consultant, researcher and trainer with over 20 years consulting experience on the international scene: Europe, USA, Middle East and Far East. Dr. Sweid is an author on Flevy, where he has produced materials on Breakthrough Strategy (see his materials here). * * * * I use the Mindmap […]
The Global 8D Problem Solving Process
“If I had an hour to save the world I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute finding solutions.” – Albert Einstein The 8D (Eight Disciplines) Problem Solving Process is a team oriented and structured problem solving methodology that is mainly used to identify, correct and eliminate recurring problems. The 8D Problem […]
Competitive Advantage as a Market Share Strategy
The ability to create and/or utilize an existing Competitive Advantage to target an enhanced market share, in addition to an organization’s inherent internal capabilities, is more often dependent and determined by the scope, growth, and vitality of the market itself (profitability, etc.), as well as the organization’s relative competitive position and its rivalries with competitors within that market/industry. […]