Recent headlines about millennials finally becoming parents are good examples of how we get things wrong when we focus on the small thing instead of the big thing. For years, the buzz has been about single households. From 1960 to 2010, the percentage of single households reported by the U.S.…
For years, our sense of motivation has been characterized by how we think about performance and behavior change. The result of this has been a bias toward solving performance issues using a variety of strategies that essentially boil down to a mix of motivation and discipline. This all seems fairly…
With higher revenues, lower costs and better market valuations, it pays to be an innovative firm. What’s more, the favorable impact of innovativeness is even stronger for really new innovations in comparison to incremental innovations, according to a 2012 study in the Journal of Marketing. So it pays even more…
In recent years, the terms “omnichannel,” “cross-channel” and “multichannel” have evolved as hot-button terms for marketers striving to drive connections with the modern consumer. As our framework for channels and devices continues to broaden, so, too, does the strategy and technology stack needed to deliver the right content, in the…
Having spent some time observing the rise and fall of brands across many different categories and countries, I have come to the conclusion that brands fail not because they lose market share, but because they lose pricing power. Through the company’s own inaction or competitive action, the brand fails to…
If you want to know what the power of inspired marketing means for an enterprise, look no further than the September issue of the Journal of Marketing. In the study “Marketing Department Power and Firm Performance,” authors Hui Feng, Neil A. Morgan and Lopo L. Rego establish a definitive means for…
Oracle’s recent acquisition of Maxymiser is a very smart move as it continues to build out its marketing cloud to compete with the likes of Adobe and Salesforce. Just as significant, this is part of its broader strategy to assemble the tools required to optimize the customer journey as the…
A good friend of mine, Lloyd Glen, says, “I like choices that make themselves.” This is a keen insight into human nature. While we are often loath to admit it at a conscious level, our instincts consistently guide us to the easiest choice. If there is a path that allows…
We live in an exciting time of unprecedented technological and knowledge advancement. Only 20 years ago (this was pre-Google), data was at the ultimate premium. Accurate, reliable information was highly coveted and had the potential to make huge impacts on business decision making and strategy at all levels and across…
As customers migrate more of their search and spending behaviors online, companies are following them. Results from the August 2015 CMO Survey indicate that companies expect to increase spending on digital marketing 12.8% over the next 12 months, while traditional advertising lags with a negative growth rate of -2.1%. Produced…