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How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Bed Bath & Beyond’s Persistent Coupons and the Return of Thrifty Consumers
Pricing strategy Digital ArticleBig-box stores need to offer discounts — and make customers earn them. -
Why Amazon Should Unbundle Prime
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleNo one likes "take it or leave it" ultimatums. -
Expose Your Company’s Blind Spots
Customer experience Digital ArticleIs your company unintentionally keeping your most senior people from getting the feedback they most need? It can easily happen as an unintended consequence of success. Consider these situations: Senior executives at car companies drive only the newest models: For decades, the top executives at America’s leading automobile manufacturers always drove models fresh from the […] -
Why Do Companies Succumb to Price Fixing?
Government policy and regulation Magazine ArticleWhen Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […] -
In 2009, Match the Urge to Purge with a Zest to Invest
Recessions Digital ArticleIt’s become the mantra of the moment: “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Leaders everywhere are struggling to make sense of the worldwide economic crisis, to learn lessons that will guide them and their companies going forward. My worry is that too many leaders are learning the wrong lessons — they are becoming […] -
“Actually,” She Said, “He Works for Me.”
Consumer behavior Digital ArticleSurprised by a gender stereotype? React calmly, directly, and move on. -
Teslas Catch Fire Less Often than Gas-Powered Cars
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleThe electric car company should use this information to defend its brand. -
When People Pay Attention to Video Ads and Why
Marketing Digital ArticleContext is key. -
Go Downstream: The New Profit Imperative in Manufacturing
Business models Magazine ArticleNow that providing services is more lucrative than making products, the old foundations for success in manufacturing are crumbling. Smart manufacturers are creating new business models to capture profits at the customer’s end of the value chain. -
How to Pay Your Sales Force
Motivating people Magazine ArticleUsing the results of a survey of 380 companies in 34 industries, this author examines three basic types of compensation plans: salary, commission, and combination (salary plus commission). Most companies in the study favored a combination plan, but such plans have some disadvantages to offset their obvious attractiveness. The author sets out the possible reasons […] -
How to Extend Your Customer Experience Through Social Media
Communication Digital ArticleI'm in Toronto this week on business. Arriving a few days early to play tourist, I tweeted for recommendations for places to eat and things to do. In... -
Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity
Personal productivity Magazine ArticleWhen productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […] -
Online Shopping and the Problem with Pictures
Marketing Digital ArticleWhat if the thing that gets online shoppers to buy a product is also the thing that makes them dissatisfied with the product when it arrives? In a recent research project, I tested this hypothesis using the pictures of products that accompany the online shopping experience. Images are the crux of online shopping. Good pictures […] -
A Dedicated Team of Problem Solvers Can Help Big Companies Act Like Lean Startups
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleHow Experian does it. -
Service With a Very Big Smile
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleNew research confirms that the bigger the employees' smiles, the happier the customers. -
Make Your Best Customers Even Better
Customer experience Magazine ArticleMany companies could persuade big spenders to buy even more. -
Microsoft Blew It on the Price of Xbox One
Strategy Digital ArticleThe tech giant chose the wrong moment to sell at a 25% premium over the competition. -
Tesla's Strong Brand Gives It Unusual Expansion Potential
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleIts move into car insurance could be just the beginning. -
The Lure of Global Branding
Globalization Magazine ArticleBrand builders everywhere think they want global brands. But global brand leadership, not global brands, should be the priority. Successful companies follow four principles to meet that goal.
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Testing Marketing Hypotheses at WSES
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details We Sell Everything in Software (WSES) Inc., sold innovative off-the-shelf products and had customers across the world. WSES specialized in providing software... -
GACL: Balancing Employee Satisfaction and Productivity
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Gujarat Automotive Corporation Limited (GACL) was an Indian manufacturing company that made bus bodies. The firm was a subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited,... -
Serious Materials
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Serious Materials is a start up who is moving into clean tech markets. The company's first product, QuietRock, originated the sound proofing drywall category... -
IndiaMART
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The case on IndiaMART enumerates important decisions that are made in platform business models with regards to the pricing of the different sides of the... -
Brush with AIDS (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details A product manager at a health products company is responsible for marketing sharps containers, which hospitals use to store used needles in order to protect... -
Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Supplement for Transforming Tommy Hilfiger (A), 714451. -
Findasense (B): A New Path for Scaling Up
Management Case Study5.00View Details Global digital and omnichannel customer experience company headquartered in Spain with revenues of 17.4 million euros. An ever-expanding company for the... -
Multifactor Models
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details Students evaluate the performance of four mutual funds and compute the cost of capital for two companies using fixed benchmarks, the CAPM, and a multifactor... -
Selling Green Dots in Second Life
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details An Irish Air Lines pilot has re-created his home city of Dublin on Second Life. His Second Life alter ego, Ham Rambler, is busy running the site, and... -
Bain Capital: Outback Steakhouse
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Bain Capital had purchased Outback Steakhouse in 2007 and despite the myriad initiatives to improve operations, the financial collapse in 2008 threatened... -
Prabhu Murthy Industries: To Trust or Not to Trust
Management Case Study11.95View Details On July 15, 2022, the senior marketing manager of Prabhu Murthy Industries Limited participated in a high-priority meeting attended by all of the company's... -
Autonomous Vehicles: Smooth or Bumpy Ride Ahead?
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In early 2019, transportation was set to undergo a major transformation with the advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs), also referred to as driverless cars,... -
InsideSales.com (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details This case focuses on growth requirements for a company moving from its base in SMB customers (Small and Mid-Sized businesses) to Enterprise customers... -
Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact... -
The Battle for Logan Airport: American Airlines versus JetBlue (C)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details The entrance of JetBlue into the Boston area low-cost carrier market in 2004 is viewed as a direct attack on Major airlines and prompts American Airlines... -
Brush with AIDS (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Zalora Philippines: From Growth to Profitability
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In May 2015 Paulo Campos, Co-Founder and CEO of Zalora Philippines, found himself at a crucial turning point in his young company's development. In just... -
Enpara.com: Digital Bank at a Crossroad
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In March 2017, Elsa Pekmez Atan (MBA 2004), was wondering about the future of Enpara.com, a digital-only banking platform of QNB Finansbank. Since its... -
Drowling Mountain
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details It was August 2011 and Martin Cartier, senior board member, was beginning to feel the pressure of Drowling Mountain's 2010 general meeting that was coming... -
Analyzing Low Patient Satisfaction at Herzog Memorial Hospital
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In late 2012 Adeline Herzog Memorial Hospital in Castle Rock, Colorado, was facing a problem with patient satisfaction. The Press-Ganey scores for the...
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How to Penetrate the US Market
Marketing Digital ArticleAccounting for almost 30% of world GDP, the United States is the world’s largest and most demanding market for almost everything from oil to microprocessors to premium coffee. Companies around the world aspire to do business in the US, or at least with US companies in their home markets. By doing so, they learn much […] -
Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleHow to tailor your advice to your reps' needs - and build a culture where they help each other. -
Five Ways to Learn Nothing from Your Customers' Feedback
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleThe case for eschewing the traditional approach to customer satisfaction measurement. -
Bed Bath & Beyond’s Persistent Coupons and the Return of Thrifty Consumers
Pricing strategy Digital ArticleBig-box stores need to offer discounts — and make customers earn them. -
Washington Mutual (A): A Very Old Bank Can Grow-A Lot!
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Describes the ways in which Washington Mutual preserved and reinforced its brand through two phases of expansion, the first based on acquisition and the... -
Managing Demographic Risk
Economics Magazine ArticleAn aging workforce will compel businesses to change how they operate and could even threaten some companies’ viability. How vulnerable is your business? -
Nestle's Maggi: Pricing and Repositioning a Recalled Product
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In June 2015, the Indian food regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, declared Nestlé's brand of noodles, Maggi, unsafe for... -
Expose Your Company’s Blind Spots
Customer experience Digital ArticleIs your company unintentionally keeping your most senior people from getting the feedback they most need? It can easily happen as an unintended consequence of success. Consider these situations: Senior executives at car companies drive only the newest models: For decades, the top executives at America’s leading automobile manufacturers always drove models fresh from the […] -
Authenticity: Is It Real or Is It Marketing?
Leadership Magazine ArticleCompanies that boast of their authenticity confront challenges that more faceless firms don’t even have to consider. -
Zalora Philippines: From Growth to Profitability
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In May 2015 Paulo Campos, Co-Founder and CEO of Zalora Philippines, found himself at a crucial turning point in his young company's development. In just...