Marketing

Research reveals factors that affect the likelihood of transacting business over mobile phones.

How the industry's evolution can inform all e-tail enterprises.

Brands have become increasingly difficult to manage. As many brands become more global, for instance, they are expanding beyond relationships just between manufacturers and customers to relationships that include employees, the investment community, the media, suppliers, governments & #8212; even competitors. Thus, the meaning of a brand is not merely the result of a dialogue between buyer and seller; it instead arises from a multilogue. Indeed, brand management has become a complex undertaking, requiring new approaches and models. To that end, the authors have developed a theoretical framework that companies can use to manage their brands more effectively. Specifically, the authors propose the concept of a brand space, which is based on two dimensions: the degree of abstraction (whether the brand has become independent from its associated product) and the degree of enactment (whether the brand focuses more on the meaning of a product or its functionality). By understanding the various dynamics of the brand space, companies can make wiser branding decisions, particularly as they confront escalating competition and rapidly changing markets.

Managers' opinions vary about the goals and value of Internet marketing.

Customer delight might not always lead to long-term satisfaction and loyalty.

If pricing isn't a strategic capability — a contributor to a company's ability to implement its strategy — it's probably a strategic liability.

In theory, trade promotions should benefit everyone involved. In practice, however, manufacturers and retailers often use trade promotions as weapons in a zero-sum game, and consumers are sometimes left out altogether. It need not be that way. Over the past three years, David Bell, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Xavier Dr_ze, a visiting assistant professor of marketing at UCLA’s Anderson School, have examined the theoretical and practical problems associated with trade promotions, and they explain how the right kind of deal can be created & #8212; a transparent system that generates mutual trust and provides benefits to both manufacturers and retailers. The key is proper implementation of what is thus far a little understood tool: the pay-for-performance trade promotion, in which retailers get rewarded according to how much they sell, not how much they buy. The authors explain how the most accepted way of doing promotions today & #8212; which rewards retailers for effective buying rather than effective marketing & #8212; creates a variety of inefficiencies that drain resources from their intended purpose. Using a hypothetical case involving much-simplified mathematics, they go on to demonstrate how manufacturers can design pay-for-performance options that retailers can embrace. They also illustrate how one national beverage company made pay-for-performance deals work in practice. Finally, they offer practical advice to help senior managers rethink the elements of organizational culture that stand in the way of a more effective approach to trade promotions & #8212; and, by extension, block better, more profitable relationships all along the channel.

Customer-lifetime value is more than a metric; it's a way of thinking and of doing business.