Don’t confuse members with customers

Thanks to the so-called flash-sales sites we now have a distorted definition of what being a member means. Before Gilt, RueLaLa and the myriad “private” e-commerce business wanna-bees, gaining membership in something typically meant you needed to actually do something more than have an email address and a pulse. By now it should be clear to [...]

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Plunge

There are two basic ways to enter a swimming pool. The first involves testing the water, cautiously inching your body into the pool as you slowly descend the steps or the ladder. It’s all about deliberateness and the hope that this “safe” approach will allow you to avoid any unpleasantness. The second, of course, is to [...]

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Twitter’s birthday: Blow out the candles, step on the gas.

You probably heard that Twitter celebrated its 5th birthday yesterday. The flash-sales model pioneered in the US by GiltGroupe is about 3 1/2 years old. Groupon was founded in November of 2008, not even 2 1/2 years ago. While it remains unclear whether Twitter will go the way of a MySpace or a Facebook, it’s [...]

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Competing with yourself

One of the biggest mistakes companies make strategically is failing to compete with themselves. The only reason Sears is no longer the leader in the retail home improvement industry–and now on a slow slide into oblivion–was their unwillingness to build or buy an off-the-mall response to Home Depot when they had the chance. Having personally [...]

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A very omni-channel holiday

First there were brick and mortar retailers and direct-to-consumer companies–and never the ‘twain shall meet. Then came retailers operating in multiple channels–but don’t call them “multi-channel retailers”–most pursued their strategies in operational silos. Then more companies came to realize that silos belong on farms, and we saw more integration: consistent branding across channels, pricing and [...]

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Luxury Market Research Smackdown

A number of media outlets have picked up on the debate between Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing and Ron Kurtz of the American Affluence Research Center (AARC) concerning the future of the luxury market.  Let me boil it down for you. In a recent AARC report Kurtz recommends that: “Luxury brands and luxury marketers should [...]

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Reset! Engaging Customers in the New Normal

If you missed the webinar that Jon Giegengack and I conducted earlier this week entitled Engaging Consumers and Growing Market Share in the “New Normal,” the recording of the session and presentation deck are now both available. Webinar recording: https://cmbinfoevents.webex.com/cmbinfoevents/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=2764867&rKey=b264f15e93796eb1 Webinar deck: http://www.cmbinfo.com/cmb-cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/The-New-Consumer-Report_2010.pdf

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The Private Flash Sales Sites Jump the Shark

On April 19 I posted about my belief that the luxury off-price market was about to hit the wall, largely owing to a squeeze between a growing customer base seeking out great deals, and a diminishing supply of first quality branded merchandise.   I suggested that the various players in the space were going to have [...]

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