Retailer “la Halle” discovers hidden costs of loyalty cards
Loyalty cards and advantages for customers are costly. I explained many years ago that loyalty should not be “bought” because he destroys so much value and, above all, so much profits. Moreover “buying” your customers’ loyalty is a short-term strategy. It’s not based on deep-rooted customer satisfaction. Just on mere financial benefits. What is really funny is to see how firms react when they eventually discover the hidden costs of loyalty cards. In today’s post let’s...
Flying Tiger: here’s how a unique customer experience is created
If you are looking for the quintessence of customer experience, look no further. This store counts only on its customer experience to drive its sales : it’s called “Flying Tiger Copenhagen“. And believe it or not I visited one store of this Danish brand for the first time a few weeks ago. I paid a visit to the store located next to the Flatiron building in New-York. A store full of 1$ and 2$ stuff This store...
Uber wants your data to support its own (ghost) kitchen business
This is one of the most interesting articles I’ve read in a past few weeks. Nick Abouzeid’s article on Medium is a excellent, well researched article that sheds light on trends in the shared economy business that are yet unknown in Europe. Abouzeid starts with a 3-part analysis of Uber’s recently launched own credit card and the strategy behind it Part 1 : Uber has its own credit card You may not know it but Uber launched...
Opaque 3rd-party algorithms : a business opportunity
For some businesses algorithms have become instrumental to their strategy as a whole and their marketing strategy in particular. These algorithms are a well-kept secret and businesses have emerged that sell their knowledge on the inner working of those algorithms. PageRank and SEO agencies Look at Google for instance. Their search engine (which is in fact a very sophisticated recommendation system) is constantly evolving, affecting millions of websites around the world. SEO agencies have specialized into...
Amazon’s new business move will lock customers further
Amazon looks to me as one of the most innovative companies in the world, far more innovative actually that any of the electronics giants out there which have done poorly at inventing any real breakthrough innovation for the last 10 years. Amazon not only innovates to make its logistics better, but it makes also some very smart business moves to consolidate its position on various markets. Its latest move, in the book edition industry, ressembles one...
When will the IoT market eventually crash ?
I attended the first day of Unconvention in Brussels in January and what I saw and heard made me reflect on the value of innovation. During the first set of presentation, a speaker explained the current state of an IoT project in Porto where sensors had been implemented everywhere to make the city management more efficient and life more livable. For instance sensors measured pollutants (ozone and CO2) and connected to busses’ wifi Hub spots to...
Great promotion for Canada at Lyon (France) airport
While traveling in France I spotted a very nice communication campaign at Lyon Saint-Exupery airport on the occasion of the opening of the Lyon – Montreal connection. To celebrate this new connection, passengers were invited to discover North American culture (and more specifically Canadian way of life) through a series of visuals, experiences and games. Next to breathtaking pictures of Canadian nature, jerseys of the NFL, NBL (White Sox) and NBA (Chicago Bulls) ligues were exposed...
Unethical behavior : making money around terrorist attacks
At the time of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015 (Charlie Hebdo) I was asked in a radio interview to analyze the merchandising phenomenon that was witnessed. All kinds of objects with the “#JeSuisCharlie” logo suddenly appeared on marketplaces like Ebay and Amazon. After the attacks on Nov 13, I was once again interviewed by the public Swiss national radio TSR to comment on the phenomenon (the interview, in French, can be listened to from 12:00 by following...
Marketing strategy: should banks charge customers more?
The boss of the National Bank of Belgium suggested that banks change their tariffs and charge customers for services like cash withdrawal, payments made by bank cards, yearly fees charged to have a bank account, … Is it a good marketing strategy ? Why were such proposals made when, at the same time, consumers keep losing purchase power each and every year ? If such proposals were to be implemented, what would be the consequences on...
International retailing of « Made in Italy » products
The results of a market research carried out in the UK and France revealed some interesting pieces of information about how brands leverage the “country of origin” dimension in the stores. This market study was presented at the International Marketing Trends Conference that took place in January 2014 in Venice and is the result of the work of 8 researchers. It starts by showing that the previously acknowledged COO (Country of Origin) dimension has been slowly...
My three recipes to increase creativity
After 11 months of an uninterrupted race to secure new contracts, increase our market share and deliver market research, new ideas and concepts to our customers, the time had come to go on vacation and prepare for the next 11 months. Being just back from vacation what I can say is that I couldn’t really stop working. Clients were still calling in, I was interviewed by 3 magazines, send a few quotes. Business as usual except...
Pop-up stores: what do they reveal about the future of retail
I’ve received several interview requests during the summer to discuss the future of retail. In today’s article I want to share with you my thoughts about pop-up stores, a (relatively) new forms of retail that reflects changes in our world and changes in the way the consumers behave. 1999 : the start of the pop-up stores It seems that the first pop-up store opened in 1999 in Los Angeles. The word pop-up meant at that time...
Marketing strategy : how Tic Tac uses downsizing to make you buy
Tic Tac is a brand of the Italian group Ferrero that has a been on the market for more than 40 years. Literally everyone knows the little transparent box containing a few dozens of hard mints. In its country of origin (Italy, where it was introduced in 1969), Tic Tac is now also sold in a new packaging that fits with its time. Downsizing trends in packaging With the crisis we’ve witnessed a general downsizing of...
Mono-product marketing strategy : examples from Paris
In a previous post we reported on a store in Paris selling only one type of product : Éclair. L’Atelier de l’Eclair has reached the excellence and its reputation spreads online has you can see if you browse consumers’ forums. We stumbled upon other stores of the same type in Paris “Comme à Lisbonne” Even after touring in Paris so many times, you can still miss something. This is the case for “Comme à Lisbonne”, a...
What does it cost to be a franchisee ?
The questions and myths around franchising are very present in the heads of entrepreneurs. Would-be entrepreneurs dream of creating a brand with the potential of launching a franchise, while others are interested in becoming franchisees. The question of the costs attached to the franchising concepts are however difficult to answer. Except if you take the time to do some market research and compare a 13 brands as we did below. 13 brands compared We decided to...
O2 and Deutsche Telekom create an innovative customer experience
Choosing a new smartphone, tablet or accessories can really be difficult for most customers. Not only does technology constantly evolve, but you won’t be allowed to actually touch, feel and try real devices in cell phone stores. The risk to get unsatisfied customers is high. Very high. This situation is just unbelievable. Customers about to buy a 500€ device must rely on not trustworthy sales guys and will discover when they are home whether what they...
Innovation in the postal sector. Episode 5 : automatic lockers
Here’s already the fifth episode of our series (read here episodes 1, 2, 3, and 4) on innovation in the postal sector. The postal sector is one of the most innovative and adapts constantly to new or emerging consumers behaviors. Automatic lockers is one very successful example. Episode 5: automatic lockers to better match customers’ needs and behaviors Contact us for our B2B studies A widespread solution in Europe As you will read from the section...
Innovations in the postal sector. Episode 3: new delivery options
Here is episode 3 already of our series on innovations launched by postal operators. You can access the first episodes of the series here (episode 1) The innovation we’ll be dealing with today is driven by societal and behavioral changes. E-commerce rise can’t be stopped anymore. We are about to witness some dramatic changes industry-wide and the supply-chain providers will be put under pressure for the next decade to come. Episode 3: in search of new...
Innovations in the postal sector. Episode 1: 3D printing
As announced in our post last week, time has come to give you a comprehensive view of innovations in the postal sector. Some innovative services may be known to you already (depeneding on where you live and how innovative your postal operator is). Most of them will however surprise you (at least we hope so) and will show you the undergoing revolution in terms of business models and revenue creation. As we explained in our previous...
Innovations in the postal sector: business models revamped
The postal industry is unique. Its original business model is threatened and the industry is forced to reinvent itself. What can be observed there in terms of innovation is just unique. I met with Delphine Desgurse in Venice in late January where we use to attend the same marketing conference. Delphine is the vice-president of La Poste, in charge of innovation. Like two years ago she headed a very interesting and inspiring presentation on innovation, with...
Western Union blue ocean strategy to increase loyalty
At the International Marketing Trends conference in Venice, Maureen Sigliano presented Western Union’s global loyalty strategy. Maureen is Vice President Global Loyalty Development & Customer Experience at Western Union and her speech, besides being highly inspiring, also shook up some established rules about customer satisfaction and loyalty. A Blue Ocean of untapped opportunities Maureen’s speech was preceded by a presentation by Michael Hänhlein on current state of customer relationship management (CRM). Michael insisted that firms’ efforts...
The innovation strategy of Edenred to conquer new markets
At the International Marketing Trends Conference in Venice, Damien Joannes of Edenred explained the strategy of his group to diversify its activities and conquer market shares. The key seemed to be in proposing services tailored to evolving needs of businesses. The story starts with the Ticket Restaurant The story started in 1962 with the invention of the ticket restaurant in France. From 1976 until a period of geographical expansion followed and from 2000 until 2010 the...
The right marketing strategy to sell products with a premium
While on business trip in Venice I stumbled upon wonderful postcards of Venetian monuments. I couldn’t resist the temptation and despite the price bought some to send to clients. Don’t shoot me dead … apparently such 3D pop-up cards have been on the market for a while, but this was the first time for. You can’t know about everything, right? To make a long story short these cards were so amazing : complex, surprising, yet with...
What is the value of a “Like” for your business strategy?
An article on the excellent consonaute blog recently made me (re)think about the role of social media in B2C and B2B businesses. In this post Bruno Fridlansky reflects about the value of a “like” on Facebook and of “favorite” on Twitter. He concludes that “Likes” and “favorites” are overused and that their actual value has been tarnished. Do they still mean something for the user who “likes” or “favorites”? If it still does Bruno concludes, it’s...
You’ll never guess which material Mondavi used to create sunglasses
Extending your product range into different product categories is certainly a growth and profits strategy. Yet it must also be a good long-term strategy and with that in mind brand extension should remain meaningful. We examine today the extension of the Mondavi Winery brand into eyewear. Eyewear made from the barrels’ wood The idea was brought to me by the excellent Creapills website. Mondavi is reknown for its excellent wines, the reputation of which stretches far...
Here’s why Aigle’s new marketing strategy works amazingly well
One of the advantages of having a strong brand is that meaningful diversification can enable you to unlock growth. Here’s the example of Aigle, an historic brand of rubber boots which has diversified into side products. Aigle has manufactured its famous rubber boots since 1967 in Châtellerault (France) and launched its outdoor strategy in 1989. The group went through difficult times however and was taken over in 2004. The revamping of the logo and the “rebirth”...
Marketing strategy: use humor to create differentiation
Life is not easy every day and a way to differentiate yourself from the crowd is to use humor. Read below the example of the Comfort Hotel group which uses humor at all levels as a marketing strategy for differentiation. Creating a customer experience around humor requires however to be very well organized and to be skilled in terms of marketing. The experience has to be compelling and it would be a big mistake to think...
Meeting with a great entrepreneur, Alain Milliat
If you wonder what it makes to see his name printed on millions of products, just ask Alain Milliat how he feels. He’s managing the Alain Milliat company which produces 2,5 million bottle of juice per year. Alain is one of the most loyal readers of our blog and one of the very first subscribers. He’s been following us up for years and we have exchanged opinions and debated quit a few times. We finally were...
Will Ryanair really improve service quality to satisfy its customers?
Michael O’Leary, the arrogant yet charismatic CEO of Ryanair, announced last week that the company would strive to improve customer service. “We should try to eliminate things that unnecessarily piss people off” and “A lot of those customer services elements don’t cost a lot of money … It’s something we are committed to addressing over the coming year,” O’Leary said on Sept 20th 2013. Market conditions have changed Why Ryanair is now finally addressing customer complaints...
Emerging trend on the food market : raw chocolate
Among the 200+ exhibitors of the Gourmet Food&Wine fair in Paris on Sept 23rd and 24th 2013, our attention was caught by Rrraw, startup launched by Frédéric Marr to exploit the raw chocolate market trend. After having sold his previous company in 2005 Frédéric founded Nutrivitalité.fr and got interested the nutritional properties of chocolate. His idea was to work on the process-side to keep “all the good things” chocolate has to propose with a maximum of...
The soon collapsing delicatessen market
After visiting the Gourmet Food & Wine fair in Paris a strange feeling remains in my head: that of an endless repetition. I got bored. From booth to booth noting emerged as really different; everything was alike : exotic spices in showy packagings, Espelette chilli under all possible forms, seafood and their improbable packaging, falsely old-looking wooden shelves made by Chinese children. A –too- homogenous market Nothing stands out. Innovations are now all about packaging and...
How demographics maps can help your market research
If you think about maps you’ll most probably have in your mind the image of a geographic map, depicting the borders of a country or of a group of countries. There are however numerous other types of maps that are much more interesting and that can be of great help in your market research and your business plan. Geographer Jacques Levy recently published a book where he uses 30 astonishing socio-economic maps created by Luc Guillemot,...
Ryanair’s CEO better at provocation than Abercrombie&Fitch’s CEO
Mike Jeffries, Abercrombie&Fitch CEO, was under fire this summer about his declarations on excluding people from his targeted clientele. Back in 2006 he declared : “We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive, all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” I was interviewed this summer by the French magazine l’Expansion to deal...
The market of recycled devices grows with the crisis
There are some markets which benefit from the crisis. The market of recycled electronic devices is one of them. With the growth of smartphones and a diminishing buying power, consumers tend to look increasingly for bargains in the second-hand market. A recent study shows that only 20% of cell phones are recycled and that each houselhold has 3 to 4 phones on average sleeping somewhere in the drawers of the house. Some startups have developed a...
Get inspired by concept stores to improve your marketing strategy
I was called in mid-July by the Belgian TV Channel RTBF to explain what concept stores are. The 3-minute television report was filmed –obviously- in a concept store located in Brussels : SMETS. I went back to the store later to shoot some photos because it has pretty much all the attributes of a concept store. As I explained on TV a “concept store” is, by definition, a place where new ideas are put together (“a...
Even century-old firms die … because they don’t adapt
Darwin was right … those who adapt will survive and in the race to survival smaller species seem better placed. This seems also to be true for firms. The biggest ones are not –always- the most resistant to shocks and the quickest to change. Browsing recently through my archives I found back the articles that the Italian press dedicated to Richard Ginori, a eighteenth century firm that went bankrupt in early 2013. Richard Ginori, a porcelain...
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