Strategy Archives - KATHERINE HUNTER-BLYDEN

6 Ways to Learn Your Customer Pain Points

Marketplaces grow and thrive by identifying customer pain points and building a better technology bridge to alleviate them. These platforms help providers connect with individuals or businesses who use their products or services. I recently sat in on an investor pitch where a startup marketplace announced that they spent $3 million building the perfect product… Continue reading 6 Ways to Learn Your Customer Pain Points

3 Ways to Create a Stronger Brand through People Management

How do the following recent headlines regarding workforce policies and practices impact corporate brand? Netflix to Offer Unlimited Parental Leave Intel Invests $300 Million to Improve Its Workplace Diversity Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace Clearly changes in the workforce have the potential to be brand-enhancing or brand-marring. It’s important that businesses contemplate how people… Continue reading 3 Ways to Create a Stronger Brand through People Management

Is Big Data Really Such a Big Deal?

I have worked with data for most of my career. After college, I started out as a pricing analyst in the insurance sector. I spent hours poring over data–you could call it big data–to figure out the optimal price for a risk. I would look at historic cost data by a number of segments and… Continue reading Is Big Data Really Such a Big Deal?

Referral Marketing: Letting Customers Lead the Way

Referral marketing is all about getting leads through existing relationships. People like to share good finds and good experiences so developing a referral marketing effort should be an essential part of a nearly every marketing plan. Your plan should focus on the customer and their experience and aim for customer-centric leadership in the channel. Let’s… Continue reading Referral Marketing: Letting Customers Lead the Way

Moving Beyond Loyalty to Customer Advocacy

The average U.S. household participates in nearly 22 loyalty programs every year. However, that does not mean that householders are, in fact, loyal to these brands. Repeat purchases rather than just loyalty program sign-ups ought to be the core metric for loyalty. How many widgets a person buys determines how loyal they are to the widget maker. … Continue reading Moving Beyond Loyalty to Customer Advocacy

Can Rebranding Lead to Sales Growth?

In today’s world of the internet of everything and big data, every executive and every business owner is more concerned than ever about the ROI of every activity. Marketing leaders have espoused the benefits of a strong brand for years. Recently, more marketers have been asked to justify their activities, including brand-building efforts. Business leaders… Continue reading Can Rebranding Lead to Sales Growth?

TV Advertising Is no Longer the Holy Grail

Fragmentation in advertising is good for small businesses as it gives such businesses an opportunity to compete effectively. Where small businesses were previously left out of advertising on video-rich platforms like television, YouTube has created opportunity. Nearly 50% of U.S. households now have digital video recorders (DVRs), which have resulted in fewer television commercials being… Continue reading TV Advertising Is no Longer the Holy Grail

6 Tips to Launching a Successful Cause Marketing Program

Cause marketing is a term used to describe a company’s efforts to partner with a solution to a societal problem. Nowadays there are a number of “social enterprises” that exist to sell something AND bring awareness to or solve a social problem. But, even if your business is not a social enterprise, you may benefit… Continue reading 6 Tips to Launching a Successful Cause Marketing Program

Can Radio Shack Shrink Its Way to Profit?

Radio Shack’s sales dropped 10% between 2013 and 2012, a steeper drop than the 5% decline seen with 2012 calendar year results. And, operating results were the worse the company has seen in the last five years. What’s a CEO to do? On his investor call today, Radio Shack CEO Joe Magnacca announced that the… Continue reading Can Radio Shack Shrink Its Way to Profit?