Speed Meets Variety in Amazon’s Deal for Whole Foods
The $13.7 billion agreement may help both retailers overcome some of their biggest hurdles.
Consumer Products
Eileen Fisher and the Personal Side of Leadership
Is it fair to ask employees to embrace personal growth, on top of everything else they do? Yes, according to the apparel company CEO. See also “Eileen Fisher on Leadership: The Personal Side of Organizational Change.”
Connecting the Dots from Brand to Demand
The best consumer strategies start with knowing where and why people shop for your product.
VideoEileen Fisher on Leadership: The Personal Side of Organizational Change
The founder of the apparel company talks about how much personal growth leaders should demand — of employees and themselves. For further insights, read “Eileen Fisher and the Personal Side of Leadership.”
s+b BlogsStrategy Talk: What’s Wrong with Cross-Selling, Anyway?
Your strategy should turn customers into “cross-buyers” of your products and services.
s+b BlogsTwo Simple Concepts for Satisfying Customers
Get to know your highest-volume customers, and fill the satisfaction gaps that they won’t tell you about.
s+b BlogsNir Eyal’s Required Reading
The author of Hooked recommends four books for the leaders of consumer companies seeking to create habit-forming products and services.
s+b BlogsTwo Simple Concepts for Better Leadership
Learn to operate from two observation points simultaneously and to outsource at home.
The Digital Marketing Value Loop
INSEAD’s David Dubois on how companies and their customers communicate in the digital age.
Megadeals in Consumer Packaged Goods
How supersized deals are helping the sector respond to challenges.
InfographicA Guide to Strategy through Execution
How to get the strategists and implementers in your company to work together effectively. For more insight, read “10 Principles of Strategy through Execution.”
It Takes a Village to Raise a Brand
When a product loses consumer appeal, it’s usually because the company’s support system has broken down.
s+b BlogsSmall Box Retailers
Target is the latest retailer to double down on mini versions of its stores — and hopes to avoid others’ pitfalls.
s+b BlogsWhat Can the Cola Wars Teach Us about Brand Loyalty?
In mature product categories, the top companies usually compete fiercely for one another’s customers. But they might be better off focusing on the fringe consumers who haven’t yet picked a side.
A Strategist’s Guide to Industry 4.0
Global businesses are about to integrate their operations into a seamless digital whole, and thereby change the world.
The Shareholder Value Triple Play
Mature food companies need to use aggressive cost reduction, portfolio simplification, and substantially new approaches to growth to deliver competitive returns.
s+b BlogsWhen Consumers Are More Than Customers
Companies can turn consumers into active online volunteers who offer consistently valuable input on existing and yet-to-be-designed products.
s+b BlogsHas Your Strategy’s Shelf Life Expired?
What to do when you outgrow your target market — or vice versa.
s+b BlogsWhy Distinctive Customer Targeting Is a Smart Strategy
Don’t underestimate the power of choosing a unique definition of the customers your company will serve.
Creating a Strategy That Works
The most farsighted enterprises have mastered five unconventional practices for building and using distinctive capabilities.
Navigating Retail’s Last Mile
To serve online shoppers effectively, companies need to make complex trade-offs among speed, variety, and convenience.
