Consumer Products →
- 19 Feb 2008
- Research & Ideas
Radical Design, Radical Results
Consumers appear increasingly willing to make purchase decisions based upon their emotions about a product—how it looks, or sounds, or makes them feel using it. But the traditional design process based on user experience goes only so far in creating radical innovation. Harvard Business School visiting scholar Roberto Verganti is exploring the new world of "design-driven innovation." Key concepts include: Innovative product design is risky, but provides competitive advantage to companies that understand how a product "speaks" to customers. Little theory exists to point the way for companies that want to create a successful design strategy beyond the traditional user-driven design process. Companies often adopt one of three design strategies: launch and see, see and launch, or wait and see. Innovators may often be in the see and launch category. Innovators understand and build off each other's ideas better than the imitators do. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Nov 2007
- Research & Ideas
B2B Branding: Does it Work?
Does it make sense for B2B companies to take a cue from consumer companies and invest in brand awareness? Many B2B CEOs say no, but HBS marketing professor John Quelch disagrees in his latest blog entry. Key concepts include: Most B2B marketers cannot economically address thousands of small businesses using the traditional direct sales force. If left unattended, individual managers will each do their own ad hoc marketing. B2B marketers are realizing that developing brand awareness among their customers' customers can capture a larger share of channel margins and build loyalty that can protect them against lower-priced competitors. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Nov 2007
- Op-Ed
How Marketing Hype Hurt Boeing and Apple
In his latest blog entry, professor John Quelch looks at the examples of Boeing and Apple to investigate why shareholders have little patience for companies that hype high but deliver low. Key concepts include: The penalties for not delivering on marketing promises are fast becoming as significant as not meeting quarterly earnings targets. Do not risk marketing hype unless you are sure of both your supply curve and your demand curve. Hype can hurt stock prices and investor confidence when expectations are not met. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Oct 2007
- Research & Ideas
“Blank” Inside: Branding Ingredients
When Intel launched the Intel Inside campaign in the 1990s, many marketers thought the chip giant was nuts. Who cared about the microprocessor inside their PC? Turns out Intel created a branding sensation and raised awareness of the importance of ingredient branding, says professor John Quelch. Today's best example: The Boeing Dreamliner. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2007
- Research & Ideas
The FDA: What Will the Next 100 Years Bring?
With the possible exception of the Internal Revenue Service, no other governmental agency touches the lives of more Americans than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which ensures the safety of $1.5 trillion worth of consumer goods and medicines. Harvard Business School professor Arthur A. Daemmrich discusses the impact and challenges of the agency and his new book, Perspectives on Risk and Regulation: The FDA at 100. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Sep 2007
- Research & Ideas
How to Profit from Scarcity
This past summer's launches of the iPhone and final Harry Potter book were textbook examples of companies profiting in part by creating the illusion of scarcity. Professor John Quelch explains the advantages of this strategy when executed well, and tells how to recover from a real product shortage. Key concepts include: Marketers understand that using the illusion of scarcity can accelerate demand by encouraging us to buy sooner and perhaps to buy more than normal. Using false scarcity as a strategy also carries risk: it invites heightened scrutiny and frustrates buyers. Even if you experience a real product shortfall, take steps to mitigate potential disaster. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Aug 2007
- Op-Ed
Mattel: Getting a Toy Recall Right
Mattel has been criticized heavily for having to recall not once but twice in as many weeks 20 million toys manufactured in China. But Mattel also deserves praise for stepping up to its responsibilities as the leading brand in the toy industry. Harvard Business School professor John Quelch examines what Mattel did right. Key concepts include: Mattel's recall of 20 million toys made in China was handled deftly: The CEO took personal charge of the problem. Consumers are being empowered by Mattel's communications. The recall Web site is a model of excellence. Mattel's compensation program to customers may not be sufficient. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Jun 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Promise of Channel Stewardship
For many companies, distribution channels serve neither customers nor channel partners well. In a new book, Harvard Business School professor V. Kasturi Rangan outlines the concept of channel stewardship. An excerpt from Transforming Your Go-to-Market Strategy. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Apr 2006
- Research & Ideas
Managing Alignment as a Process
"Most organizations attempt to create synergy, but in a fragmented, uncoordinated way," say HBS professor Robert S. Kaplan and colleague David P. Norton. Their new book excerpted here, Alignment, tells how to see alignment as a management process. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Apr 2006
- Research & Ideas
Lessons from the Browser Wars
The first-mover advantage is well chronicled, but it didn't help Netscape when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer. What drives technology adoption, and do browser upstarts such as Firefox stand a chance? A Q&A with professor Pai-Ling Yin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Mar 2006
- Research & Ideas
Winners and Losers at the Olympics
We know which athletes won and lost in Turin, but what about the companies and individuals looking for business gold? Professor Stephen A. Greyser looks at the results—and the possibilities ahead in China. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Feb 2006
- HBS Case
Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive
Writing a business case on the icon of daytime television and chief executive of a major media empire was challenge enough for HBS professor Nancy Koehn and colleagues. Oprah Winfrey's visit to campus to talk with graduating students made it ample reward. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Feb 2006
- Research & Ideas
Turning High Potential into Real Reward
Transforming high-potential ventures into high-performance ventures, says professor Joseph Lassiter, depends on combining what, how, and who you know. From New Business. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jan 2006
- Research & Ideas
What Customers Want from Your Products
Marketers should think less about market segments and more about the jobs customers want to do. A Harvard Business Review excerpt by HBS professor Clayton M. Christensen, Intuit’s Scott Cook, and Advertising Research Foundation’s Taddy Hall. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Nov 2005
- Research & Ideas
Unilever: Transformation and Tradition
In a new book, professor Geoffrey Jones looks at Unilever's decades-old transformation from fragmented underperformer to focused consumer products giant. This epilogue summarizes the years 1960 to 1990. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Nov 2005
- What Do You Think?
Is Less Becoming More?
Americans these days have a lot more choices in products and services. But do consumers and suppliers suffer from choice overload? If so, what does this abundance mean for companies? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2005
- Research & Ideas
When Product Variety Backfires
Consumers like choice—but not too much of it. Presented with too many options, buyers may run to a competitor, says professor John Gourville. Here's what new research says about "overchoice." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Apr 2005
- Research & Ideas
Selling Luxury to Everyone
Few retailing segments have been as hot in the past several years as luxury goods. Even as middle-priced stores have struggled, luxury goods and luxury brands have, in many cases, outperformed the rest of retail. How? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Apr 2005
- Research & Ideas
Prosper with Multi-Channel Retailing
Reps from Abercrombie & Fitch, the Gap, and Bath & Body Works traded pointers in a panel session at the HBS Retail and Luxury Goods Conference on April 3. The upshot: Keep your brand message consistent both in-store and online. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors
Consumer needs and desires are not entirely mysterious. In fact, marketers of successful brands regularly draw on a rich assortment of insights excavated from research into basic frames or orientations we have toward the world around us, according to HBS professor emeritus Gerald Zaltman and Lindsay Zaltman, authors of Marketing Metaphoria. Here's a Q&A and book excerpt. Key concepts include: Deep metaphors are powerful predictors of what customers think and how they react to new or existing goods and services. The seven deep metaphors discussed in Marketing Metaphoria appear across a variety of products. Recent advances in various disciplines are providing concepts and techniques enabling marketers to dig into what consumers don't know they know. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.