How well does our system work? You can use the numerical index to check our blogs from the last big recession.
Much of the world suffered a severe recession from 2008 to 2011. During that time, we wrote more than 250 blogs using publicly available information and our Strategystreet system to project what would happen in various companies and industries who were living in those hostile environments. In 2022, we began to update each of these blogs to see what later took place and to check the quality of our conclusions. To date, we have completed the first 175 of our original blogs. You can use these updated blogs to see how well the Strategystreet system works.
The 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Business Report is out. The report is the product of the research firm ForeSee Results. The research firm uses data provided by the University of Michigan. Analysts argue that the report should sound an alarm for Google and Facebook, two of the web’s most popular sites. Apparently, the companies are not doing as good a job as they have in the past with privacy policies and ease of use of their web sites. The report’s scores are set so that a score under 70 is considered poor. Facebook gets…
Read MoreIn our StrategyStreet analytical framework, a customer subjects a potential supplier to two levels of elimination: invitation and evaluation. With “invitation”, the customer decides who he will spend any time considering in the purchase decision. In “evaluation”, the customer eliminates potential suppliers on its most important purchasing criteria. Then, the customer analyzes the remaining potential suppliers in detail in order to make his final choice. At both levels, the customer is looking to eliminate suppliers, not to choose one. (See the Perspective, “The Tallest Dwarf” on StrategyStreet.com.) In the final analysis, most buying decisions are…
Read MoreSeveral years ago, BMW ran into a problem with its technologically advanced automobiles. It found that some customers were reluctant to buy their cars because the customers were concerned about the cost of maintaining products with such high technology. But BMW believed in its product and felt that the customer should believe equally. So, for more than the last ten years, BMW has offered free maintenance with its new cars. For four years, or 50,000 miles, a BMW customer will not pay for maintenance except for gas and tires. BMW continues to gain share and…
Read MoreIn a tough, highly competitive market place, the avoidance of Failure and a company’s reputation for Reliability are critical to long term success. (See “Video #14: Definition of Reliability” on StrategyStreet.com.) Dell is an example. For years, Dell was the paragon for the personal computer industry. It had good computers with a build-to-order business model that took in cash before the company had to pay suppliers. Its low-cost business model involved maintenance of low inventories and tight control of its suppliers. Then the wheels came off. From 2003 to 2007, Dell shipped a number of…
Read MoreA company has to send a consistent pricing message if it wants its customers to get its message. An example is Asda. Asda is the U.K. arm of Wal-Mart stores. Asda has always advertised itself as the home of “every day low prices.” It strayed from this message during the recession. As the recession took hold, Asda followed its major competitors in offering promotional pricing, such as temporary price deals and two-for-one specials. (See the Perspective, “The Grasshopper and the Ant” on StrategyStreet.com.) This approach worked during the recession. The company gained market share. However,…
Read MoreA few forward-thinking retailers have adopted predictive analytics in their loyalty programs. Among the few to use this tool today are Sam’s Club, CVS and Kroger. These programs offer both Convenience and Price advantages to individual customers. It is a true break-through innovation. The Sam’s Club program provides a good illustration. Sam’s named this program eValues. This program offers bargains tailored to each Sam’s Club member. The member must be part of Sam’s Club “Plus” program. These “Plus” members may print out individually tailored eValues offers at a kiosk at the entrance to the store…
Read MoreThe last couple of years have been very tough on the hotel industry. Now, some of the mainline hotel companies are starting to recover, but the high-end hotels continue their prolonged suffering. A typical example are the Four Seasons hotels. Last year the occupancy rate at the chain’s hotels was below 60% and revenue per available room, a key measure of sales, fell 26%. There are 82 Four Seasons hotels. At least 12 of them reputedly are near the breaking point. The Four Seasons Company no longer owns any of its 82 branded hotels. It,…
Read MoreA short while ago, we wrote a blog about Radio Shack’s rebranding itself (See Blog HERE) as primarily a mobile product carrier. At the time, we predicted that Radio Shack would have a difficult time competing on Function with Best Buy. Though, it would be more Convenient than the average Best Buy. (See “Video #26: Example of the Customer Buying Hierarchy at Work” on StrategyStreet.com.) Best Buy is ramping up its mobile product investment now. The company has created 80 stand-alone mobile stores from a standing start in 2006. It may add as many as…
Read MoreThe cable T.V. companies are the big dogs in the television industry. So far, no one has been able to unseat them, though they seem to be trying to unseat themselves. The cable industry is losing customers to satellite T.V. and phone companies entering the video market. The rate of these customer losses is significant. In 2006, the cable T.V. companies controlled nearly 69 million video customers. By 2009, that number had fallen to 63 million. (See the Symptom & Implication, “The industry leaders are losing share” on StrategyStreet.com.) The problem is both price and…
Read MoreIllinois opened its electricity market for non-residential customers in 1999. In 2010, about 75% of the electric load for commercial and industrial customers is purchased through alternative suppliers. That deregulation was a big success. The state then deregulated its residential market in 2002. Virtually no one paid attention. Now there is a competitor about to enter the residential market where few have dared venture in the last eight years. But this entry is virtually certain to fail. BlueStar Energy is an alternative electricity supplier based in Chicago. This company is offering twelve month contracts that…
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