Results Count ... everything else is conversation.

Social Media Has the Power to Kill Pink Slime

Bettina Siegel is the poster child for what a blog can do!

Social media gets a lot of hype, but how much power does it really have to change things?  If you don’t know Bettina Elias Siegel, you are probably in good company.  Ms. Siegel is the author of a small blog that popularized the term “pink slime”.  Her blog could be a case study in the power of “viral branding,” which impacted an entire industry.  Now, if she would just take on “meat glue”.

Another nail in the coffin of big box stores?

Ability to sustain traffic will be a critical success factor 

You don’t need to look very far to see another article on the growth of online retailing.  The phenomenon of online shopping is truly worldwide. While Amazon grabs the headlines with record profits in the west, Alibaba dominates China. Consumers are voting.  The biggest threat to traditional bricks and mortar stores is not the loss of just sales, but the ability to drive future traffic.  Two recent tests offer a crystal ball of new challenges traditional big box stores will face in maintaining consumer traffic.

What’s a name change worth … Results Count!

The shoemaker’s kids finally have some new shoes! 

When you are in a client service business, the focus is rightfully on the clients.  And, when you work with some the largest Fortune 500 companies, there never seems to quite enough time to work on your “own stuff”.  The classic saying is that the “shoemaker’s kids are barefoot and have no shoes.”  Well, 2012 became our year to get new look and a new name.  

Are you 1 of the 80% that will fail multi-channel?

#1 Challenge of retailing today - It ain’t what it used to be 

As I’m preparing for teaching a Retail University class in Singapore next week, I asked myself the question I always get asked:  What is the #1 challenge in retail today?  The answer use to be different by region.  But today, retail has become a multi-channel reality worldwide.  An interesting study by Gartner predicts that by 2015, 80% of retailers will fall flat in a multi-channel world.  What will retailers and suppliers need to do differently worldwide in order to succeed in retail by 2015?

6 Amazing Stats on Smartphones in Store Aisles

A quick update on smartphones & mobile price checking 

Normally we strive to post something weekly about an emerging trend or retail topic.  Since our post yesterday, we have seen a bunch of posts and tweets on the emerging trend and retail store threat of consumers doing price shopping in aisle with their smartphones.  We ran across this infographic with some amazing stats that was just too good to pass up.

Target takes aim at Amazon & Price Apps

The war over smartphone price checks is heating up

It happened rather innocently the last couple of years as consumers started surfing the web while shopping in retail stores.  But, the battle for price conscious consumers reached a fever pitch last holiday season. Amazon poured salt in the wounds of retailers by offering an additional $5 off if consumers used their Price Check app to scan bar codes in a retail store.  Will it be an Amazon world, or can big box retailers fight back?

Snapshots in Time … Kodak vs. Lytro today

Case studies of technology and adapting to change

In reading my “Morning News Beat”, I ran across a great post by Mark Sansolo entitled: “Snapshot of the Future”. While his case examples are about the technology of photography, Sansolo does a great job of capturing the essence of change and why companies must continue to evolve, at an even more rapid pace to remain competitive.  Kodak is a snapshot of the past … and Lytro could well be the picture of the future.

PCs Are Dead - Just Ask the Toddler with an iPad

Today kids’ first experience will be on a tablet not a PC

Yes, PCs are still be being sold by the millions.  But, if you want to see the future, just watch a toddler using an iPad.  The interface is instinctive, intuitive, and addictive.  Kids below the age of 2 are flicking and flipping through their parents’ iPads before they can even talk.  And increasingly, parents are buying both tablets and apps just for their kids.  Is the tablet just a new “digital pacifier”, or will it be the future screen of choice for today’s youth literally cutting their teeth on a tablet?

Could Xfinity be a nail in Best Buy’s coffin?

New service models could pose threat to Geek Squad 

Traditional retail store chains are under siege.  Amazon and e-tailers are rapidly siphoning off core customers through very competitive prices and free shipping.  Specialty CE retailers, like Best Buy and Dixons in the UK, have turned to services to enhance their market basket profitability, and increase loyalty.  But, the Geek Squad is no longer the only game in town.  Digital providers that pipe in your TV and internet into your home are now competing to be your digital plumber.

If you haven’t met TED … you’re missing out

Remarkable talks by remarkable people, free to the world 

As a public speaker and blogger I pride myself in being pretty well read, at least in my industries.  But I never knew about TED until my daughter sent me a link to a great speaker.  TED is an on-line collection of video clips from talks by amazing speakers, across a wide variety of topics, made available for free.  Think YouTube on steroids for professionals.  If you haven’t tapped into TED, you’re missing out on a great resource.