We may soon have a world without Tupperware. Recently, there have been numerous doom-laden reports on the sad situation for this iconic American brand-business. In fact, a brief Nexis search of Tupperware-demise articles for the past week alone turned up 13 pages of commentary.
Netflix just reported its half year earnings to analysts. Wall Street’s reactions were typical. After the initial knee jerk punishing of Netflix’s stock because Netflix did not capture enough subscribers, Wall Street, its analysts and media talking-heads focused on Netflix’ positive news regarding operating margins, free cash flow and operating profits.
Problem Detection is one of marketing’s most effective strategies. Profitably solving and satisfying customer problems is the aim of marketing. So, marketers tend to focus problem detection on customers. But, as brand-business’ know, having motivated, committed, proud and loyal employees is a most critical factor in brand-business success. Recent research from Deloitte, the global services group, re-confirms the fundamental principle that loyal employees generate loyal customers.
For retailers, Covid-19 did a lot more than create supply chain disruptions causing huge inventories of unwanted items and changes in customer behaviors. Retailers put innovation on the back burner. According to The Wall Street Journal, retail brand-businesses “paused” innovation for the past three years. A playing-it-safe strategy was adopted by multiple retail establishments. Best Buy, Nordstrom’s and The Gap are cited as retailers with “a dearth of new products, styles and colors.”
Darden Restaurants Inc. owns some favorite dining brands including Olive Garden, Capital Grille, LongHorn Steak House and others. Restaurants, in particular, rely on their people to deliver a brand’s experience in a quality manner, time and time again. Especially important are General Managers. When it comes to the service business, the General Manager is the Brand Manager. Hiring, investing in, developing and inspiring the best managers is one of the most critical factors in generating...
