Starbucks to Close 500 More Locations:

By patmcgraw | July 5, 2008

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A remarkable 70% of the stores due to close were opened after 2005, which seems to confirm the comment made by Howard Schultz, when he returned to the helm of the company in January, that most of Starbucks’ wounds were self-inflicted. As it expanded at a breakneck pace, the company opened too many Starbucks in subprime locations. But the deteriorating American economy is doing further damage. As a premium-priced supplier, Starbucks is suffering from the same trading down that is sending shoppers rushing from Target to Wal-Mart. McDonald’s, it seems, has perfectly timed its decision to start selling coffee that is pleasant to drink.

Source: The Economist

Note from Pat: Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

 

Topics: Economy, Marketing, Strategy | No Comments »

Volkswagen to Make Limited Edition of 1-Liter Car (282 MPG!) in 2010

By TreeHugger | July 3, 2008

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VW 1-Liter Eco-Car photo VW's 282 MPG Super Fuel Efficient Car The 1-Liter car has been around in prototype form since 2002 and greens everywhere have been drooling at its 282 miles per gallon fuel economy (or 1 liter of gasoline per 100 kilometers, hence the name). VW has finally decided to make more and sell them, and a limited edition (estimated in the thousands) should start selling in 2010. 1-Liter Car Technical Specs The One-Liter car (or 1-Litre, over in Europe) weights only 660 pounds. The body is made from carbon composites and it is shaped to be extremely slippery, giving it a coefficient of drag of only 0.16 ("the average car comes in around 0.30 and the Honda Insight had a Cd of 0.25"). The prototype was powered by a 1-cylinder diesel engine, but the production model should have a 2-cylinder diesel (which means it could be powered by algae-biodiesel!), and maybe even a stop-start anti-idling feature (to cut the engine when the car is stopped). Source: Treehugger.com

Topics: Innovation, Social Impact, Strategy | No Comments »

Back to the Future of Federated Identity?

By Ed Kountz | July 3, 2008

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A JupiterResearch report slated for publication late this year will take a new look at the topic of Federated Identity services. Once the rage in online financial services, most banks eliminated their offerings in the early 2000s when consumer demand lagged expectations. Given the limitations of Web 1.0, this was understandable…and until recently, Wells Fargo was the only major FI still offering federated identity solutions to a retail market. This week, however, it was reported that Citi will introduce a service enabling it to verify the digital identities of customers to third parties. While designed for commercial clients only at present, its’ clear that increasing utilization of the Internet for financial services (both retail and commercial) have brought into focus the Trust Gap that exists online. Even with advances in authentication on bank sites, “something the customer knows” remains the dominant way through which trusted access is verified. Other options—“something the customer has” (such as a smart card/ token) and “something the customer is” (a biometric identifier), are certainly seeing early, but generally less-well-established, adoption in the US. Citi’s Managed Identity Services, will use PKI encryption to help secure payment and other sensitive files while on clients’ computer system, andto enhance after-the-fact auditability of data so encrypted. While designed for corporate clients, recent JupiterResearch reports (including LINK ) have touched on this Trust Gap from the e-commerce consumer’s perspective. Way too early to address the multi-sided buildout requirements necessary to declare success, but worth noting from my perspective as a step back into the complex digital identity management space. Source: JupiterResearch

Topics: Customer Experience, Ethics, Innovation, Multichannel Retail/Ecommerce | No Comments »

Paul Williams: How to Be Different: Offer ‘Dramatic Difference’

By Marketing Profs Daily Fix | July 3, 2008

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Not just different, but dramatically different is what Doug Hall prescribes...

Who:

Doug Hall Inventor, author, consultant, and judge on the the ABC television network show "American Inventor."

What:

"Dramatic Difference"

What is it?:

Your job is to create a MONOPOLY

How is it done?:

Doug's Three Steps to Successful Marketing Step 1 - Overt Benefit: "What's In It For Me?" - Articulate the benefits of your product/service (not the features). Customers won't necessarily know how to translate your features into their benefits. Step 2 - REAL Reason to Believe: "Why should I believe you?" -
...The benefit will have caused some tension and anxiety in the customer's mind. It will require you to resolve the tension by offering a REAL REASON to believe. Being overt and obvious about your unique and Meaningful benefit will get customers to notice you... Today's customers are media savvy. They've learned to discern the difference between real substance and smoke and mirrors.
Plan to Exceed Customer Expectations. Credibility is built when the customers' experiences exceed their expectations. Design pleasant experiences into your brand experience... Here's where Dramatic Difference comes into play... Step 3 - Dramatic Difference: "Why Should I Care?" The First and Only... -
Evaluate how MEANINGFULLY Unique your offering is. Is it the FIRST and ONLY to:
Source: MarketingProfs Daily Fix  Note from Pat: I thought this might be of interest as well...

Topics: Customer Experience, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy | No Comments »

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