http://www.booz.com/ms-foresight Booz & Company's perspective on how to create essential advantage in Marketing & Sales Wed, 22 May 2013 12:42:20 -0500 http://www.booz.com/media/image/boozco-logo_for_rss.gif http://www.booz.com/ms-foresight 88 30 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/commerce-consumer-goods-strategy-omnichannel?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=4d51c The rapid adoption of digital technologies and evolving shopping behaviors are transforming e-commerce into an essential element of omnichannel success in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. To win over digital shoppers and enhance collaborative relationships with pure-play online and clicks-and-bricks retailers, CPG manufacturers need to build strong digital capabilities to drive engagement and conversion across the entire path to purchase. They should consider several key questions to prioritize the right opportunities in e-commerce and identify how e-commerce strategies best fit within their overall digital marketing agenda. by Matthew Egol, Arun Rajagopalan, and Bart Sayer Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/commerce-consumer-goods-strategy-omnichannel?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=4d51c http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/wealth-advisors-tablets-transform-retail?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d5f74 Tablets and smart phones have become a critical channel through which financial advisors can interact with high-net-worth clients. Because of their ability to improve the client experience, increase advisor productivity, and reduce the cost to serve, competition to provide features and services in tablet-based applications is ramping up quickly. By developing and integrating eight key practices, financial-services institutions can build leading-edge apps and establish a competitive capability in mobile banking. by Michael Horvath, John Rolander, Kunal Vaed, and Srini Venkateswaran Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:59:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/wealth-advisors-tablets-transform-retail?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d5f74 http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00152?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink Today's consumers are engaged with companies and each other before, during, and after their purchase. This requires a high level of integration across the consumer experience, creating a seamless digital marketing link between sales in physical stores and sales through e-commerce. How far along this road is your company? Answering that question is the purpose of Booz & Company's self-guided, Web-based survey, the Digital Customer Centricity Profiler . Your company's profile reveals the capabilities you need to succeed in digital media, as well as whether you are a leader, scholar, pioneer, or novice in this critical marketing field. by Matthew Egol, Christopher Vollmer, and Klaus Hoelbling Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:58:00 -0500 http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00152?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/next-wave-digitization-setting-your?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=f88bb The phenomenon of digitization is reaching an inflection point. Three powerful forces are driving the shift: consumer demand, new technologies being pushed to market, and the prospect of even greater economic benefits. Every company in every industry will be dramatically affected, and it will be the responsibility of CEOs to lead the charge by building the right capabilities for their companies to remain relevant in the digitized environment, achieve growth, and fend off competitive threats.This perspective provides guidance to CEOs and their man¬agement teams about the relevance of digitization in their respective industries, and the factors most likely to accelerate or decelerate the digitization phenomenon. by Roman Friedrich, Matthew Le Merle, Michael Peterson, and Alex Koster Mon, 17 Sep 2012 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/next-wave-digitization-setting-your?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=f88bb http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00118?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink Every form of interaction between companies and consumers -- taking place online and offline, in stores and over mobile devices, in branded content and by word of mouth, and indeed through all direct consumer experience--is now understood to be shaped by the social nature of brands. As marketers put this insight into practice in sophisticated ways, a one-way message or image can no longer compete. The value of a brand is linked to the relationships it fosters: the social connections among people who buy the product or service. With the right conditions in place, a brand can move beyond a purely transaction-based relationship to become a platform for an experience that feels like friendship. Great marketers have known how to do this for decades, of course, but it is now possible to make authentic connections more consistently. by Matthew Egol, Mary Beth McEuen, and Emily Falk Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:59:00 -0500 http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00118?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00099?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink What is brand value? To marketers, it is the proportion of consumers who are actively engaged with a group of products or services. Marketers continually seek to track the number of engaged consumers (sometimes known as brand zealots), because they are willing either to pay more for the brand (earning the company a price premium) or to go out of their way to get it (leading to more volume). A company's (or brand's) Facebook page is an Internet destination tailored for those zealots. It's where people come to get information about the brand and to engage in dialogue with the producers and others who care. Social network statistics, particularly the number of Facebook "likes," are thus indicators of brand engagement. If you use Facebook to create an engaging environment, where you monitor the market and shape the dialogue, your growth in "likes" per million can tell you how well you're succeeding with the increasingly influential online audience--and whether your overall brand engagement, even if it seems strong, could be at risk. by Nicholas Hodson, Umut Aytekin, and Jon Crawford Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:58:00 -0500 http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00099?gko=b2721&utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/commerce-comes-collaborate-succeed?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=ea1ce With the rise of the smart phone and emergence of contactless transaction technology, m-commerce seems to have reached its tipping point. Market players who have been scrambling to offer compelling m-commerce propositions now must act decisively to get a foothold. The role of m-commerce has also expanded--while in the past it served as a 'new way to pay', today it is becoming an integrated part of the end-to-end customer experience. Mobile technologies can be used to locate stores, track purchases and even make payments at the point of sale. Given the number of capabilities required to achieve credible scale in this burgeoning market, the likely winners will be those who are willing to collaborate. by Michael Knott, John Miles, Edward Boyes Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/commerce-comes-collaborate-succeed?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=ea1ce http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/multi-channel-customer-management-delighting?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=74908 Companies in today's growing consumer markets increasingly recognize the need for holistic customer relationship management (CRM). They can miss out on profits when they make decisions based on individual channels or a siloed view of the client relationship. Investing in technology and capabilities that integrate data and client treatments across channels allows better insight into customer behavior, delivering a more consistent experience along the customer journey. Customers benefit from more choice and better service, while businesses reduce cost and enjoy greater up- and cross-selling opportunities. by Dr. Michael Peterson, Dr. Florian Grone, Dr. Karsten Kammer, Julius Kirscheneder Tue, 11 Oct 2011 01:59:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/multi-channel-customer-management-delighting?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=74908 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/making-segmentation-deliver-linchpin-customer?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d2aa5 Customer segmentation can be a powerful tool for B2C companies taking a client-centric approach to improving their businesses. As transaction-intensive companies increasingly digitize their business models, their ability to capture data about customers grows. However, many of these companies struggle to monetize the insights afforded by the process. Key to avoiding pitfalls in segmentation is identifying the operating model changes required to make use of segmentation results and insights. Clarifying its purpose at the outset, and adopting the model across all business units and functional departments, will maximize the benefits of customer segmentations and lead to transformational change. by Corey Yulinsky Tue, 11 Oct 2011 01:59:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/making-segmentation-deliver-linchpin-customer?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d2aa5 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/marketing-identity-check-differentiated-capabilities?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d41ef As consumer technology evolves, the proliferation of social and mobile buying channels allows companies to engage in more robust customer relationship management (CRM). With so many ways to reach and learn about customers, marketing units are called upon to contribute more than ever before to the overall growth of their companies--but many marketing budgets remain static. In response, marketers must think wisely about how to invest in differentiating capabilities for their companies. Instead of broadly allocating resources to the building of several capabilities, they should hone in on two or three capabilities that will give them an edge in the marketplace. If they develop these in ways that are aligned with their company's overall strategy and culture, while fostering the right talent and putting the right leadership in place, they will gain the right to win. by Thomas Ripsam, Yogesh Pandit, Caren Fleit, Jennifer Carroll Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:50:00 -0500 http://www.booz.com/global/home/what-we-think/reports-white-papers/article-display/marketing-identity-check-differentiated-capabilities?utm_content=AllMSForesight&utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TextLink&gko=d41ef