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Welcoming unwelcome innovation

November 1, 2017 by Jon Firooz Leave a Comment

In my Principles of Marketing class I ask my students a simple True/False question: “Good marketing means giving customers the products and services they ask for.”  I’m always surprised at how many say “True”.  What they don’t yet realize is that customers don’t always know what they want or even what’s possible.  Successful innovators often develop products that people aren’t asking for and, sometimes, they create products that are so disruptive they elicit a negative initial reaction from their customers.  That doesn’t mean the idea is necessarily bad but it does mean they need good marketing to help customers get over that initial rejection and embrace the benefits possible.

Amazon is one of those companies that’s not afraid to take risks in all aspects of their business.  Some of those ideas are spectacular failures but those that have succeeded have helped propel the company to becoming one of the world’s top three retailers.  One of Amazon’s most recent initiatives is the “Amazon Key“.  This new device replaces a traditional lock on a customer’s front door with a smart, electronic lock.  This new lock allows Amazon delivery personnel to deliver products inside a customer’s house, not just at their front porch.  The device includes video recording of the delivery as well as options for the owner to block entry.  The idea has been met with understandable skepticism.  Allowing strangers into our home feels like an invasion of privacy and there’s an inherent fear of theft when the consumer hasn’t personally vetted the delivery personnel.

Ask your students what they think about the innovative delivery idea.  How can Amazon successfully promote the new concept in a way that gets customers past that initial rejection and to the point that they install the Amazon Key on their front door?

Filed Under: Advertising, Chapter 09, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Logistics, Product, Product life cycle Tagged With: early adopters, Innovation, promotion

What’s Now? Chapter 11 – Drones deliver medicine in Rwanda

July 11, 2016 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Silicon Valley startup Zipline is delivering blood and emergency medicine to rural areas of Rwanda. You can learn more about Zipline in the YouTube video below.

Review the discussion of Exhibit 11-2. Estimate how Zipline’s drone delivery effects inventory cost, cost of lost sales, and transportation costs as compared to possibly shipping supplies by car/truck over 200 miles of jungle roads. This will of course require you to make some estimates on costs, provide a an explanation. Estimate how Zipline’s drone delivery might be evaluated if it was added as a row in Exhibit 11-5.  

Filed Under: Chapter 11, Logistics, Place, What's Now?

Ever wondered how an Amazon warehouse works?

March 23, 2016 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

My research is in channels of distribution and buyer-supplier relationships. And even I must admit that this is not the most “fun” of the 4 Ps to discuss in class. That said, this video provides a neat look inside an Amazon warehouse. It could work with any of our Place chapters.


 

Filed Under: Logistics, Place

At UPS Analytics Optimize Logistics Operations

April 17, 2015 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

This video from SAS describes how UPS embraces analytics to optimize delivery performance. The video offers a way to demonstrate how analytics can lower a firm’s costs and improve performance. The video could be used when you cover analytics or distribution.

Filed Under: Logistics, Place Tagged With: Analytics

The Challenges of Online Retailing in India

February 1, 2015 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2015-01-04 at 11.07.32 AMWhile online retailing holds great promise in developing countries like India, there remain challenges. Venture capital is flowing into this market, and some big players are fighting it out. This article, “Logistics Are Holding India’s E-Commerce Companies Back” (Bloomberg Businessweek, December 15, 2014 highlights some of the logistics challenges facing e-tail startups Amazon India, Snapdeal, and Flipkart — including the story of a man who bought a phone but received a brick (see image).

This article provides some examples to use when covering international issues and/or online retailing.

Filed Under: Customer service, International, Logistics, Place, Retailing

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