There are only so many ways to stand out and become a leader in any market. You can be lowest price driven, operationally excellent, channel dominant, or focused on customer intimacy. Many companies excel at two or three but it is nearly impossible to excel at all of them.

Here are 5 strategies companies use to become market leaders.

Operations that let them be more efficient than you at getting order picked, packed and delivered so that…

...continue to read "5 Reasons Competitors May Be Doing Better Than You"

The news that Borders is considering putting itself up for sale should come as no surprise.

Although the company used last week’s announcement that they’re seeking a buyout as an opportunity to blame a tight credit market and competition from discount chains like Wal-Mart, Borders‚ disappointing performance stems from a failure to take e-commerce seriously.

For Borders not to have an exclusive online presence in this day and age boggles the mind. The homepage is a drab catchall for store locations, gift cards, and company…

...continue to read "The Demise of Borders Books: Death by Internet"

Techdirt reports that Amazon has been awarded a patent for Generating Current Order Fulfillment Plans Based on Expected Future Orders. Essentially, if Amazon deems that you won’t be a long-time customer or ordering again soon, your order will take longer to be expedited.”

This comes after Amazon snuck One-Click past the patent system by changing the word “a” to “the,” and adding the phrase “purchasable through a shopping cart model.” According to Slashdot, lawyers for Amazon “apparently managed to reinstate two of CEO…

...continue to read "Amazon’s Patented Lousy Service"

One word: Fulfillment.

I recently purchased a set of Sony Ericsson earbuds from Amazon.com. I already knew the type of earbuds, which color, and even the model number I wanted to order. (That’s what we call a “late-stage” visitor.) Amazon didn’t have to do much to convince me to buy. All I wanted was a clear product image, showing what I could expect with my purchase.

...continue to read "How Amazon Lost Me (and My Money)"

Humans are notoriously uptight. One moment we’re seething with anticipation over something that’s sure to be so thoroughly enjoyable that we can’t even picture complaining about it — ever — until the next day or so, when we do. Without warning, people will turn on your brand and tell their friends to do the same. This is why setting expectations online is crucial; something the band brand Radiohead learned the hard way after its novice online marketing efforts managed to disappoint…

...continue to read "Case Study: Karma Police Arrest Radiohead for Leaving Cash on the Table"

Should “free” wireless internet be paid for by cities? Google doesn’t think so, which is why the company may be America’s only hope at “free” bandwidth.

But that depends on what your definition of the word “free” is. If city governments pay, taxpayers flip the bill. If Google picks up the tab, “free” means ad-supported. Any way you slice it, innovation isn’t free, and Wi-Fi doesn’t mean what it used to. That seems to be why Google recently announced its Wi-Max ambitions and…

...continue to read "Google Can Win While Cities Drop the Ball on Wi-Fi"

...continue to read "iTunes Sells 3 Billionth Song, Stops Innovating, Gets Sued"