Is segmentation dead? No. Yet many think so. The supply chain snarls following COVID shrunk varieties, even brands, of foods, beverages, toys, furniture, HBAs, household goods and more. Pre-pandemic, new products were 5 percent of general merchandise. Today, 2 percent.
Local continues to be a driver for customers. Grocery stores like Publix and Whole Foods label items that are locally produced. Farmers’ markets are a draw for shoppers wanting produce that have not accrued a lot of air mileage. Craft fairs and art shows emphasize local creativity and talent.
Why people don’t shop sustainably, when all the data suggests they want to?
The Home Depot’s “How doers get more done” is a customer empowerment promise akin to Nike’s legendary “Just Do It.” The brand is itself a “doer” of a balanced use of what we call hard and soft power. Often, power is equated with worth, valuation, stock price, access to capital, growth, market share, category dominance, etc. This is what we define as hard power. Soft power, on the other hand, is the proverbial velvet hammer....
There were brand-businesses that did not survive in 2023. Bed, Bath & Beyond, Rite Aid, SmileDirectClub, Lordstown Motors to name a few. There are several reasons for the demise of these brand-businesses. However, there are evergreen principles for building and maintaining powerful brand-businesses. Here are seven keys for evolving in a changing world.
