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You are here: Home / Archives for Strategic planning

Strategic planning

A Smarter Way to Outsource Your Marketing Activities

Last Updated on January 14, 2019 by Kompani Group Leave a Comment

Since we launched Kompani Group over a decade ago, clients have come to us for a variety of reasons. Some wanted strategic advice on how to navigate a particular set of issues. Some wanted a new website. Some wanted lead generation or SEO support. Many were looking to outsource their marketing department altogether. Over the years, some clients have gotten pretty creative in how they work with us and we thought we’d share with you some of those ideas for how to best leverage a company like Kompani Group.

For Companies With Less Than $100 million In Revenue

The cornerstone of outsourcing: do what you do best and outsource the rest. Companies, especially those under $100 million in revenue, typically have some core competency; they specialize in a particular product/service. They are subject matter experts in their particular field. But, rarely are these companies also experts in what their product/service is not. If this is you, and you are trying to manage everything internally, you are then at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to the other fundamental elements of a business: Branding, Marketing, Information Technology, Operations, Accounting, Strategy, and Business Optimization as a whole. These are all functions that can be sourced out.

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Road America Teams up with AT&T

Last Updated on April 5, 2019 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

We Introduce Exclusive LocateMe Technology!

April 27th, 2011

ROAD AMERICA ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF LOCATEME® UPGRADE TO ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY

MIAMI – APRIL 21, 2011   In an exclusive partnership with researchers at AT&T, Miami, Florida-based Road America has developed, tested and now successfully launched a GPS technology solution for pinpointing breakdown locations in seconds.  This development dramatically improves the speed, accuracy and efficiency of locating the customer’s disabled vehicle through the very same telecommunications device they are using to contact the Road America 24-hour Response Centers.
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Blasting the Myth of the Fold

Last Updated on May 31, 2018 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

The Above-the-Fold Myth

By Milissa Tarquini Director, User Interface Design and Information Architecture at AOL

We are all well aware that web design is not an easy task. There are many variables to consider, some of them technical, some of them human. The technical considerations of designing for the web can (and do) change quite regularly, but the human variables change at a slower rate. Sometimes the human variables change at such a slow rate that we have a hard time believing that it happens.

This is happening right now in web design. There is an astonishing amount of disbelief that the users of web pages have learned to scroll and that they do so regularly. Holding on to this disbelief – this myth that users won’t scroll to see anything below the fold – is doing everyone a great disservice, most of all our users.
First, a definition: The word “fold” means a great many things, even within the discipline of design. The most common use of the term “fold” is perhaps used in reference to newspaper layout. Because of the physical dimensions of the printed page of a broadsheet newspaper, it is folded. The first page of a newspaper is where the “big” stories of the issue are because it is the best possible placement. Readers have to flip the paper over (or unfold it) to see what else is in the issue, therefore there is a chance that someone will miss it. In web design, the term “fold” means the line beyond which a user must scroll to see more contents of a page (if it exists) after the page displays within their browser. It is also referred to as a “scroll-line.”
Screen performance data and new research indicate that users will scroll to find information and items below the fold. There are established design best practices to ensure that users recognize when a fold exists and that content extends below it1. Yet during requirements gathering for design projects designers are inundated with requests to cram as much information above the fold as possible, which complicates the information design. Why does the myth continue, when we have documented evidence that the fold really doesn’t matter in certain contexts?

Once upon a time, page-level vertical scrolling was not permitted on AOL. Articles, lists and other content that would have to scroll were presented in scrolling text fields or list boxes, which our users easily used. Our pages, which used proprietary technology, were designed to fit inside a client application, and the strictest of guidelines ensured that the application desktop itself did not scroll. The content pages floated in the center of the application interface and were too far removed from the scrollbar location for users to notice if a scrollbar appeared. Even if the page appeared to be cut off, as current best practices dictate, it proved to be such an unusual experience to our users that they assumed that the application was “broken.” We had to instill incredible discipline in all areas of the organization that produced these pages – content creation, design and development – to make sure our content fit on these little pages.

AOL client application with desktop scrollbar activated

As AOL moved away from our proprietary screen technology to an open web experience, we enjoyed the luxury of designing longer (and wider) pages. Remaining sensitive to the issues of scrolling from our history, we developed and employed practices for designing around folds:

  • We chose as target screen resolutions those used by the majority of our users.
  • We identified where the fold would fall in different browsers, and noted the range of pixels that would be in the fold “zone.”
  • We made sure that images and text appeared “broken” or cut off at the fold for the majority of our users (based on common screen resolutions and browsers).
  • We kept the overall page height to no more than 3 screens.

But even given our new larger page sizes, we were still presented with long lists of items to be placed above the fold – lists impossible to accommodate. There were just too many things for the limited amount of vertical space.

For example, for advertising to be considered valuable and saleable, a certain percentage of it must appear above the 1024×768 fold. Branding must be above the fold. Navigation must be above the fold – or at least the beginning of the list of navigational choices. (If the list is well organized and displayed appropriately, scanning the list should help bring users down the page.) Big content (the primary content of the site) should begin above the fold. Some marketing folks believe that the actual number of data points and links above the fold is a strategic differentiator critical to business success. Considering the limited vertical real estate available and the desire for multiple ad units and functionality described above, an open design becomes impossible.

And why? Because people think users don’t scroll. Jakob Nielsen wrote about the growing acceptance and understanding of scrolling in 19972, yet 10 years later we are still hearing that users don’t scroll.

Research debunking this myth is starting to pop up, and a great example of this is the report available on ClickTale.com3. In it, the researchers used their proprietary tracking software to measure the activity of 120,000 pages. Their research gives data on the vertical height of the page and the point to which a user scrolls. In the study, they found that 76% of users scrolled and that a good portion of them scrolled all the way to the bottom, despite the height of the screen. Even the longest of web pages were scrolled to the bottom. One thing the study does not capture is how much time is spent at the bottom of the page, so the argument can be made that users might just scan it and not pay much attention to any content placed there.

This is where things get interesting.

I took a look at performance data for some AOL sites and found that items at the bottom of pages are being widely used. Perhaps the best example of this is the popular celebrity gossip website TMZ.com. The most clicked on item on the TMZhomepage is the link at the very bottom of the page that takes users to the next page. Note that the TMZ homepage is often over 15000 pixels long – which supports the ClickTale research that scrolling behavior is independent of screen height. Users are so engaged in the content of this site that they are following it down the page until they get to the “next page” link.

Maybe it’s not fair to use a celebrity gossip site as an example. After all, we’re not all designing around such tantalizing guilty-pleasure content as the downfall of beautiful people. So, let’s look at some drier content.
For example, take AOL News Daily Pulse. You’ll notice the poll at the bottom of the page – the vote counts are well over 300,000 each. This means that not only did folks scroll over 2000 pixels to the bottom of the page, they actually took the time to answer a poll while they were there. Hundreds of thousands of people taking a poll at the bottom of a page can easily be called a success.

AOL News Daily Pulse with 10×7 fold line and vote count

But, you may argue, these pages are both in blog format. Perhaps blogs encourage scrolling more than other types of pages. I’m not convinced, since blog format is of the “newest content on top” variety, but it may be true. However, looking at pages that are not in blog format, we see the same trend. On the AOL Money & Financehomepage, users find and use the modules for recent quotes and their personalized portfolios even when these modules are placed well beneath the 1024×768 fold.

Another example within AOL Money & Finance is a photo gallery entitled Top Tax Tips. Despite the fact that the gallery is almost 2500 pixels down the page, this gallery generates between 200,000 and 400,000 page views depending on promotion of the Taxes page.

It is clear that where a given item falls in relation to the fold is becoming less important. Users are scrolling to see what they want, and finding it. The key is the content – if it is compelling, users will follow where it leads.

When does the fold matter?

The most basic rule of thumb is that for every site the user should be able to understand what your site is about by the information presented to them above the fold. If they have to scroll to even discover what the site is, its success is unlikely.

Functionality that is essential to business strategy should remain (or at least begin) above the fold. For example, if your business success is dependent on users finding a particular thing (movie theaters, for example) then the widget to allow that action should certainly be above the fold.

Screen height and folds matter for applications, especially rapid-fire applications where users input variables and change the display of information. The input and output should be in very close proximity. Getting stock quotes is an example: a user may want to get four or five quotes in sequence, so it is imperative that the input field and the basic quote information display remain above the fold for each symbol entered. Imagine the frustration at having to scroll to find the input field for each quote you wanted.

Where IS the fold?

Here is perhaps the biggest problem of all. The design method of cutting-off images or text only works if you know where the fold is. There is a lot of information out there about how dispersed the location of fold line actually is. Again, a very clear picture of this problem is shown on ClickTale. In the same study of page scrolling, fold locations of viewed screens were captured, based on screen resolution and browser used. It’s a sad, sad thing, but the single highest concentration of fold location (at around 600 pixels) for users accounted for less than 10% of the distribution. This pixel-height corresponds with a screen resolution of 1024×768. Browser applications take away varying amounts of vertical real estate for their interfaces (toolbars, address fields, etc). Each browser has a slightly different size, so not all visitors running a resolution of 1024×768 will have a fold that appears in the same spot. In the ClickTale study, the three highest fold locations were 570, 590 and 600 pixels—apparently from different browsers running on 1024×768 screens. But the overall distribution of fold locations for the entire study was so varied that even these three sizes together only account for less than 26% of visits. What does all this mean? If you pick one pixel location on which to base the location of the fold when designing your screens, the best-case scenario is that you’ll get the fold line exactly right for only 10% of your visitors.

So what do we do now?

Stop worrying about the fold. Don’t throw your best practices out the window, but stop cramming stuff above a certain pixel point. You’re not helping anyone. Open up your designs and give your users some visual breathing room. If your content is compelling enough your users will read it to the end.

Advertisers currently want their ads above the fold, and it will be a while before that tide turns. But it’s very clear that the rest of the page can be just as valuable – perhaps more valuable – to contextual advertising. Personally, I’d want my ad to be right at the bottom of the TMZpage, forget the top.

The biggest lesson to be learned here is that if you use visual cues (such as cut-off images and text) and compelling content, users will scroll to see all of it. The next great frontier in web page design has to be bottom of the page. You’ve done your job and the user scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page because they were so engaged with your content. Now what? Is a footer really all we can offer them? If we know we’ve got them there, why not give them something to do next? Something contextual, a natural next step in your site, or something with which to interact (such as a poll) would be welcome and, most importantly, used.

Click here for full article on boxesandarrows.com May 2011 Issue

 

Launch & Learn

Last Updated on October 18, 2017 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

Building a successful small business is about making the fewest mistakes

One of the principles of new media and marketing is a strategy called “Launch and learn.”  This method is used to quickly launch products, websites and marketing campaigns to establish brand loyalty and customer communication before the product or website has actually reached perfection. Launching campaigns and websites sooner rather than later allows for consumer response to show you what works, and what doesn’t.  Setting up metrics such as open rates, conversion rates and analytics allows you to inexpensively launch several initiatives at the same time using different vehicles to reach end users.   After analyzing the results you can then allocate monies and resources to what works the best. If you are involved in e-commerce, the numbers will always tell the truth.

Another basic tenet of strategic marketing and planning is transparency.  When promoting products or services, it is absolutely imperative to clearly articulate what it is you are offering.  We believe in advertising as a tool to provide the information necessary for consumers to make intelligent choices.  People want the facts and the research behind a product before making purchases, whereas 5-10 years ago a spectacular image of a product or the promise of a feeling the product or service might provide, was enough to sell it.  Promoting marketing integrity from the start provides a strong foundation by building customer loyalty and satisfaction and also helps the “launch and learn” technique  distinguish between product and delivery feedback and a lack of solid information provided to the consumer.  When testing initiatives, the less variables involved the better.

Its okay to make mistakes, and every new business should be prepared to make them.  By setting up metrics you can launch initiatives and analytics to see what works, and what doesn’t.  The key is to make the fewest mistakes possible in terms of time and money. Because each product will take a different marketing approach, there is no way to know exactly what will work best without first testing the waters. Steer clear of any marketing firm that claims to have a successful marketing approach upfront for your product or service, because this may end up costing you more than just money in the long run. If you would like to learn more, please contact Kompani Group at (786) 594-0435 for a free consultation.

 

Advertising Meets Venture Capital

Last Updated on April 5, 2019 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

With a front row seat to view the emergence of some of today’s best ideas, ad agencies are capitalizing on ground floor opportunities by launching internal funds to invest in emerging brands.  Entrepreneurs with great ideas, but little knowledge of reaching their market, are finding this as a valuable way to engage the expertise of the agencies while making them stakeholders rather than merely vendors.    AdAge has their finger on the pulse of this emerging trend. Please take the time to view their recent article — we loved it!

Click Here to Read the Full Article

Invest your money where R&D in new corporate management techniques are being developed

Last Updated on March 20, 2019 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

Re-Tooling the Corporate Structure of Management
Market forces are at work as the traditional corporate structure of management is being reviewed and re tooled in an ever changing environment. Over the last few years many corporate management structures have been compared to the U.S. Government – a large bureaucratic mess that is not in touch with reality.

Today with the increasing size of most large corporations it’s become more difficult for them to evolve and take risk when it comes to incorporating new technologies and ideas into their corporate management structure. No one wants to rock the boat. Change can be scary, cost money, and might not work. On the flip side change can still be scary, save a company lots of money, and can open doors that lead to new products or services.

We encourage companies to set aside a portion of money to be invested in small businesses in all kinds of sectors. The amount of money invested in each business can be as little as $20,000. We consider it R&D for management. Just one breakthrough from a company you invested in links you to a new solution to make your corporate management structure more efficient and profitable. Additionally, being on the ground floor provides a first mover advantage as you take this new concept out to market.

Kompani Group believes companies must be flexible by allowing new ideas and solutions that are not the norm to be introduced into the corporate structure. It can be uncomfortable at times but when you’re too comfortable with status quo you’re probably not growing and someone else is going to sneak up behind you and then leave you in the dust.

Launching a Driver sub-brand

Last Updated on March 2, 2020 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

The economic strains are causing your end-users to trade down, resulting in that the mid-tier and premium brands are losing share to low-price rivals.

You face a classic strategic conundrum:

  • Do you tackle the threat head-on by reducing prices, knowing that will destroy profits in the short term and brand equity in the long term?
  • Or do you hold the line, hope for better times to return, and in the meantime lose customers who might never come back?

Given how unpalatable both of those alternatives are, you now must make a decision of how to combat manufacturers and distributors of lower priced and inferior products, to avoid losing additional market share and eroding margins.

There are four ways to battle your competition.

  1. Launching a true fighter brand
  2. Launching an endorsed sub-brand
  3. Launching a co-driver sub-brand or
  4. Launching a driver sub-brand

What is a Driver sub-brand?

Definition:

The parent brand retains its primary influence as a driver, and the sub-brand can act as a descriptor-a word or phrase that tells end-users that the company is offering a slight variation on the same product or service they have come to know.

Sky City Building People Talking
Photo by Charles Forerunner on Unsplash

Note: Of the three types of relationships, a driver brand with a descriptor sub-brand is the most risky. The parent brand is vulnerable to cannibalization because very little distinguishes one brand from the other. The risk of cannibalization is greatest when a descriptor signifies merely a lower-quality offering. The risk is minimized when the descriptor signals a different application.

Examples:

Mercedes

  • Mercedes provides a good illustration of a driver brand that has successfully accessed a downscale market with a descriptor sub-brand. In the early 1980s, Mercedes introduced that is now it’s C Class, a small car to compete with the BMW 3 series, as well as with Acura and Lexus.
  • Now priced around $30,000, the line sells nearly 30,000 cars annually in the United States (around one-third of all Mercedes sales in the United States).
  • How could a brand that has historically been identified with prestige and that offers a car selling for more than $100,000 pull off this kind of downscale move?
  • First, Mercedes delivered a quality product.
  • Second, the C Class introduction was accompanied by an intensive effort to reposition the core brand’s message from prestige to performance.
  • Third, marketing for the C class aggressively targeted young buyers. The C Class name creates a distinction that allows the sub-brand to attract a slightly different consumer, but it does not drive that consumer’s decision to buy the car. The Mercedes brand retains that power.

Celeron – B to B (Intel) 1997

  • To combat AMD’s $260.00 K6 processor chip, and to avoid having to lower prices on its Pentium processor, Intel launched a sub-brand dubbed Celeron.
  • Despite a couple of early pricing mistakes and mishaps in expectations management, Intel succeed in combating and keeping AMD from creating a strong foothold in the low-end market. With a share of 80% of the overall processor market and their ability to roll out new processors frequently, Intel proved to be a testament to both the power of fighter brands to open up lower-tier market opportunities and their unequaled ability to keep competitors at bay.
  • Note: The EU have recently been successful in winning a ruling against Intel regarding antitrust issues and pricing manipulation resulting in a fine of $1.5 billion dollars. We wonder whether the costs of the now 5 year old lawsuit brought by AMD, the fine and the distractions for Intel’s senior management team, would justify the launch of another Celeron value sub-brand when you already have more than 80 percent of the total market share.

Kompani Group’s Approach on Data-Driven Branding

Launching an endorsed sub-brand 2/4

Last Updated on January 28, 2019 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

This is the second of 4 posts about how to combat manufactures and distributors of inferior products that are being reverse engineered and produced in China and sold at much lower prices to your existing clients. You are losing market share fast, and it is time to do something about it.

The economic strains are causing your end-users to trade down, resulting in that the mid-tier and premium brands are losing share to low-price rivals.

You face a classic strategic conundrum:

  • Do you tackle the threat head-on by reducing prices, knowing that will destroy profits in the short term and brand equity in the long term?
  • Or do you hold the line, hope for better times to return, and in the meantime lose customers who might never come back?

Given how unpalatable both of those alternatives are, you now must make a decision of how to combat manufacturers and distributors of lower priced and inferior products, to avoid losing additional market share and eroding margins.

There are four ways to battle your competition.

  1. Launching a true fighter brand
  2. Launching an endorsed sub-brand
  3. Launching a co-driver sub-brand or
  4. Launching a driver sub-brand

Option Two – Endorsed Sub-Brand

Definition:

A sub-brand is a brand with its own name that uses the name of its parent brand in some capacity to bolster equity.

In the case of downscale offerings, the role of sub-brands is to help managers differentiate new offerings from the parent brand while using the parent’s equity to influence consumers.

The idea is both to maintain the parent’s credibility and prestige regardless of how the sub-brand performs and to protect the original brand from cannibalization.

Photo by 🇨🇭 Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash

Endorser

Definition:

The parent brand acts as the endorser of the sub-brand. In this case, the sub-brand is the more dominant of the two, and drives end-users’ decisions to purchase the product as well as their perceptions of the experience of using the product.

When a company offers an endorsed sub-brand, there are three brands at work. The parent brand itself is split into two: a product brand and an organizational brand. The product brand remains as it was, a premium brand delivering a certain image and associated benefits.

The endorser strategy provides an excellent chance to minimize damage and reduce the threat of cannibalization to the parent brand. Keep in mind that all three brands need to be managed actively.

Examples:

Sabre B to C (John Deere)

  • John Deere’s foray into value lawn tractors provides a good illustration of an endorser relationship. John Deere was well known for making a lawn tractor that sold for approximately $2,000 through full-service specialty dealers.
  • Although the manufacturer was still able to command that price in the specialty market, volume retailers such as Sears and Home Depot had begun to serve a growing portion (around 30%) of that market, selling products at half John Deere’s prices.
  • So the company introduced an endorsed sub-brand for the value retailers: a low-cost tractor, Sabre from John Deere, that featured an inexpensive design and a different color and feel that John Deere’s other products

Medalist B to B (Hobart)

  • The Hobart Company, which makes an industrial-grade mixer for use in bakeries and restaurants.
  • Managers decided to create an inexpensive mixer for us in commercial and industrial kitchens to compete with offshore entries without damaging its flagship “gold standard” Hobart mixer line.
  • In 1996 the company introduced Medalist from the Hobart Company. Medalist mixers were lighter than Hobart mixers.
  • In addition, they were made with less costly materials and construction processes; and they had a color and logo distinct from those of the flagship Hobart.
  • In this example, The Hobart Company, has become an organizational brand that endorses the sub-brand, Medalist. Medalist itself is a new product brand. Thus the parent brand, Hobart, is separated from the sub-brand, Medalist, by the organizational brand, The Hobart Company.

Kompani Group’s Approach on Data-Driven Branding

Louis Moinet and Primetime Race Group

Last Updated on April 5, 2019 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

For the 2009 American Le Mans Series, Louis Moinet became the official timepiece for the racing team Primetime Race Group’s #11 Dodge Viper. The racing team entered its second full season in the American Le Mans Series with owner and driver Joel Feinberg and his teammate Chris Hall at the wheel. The car it the only Dodge Viper Competition Coupe in the Grand Touring (GT2) class of the competition. Visit www.primetimeracegroup.comfor additional schedule on upcoming races. Louis Moinet timepieces have been worn by distinctive figures the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon and King George IV. The company limts its production to only a thousand watches every year, ensuring its exclusivity.

Game over for GameStop?

Last Updated on July 15, 2017 by Jan Havmoeller Leave a Comment

Game over for GameStop? GameStop’s main revenue source is through the sale of those shiny little discs. What will happen when the developers exclusively release their games via the console’s online marketplaces?  People will less likely go to a location to buy a physical item. Yes, it’s great to get the little booklet, and some of those exclusive packs have some cool swag. But we find it much more convenient to download the games, which actually also results in increased sales of add-ons for the distributors.

This leads us to our next observation. In a recent article that we read about the reported sales of the game, Crackdown (1.5 million), the developer mentions that they only broke even and in actuality sold about 2-3 million copies. What happened to the extra revenue? GameStop and other retailers made money on the used games. I believe the developers should have a cut of that money. We can argue that when you buy a car, the manufacturer does not see residuals on future sales of that car. A game is digital and remains intact, the only depreciation would be on the packaging or the disc itself.

So back to the point at hand. GameStop will eventually be in the same boat with the music business going from record, to cassette, to CD, to online download. How could GameStop reinvent itself?

  • Maybe it will become an antique dealer of old games and consoles. (which is somewhat does now)
  • A place that only sells the consoles, and peripherals.
  • Stand alone kiosk that resells the games onto a portable storage device. The kiosk being placed strategically in malls, convenience stores, etc.

What would you do if your industry changed as fast as GameStop’s industry? Do you have a contingency plan in place that will allow you to evolve just in time to save your business? Things to ponder! Sometimes the surest things have a way to undermine themselves. Don’t grow stale with your current products or services. Observe and always look for the next frontier in your industry, or take advantage of your perfected processes and look to apply those processes in an entirely new industry. Always have a plan ready for how to reinvent yourself when and if your find yourself swimming against the current.

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