Entries Tagged 'Market awareness' ↓

On 28th April 2010 twelve candidates from nine countries are competing for the European Inventor Award 2010, a highly regarded innovation prize presented annually by the European Patent Office together with the European Commission.

Unfortunately there are no British inventors in the final dozen. Let us hope they are all inventing hard, filing strong patents and growing innovative businesses instead of chasing this prize free award.

The European Commission is at it again with an investigation sparked by three of Google’s potential competitors. Alleging ‘abuse of its dominant position’ this investigation is a penalty of having over 80% of the UK search market.
Google’s customer loyalty has been earned through technical excellence and a customer service that provides a high level of satisfaction such that customer eschew other offerings.
Customers can always vote with their feet or a click of their fingers in this case.

Julia Holtz, senior competition counsel for Google says ‘increased scrutiny comes with the territory when you are a large company’. Envy and commercial practice can attack your Intellectual Assets.

Two American gurus of New Product Development Dr. Robert Cooper and Dr. Scott Edgett have badged their business as the Product Development Institute Inc.
Great for a consultancy business and the ‘world’s most widely implemented innovation system, Stage-Gate®’ must also benifit.

New product development is crucial to the health of business so keep up with the latest thoughts:

Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch by Robert Cooper

Innovation Management and New Product Development by Dr Paul Trott

Continue reading →

Wampit.com claims to be a leading UK business search directory. The unique selling point is its capacity to include “rich” content such as video on free adverts; ‘you tube for business advertising?’

Time will tell if the intellectual offering meshes with both market demand for directory search and business promotion. In the meantime some businesses may wish to register.

It is riveting that two multinational businesses in the discretionary food supply arena, Kraft and Pepsico, are run by women.
Owners of brands that include Quaker Oaks, Doritos, Walkers Crisps and Tropicana, ‘Pepsico’ is looking to move further away from its core soft drinks business by growing ‘good-for-you’ healthier food sales three fold.

It is good business to spot a niche or an opportunity but it even better to have the financial muscle to drive it through.

Many companies are looking to exploit their brand portfolios to raise cash or exit noncore assets or ‘Orphan Brands’.

The parentage of Fox’s Mints may have included Eric Fox, Nestle and Northern Foods but the Glacier mints have currently been adopted by Big Bear. Far from being a sunset brand it is Big Bears intention to reinvigorate brands such as Poppets, Sugar Puffs and Fox’s Galcier Mints and they are looking to float on Aim.

Dormant or moribund brands may need exceptional creativity to reinvigorate them. If you are not investing let someone else look after your Orphan, you may get a lump sum or royalty for your old Intellectual Property.

Decoy marketing offers  false choices to make another choice look more appealing. Sometimes adding a less attractive offer will close more deals on the better offers.

‘Need to sell more of a product or service? Here’s a counter-intuitive idea: offer your customers a similar, but inferior product at about the same price. While it’s unlikely that they will actually buy the less attractive item you may see a jump in sales of what you are trying to sell. That’s decoy marketing.’ The originators  of this article, neurosciencemarketing, have now come up with more decoys under the heading Compromise Marketing.

These methods need to be used with extreme care but understanding the psychology of your customers is a key business skill.

Universecy

The headline from the Press and Journal following stories in the Daily Telegraph and the BBC is ‘North-east firm’s (Ling24) website pirated - Chinese company copies design‘.  The almost exact replica web site was a blatant attack on Ling24’s intellectual property and business.

Protection Tips Arising

Ensure you  understand the IP issues on your web site including copyright ownership, systems, usage policies, data rights etc.
Check for Google alerts on your key words - that is how this theft was discovered.
Be alert all sorts of digital misappropriations are taking place - a client’s subscription PDF was cloned in December and made available free via a social publishing web site.
Keep up to date, be vigilant and encourage your support networks to help.

Designer labeled clothes, sports goods, watches, perfume and cosmetics are all targets for the counterfeiting pirates. Fake drugs and car parts can damage more than your wealth.
H M Customs & Excise are the first barrier against importation of IPR infringing goods and they are allowed to temporarily detain goods if they suspect them of infringing IPR and under certain circumstances, goods may be destroyed. Customs must tell the IPR holders who decide whether to take the matter to court.

IPR holders should make themselves conversant with the laws and rules then encourage trade associations, Trading Standards and others to remain vigilant in the protection of trade mark Intellectual Property Rights.(IPR).

Enter a new player in the protection sector this week when the police working with Nominet have closed down 1200+ web sites that were selling counterfeit goods online. Ebay continues to try police the sale of fake goods but buyers and brand owners need to remain vigilant.

Tesco’s clubcard is a marketing industry in itself generating database management, direct mail and analytic activity. As a marketing tool it drives sales by rewarding loyal customers, converts customers to new products via the mailing offers and keeps the Tesco brand in front of all the regular shoppers.

The intellectual property resides in many areas particularly the IT and systems that drive value from the massive database of all your purchase transactions.

The card has created its own brand and loyalty with over 75% of all Tesco sales made with a card. Tesco do not even need to bother with a strap line or slogan even though I have suggested one for them in this post title.