Tag Archives: Doug Levy

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

This Is Why You Just Can't Buy Customer Trust

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains why companies need to let go of the need for instant gratification. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Brendan Byrnes: One of the things that we don’t like at The Motley Fool is we think a lot of companies are too short-term focused instead of long-term focused. Is that what you find when looking at marketing and the way marketers think? Are they too focused on getting people in the door right now, and not necessarily making them a customer for the long period?

Doug Levy: Without a doubt. The average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer is around two years. The average CEO is thinking about this quarter, so no doubt marketers are putting a lot of attention toward the short term.

What they may not realize is that even in the short term, if they don’t have trust in the relationships with customers, they’re spending more money. They’re spending more money discounting and promoting — so making less revenue — because they’re having to discount, and therefore making less profit.

They’re also spending more money on paid media because they don’t have that group of loyal customers that are out there actively advocating for their brand. By increasing the level of trust among their customer base, they have an opportunity to spend less and to generate greater profit.

Brendan: It’s an excellent book, Can’t Buy Me Like. Thank you so much for your time.

Doug: I enjoyed the conversation, Brendan. Thank you.

The article This Is Why You Just Can’t Buy Customer Trust originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Love and Trust Are Key to Brand Sustainability

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains how love, trust and transaction are related. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Brendan Byrnes: You cite the Brand Sustainability Map in your book. Could you talk about what that is, and some examples of companies that get high and low marks on that one in particular?

Doug Levy: You bet. First, companies are used to thinking about and measuring transaction; the degree to which people are buying from them.

They often talk about trust, but talk about trust in a way that’s very different from our own understanding of trust. They talk about trust as a means to an end, a way to grease the skids for transaction.

I believe thinking of trust as a means for garnering more transaction is like thinking of a child as another tax deduction, right? It’s more than that. The beauty of the Brand Sustainability Map is that it takes those two factors of trust and transaction, and acknowledges them as distinct factors that you can look at and measure.

You can look at some companies that do particularly well on that, like Target or Amazon ; companies that maybe not everybody has such a strong connection to, or a love of, but at least some people do have a love of.

USAA is another great example of a company that isn’t intending to reach everyone or have a deep relationship with everyone; they’re focused on the military and military families, and they have love among that group. That would be in the upper right, Sustainable Relationship quadrant.

If you move to the lower left, Limited Relationship quadrant, you have American Airlines. American Airlines has had a slogan, “We know why you fly,” which is such a great example of marketing B.S. It doesn’t seem to enter into the way they make decisions or think.

The article Why Love and Trust Are Key to Brand Sustainability originally appeared on Fool.com.


Brendan Byrnes has no position in any stocks …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Better Marketing: What is Your Reason for Being?

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, gives surprising advice about the best way utilize social media. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Brendan: Do you think there’s one particular medium, be it TV, Internet, maybe even direct communication, that companies can best use in this Relationship Era in order to take advantage of their marketing?

Doug: I do think that social media becomes a great mechanism for marketers in this new era, and they need to use it differently than they’re used to using other media. It’s not a mechanism best used to broadcast a message about a product. In fact, that’s how marketers typically operate. They’re talking about what they do.

What we advise marketers to do, in the book and through our agency, MEplusYOU, is take a step back and get clear on why you exist, what your reason for being is, what the world would lose if you disappeared, what you believe, what you stand for.

When a marketer is clear on those things, social media becomes a great way to connect with like-minded people. Really, the whole construct of marketing is less about, “How do we go out and influence people?” and more about, “How do we get clear on what we stand for and attract people who are like-minded?”

The article Better Marketing: What is Your Reason for Being? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

How Social Media Is Bringing On a Truthful Revolution

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains why marketers can no longer selectively show what they want to the public. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

Perhaps more than any other company in history, Google has put the power of information into the hands of the consumer, and made investors rich in the process. As one of the most dominant Internet companies ever, Google has made a habit of driving strong returns for its shareholders. However, like many other web companies, it’s also struggling to adapt to an increasingly mobile world. Despite gaining an enviable lead with its Android operating system, the market isn’t sold. That’s why it’s more important than ever to understand each piece of Google’s sprawling empire. In The Motley Fool’s new premium research report on Google, we break down the risks and potential rewards for Google investors. Simply click here now to unlock your copy of this invaluable resource.

Brendan: Let’s talk about the Internet. We talked about it a little bit earlier. How responsible do you think it is for bringing in this Relationship Era, Facebook specifically? Do you think Facebook can take advantage of this? Do you think they’ll have to change the way they have their advertising model right now?

Doug: The Internet’s changed things considerably. Another way that marketers have grown up is thinking about marketing as spin. In fact, marketing is often synonymous with spin. “Put your best foot forward. Show customers what you want them to see.”

Well, now with the Internet — Google in particular — customers can see anything and everything, so marketers no longer have that luxury of just being able to show the things that they want.

The other aspect of the Internet that’s changed things so dramatically is social media. The explosion of social media has made it so that people’s actual experiences get shared much more quickly, with much more volume, than ever before.

The article How Social Media Is Bringing On a Truthful Revolution originally appeared on Fool.com.


Brendan Byrnes has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Marketing: What Not to Do

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains how caring more can actually make you more successful. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

One of the examples Levy gives of a company failing to connect with customers is McDonald’s . After making investors rich in 2011, McDonald’s has been one of the worst-performing blue chip stocks of 2012. Our top analyst on the company will tell you whether you should be worried by this trend, and he’ll shed light on whether McDonald’s is a buy at today’s prices. Click here now to read our premium research report on the company.

Brendan: Another thing you cite in the book is companies that are doing it the wrong way. You say McDonald’s, Progressive Insurance , United Airlines , at least in some instances. Could you talk about that a little bit?

Doug: Yeah, sure. I’ll start with the last one you mentioned, United Airlines, because it’s such a good example of how marketing has shifted.

It used to be that it was the marketer’s job to shape perception of the brand, to define what the brand is. To that end, United has spent billions of advertising dollars trying to shape a message. They’ve done that with ads that show beautiful airplanes in the sky, and this amazing flying experience. They use George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” this uplifting tune, to talk about the experience of flying on United.

There’s only one problem; that’s not the experience of flying on United. The actual experience is not the beauty of the ads, it’s pretty darn ugly; reduced services, pay-as-you-go food, lost luggage. So, though they’ve spent these billions of ad dollars, the actual experience that people have is what’s actually resonating.

Brendan: What was the example? The guy with the guitar?

Doug: Yeah, it’s such a great example. Dave Carroll was on a plane. He was looking out the window before the plane took off. This band leader was going to a gig and looked out the window, and he saw a guitar being thrown across the runway, and when he arrived his guitar was broken.

Being an enterprising musician, he penned a tune about it and recorded a video which he put on YouTube, which was seen more than 10 million times, and the stock dropped in the next few months 10%. Analysts wondered whether it had to do with Dave Carroll and his video.

Brendan: That’s got to drive marketers crazy, because that’s not really something they can control. McDonald’s, they …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Citigroup Is Listening to Its Customers, and It's Paying Off

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains why Citigroup could be a surprising model for success. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

Citigroup’s stock looks tantalizingly cheap. Yet the bank’s balance sheet is still in need of more repair, and there’s a considerable amount of uncertainty after a shocking management shakeup. Should investors be treading carefully, or jumping on an opportunity to buy? To help figure out whether Citigroup deserves a spot on your watchlist, I invite you to read our premium research report on the bank today. We’ll fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Citigroup, and what areas that Citigroup investors need to watch going forward. Click here now for instant access to our best expert’s take on Citigroup.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Caring for Your Customers and Community Will Make You More Money, Not Less

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains what Panera is doing right, to bring the company such incredible success. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

Investors can be forgiven for thinking that a company that has returned almost 2,500% since going public probably has its best days behind it. But in the case of Panera Bread, there’s reason to believe that the best is still yet to come. The stock has been on an absolute tear over the past five years, and you’re invited to find out why — and what else there is to look forward to — in The Motley Fool’s brand-new premium report on Panera. Included are key areas that investors must watch, as well as opportunities and threats facing the company both today and in the long term. Don’t miss out on this invaluable investor’s resource — simply click here now to claim your copy today.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Consumers Need to Be Raging Maniacs for Your Products

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains why you don’t believe what companies are telling you. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Brendan Byrnes: What’s the biggest mistake that marketers are making nowadays? Is it not adapting to this new way of thinking, or are there other mistakes that they’re making as well?

Doug Levy: Yeah, they are. I think some marketers are mistaking media channels for the relevance of their approach to marketing.

In other words, they may mistake what I’m calling the Consumer Era with old media — TV, radio, print — and the Relationship Era with new media — digital, social, mobile — but that’s not it at all. What we’re talking about isn’t a channel or a tool or a technology. It’s a mind-set or an intent.

Brendan: What about trying to measure this? Obviously when it comes to advertising, marketing successes, back in the old days you threw ads on TV… Now we have a way of directly measuring that with the Internet and how many clicks something’s getting. It comes directly to these advertising executives. How much does that affect the way that things are changing, if at all?

Doug: It does, in part because some things are more difficult to measure, so what gets measured most often in corporations are the financial metrics.

What we’re talking about here is not moving away from those financial metrics, but also fully embracing a non-financial component of business, namely trust. The degree to which there’s trust between a company and an individual has a significant impact. For a company, it can look like deeply understanding the customers you’re in relationship with, and how much they love you.

What we’ve seen now more than ever is that companies that have not just people who buy their product that are OK with them, but they have at least a handful of people who are crazy about them. Those people now have a megaphone to scream the message about the company in question.

Brendan: And their friends trust them more, than coming from the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Companies That Care More, Sell More

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In the following interview segment, Doug Levy, author and CEO of MEplusYOU, explains how caring more can actually make you more successful. The full interview with Doug Levy can be seen HERE, in which he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith in increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

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Brendan Byrnes: Hi, I’m Brendan Byrnes and I’m joined today by Doug Levy. Doug is the author of Can’t Buy Me Like, and also the founder and CEO of MEplusYOU. Thank you for your time.

Doug Levy: I’m delighted to be with you.

Brendan: My first question is about the book. You talk about this Relationship Era that we’re now entering. Can you describe that, and what that means for marketers?

Doug: You bet. First, a little context. We have entered a new era. We got here by way of a couple of preceding eras. The first era of marketing I call the Product Era, where marketers just talked about the product and the features of the product.

That gave way to a new era around the 1960s, when marketers realized that they could not just talk about their product but really get to know the people who were intended to buy their product, and win over hearts and minds, so marketing shifted from the Product Era to the Consumer Era.

We’ve now moved out of the Consumer Era. We’ve moved to a new era. This new era is called the Relationship Era, and what we’re seeing is that marketers who continue to do business in a way that was prescribed by the Consumer Era are struggling, relative to those who have fully entered this new era.

Brendan: How do you enter this new era? What are some principles that you can use to be successful in the Relationship Era?

Doug: Chief among them is that companies that care about something bigger than selling their product sell more of their product. It’s counterintuitive, but that’s exactly it. What I’m talking about is not moving away from caring about selling your product, or not caring about profit.

The companies that have been the most successful in the Relationship Era care deeply about selling things and about profit. In fact, they’ve been extraordinarily profitable. They care about something in addition to that, something bigger than that, also.

The article …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The New Era of Advertising

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By Brendan Byrnes, The Motley Fool

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In this full interview with Doug Levy, he discusses his new book, Can’t Buy Me Like. In the book, Levy tackles the changing marketing space, believing that companies must either adapt or continue to put blind faith on increasingly ineffective advertising. Levy also explains a new era that we’ve entered, dubbed the ‘relationship era’, and describes how this will change marketing for all companies, big and small.

One of the companies grabbing hold of the new way the world does marketing is Google . As one of the most dominant Internet companies ever, Google has made a habit of driving strong returns for its shareholders. However, like many other web companies, it’s also struggling to adapt to an increasingly mobile world. Despite gaining an enviable lead with its Android operating system, the market isn’t sold. That’s why it’s more important than ever to understand each piece of Google’s sprawling empire. In The Motley Fool’s new premium research report on Google, we break down the risks and potential rewards for Google investors. Simply click here now to unlock your copy of this invaluable resource.

Brendan Byrnes: Hi, I’m Brendan Byrnes and I’m joined today by Doug Levy. Doug is the author of Can’t Buy Me Like, and also the founder and CEO of MEplusYOU. Thank you for your time.

Doug Levy: I’m delighted to be with you.

Brendan: My first question is about the book. You talk about this Relationship Era that we’re now entering. Can you describe that, and what that means for marketers?

Doug: You bet. First, a little context. We have entered a new era. We got here by way of a couple of preceding eras. The first era of marketing I call the Product Era, where marketers just talked about the product and the features of the product.

That gave way to a new era around the 1960s, when marketers realized that they could not just talk about their product but really get to know the people who were intended to buy their product, and win over hearts and minds, so marketing shifted from the Product Era to the Consumer Era.

We’ve now moved out of the Consumer Era. We’ve moved to a new era. This new era is called the Relationship Era, and what we’re seeing is that marketers who continue to do business in a way that was prescribed by the Consumer Era are struggling, relative to those who have fully entered this new era.

Brendan: How do you enter this new era? What are some principles that you can use to be successful in the Relationship Era?

Doug: Chief among them is that companies that care about something bigger than selling their product sell more of their product. It’s counterintuitive, but that’s exactly it. What I’m talking about is not moving away from caring about selling your product, or not caring about profit.

The companies that have been the most successful in the Relationship Era care deeply …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance