Category Archives: Spending time with customers

Assumptions That Can End You

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Mitch Gooze

Last week we posted regarding assumptions and how they can lead to a company’s demise. We got a large example of this right after our post, when Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy. Dean is the largest milk company in the … Continue reading →

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Under What Assumptions Do You Operate That Are Not Accurate?

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Mitch Gooze

We believe this is a fundamental question that can make or break your strategy. As Mark Twain famously said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know that ain’t so.” A brief review … Continue reading →

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Where Walmart Went Wrong

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Mitch Gooze

Since Walmart’s recent announcement that they were closing a bunch of stores, pundits have chimed in about what’s wrong. A recent article at Forbes.com entitled, “Walmart’s Outdated Management Style Is Failing Customers,” suggests there is something wrong with their ability … Continue reading →

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Sense And Respond; Or Wonder What Happened

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Mitch Gooze

I was looking back through some files and found an article from the July/August 2011 issue of The Harvard Business Review: “Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage.” I’m sure I kept it because its basic premise: the need for flexible, adaptable, … Continue reading →

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Think Like A Customer … Apparently It’s Even Harder To Do Than We Thought

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Mitch Gooze

I believe the critical skill required of any good marketer is the ability to think like a customer, as opposed to hoping the customer thinks like them. Many other experts also stress the need to think like a customer. While … Continue reading →

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Getting In Touch With Customers? … Or An Excuse

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Mitch Gooze

Cadillac recently announced they were being split off from GM as a separate business unit. Good for them. As long as they don’t follow Saturn’s fate; as a separate business unit that is. Cadillac also announced they were moving sales … Continue reading →

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The Real Reason Sony Lost It’s Mojo

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Mitch Gooze

A recent article in Business Week, “Sony Bets It Can Find The Next Big Thing,” discusses Sony’s poor results (six annual losses in seven years) and how they are still spending close to $5B in R&D to find the product(s) to … Continue reading →

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“Customer centric” is still mostly baloney

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Mitch Gooze

For all the talk of “putting the customer first” these days, many, if not most, companies really don’t. (Actually, the right priorities for any company are the ones delineated by Bill Hewlett- the founder of Hewlett and Packard.  They are: … Continue reading →

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Another example

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Mitch Gooze

If you follow me at all you know I am a strong believer that CEOs and CMOs spending time with customers is a key to business success. While I have not proven this to be the case, I have enough anecdotal evidence … Continue reading →

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Spending time with customers

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Mitch Gooze

Many readers know I am a BIG fan of encouraging CEOs to spend a bunch of their time out with customers. (I recommend 20-25%). While I cannot yet prove this improves the performance of your company (Bob Johnson and I are … Continue reading →

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