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Featured Marketing, Sales & Distribution Article, sales force cross-sell
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Refocusing the sales force to cross-sell

December 2007

Many salespeople resist cross-selling, so management must address their misgivings head on and convince them of its benefits.

Featured Marketing, Sales & Distribution Article, Managing transformation
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Managing a marketing and sales transformation

August 2006

Executives hoping to transform a commercial organization must tailor their change-management approach to several specific challenges posed by sales and marketing.

Featured Marketing, Sales & Distribution Article, consumer goods sales
Premium Content
Building a top consumer goods sales force

February 2006

Although most of these companies have recently revamped their sales organizations, only a few managed to achieve higher sales and lower costs.

The Archive

2006
Fighting cannibalization Premium Content

February 2006

Optimization techniques used to plan operations can also be applied to sales and marketing.

2005
Transforming sales and service

November 2005

Incumbents can serve the whole market—without getting stuck in the middle.

Mitigating channel conflict Premium Content

August 2005

Some partners are more important than others.

Retailing: What's working online Premium Content

August 2005

Successful companies should examine all available channels and then tailor an approach according to their capabilities.

Better B2B selling

June 2005

Although collaborative relationships with customers can be complex and time consuming, when they are done well the rewards can be substantial.

2004
Steering customers to the right channels

November 2004

Migrating customers to a new channel can be a pain—for them, the company, and its channel partners. But the rewards can make the effort worthwhile.

Bringing science to sales Premium Content

August 2004

By integrating systems in order to generate transaction-level costs and revenues, companies can determine where to focus their sales efforts.

2003
Rechanneling sales

August 2003

A decade of change has upset the industrial producers’ traditional approach to selling. The time has come for many of them to change their sales channels.

Solving the solutions problem

August 2003

Companies can earn higher margins or increased revenues by selling integrated offerings—if they don’t merely bundle their products.

2002
Keeping your sales force after the merger

November 2002

Merging companies should look to their revenues, not just their costs.

The unexpected return of B2B Premium Content

August 2002

Suppliers put off by open business-to-business exchanges might find that the newly emerging private ones offer a better deal—as well as four ways to play.

The e-tailer's secret weapon

May 2002

General retailers use their expertise in a few core categories to attract customers, but over the Web they must offer more. Enter the on-line category manager.

The case for on-line communities Premium Content

January 2002

Users of the community features of World Wide Web sites really are more valuable than nonusers.

2001
A buyer's guide to B2B markets Premium Content

June 2001

Only if B2B e-marketplaces collect and disseminate information that isn’t available elsewhere can they provide long-term benefits.

A future for e-alliances Premium Content

June 2001

Mixed results from the first wave of e-alliances offer lessons for deal makers who are negotiating the next one.

A seller's guide to B2B markets Premium Content

June 2001

For sellers, B2B e-marketplaces embody the Internet’s least attractive tendencies. Is there an alternative?

Building enduring consortia Premium Content

June 2001

Consortium-based vertical marketplaces were supposed to have high liquidity, but their real advantage is information. Neither benefit will materialize until their members make more than a nominal commitment.

From the stock market to the stockroom

June 2001

Yes, Virginia—companies can create sustainable value on-line.

Getting smart about supply chain management Premium Content

June 2001

B2B exchanges can't improve the efficiency of every element of the supply chain. An improved information flow is what they really have to offer.

Is the third time the charm for B2B? Premium Content

June 2001

The first two waves of B2B e-marketplaces generally failed to prosper. But the next wave may benefit all of their participants—even the markets themselves.

Thinking out of the boXX Premium Content

June 2001

An interview with Stephen Winterhalder.

E-performance II: The good, the bad, and the merely average Premium Content

May 2001

The latest McKinsey e-performance scorecard shows that one e-business in five makes an operating profit.

A performance index for B2B marketplaces Premium Content

April 2001

Joint McKinsey & Company and Stanford University Business School’s Center for Electronic Business and Commerce research

B2 Basics Premium Content

February 2001

There is no one right way for an e-marketplace to charge for its services, but there are many wrong ways.

E-performance: The path to rational exuberance Premium Content

February 2001

Successful e-commerce companies are following tried-and-true principles from the brick-and-mortar world.

Virtually solvent

February 2001

In the present state of the e-nation, blindness to danger has been replaced by blindness to opportunity.

2000
The Asian difference in B2B Premium Content

December 2000

On-line B2B marketplaces have a bright future in Asia—if they are adapted to fit the special needs of the Asian business environment.

WWW: The race to scale Premium Content

November 2000

Many analysts think that profit and market liquidity—or their absence—determine the value of Internet companies. Yet the number of visitors their sites attract explains their market-cap variations better than either metric.

Banking on the device Premium Content

August 2000

Both mobile phones and interactive TV could help on-line financial services reach market segments that elude other devices for accessing the World Wide Web.

Beyond day trading Premium Content

August 2000

Round one of the on-line brokerage game was about adjusting to a new medium in a raging bull market of technology stocks and rising price-to-earnings ratios. Round two is about holding the client’s hand.

Click and save Premium Content

August 2000

Incumbents have grown rich from customers who don’t manage their assets rationally. The World Wide Web will take away most of that income, but now that incumbents are finally facing the music, they are starting to compete effectively.

M-commerce: An operator’s manual Premium Content

August 2000

Mobile-telephone operators could compete on all levels of the mobile-commerce value chain—but they should think twice before they do.

The real business of B2B Premium Content

August 2000

It may be hard to create a successful business-to-business market-place, but ignoring the trend just isn’t an option.

The virtual reality of mortgages Premium Content

August 2000

New Internet-based players face more challenges than some of them—or the stock market—once expected. Even so, the Net’s advantages can be brought to bear on the mortgage industry.

Will the banks control on-line banking?

August 2000

The indifferent performance of virtual banks in converting the public to on-line banking would seem to hand the advantage to their traditional competitors. Yet most incumbents have been slow to meet the on-line needs of their customers.

Electronic commerce: Three emerging strategies Premium Content

June 2000

In order to create value for themselves—and keep it from shifting to competitors—businesses must choose their strategies for participating in electronic-commerce marketplaces.

The new infomediaries Premium Content

June 2000

Developing and marketing consumer profiles in the information age is a growth industry built on trust.

From e-commerce to Euro-commerce Premium Content

June 2000

Europe is now playing catch-up to the United States in electronic business, but the European game may well have a different outcome.

M-commerce: Advantage, Europe Premium Content

June 2000

Surprise! Europe will almost certainly take the lead in mobile commerce.

The duel for the doorstep Premium Content

May 2000

On-line vendors must offer customers complete satisfaction or lose them to off-line rivals

From retailing to e-tailing Premium Content

February 2000

Internet pure plays may have won the first round of Internet retailing, but there is every reason to believe that store-based retailers will give them a run for their money.

1999
Private lives Premium Content

February 1999

Are consumers selling their privacy too cheaply? Not for long. An excerpt from Net Worth predicts the rise of the “infomediary.”

The mouse that roared Premium Content

February 1999

On-line retail sales might be modest, but don’t underestimate the broader impact of the Internet.

1998
Breadth of a salesman Premium Content

November 1998

Salesforces will need to create value, not just communicate it. But even in the same industry, different customers see value very differently. Matching selling strategy to customer type.

Electronic bill payment and presentment Premium Content

November 1998

Just about everyone who is (or is about to be) on-line has a bank, a broker, a credit card, or a mortgage. For a long time, the business has been a matter of numbers flickering from one file to another.

1997
Channel conflict: When is it dangerous? Premium Content

August 1997

Separating complaints from economic reality. When there is a conflict, there are effective options. Don’t overreact, but don’t get paralyzed either.

The coming battle for customer information Premium Content

August 1997

As consumers take control of information about themselves, companies will have to pay for it.

Retail banking: Caught in a web? Premium Content

May 1997

New web-based competitors are positioning themselves as trusted, objective intermediaries. Most bank executives are following a “fortress” strategy—defending themselves while they wait for clarity in the on-line world.

Value exchange: The secret of building customer relationships on line Premium Content

May 1997

The Internet offers consumer companies a powerful and lucrative marketing medium, but many companies do not even attempt to gather information about individuals. This piece reveals the value-exchange techniques that best-practice companies use to build customer relationships on the World Wide Web.

The balkanization of the Internet Premium Content

February 1997

If there ever was a communal model, say good-bye to it. What’s ahead is market-based pricing and a smaller number of interconnected but differentiated networks. It all means big changes for service, technology, and content providers.

1996
Who will benefit from virtual information? Premium Content

August 1996

How online marketing could shift the balance of power: four scenarios. A key issue: information liquidity. Future competitors will include those who might capture information you want.

Electronic commerce (finally) comes of age Premium Content

May 1996

Independent developments have accelerated the pace of on-line transactions

Placing your bets on electronic networks Premium Content

May 1996

The wrong debate: the Internet versus on-line services. The distinctive value of networks is the ability to form communities. The basics of quality, cost, and convenience will still drive success.

Who will capture value in on-line financial services? Premium Content

May 1996

Should banks and software companies collaborate, or fight it out? Both players have options to redefine relationships between themselves and customers. Trend toward non-exclusive arrangements and standards.

Are you tough enough to manage your channels? Premium Content

February 1996

Too often emotion triumphs over reason. Some improvements, like fixing incentives, can be made quickly. But emerging channels are hard to spot.

Exploiting the virtual value chain Premium Content

February 1996

Competing in two worlds: the marketplace and the marketspace. New ways to create digital assets. Beware: many of the old business axioms no longer apply.

1995
Early perspectives on electronic commerce Premium Content

August 1995

Understanding what electronic commerce means, how key technologies will evolve, and what roles players might adopt will be critical to the strategies of companies in a wide range of businesses in the future.

Opportunities for content providers in online services Premium Content

August 1995

The distribution of power between players in the new multimedia environment will be governed by proprietary, hard to replicate content and control of proprietary distribution. McKinsey has identified six themes to guide content providers in the emerging interactive environment.

Real profits from virtual communities Premium Content

August 1995

Critical mass is now in place. Who will control communities with the right mix of content, fantasy, chatter, and commerce? From product manager to executive producer. You will need to be brave in these new worlds.

The great European multimedia gamble Premium Content

August 1995

Battlegrounds are unlike those in the United States. The right perspective may be short term and tightfisted. Above all, protect your core business.

Banking on multimedia Premium Content

May 1995

Costs are just 60 percent those of traditional banks. Layering electronic channels on top of branches is the wrong answer. Cashing in on three waves of technology.

Wiring Europe Premium Content

May 1995

Are Americans using Europe as a dress rehearsal? Vulnerable incumbents. Strategies based on distribution are shaky. The emerging power of gateways.

Salesforce Management: Packaged goods salesforces - beyond efficiency Premium Content

February 1995

Up to 30 percent return on spending. The movement toward account profitability.

1994
Interactive Multimedia: Building a strategy for electronic home shopping Premium Content

November 1994

A road map for navigating the industry’s current uncertain landscape.

Interactive Multimedia: Who owns the customer? Premium Content

November 1994

How multimedia “gateways” develop will define, for years to come, many industries’ ability to create—and destroy—value.

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