Category: Marketing

Take the leap: Overcoming uncertainty with the principles of persuasion

Fears of recession, turbulent markets and an overload of information about the situation have created a sense of uncertainty about the economy going forward, leaving many people unsure how to react. Such uncertainty is especially problematic for a stagnant economy because it often leaves people frozen — too scared to spend and unwilling to invest. Robert Cialdini, a professor of marketing and psychology at Arizona State University and longtime expert in the power of persuasion, says that three specific principles of persuasion — scarcity, consensus, and authority — can be used to influence people to overcome their fears.

Innovating the customer experience

Success in business is all about creating an exceptional customer experience, and then enhancing it. But how do we innovate the customer experience to make it exceptional? Larry Crosby, "chief loyalty architect" at Synovate, a global research and consulting firm thinks the answers are in the concept of customer experience itself, and how it evolved. Crosby posed these questions in early February to experts at a panel hosted by the Center for Services Leadership, a think tank at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

A key to service innovation: Services blueprinting

The idea behind services blueprinting is fairly simple: Companies put themselves in their customers’ shoes to find out what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be changed. According to a new paper from three W. P. Carey researchers, the method offers a surprisingly flexible means of helping companies understand how well, or not, they are serving their customers.

Rendering authenticity: How to succeed in the experience economy

The new consumer sensibility, widely heralded in the business press, is the Experience Economy. Our world of mediated, staged and multi-sensory experience — an increasingly unreal world — gives rise to people desiring authentic or "real" experiences. But what is authenticity? In their new book, James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II provide an answer. It’s a fascinating — if sometimes difficult to follow — analysis of the matrix of real/fake and the many and mixed positions therein. By the end of the book the reader should emerge with the ability to understand the mechanics of authenticity as it applies in the world of economic offerings.

Reaping the benefits of a big event

Super Bowl XLII represents an estimated $450 million in direct and ancillary revenues for businesses and entrepreneurs. Add in the estimated $100 million in revenues from the FBR Phoenix Open during Super Bowl week, and you have a half-billion dollar infusion into the Metropolitan Phoenix economy. But to cash in on a big event like the Super Bowl you must play by the rules, and the National Football League’s licensing regulations, available online, have enough "thou shalt nots" to fill a book of the Old Testament.

More than just a game: The impact of a big event

At kickoff time on February 3, Phoenix will be the focus of attention for some 90 million sports fans worldwide. The 75,000 lucky ticket holders and the thousands more who visit with them will give the metropolitan area an economic shot in the arm. But the impact of a big event like the Super Bowl extends beyond game day. Experts at the W. P. Carey School explain how.