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The Perils of Algorithm-Based Marketing

Harvard Business Review

They think nothing of deploying algorithms as marketing tools. Algorithms help marketers utilize customer-specific knowledge — demographics, previous behavior, fellow customers’ choices — to craft customized offers and deliver them, often in real time. That’s a natural response. I’ll explain why.

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Megastores Want to Be Like Mom-and-Pop Shops… Sort Of

Harvard Business Review

In the words of its executive vice-president and chief merchandising and marketing officer, “This is really the year of localization.”. To protect their advantage, forward-thinking national chains are combining their brand recognition and market penetration with a local approach.

Retail 9
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Companies That Do Right by Their Workers Start by Elevating Their Definition of Success

Harvard Business Review

A sound economy, a booming stock market, and huge business tax cuts, the story goes, have convinced CEOs of companies flush with cash to distribute some of it to front-line employees. American Airlines said it would pay $1,000 to all 127,600 of its people, and Wells Fargo raised its base wage from $13.50 to $15 per hour.