John Malmo

Almost all companies start out doing one thing.  Terminix sold termite control.  Added pest control; now blows insulation.

Remember when Kraft meant cheese?  Now Kraft means everything from salad dressing to cigarettes.

FedEx, too, used to mean just one service: absolutely, positively overnight delivery service.  Now add trucking, office supplies, printing and I’m sure there’s more I don’t know about.

So now comes a new FedEx advertising campaign designed to "tell all the cool things we do to help people solve problems."

There’s one thing that everybody in every company can do to help make the company successful: be a mystery shopper.  Test how easy it is to do business with your company.

A couple weeks ago I tried to make a reservation for a golf package on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.  I went to the web site and called the direct number for the hotel on a Saturday evening.  I was told to call back between nine and five on Sunday.  I tried another number on the web site and got an answering machine with an announcement that I needed an extension number to reach anybody.

Lou Gerstner resurrected IBM with no previous knowledge of IBM’s business. He proved that a lack of company, even category, experience can be overcome. Gerstner was the exception.

A CEO with the full body of knowledge about a company and its category has a huge leg up. CEOs who grow up in a company know the pressure points at every level. They know where each job fits in the total scheme. They know the industry. And that means they know the competition.

By John Malmo

The Airline Business Model is Dead, by John Malmo

Memphis, TN – The life of an airline chief marketing officer must be absolute hell. For all but Southwest, airline brand stature in America is in the toilet. They hemorrhaged money. Cut flights. Cut people. Cut cities. Cut advertising. Raised fares. Added extra fees for everything but the co-pilot. The traditional airline business model doesn't work anymore.