After all, companies that don’t will risk getting trampled by competitors whose brand names are constantly flashing in front of the eyes of the world’s 3.2 billion Internet users.
But what if online advertising actually helped your competitor more than it helped you?
It may seem like a strange proposition at first, but new research from Navdeep S. Sahni, an assistant professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate Business School, shows that CEOs and their marketing managers should think twice about what they’re putting on the web.
After analyzing online ads in the Indian restaurant industry, Sahni discovered what he refers to as the “spillover effect”, a phenomenon where a company’s ad unintentionally promotes a competitor.
Sahni’s research, encompassing 189,650 customers over a four-month period in 2010, found that the positive effect of an ad across hundreds of competitors’ sales was up to five times greater than the positive effect on the company doing the actual advertising.
“If you see one product, it may remind you of other similar competing products,” Sahni reported in Stanford’s management blog.
He conducted his research in collaboration with an Indian restaurant review website, which allowed customers to search thousands of eateries by type of menu, ratings and reviews. The site featured an array of organically arranged listings, as well as ads by individual restaurants.
Running an ad increased the sales leads of competitors by an average of 4%, a significant boost, given that each business had multiple rivals in the same market. Competitors that benefited most, with an up-to-25% boost in sales, offered similar cuisine to the advertiser, but had higher ratings scores on the website.
Sahni—who believes his findings are relevant to business more broadly—said the best way to get around the problem is to remind customers what makes your brand or business special. This could involve quoting a particularly positive review or emphasizing a key element of your value proposition, such as offering low prices.
And it appears that issuing ads more frequently can help make a better impression on the customer, too.
Sahni found no evidence of spillovers among customers exposed to an ad more than three times.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
