Marketing & Sales

The social-media revolution

Demystifying social media
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Demystifying social media

April 2012—As the marketing power of social media grows, it no longer makes sense to treat it as an experiment. Here’s how senior leaders can harness social media to shape consumer decision making in predictable ways.more

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video

Making sense of social media

June 2012–In this video series, McKinsey partners show how using social-media initiatives can provide customers with exceptional brand experiences.more

interactive | McKinsey Quarterly

A social journey

April 2012—This interactive traces the stages of consumer purchase decisions and shows how marketers can use social media at every step.

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Putting big data and advanced analytics to work
interview

Putting big data and advanced analytics to work

September 2012—In a video feature, McKinsey director David Court explains how companies can improve their decisions and performance by getting powerful new tools in the hands of frontline managers.more

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Building brands in emerging markets
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Building brands in emerging markets

September 2012—Companies that harness word-of-mouth effects, emphasize in-store execution, and get their brands onto shoppers’ short lists for initial consideration are more likely to capture the loyalty of emerging-market consumers.more

Measuring marketings worth
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Measuring marketing’s worth

May 2012—You can’t spend wisely unless you understand marketing’s full impact. Here are five questions executives should ask to help maximize the bang for their bucks.more

Capturing business value with social technologies
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Capturing business value with social technologies

November 2012—As these powerful technologies shake up productivity and growth across industries, they will create new organizational imperatives.more

Engaging boards on the future of marketing
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Engaging boards on the future of marketing

February 2013—At many companies, the whole organization is becoming more responsible for customer engagement. A few are extending this thinking to the boardroom.more

The human factor in service design
article | McKinsey Quarterly

The human factor in service design

January 2012—Focus on the human side of customer service to make it psychologically savvy, economically sound, and easier to scale. more

The trouble with travel distribution
article

The trouble with travel distribution

February 2012—It’s among the biggest e-commerce markets, and maybe its most turbulent. To compete, players must define their place in travel’s next wave. more

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Were all marketers nowcollection

The digital marketing revolution

July 2011—Digital technology has fundamentally changed the ways consumers shop. This package explores the ways marketers can respond.

Enduring Ideas The industry cost curve
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Enduring Ideas: The industry cost curve

April 2009—In this interactive presentation—one in a series of multimedia frameworks—McKinsey director Rob Latoff offers insight into the industry cost curve, a business school classic for understanding pricing. By bringing discipline and a practical set of definitions to bear, this framework can be applied to real-world, competitive markets.more

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Freeing up the sales force for selling
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Freeing up the sales force for selling

July 2011—Most sales reps spend less than half of their time actually selling. Here’s how companies can reshape sales operations to allow them to focus on their real job.more

Competing through data Three experts offer their game plans
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Competing through data: Three experts offer their game plans

October 2011—MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson, Cloudera cofounder Jeff Hammerbacher, and Butler University men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens reflect on the power of data.more

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Howard Schultz
interview | McKinsey Quarterly

Starbucks’ quest for healthy growth: An interview with Howard Schultz

March 2011—The company once grew fast. Now CEO Howard Schultz wants it to grow with discipline—in emerging and developed markets alike.more

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Meet the Chinese consumer of 2020
article | McKinsey Quarterly

Meet the Chinese consumer of 2020

March 2012—Evolving economic profiles will continue to be the most important trend shaping the market.more

Chinas social-media boom
article

China’s social-media boom

May 2012—The country has by far the world’s most active social-media users, a new study finds.more

The new Japanese consumer
article | McKinsey Quarterly

The new Japanese consumer

March 2010—The attitudes and behavior of Japanese consumers are shifting dramatically, presenting opportunities and challenges for companies in the world’s second-largest retail market.more

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About this content

The material on this page draws on the research and experience of McKinsey consultants and other sources. To learn more about our expertise, please visit the Consumer Packaged Goods Practice, Marketing & Sales Practice, McKinsey Global Institute.