Part 1: Coca-Cola, gee whiz technology and consumer power

Hi Dr. Sealey, what a thrill to interview you. Can you tell us briefly about your background in global marketing?
The majority of my career was spent at The Coca-Cola Company, during which I held senior positions in virtually every business sector of that corporation, including soft drinks, wine, and filmed entertainment. I was appointed that company's first Global Marketing Director in 1990. As Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, I was responsible for the creation of the "Always Coca-Cola" global advertising campaign in association with Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills.

I have served as a management consultant for numerous firms including Sony New Technologies, Inc., Anheuser-Busch, Visa U.S.A., United Parcel Service, ImproveNet, Johnson & Johnson, The Eastman Kodak Company, A.T. Kearney, Inc., Nokia and Hewlett-Packard Company.

Is there such a thing as the new economy?
Yes. It is a service and information economy. The 20th century was defined by three economic forces: manufacturing, transportation/distribution and agriculture. In 1900, the two largest groups in that year's census were domestic workers and farmers. We built the industrial world by getting 3% per year productivity improvements in these three basic sectors. That is over.

Less than 10% of our workforce is now engaged in manufacturing and less than 3% in agriculture. We are now a service economy where the apex is the knowledge worker whose skills are portable and whose loyalty to a single firm is in doubt. We must now build our 21st century nation based on productivity improvements among knowledge workers and this is a whole new ball game. None of the old rules work. It is a new economy.

We know that some of the rules have changed, but what are the key areas that apply equally on- and offline, and have been neglected by dot com start ups?
The business model, especially articulating a clear business vision, customer benefit and sustainable competitive advantage, apply equally between bricks and mortar and the dot.com world. In my experience, the whole distribution plan and strategy has been the most neglected in the dot.com world. They simply expected the customer to come to them based on gee whiz technology.

What are the main changes and challenges that the Internet has brought corporations in terms of starting and managing the customer relationship?
Today's connected customer is demanding a 24/7 immediate response to questions, problems or requests. In certain important parts of their lives, they are seeking a relationship with firms that meet their important needs and not just sporadic communication.

You've said that the power has switched to the consumer, but is this power likely to wane again as corporations work out how to use the Internet to control the flow of information once more?
I don't believe so. Power is defined by information and choice and the connected consumer is gaining on both counts. The ability of corporations to "force choice" by geography, lack of knowledge or reduced options are all diminishing with the growth of the Internet and this trend is gaining ground.

Continued...