Think Tank: Amid Retail Changes, It’s Time to Get ‘Back to School’Jim Fosina, founder and chief executive officer of Fosina Marketing Group, explains.

[Collection]As consumer purchasing patterns change in real-time, none of us have any spare time to rehash legacy marketing and/or distribution strategies. We have less time to listen to technologists and/or “all in one” app developers “sell us” on their game-changing widgets. If we are serious about making the changes to our business that will allow our brands to remain relevant in this new era of product marketing and retailing, we need to stop embracing the delusion that the “good old days” will return. The changes that are happening in the retail trade are profound and irreversible. As leaders in our industry, we will be judged years from now based on our ability to adjust our businesses and our approach to engaging with customers based on the current and future market conditions. There is really no need or time to be spent in complex “think tank” strategy sessions. We must adopt a new DNA in the way that we are as professionals. It’s time to go back to school. We must become students of consumer behavior and our competitors. We must also think out of the box and develop keen observation skills to understand all vertical market segments and the innovative ways that

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