The good folks over at Money Chimp wrote this brief article about investing in common (uncommon?) stocks. It's well worth the 30-second read. The very short story: Don't invest in companies that produce a commodity and do invest in those that offer excellent customer service.
Karl Marx for Investors
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Interesting article, thanks for sharing it! Where would you fit the airline and banking industries though into this model?
Tim
TheMoneyKings.com
Tim
That's a great question! Airlines I think have become commodity sellers. The product they sell is nothing more than expensive bus fare. Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin seem to have set themselves apart, but I'm not sure it's enough to make them great investments. Plus, they're saddled with government restrictions.
The banking industry is very similar. There are a few banks that standout for customer service, but they all offer the same products, and for the most part those products have been "commodotized" in that every banks seems to offer the same products (savings, checking, CD).
Any time a customer can leave and get the same products and services elsewhere, with little pain and/or discomfort , the industry may not be one in which to invest???