July 1, 2009

In a challenging global slowdown, the world seems awash in capacity. Scans of major business publications show airlines reducing flights, companies furloughing or firing employees, and manufacturers closing plants. If you agree that it appears there is more unused capacity than demand, why should capacity management matter?

June 16, 2009

Chinese brands have come a long way since the days of Mao where coats and boots came in two colors and consisted of dubious quality. Rising in complexity and caliber, brands such as Haier and Chery are not content to rule the middle kingdom and instead seek to invade new markets. Forget bringing your brand to China, are you prepared for the onslaught of Chinese brands in your home market?

June 2, 2009

Marketing executives should have a pulse on shifting consumer preferences, macro-economic conditions and emerging competitors. However, in forecasting the financial crisis of 2008 and beyond, most marketers (and economists for that matter) failed to accurately “call” the collapse, even though signs of catastrophe were ubiquitous.

May 19, 2009

Walt Disney’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) was a project of grandiose scale and lofty ideal. And while Disney passed away before his project became reality, EPCOT offers marketers four key takeaways (maybe more) in how to define problems, build on success, maintain flexibility and overcome obstacles.

May 6, 2009

As China slowly transforms its economy from dependence on exports to one driven by consumers, the emphasis will shift to retail sales. Indeed, with nearly $9 trillion lost in Western stock and housing markets since 2008, the world urgently needs a new consumer. Marketers—will the Chinese middle class be the next battle ground for your products or services?

April 22, 2009

The global financial crisis of 2008 and beyond has shaken countries, markets, and individuals, in turn causing increased pessimism, angst and even anger. And yet, for those wishing for things to “return to normal”, a new survey argues that we’re in the “new normal”. What are the lasting impacts of the so called “Great Recession” and how should marketers respond?

April 8, 2009

In Western countries where internet and social media marketing is the hot topic, some marketers have called a time of death for the traditional 4Ps. And while marketers in Western countries debate whether the 4Ps are pertinent in their markets, Chinese retailers are discovering that the traditional 4Ps are as relevant and applicable as ever.

March 30, 2009

Most telecommunication companies now have the ability to assign the latitude and longitude of a mobile handset via technologies such as GPS and Wi-Fi. With these technologies a whole host of location based services and applications can now accurately find both people and objects.

March 10, 2009

Blame for the global financial crisis has been cast upon government leaders, bankers, home owners, and quantitative analysts. In fact, mathematical models and formulas such as Black Scholes, Gaussian Copula, and VAR have received particular attention as culprits in this financial mess.

February 25, 2009

As the United States Air Force (USAF) seeks to maintain competitive advantage in the skies, it has rolled out a technological marvel—the F-22 Raptor. Indeed, the F-22 takes advantage of the latest in technology to help its pilot’s process battlefield information quickly and make decisions faster. What does this advanced airplane have to do with marketing? Probably a lot more than you think.

February 9, 2009

Marketers of all stripes are often tasked with forecasting—sales for next quarter or year, inventory levels to meet demand, or marketing budget to meet corporate goals. However, the process of forecasting is often rife with bias, data quality issues, mathematical error, and/or poor planning assumptions. While no forecasting technique is perfect, predictions can be drastically improved through a simple technique: pulling your anchor.

January 26, 2009

“Inventory is bad, inventory is evil,” finance and operations professors intone across business schools worldwide. And every B-school graduate knows companies should balance enough inventory to meet customer needs while accommodating shifting preferences. That said, companies face a paradox; holding too much inventory ties up valuable cash, but too little inventory is risky since some suppliers could lose their financial footing. In a global financial crisis, is inventory still evil?

January 12, 2009

Recommendations come from myriad sources such as friends, family, co-workers, online reviews and even e-commerce algorithms. Studies have shown that recommendations are trusted more than information proffered by media sources or corporate advertising. However, with daily reports of fraud and deception in political and financial spheres, a tide is building that threatens to wash us all in cynicism and suspicion. With “pay to play”, “pay per post” and other hidden agendas, should recommendations still be trusted?

December 30, 2008

Cognitive enhancement drugs such as Ritalin are routinely used in an “off label” manner by students, doctors and other professionals to increase memory and concentration. And while the use of any medication—especially for off label purposes should be strongly cautioned—some experts are now saying cognitive enhancement drugs are no more dangerous than a cup of coffee. In a tough global economy, where business executives are always looking for an edge, should brain drugs be permitted in the workplace?

December 9, 2008

No doubt, we live in volatile times. The complexity, interconnectedness and intricacy of global markets is causing executives around the globe to check decisions once, twice and even delay important decisions because they cannot “peer around the corner.” Some marketing executives are asking themselves, “What are the odds of…” to help make tough decisions. Others are saying, “We’re in a new paradigm,” and “the past is no longer relevant.” How are you making critical decisions?

November 24, 2008

Will tomorrow be like today? In planning assumptions for budgeting and forecasting, most marketers believe that events of tomorrow, next week and next year will be much like this year, or years past with just slight deviation. However a review of the global and economic landscape (in a wild 2008) shows that this is a dangerous assumption. It’s time we consider the life of a turkey.

November 11, 2008

Social network analysis (SNA) is helping companies map and understand the links, associations and possibly behaviors of customers and employees. In the following hypothetical situation, we’ll explore the ramifications of using social network analysis in marketing processes and attempt to discern if SNA is “hype” or a valuable tool.

October 29, 2008

Mathematical modeling is helping companies across the globe forecast more accurately, optimize supply chains, assess risk, and keep customers from churning to competitors. However, recent market conditions (i.e. credit crisis) have shown that while models can provide an “air of certainty”, solely relying on them for complex decision making can be very costly. Under what circumstances can mathematical models be trusted?

October 8, 2008

Multi-tasking and constant use of internet, video games and “always-on” technologies may be rewiring our brains in unintended ways. By clicking and skimming our way through the internet we could be losing our ability to concentrate and contemplate—in a sense, training our minds to be more like a computer. Is the use of technology changing the way you think?

September 23, 2008

As the forces of globalization continue to connect and intertwine commercial and financial markets, and new technologies come online in the marketplace, the time between “event” and “action” is rapidly closing.

September 11, 2008

With global sourcing strategies in place, companies often assemble finished goods from raw materials from hundreds of suppliers. However, not all suppliers act ethically, and some take short-cuts in quality control. In order to properly manage our brands and take ownership of the “customer experience”—marketers need visibility into the supply chain. Do you know what’s in your supply chain?

August 28, 2008

The expression, “a picture is worth 1,000 words,” is often attributed to either Napoleon Bonaparte, or Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. This saying is meant to convey the power and impact of a single image in replacing pages of text.

August 13, 2008

Behavioral targeting has caught the attention of the US congressional leaders, as privacy advocates grow concerned with the tremendous amount of web data collected by internet businesses such as ISPs and search engines. Consumers, lawyers, congressional leaders, and businesses are now opining regarding necessary disclosures and the appropriateness of targeting offers/advertising based on web visits and/or queries.

July 30, 2008

Enterprises are starting to deploy advanced speech technologies that can identify when a customer is angry, confused or even lying. By listening to call center feeds, these applications are often able to troubleshoot a given situation or route the call to a live agent with a specialization in solving critical problems. But this nascent technology doesn’t always predict correctly—potentially causing even greater customer frustration. Are voice biometrics more peril than promise?

July 15, 2008

Analysts have estimated that the volume of data in enterprises of all sizes is doubling every two to three years. With the deluge of data, some companies are finding it makes more sense to discover and act upon patterns (i.e. customers who buy item X also buy item Y), rather than dig deeper and search for causation. In an age of cloud computing and “big data”—where correlation is often sufficient to gain business results—are we losing our thirst for knowledge and understanding?

July 1, 2008

To compete for lucrative Wall Street or consulting jobs, students across the United States are joining on-campus investment clubs to help prepare them for real-world situations. And while marketing students don’t—yet—have similar clubs, students in all disciplines are racing harder and faster than ever to differentiate themselves before they graduate. In a “race for distinction”—how should a marketing student stand out?

June 19, 2008

Ever wondered what the “rhythm” of your city looks like? In cities like Rome and New York, aggregated real-time data from mobile providers is helping government officials monitor traffic flows, efficiently utilize transportation networks, and even plan for large-scale events helping to improve overall “citizen satisfaction.” Is real-time data visualization coming to a city near you?

June 3, 2008

Think marketing doesn’t have much to do with mathematics? An unseen mathematical world is giving some companies a competitive edge in better understanding customers. Indeed, companies across all industries are now capturing data and creating rich profiles of customers to “predict” their wants, needs and future desires.

May 21, 2008

As marketers become more tech-savvy, the demands they place on corporate information technology (IT) departments often increase. Unable and reluctant to meet the demands of marketing, IT sometimes turns a deaf ear to change and budget requests causing marketers to go it alone. However, going it alone—without IT—can create headaches, internal conflict, and strip marketing of budget that should be used for marketing programs. Should “marketing” be working closer with IT, or taking control of its own destiny?

May 12, 2008

As marketers we often struggle with getting customers to pay attention to our marketing messages, much less remember them. A specialized learning technique—the “spacing effect”—is helping people all across the world assimilate more languages, facts, and retain gobs of information. Is this learning technique applicable to improving the efficacy of our marketing campaigns?

April 29, 2008

Many marketers believe that innovation and competitive differentiation arise from giving customers more choices and options. But through the strategy of “offering more choice”, marketers may actually end up increasing complexity, costs and causing customers “mental fatigue.” Is there a better way to win over customers?

April 17, 2008

Imagine walking down a busy street when suddenly you hear a voice in your head. Is it schizophrenia? The demonic? No, you’ve been subjected to modulated ultrasound from an advertiser, a beam of sound directed only at you. Is this the beginning of the end of mental privacy?

March 27, 2008

Buffeted by globalization, regulation, politics, technology and other market forces, “marketing” stands ready to reclaim its rightful role as the voice of the customer and generator of business value through brand, loyalty, and customer management. But not all marketers are ready—or want to—take this leap into the future. Marketing is at a crossroads—what should be the future role of marketing?

March 12, 2008

What does your mobile phone usage say about you? Probably a lot more than you think. Mobile phone operators are using advanced analytics to “mine” call detail records hoping to use the information to improve service quality and create more personalized and relevant offers. But that’s old hat compared to what’s coming next.

February 20, 2008

Cognitive enhancement drugs are the rage in executive, academic and other professional circles. Available through prescription, their use to potentially boost brain power raises some ethical and moral dilemmas. How should you, as a marketer, respond?

January 29, 2008

The next time your plane lands safely, your new car starts, or your package arrives on-time, either thank your lucky stars or thank an algorithm. Computer scientists and engineers are working closely with marketing professionals to use mathematics and today’s computational power to improve the customer experience. This “hidden mathematical world” has the power to change marketing forever!

January 8, 2008

Marketing professionals around the world lament pitiful budgets, poor executive visibility, and lack of a central role in helping drive corporate strategy. And while we’ve made progress with tracking the right metrics and aligning more closely with the executive suite, would marketing – as a function –be better served reporting to the office of the chief financial officer (CFO)?

December 12, 2007

Neuroscientists have shown in study after study, that multi-tasking isn’t helping us be more productive, but in fact, is making us dumber. Are some Web 2.0 tools, with their promise of instant connectivity, notification, and collaboration adding fuel to the fire?

November 27, 2007

Some marketing executives believe the next five years will be similar to the last five years. That’s a dangerous assumption if you take into account the rapid growth rates of technology and data. In fact, there is every reason to believe that the next five years will bring profound changes to how we sell, market and service customers.

November 9, 2007

The use of social networking tools hasn’t exactly taken off in the workplace as many employers are banning the use of Facebook, MySpace and other online communities as a time waster. However, one company is aggressively asking employees to use Facebook to build relationships with each other and customers. Will it work?

October 25, 2007

Despite the logic of using data to complement or drive decision making, the business and mainstream press continue to glorify intuition and “gut” decision making by managers of all stripes. Where does this leave “data-driven” approaches?

October 15, 2007

Moore’s Law, which essentially states that the processing speed of an integrated circuit doubles every 18-24 months, will have a significant impact on marketing in the 21st century. However, for this impact to occur, marketers must make use of today’s technology—and prepare for the technology of tomorrow.

September 14, 2007

A hotel manager looks out in the lobby and notices a guest with a Hermes tie. Another is carrying a Prada handbag. In an instant and through “the power of the glance,” the hotelier decides these folks "look right" and are worth giving special attention. Unfortunately, this hotelier has probably just thin-sliced his or her way to lower profits.

August 15, 2007

With daily pressures for instant results, deadlines and executive demands for a six- to nine-month return on investment, most marketing executives are challenged to think strategically. A key question confronting marketers is, “Should marketing and the marketing budget be managed for the long-term or the short term?” Your answer probably depends on whether you view marketing as a wedding or a marriage.

July 31, 2007

What is the most important asset in your organization? Your infrastructure? Your highly trained people? A specialized tool you’ve created? While any of these things might be your most important asset, it’s important not to overlook the value of data in helping you create and achieve competitive advantage.

July 12, 2007

Are you interested in looking up the daily wholesale prices of electricity and using that information to decide when and how long you’ll run the air conditioning or the gas dryer? Ready or not, variable pricing is about to invade your home.

June 25, 2007

As more companies across the globe become data driven and adopt analytics to improve decision making, marketers are focusing on “price” as a way to immediately improve top line revenues and profitability.

June 5, 2007

Sign twirlers, also known as “human directionals,” are everywhere as I drive down a busy boulevard in my hometown of San Diego. Some twirlers are dressed in bright colors, some are actively twirling their signs—while others look like they could care less.

May 17, 2007

The fourth marketing P, pricing, strikes again at the ballpark. The Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a recent WSJ article, are trying a different tack in selling the worst seats in the stadium—giving away free food. Tickets in the boonies that once cost $6-8 dollars now sell for $40 or more, however the seats come with all you can eat hot dogs, nachos, and sodas.

April 24, 2007

It’s 8:30am and you’ve leisurely rolled in the office, with your Peet’s coffee in hand. Suddenly your boss pokes her head in your office and says, “Charlie called in sick today and he’s supposed to give a customer presentation this morning in the briefing center. Can you cover it?”

April 11, 2007

In a day and age of rapid commoditization and “me-too” products and services, it’s good to see the pursuit of the authentic product and/or service is alive and well—even in Hollywood.

March 29, 2007

As marketers we’ve been raised on the 4 Ps, and in fact some authors have suggested new Ps. Of the traditional 4 Ps most marketers are consumed with “Promotion” and “Product,” and fewer yet focus on “Place.”

February 16, 2007

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is spearheading a movement of major universities to put online lecture notes, coursework and required readings for MBA courses and other classes on the internet—for no charge! Why would prestigious universities consider giving away some of their intellectual property? The answer might surprise you.

January 31, 2007

Would you pay 15% more for a diamond dug from the ground over a similar and sometimes more flawless diamond produced in a lab? Some marketers are betting you will. Welcome to “Gem Wars”...!

January 4, 2007

A Jackson Pollock painting is auctioned and sold in November 2006 for $140m. Michael Graves’ teakettle 9093 sells briskly for $145, while its limited edition predecessor sells for $25,000. Al Yeganeh’s seafood soup sells for $30 a quart. What gives and what do all these examples have in common...?

December 1, 2006

Are some people born winners? Are genius marketing students coming from top MBA schools destined for greatness? Perhaps, but research shows there are additional elements, besides raw talent, to get a marketer or any other professional to “world-class” status....

November 3, 2006

So you think you know how you are going to vote on Tuesday? Chances are both the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) know which way you’re leaning as well…

October 26, 2006

I’ve cajoled, poked and prodded. I’ve ridiculed my fellow marketers and shouted from the hilltops. The silence was deafening....

October 2, 2006

Surely, like most Americans you fear public speaking. Sorry to disappoint, but this particular post won’t offer any constructive advice on how to overcome nervousness, trembling hands, or itchy skin....

September 5, 2006

In a cost-cutting move, many companies are selling real estate holdings, consolidating corporate campuses and encouraging employees to work from home....

August 23, 2006

World class cellists and pianists descend on Meadowmount boot camp, located in Westport, N.Y., every year for a grueling summer of practice, drills and more practice....

June 30, 2006

You would think marketing professionals, of all people, would be good public speakers. The bad news is: they’re not....

June 8, 2006

Through my 15-year marketing career, spanning three Fortune 500 companies and a stint in Silicon Valley...

Through my 15-year marketing career, spanning three Fortune 500 companies and a stint in Silicon Valley...

May 17, 2006

Steve Jobs is serving up a little crow to all naysayers that said Apple stores would go the way of the Mauritius dodo bird...

May 9, 2006

It’s the chicken-and-the-egg quandary. As marketers, we don’t have time for competitive intelligence because we’re focused on direct marketing campaigns, trade shows and...

It’s the chicken-and-the-egg quandary. As marketers, we don’t have time for competitive intelligence because we’re focused on direct marketing campaigns, trade shows and...

April 26, 2006

The most recent Business Week on the newsstands (April 24, 2006) contains a special report on Innovation conducted with Business Week and Boston Consulting Group....

The most recent Business Week on the newsstands (April 24, 2006) contains a special report on Innovation conducted with Business Week and Boston Consulting Group....