November 2016 round up

This month was dominated by starting the new job. In the first half of the month, it was all about wrapping up various matters, saying good-byes, and the emptying the office at the previous job. Then, the second half, was about settling in at the new place. Amid all these changes, there were the following … Continue reading November 2016 round up

Post-it website, a great example of focusing on value not product features

Right! I am bookmarking the official website for Post-it® under ‘great marketing examples – focusing on value not product features’. Companies make products. But consumers do not buy products; they buy solutions to problems – functional problems, or emotional ones. That is why marketing communications that focus on product features (e.g., the quality of … Continue reading Post-it website, a great example of focusing on value not product features

Day in the Life of an Academic #6: new job

This is quite an unusual 'day in the life of an academic' blogpost, as it focuses on the first day at my new job and, admittedly, changing jobs is not something that I do frequently. This is what I got up to last Wednesday, November 16th. I got up at 6am, as usual. … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #6: new job

Marketers should think more like engineers, says @AndrewTStephen

At his inaugural lecture at Said Business School, Professor Andrew Stephen talked about the shiny new toy syndrome in marketing – whereby marketers rush after a new technology, or platform, or trend, in the hope that it will generate new business, or solve their marketing challenges. We saw this with Pokemon Go, last summer, … Continue reading Marketers should think more like engineers, says @AndrewTStephen

From Facebook likes and Internet of Things, to insurance premiums

Last week, the news broke that Admiral car insurance planned to launch a new product aimed at new drivers, firstcarquote, whereby policy holders could get rebates on their annual premium, based on their social media activity. The Guardian reported that: Admiral Insurance will analyse the Facebook accounts of first-time car owners to look for … Continue reading From Facebook likes and Internet of Things, to insurance premiums

October 2016 round-up

I felt a lot more in control, and less agitated, during October, than I had felt in September or even August, bizarrely. There were a couple of lows, but also quite a few highs – so, I am mentally filing October in the ‘good months’ category. Here are the highlights. Researching Most of … Continue reading October 2016 round-up

Benefits and challenges of using social media to profile consumers

A recent consulting assignment prompted me to revisit the findings from a research project that I conducted three years ago, with Moira Clark and Paul Fennemore. We looked at how business-to-consumer organisations were using social media to complement their segmentation efforts. Here is an overview of our findings. The first part of our study … Continue reading Benefits and challenges of using social media to profile consumers

Recent publications

I thought that it would be a good idea to give you a quick update on what I have been publishing, recently. Hopefully, this update will make it easier for you to find something of interest or value to your own work or studies. And, who knows, you and I can find opportunities for collaboration. … Continue reading Recent publications

Handling negative online reviews: speed and voice matter; status and action frame not so much

The question I get asked most often (after whether social media activity helps with sales and profitability) is how to handle negative online reviews. The comments left by other customers, and any responses left by the company, are available for all to see, and can impact on the company’s reputation. So, many companies worry that … Continue reading Handling negative online reviews: speed and voice matter; status and action frame not so much