Presenting my research on developing customer profiles

I am at Lancaster University, for the Management Learning conference. First impressions so far are great: a friendly group, and I even met another marketer 😉 I am presenting tomorrow morning on my research into how organisations develop profiles of their customers. My experience is that different employees presented with the same data set about a … Continue reading Presenting my research on developing customer profiles

PhD topics that I am supervising at Oxford Brookes University

The institution where I work, the Faculty of Business at Oxford Brookes University, has a thriving doctoral programme, including studentship opportunities. If you are considering a doctoral degree, do take a look at the research topics available. I can supervise 1-2 doctoral students who wish to research any of the topics below. Bad customer behaviour … Continue reading PhD topics that I am supervising at Oxford Brookes University

The female consumer – Marketers still missing a trick

As it's International Women's Day, I thought I would share with you excerpts from a poster of the Girls' Day School Trust. It highlights how a girl's life, opportunities and expectations have changed in the last 125 years: In addition to making great strides in education and public life, women have also emerged as powerful … Continue reading The female consumer – Marketers still missing a trick

Budgeting for Marketers

I am told that there were times when marketers could simply tell the CEO 'Trust me. This marketing programme will deliver great results". I don't know whether this time did exist... but I am pretty sure that this is not the case, now. Marketers need to justify their marketing investment and need to produce various … Continue reading Budgeting for Marketers

Police informs woman of son’s death via Facebok

The website Mashable reported the case of a woman, Anna, who lost her son in a car accident - the twist being that police contacted Anna to let her know about the accident via Facebook. The article is available here. It is true that social media can be used very effectively in emergencies - for instance, … Continue reading Police informs woman of son’s death via Facebok

Valentine’s is a lovely day… for marketing

It is Valentine’s day. A day for showing your loved ones that you care… right? This is a date that has been heavily commercialised, and where consumers’ behaviours (including boycotting rituals) are filled with meaning. The key meaning from this date seems to be showing that you care. But how you do it varies widely. … Continue reading Valentine’s is a lovely day… for marketing

Research project: customer data in the digital age

** UPDATE: this project is now completed ** I have wonderful news to share with you. A team that I have been working with has just secured funding for a research project looking at ‘Collecting and using customer data in the digital age’. The project examines the issues faced by managers when using digital data and sophisticated methodologies … Continue reading Research project: customer data in the digital age

The flawed decision maker

Noticing that I haven’t been to the gym in a (very) long time, my other half has tentatively suggested that I cancel my membership (and save some money too). This should be an easy decision. You see, even though I like some of the classes on offer at my health club, I much prefer going … Continue reading The flawed decision maker

Social media as a source of competitive intelligence

There is an old Chinese saying that goes something like this ‘Know yourself, know the competition, and get it right almost every time’. The good news is that social media has brought with it many opportunities to anticipate competitors’ likely moves. This post discusses a few. Competitive Analysis The first step in competitive analysis is … Continue reading Social media as a source of competitive intelligence