Skills and technology to succeed in the connected market place The post below was first published as a guest article in the March 2011 issue of Powerchex’s newsletter. A direct link to the original article is available here. Once upon a time, sellers and buyers would meet in marketplaces and have conversations with each other … Continue reading Joining the conversation

Last September, I wrote a post about group buying and how it had been transformed by the web, much like auctions found a new audience with eBay, etc... In that post, available here, I identified five benefits that firms could accrue from joining group buying schemes, namely: 1. Moving old stock 2. Attracting new customers … Continue reading Groupon, Optimism and Procrastination

It is a puzzling but frequent behaviour: low-income individuals often spend a proportionally higher percentage of their earnings in high-status goods than their wealthier counterparts. The result? Cumulative levels of debt and stress, sometimes spiralling out of control. What can explain high levels of conspicuous consumption among those that can least afford it? One explanation … Continue reading Self-esteem on sale?

A couple of days ago, my better half and I were talking about mobile phone etiquette. The scenario was someone’s mobile phone ringing during a get together or a meal with friends and family. I argued that face-to-face should take precedence over the mobile phone, i.e., that under normal circumstances, the person should not interrupt … Continue reading Why are you answering that phone call?

UPDATE on 22/12/2010: The website is now ‘live’ and, if you are interested, you can check it here: http://www.home-me.co.uk It is far, far from completion - not even a beta version, yet 😉 There are lots of mistakes and loose ends. But, please, bear in mind that this entrepreneur / web-designer is 9 years old, … Continue reading A funny thing happened on Sunday

I have a confession to make: I rarely miss an episode of The Apprentice. I know, I know… this is only a pseudo-business programme where pseudo-business men and women get rewarded for short-term success and their ability to shift blame. But occasionally – very occasionally – there are some good, simple lessons to be learned. … Continue reading You are hearing, but are you listening?

Initiatives such as Fairtrade certification or cause marketing bring together two basic human activities: consumption and helping the other. For instance, by choosing to consume fairtrade wine, you can contribute to raising the living standards of the communities that created it; while buying blue-ribbon adorned merchandise this month will raise funds for prostate cancer research. … Continue reading Cocaine – a paradox of ethical consumerism?

Note: This article was originally posted on October 21st 2010, but later deleted by mistake. This is a re-posting of the original message. Word of mouth (WOM) influences about two-thirds of consumer decisions, with 90% of respondents in a NOP survey saying that WOM was the best, most reliable and trustworthy source of information. The … Continue reading Understanding eWOM