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

Is Marketing Research an Art or a Science? Well, neither, according to Bors Hulesch, Captain at Marketing Research firm, Brains and Cheek. In a recent talk at Oxford Brookes University Business School, Bors explained why he believes that Marketing Research is a craft – more specifically, the craft of managing anxiety about uncertainty. To reduce … Continue reading 15 pitfalls to avoid in marketing research

This summer, my 9-year old got a new hobby: friendship bracelets. Mind you, it is not as if she did not know about them before. She did, and she even bought a set with her own pocket money, a year or so ago. But she never really spent more than 15 minutes at a time … Continue reading Friendship bracelets

Zagat has recently launched Zagat Exclusives, a group-buying scheme where customers who sign up can save up to 50% on meals at Zagat-rated restaurants. The deal is available for a limited time only, and the price point decreases as more and more people take up the promotion. When time is up, everybody (who signed up … Continue reading Group buying – The web breathing new life into a long established behaviour