[Miscellany] The Monarch’s symbols, writing for the algorithm vs. your audience, and people that shaped me

On the power of symbols Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, September 8th. In addition to being a person, Elizabeth II was also an institution, and, in that latter role, she was promptly replaced by her first-born son, Charles. The change in Head of State will be reflected in ceremonial as well as functional objects … Continue reading [Miscellany] The Monarch’s symbols, writing for the algorithm vs. your audience, and people that shaped me

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

Should marketers create gender targeted products?

I saw the question in the title of this blog post on a professional discussion forum. Here is my reply. As a marketer, the obvious answer is to give your customers what they want. If they want differentiated products, differentiate. If they don’t, then offer gender neutral products. For instance, due to social conventions, … Continue reading Should marketers create gender targeted products?

Using social media for customer engagement

@Bernardamus reached out to me on Twitter, asking for suggestions of online references for a talk that he is preparing on the role of social media in customer engagement. I thought I would share my initial thoughts with you, and pick your brain, as well 🙂 Customer engagement (CE) is about connections with customers, as well … Continue reading Using social media for customer engagement