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

Consumer segments vs. tribes, and what it means for marketing strategy

In recent (or not so recent years) we have seen the rise of individualism, and the loss of traditional forms of social coherence such as family values, or geographical location. In its place, we have seen the emergence of alternative social arrangements and sub-cultures. For marketers, this social change has led to the popularisation … Continue reading Consumer segments vs. tribes, and what it means for marketing strategy

A great marketing lesson an unlikely place: drug dealing

Sometimes, good (marketing) lessons come from bad places. For instance, the dark web gives us great lessons about branding, reputation and social proof. And here is another one. It is an interview with an ex-drug dealer, Coss Marte, for the Gimlet Media's podcast Start-up. The interview gives us an amazing insight into: Segmentation – There … Continue reading A great marketing lesson an unlikely place: drug dealing

June 2015 round-up

All good things come to an end, and the sabbatical was no exception. As of July 1st, sabbatical consummatum est. As I entered the final month of my sabbatical, I told myself that I ought to not stop being on sabbatical before it was over. And, that was exactly what I did: June was a … Continue reading June 2015 round-up

Challenges of using social media in target marketing

I wrote before about the findings from research conducted by myself, Moira Clark and Paul Fennemore on how social media enables organisations to obtain very detailed insight about markets and target customers, and to deliver tailored propositions. However, at the moment, there are still a number of challenges preventing organisations from achieving the potential value … Continue reading Challenges of using social media in target marketing

New paper: Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer

I am delighted to let you know that the paper ‘Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer’, which I co-authored with Moira Clark and Paul Fennemore, has been published in the Journal of Strategic Marketing. It is available here. The paper reports on research that we conducted into whether traditional segmentation approaches are … Continue reading New paper: Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer

Tomi Ahonen on Facebook Home

The bright and very inspiring James Ramsay told me that Tomi Ahonen would be joining a chat on LinkedIn, hosted by the group ForumOxford. Tomi Ahonen, if you don’t know, was named by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Power Influencers in Mobile – he is a prolific writer and public speaker, with … Continue reading Tomi Ahonen on Facebook Home