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The Five Elements for Solid Decision Making

Posted on September 27, 2007 by Kevin G.

I came across a great blog article that reviewed a study of 154 C-Level executives and their perceptions of how they make decisions.  The outlook is mixed at best.  Many managers and executives feel weary about their decisions from lack-of or inaccurate data.  Others tend to decide on personal intuition, while some panic from the pressure of deadlines.

Though the results are sobering - "72% of execs believe management decision making is only moderately efficient or worse" - the post provides five key elements to make better decisions.

High-Quality Data

Access to Advanced Training and Systems

Sound Judgment

Trust

Flexibility

Read on to get the reasoning behind what makes a good decision.

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September 27, 2007 in Blog Outsourcing, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Business Marketing, Business newsletter, Business publications, Business relationships, Creative emails, Custom email, custom magazine, custom newsletter, Custom publication, Custom publications, magazine design, magazine marketing, magazine outsourcing, magazine publishing, Marketing Communication, marketing magazine, Newsletter ROI, newsletter sample | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Digging for Treasure

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

This week, we review the summary of Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the New Consumer by Michael J. Silverstein with John Butman:

Kathryn Regina

The message of this summary—that consumers are now shopping at both low and high end retailers—is nothing new, but it is littered with entertaining examples. The Nelson family, for example, and their decision to buy five televisions for Christmas—one $2,000 TV and four $59 dollar TVs. I also like Jim and Anne Freedman, whose direct mail company went out of business after the anthrax scare from 9/11. Though the concepts are simple and certainly not groundbreaking, the summary manages the narrative arc well.

Jeff Sanchez

Treasure Hunt describes consumers today having a bi-polar approach when it comes to spending. This is obvious with the success of Target, Wal-Mart and similar discount stores--while on the other end we will pay $4.50 every day for a cup of coffee. Although the summary gave a good overview of spending today, they did not really tap into the psychology that influences our spending. Why would a person making $25,000 drive a BMW? It’s about making ourselves feel ‘worth’ something in the process. There are many more factors that persuade our spending.

Kevin Grant

I thought Treasure Hunt was a great piece on critiquing the motivation of the middle class spender--spending-up (picking items of unique value that command a premium price) or spending-down (finding the lowest priced items that fulfill the need).  It was interesting to read how only the middle class flirt with both types and find a harmonious mix to satisfy their needs.  There were ample examples of individuals that identified their spending practices and the notable businesses that grew exponentially from identifying this consumer trend.  The people and businesses that remain in the middle with stubborn spending habits and unwavering business models face the consequence of being left behind.

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PROBLEM: So many great business books. So little time. SOLUTION: Read Less. Learn More. Subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries!

September 25, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, newsletter solutions, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Not my beloved hyphens!

Posted on September 21, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

In our world of word-squishing (thank you, the Internet), hyphens are gradually dropping off.  The Oxford English Dictionary axed 16,000 hyphens in its latest edition.  Some were rather antiquated (like cry-baby vs. crybaby); some I can't imagine ever using (logjam); some even I didn't realize had hyphens in them (lowlife).

You can read all about it here.

September 21, 2007 in award winning newsletter, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Corporate newsletter, Corporate publications, creating newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to publish online, how to write and publish a paper, newsletter article, newsletter creation, Newsletter writers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics

Posted on September 14, 2007 by Kevin G.

I just read a great blog article about a type of analysis that is making a storm here at BeTuitive.  Mix extensive data mining, complex mathematics, and an intuitive approach and you have the field of Business Intelligence.

Business Intelligence discovers insightful trends in data to help direct business initiatives and better understand segments.  The next step in Business Intelligence is utilizing predictive analytics to develop business practices that "read the minds" of customers or clients.

James Taylor writes, "If BI tells you what’s happened, predictive analytics tells you what to do."  Click here to get the whole story.

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September 14, 2007 in Blog Outsourcing, blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, custom magazine, custom newsletter, Custom publication, Custom publications, Custom publisher, Custom publishing, Customer Intuition, customer magazine, customer retention, Customizable publication, Educating Clients, Educating Prospects, email tracking | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Lego: Building Online Marketing

Posted on September 12, 2007 by Kevin G.

Lego, one of the toy companies that doesn’t have to worry about lead paint, has begun a new e-mail campaign with ESP (email service provider) Responsys.  The B2C campaign is geared towards generating transactions and keeping buyers updated on new products.
The emails are segmented by geography and purchasing power.  Lego has recently been bulking up its internet presence with expansion in the U.K.
Lego Home Page

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September 12, 2007 in Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, bulk email marketing, Business Marketing, Business relationships, Company newsletters, create a newsletter, create email newsletter, create newsletter, creating company newsletter, creating newsletter, Customer Intuition, customer magazine, customer retention, E-Marketing, e-newsletter, e-zine, electronic magazine, electronic newsletter | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Something Worth Talking About

Posted on September 11, 2007 by Sarah Eaton.

This week's review looks at the Executive Book Summary for Seth Godin's Purple Cow:

Kathryn Regina

The Purple Cow summary takes note of the shift away from advertisement-based marketing towards product-based marketing.  The summary claims that “media that interrupts any form of consumer activity”—i.e. commercials and ads—isn’t working as well as it used to, and that products with “mass appeal” are no longer very successful. To create a Purple Cow product, you must target a niche market. This makes sense with what we believe about customized publications. But apparently an innovative and useful product will sell itself, with the aid of a few enthusiasts? I don’t quite buy it.

Kevin Grant

This review discusses the idea of striving to create uniquely useful products, and advertise and market them in an innovated way.  It stresses the “think outside the box” motivation with creating products and developing strategy around it.  Being fearful of pursuing a “purple cow” is something inherent with larger companies and serves as a great advantage to the smaller risk takers.  This review does not present anything beyond common sense, but it does offer hope to the new, small and innovative companies going against the large conglomerates.

Jeff Sanchez

Godin’s concept of the Purple Cow is very relevant today, but it seems like common sense that consumers will continue to want more innovative products and services. Apple is a prime example with the recent release of the iPhone—an innovative product that had minimal marketing but the hype was unheard in the past for a cell phone. Word of mouth and buzz is what caused the phone to fly off shelves. After the iPhone, of course other cell phone companies will have to step up to the plate. Putting out the most innovative product is what drives the consumer market; label them ‘purple cows’ if you want.

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PROBLEM: So many great business books. So little time. SOLUTION: Read Less. Learn More. Subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries!

September 11, 2007 in Brand enhancement, Building Customer Intuition, Corporate newsletter, Educating Clients, email tracking, Freelance newsletter, how to publish and promote online, how to write a newsletter, Interactive Marketing, Newsletter complete outsourcing, newsletter layout, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, outsource magazine, prospect newsletter, sample newsletter, self publish, Thought leadership newsletter, writing magazine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack