Having spent this week watching my investments fall and worrying about a global pandemic, I got to thinking today about how the economy could get some juice. The pundits, politicians and media are all expecting the Fed to drop interest rates but I got to wondering how that might help instill confidence, which is what’s […]
EU wineries will be making a mistake if they leave the U.S. market
How’s your Spanish? The headline of the article above in the Spanish business paper, El Economista from the other day reads: “Spanish wine sinks in the US due to tariffs and wineries are already preparing for withdrawal from the market”. The article goes on to say that many Spanish wineries are considering leaving the U.S. market altogether. The same […]
Are you asking the right questions about social media?
When we ask marketing executives what changes they’re making over the next year, we often hear they’re going to increase their investment in social media. It has almost become a knee-jerk response that reminds us of when companies were rushing to put themselves on the Internet without thinking how their customers will interact with their […]
If market research is giving you customer insights, where are your customers?
Market research has a problem. It can’t, by itself, acquire, engage or retain a customer. That sounds obvious but it’s a real problem because without the ability to build business, research loses influence and utility within a company’s structure. In fact, it’s often one of the first cuts that is made to marcom budgets. The […]
Rethinking Big Data To Understand Your Audience Better
There is real pressure to invest in big data to stay competitive, but businesses often end up collecting as much data as possible without deriving valuable insights. Huge databases aren’t practical or cost-effective. Instead, you can benefit from rethinking your approach to big data and focusing on qualitative data. There is a real push to […]
The problem with algorithms and why we created Oomiji
Algorithms, the core formula behind Big Data, are not objective facts. They are opinions embedded in math, In the words of US data scientist Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction (2016). Watch this brief entertaining video to better understand how algorithms work as well as the potential mistakes we make in relying too […]
What’s wrong with parties and candidates?
I know…plenty. But, that being said, there is something they do over and over again and neglect something very easy and meaningful to voters, and it’s something that most people in business would never put aside. I’m a member of one party. I won’t say which one because it’s not important. Both parties and their […]
Let’s take the confusion out of strategy and sail across the ocean
(When I meet with business executives, I usually ask “what’s your strategy for growth?” At a trade show I attended a few weeks ago, that question was often met with silence or a list of tactical programs that had no overall direction other than selling. I wrote a similar blog post to this years ago and received […]
Solving the challenge of marketing foreign wine in the U.S.
(I wrote this with the upcoming VinExpoNY in mind but since it applies to so many industries, I decided to post it here.) With VinExpoNY fast approaching, I’ve been thinking about the challenges in front of thousands of foreign wine producers who are trying to develop and cultivate a market in the U.S. While the challenges […]
Now That Facebook is Changing, What’s the Alternative?
Brand marketers who rely on Facebook publishing as part of their digital marketing programs are about to see some big changes that will dramatically affect their readership. There’s been a lot of media coverage of the impending changes in the Facebook algorithm but Inc. magazine does a good job of distilling it all down to […]