Tag Archives: Consumer

Fire Your Worst Customers

How valuable are your customers? Maybe a better question is how valuable are your best customers? The quest for the most valuable customers started in the 19th Century with Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto found that 20% of your effort will generate 80% of your results, called the 80/20 rule. Continue reading →

Posted in Social Impact by Ethan Lyon | Monday, January 30th, 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Amazon is Trying to Be the Center of the E-Commerce Universe

When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994, could he have imagined how the company’s gravitational pull would make it the center of the e-commerce universe? The company conquered the online sales of goods from CDs to groceries, is partnering with social media giant, Facebook, essentially created the e-book market and most recently has its sights on the video rental space — the next chapter in its quest to be the center of the online retail space. Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, May 23rd, 2011 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

In-Store Experiences for Luxury Brands

Imagine drilling down into the guts of a product without ever opening the package or avoiding the painfully long wait times while a sales person checks the inventory to see if an item is in stock. These are just two ways luxury brands are enhancing the in-store customer experience. Sparxoo has spotted new tech trends in luxury, which often involve e-commerce. But, the bread and butter of the luxury industry has been the superior in-store experience. So what drives an exceptional in-store experience? Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Featured by Ethan Lyon | Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Consumer Stats in Digital Shopping

The internet and mobile devices have undoubtedly changed the how consumers learn about new products and inform buying decisions. Mobile devices, in particular, are merging the in-store shopping experience with the digital world through internet connectivity, coupon apps, social networking sites and numerous other ways being cooked-up in entrepreneur tech labs. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Marketing, Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, March 21st, 2011 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Eco Index: A Sustainability Management Tool

If you could reduce your product packaging costs by 38% while offering a more sustainable solution to your customers, would you think twice? Many companies are taking bold steps to incorporate sustainability into their core business strategy, reaping not only brand and customer benefits, but bottom line benefits as well. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy & Trends by David Capece | Monday, February 7th, 2011 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

20 Key Stats in Ecommerce and Social Media

Ad spending has reached nearly $450 billion per year and the fastest growth areas in digital are social media and ecommerce. In 2010, we saw the rise of flash sale sites, such as HauteLook and Rue La La and the discount site Groupon. Social media and saving sites were the talk of 2010 and here are the stats to prove it… Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Marketing, Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

2011 Market Trends: Spontaneous Fun

Ever want to have the thrill of being a drug dealer, smuggling cargo across the border or be kidnapped by terrorists? There is an undercurrent of people that want to explore, have fun and seek new adventures and discoveries. They range from giving spontaneous gifts via text message to discovering and promoting Indie authors to being kidnapped for 24 hours. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, January 24th, 2011 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

2011 Market Trends: Recognize and Reward Me

Exchanging $50 for a shirt you really really want is a fair trade, right? Not exactly. Some consumers are seeking more from brands than a simple exchange of currency for goods. Yes, loyalty programs, such as a free cup of coffee for every 10 you drink, have been around forever. But that might not be enough. Brands are pushing their creativity to develop fun, exciting new ways to give consumers a pat on the back to say, “Thank you, you’re really special.” A designer brand is rewarding fans willing to pass on happy blog comments with merch, FourSquare-like companies rewarding top contributors with branded gear, and vending machines are rewarding mental agility. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Marketing, Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, January 17th, 2011 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Growth in Social Cause Marketing

onsumers Are Searching For a Green Thumb — Consumers’ expectations are changing and holding brands to a higher, more eco-conscious standard. Sixty six percent of consumers think it’s important or very important for companies to offer green products. Just because you cannot offer a bio-degradable bag, you could reduce the size of your packaging — making it not only eco-friendly, but cost effective — or make your distribution routes more efficient.

Read more about social marketing stats. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Marketing, Strategy & Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, December 6th, 2010 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Marketing Guide to Reddit

Before taking the plunge into Reddit, understand that it is unlike any other social network or bookmarking site. Its tight-knit community are wary of outsiders trying to sell or deceive them and can smell an intruder miles away. Reddit’s underdog attitude… Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Marketing, Featured by Ethan Lyon | Monday, October 4th, 2010 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Southwest Made its Underdog Brand-Attitude Profitable

Southwest is a business in the front, party in the back brand. Before all else, Southwest is a bare-bones player that cares first about delivering the lowest fares. The party in the back is about having fun while doing it… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, Market Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, September 27th, 2010 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How to Inject Humor into Brand Advertising Campaigns

In the documentary, Art & Copy, creative advertising executives talk about how vilified and dirty advertising is perceived by the average consumer. Some even re-word their job description to appear unconnected to the… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, Market Trends by Ethan Lyon | Monday, September 20th, 2010 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to Refresh Bank Brands

In the wake of Main St vs. Wall St, large bank executive bonuses, and bailouts, consumers are wary of financial service companies. Lack of confidence in the banking sector contributed to June 2010′s Consumer Confidence report’s 9.8 point dip. To… Continue reading →

Posted in Market Trends by Ethan Lyon | Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Transparency In The Community

I recently stumbled upon a series of brutally honest fables that includes classics such as Sexy Woman Mooches off of Horny Short Men, Duck with Low Self Esteem is Tormented, and Little Spoiled Brat Robs Innocent Animals. To some these re-titled fairy tales are what the titles for classic stories really should be. They do just what any good title should do. They tell you what the story is about. While these might seem a bit outrageous, the truth is that these are spot-on trend with the move towards a more human, real, transparent discourse that is ongoing. Consumers are wary of the hype and would rather know the truth. Continue reading →

Posted in Market Trends by David Capece | Friday, August 6th, 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Food & Beverage Trends

Food Channel recently released their top 10 food trends ranging from Food With Benefits to Experimentation Nation. Likewise, Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co. released their 13 Restaurant and Hotel Food Trends for 2010 . Beyond the trends towards healthy sustainable eating, the 2 trends from these reports that continue to increase in the era of consumer saving and the vigilante consumer are: Upscaling the Downscale and Keeping It Real. Continue reading →

Posted in Market Trends by David Capece | Thursday, August 5th, 2010 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Consumer Trends in Customization

Founded 13 years ago, Build-A-Bear Workshop was an early entrant into mass customization. With more than 400 stores world-wide, it has successfully scaled to become the largest chain dedicated to the create-your-own trend. Much of today’s innovation is centered around empowering customers to customize products and enjoy truly unique customization experiences. The customization trend ranges from products that spice it up with customized features, to products that are customized from the inside-out.

Continue reading →

Posted in Market Trends by David Capece | Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Passion Immersion Drives Niche Luxury

A recent study of luxury handbags, featured in Psychology Today, suggests once the price exceeds $300, the logo decreases in size. But why pay more for a brand without the recognition? Sterling Lanier, President of the market research consultancy… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured by Ethan Lyon | Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Personal Renewal with Purpose

All luxury fulfills an emotional need. Often times, that need is social relevancy and status among peers. Think about what a Louis Vuitton bag says about a person: affluence and they should be recognized for it. There is a rising trend in luxury that stretches… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured by Ethan Lyon | Friday, July 30th, 2010 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Luxury: For What It’s Worth

What makes a pair of Jimmy Choo heel sandals worth $1,150? Or a $17,500 price tag for a night at the Dunton Hot Springs? In essence, what is luxury worth? Everyone perceives products and service value differently. You’ve likely been in Gucci or Hermes and said, really? A shoe-shaped Gucci key ring is $170. Really? For some, it’s worth it. “We see consumers as the ultimate… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured by Ethan Lyon | Thursday, July 29th, 2010 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Facebook Launches Questions: A New Q&A Feature

Facebook unveiled the beta version of its new Q&A feature, Questions, on Wednesday. Questions appears as “Ask Questions” on the website, though it is not available to all users at this point. The new Facebook product feature taps into the collective knowledge of its half a billion users to create a more social version of Yahoo! Answers and Wikipedia and is a great example of… Continue reading →

Posted in Featured by Ethan Lyon | Thursday, July 29th, 2010 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment