According to my guest today, Vijay Mahajan, most businesses focus on selling to the wealthiest of the world's population – which is about 14% of people, and found only in developed countries. But he suggests these markets are oversaturated, over competitive and aging. His newest book suggests that the best route to new growth and profitability is to serve everyone else.

Vijay Mahajan is the 2007 American Marketing Association Foundation Berry Book Prize winner for the best book in marketing, and former editor of the Journal of Market Research. He is the author or editor of nine books and is one of the world’s most cited researchers in business and economics. It was highly informative to have him on the show.

As with all great guests and robust topics, I only got to about 10% of the questions I had for Vijay. But what I did hear was excellent. What struck me the most is the need for (and I'll speak only for my country) American businesses to redevelop their mindsets to incorporate the 86% markets. These are peoples who want high quality and have access to the same imagery, information, and the needs the 14% have. But, they need those things delivered to meet their local requirements. That blend of providing high quality goods that meet localized environments is critical to achieving success in the 86% markets -- and by the way, success is in the billions of US dollars.

Mindset, alignment, and localization -- these are the themes in The 86% Solution. And if Vijay is right, and that market is continuing to grow while the 14% shrinks, by the sheer size of it the 86% will soon command a response that only the foolish and blind won't appreciate.

Posted by David Kinard at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, it’s officially upon us – the holiday season. In fact, I have to admit, it started even before the trick-or-treating ended in October (I know because I went into my local dept store Halloween evening for a present and they were setting up for Christmas!). Retailers, vacation destinations, and the travel industry started early this year trying to capture pre-season sales (I expect soon it will start on the 5th of July). However, there are some major issues facing consumers this year including toy recalls and travel woes.

Joining me today to talk through the just-released results from the annual Maritz Poll on holiday travel and holiday shopping were Kyle Langley, senior research manager of Maritz Research Retail Group and Rick Garlick, director of consulting and strategic implementation, Maritz Research Hospitality Group. I asked them to share the results of their poll and give us some ideas on what we can all expect – regardless of which side of the cash register we are on.

Some interesting findings from the HOLIDAY SHOPPING study:

>>>Average household spend this year on gifts will be $637
>>>1/4 of people surveyed planned to spend less this year than last (obvious reasons as to why most likely -- mortgage issues, higher gas prices, etc)
>>>Big winners in terms of places people plan to shop are WalMart, Target, and Best Buy -- the same top three as last year.

Certainly toy recalls have had their effect upon consumer buying patters this year. 22% of consumers said they won't buy toys from China. And it's been suggested as a best practice that gift cards be given not to kids, but to parents so they can ensure toys purchased are safe.

REGARDING TRAVEL...

According to the study 40% of people say they've had a negative holiday travel experience. Of those 83% were due to transportation issues which largely were accounted to airline travel (74%). These stats in mind, however, holiday travel continues to stay steady with nearly one in four people planning to travel during Thanksgiving (14%) and Christmas (17%).

What I found amazing is the difference between reality (consumers' experiences) and what the travel industry says to expect. The best example is wait times in the security line at an airport. Consumers expect to spend an average of 42 minutes, yet the TSA says it's really only about 15 minutes.

Notable from this conversation was the idea that if airlines would switch from an operational perspective to a consumer experience perspective, they really could differentiate themselves as a preferred provider.

This was a great show...lots of wonderful advice for both consumers and retailers, and two great guests to share the time with.

Posted by David Kinard at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is estimated that there are more than 40,000 job boards currently in operation and a quick scan of the most popular will show there is no shortage of jobs out there either. But there is a right way – and a wrong way – to go about landing your next job through an online source. In fact, if you’re just viewing the boards and submitting your resume, you are only completing one of many steps to land a job.

With me today to talk jobs, job hunting, and how to do it effectively was Peter Weddle. Peter is a writer of online job search and career management for CareerJournal.com from The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNNfn.com and the National Business Employment Weekly. He also writes a bi-weekly newsletter that is distributed worldwide. He’s also published an array of career books, guides and directories.

From his research, Peter notes that more than one half of employers use job boards to fill one quarter of their positions, making online job boards the number one medium used by hiring companies -- and offering a full spectrum of jobs and titles. Job boards are not just for entry level positions!

Weddle also suggests using a 5:1 strategy...use five sites to land one great job. Use two general sites (monster, career builder) and three niche sites that target your field, industry, and geography.

Peter also suggests using an application two-step. First and foremost FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. Nothing will reduce your chances of getting noticed faster than irritating the recruiter by NOT submitting your materials according to their requested process. Make sure you follow the employer's rules no matter how much you think doing it differently will help to make you stand out from the rest -- because it will but in a negative way. Second, make sure to network with your offline community to see if they know anyone at the company that can help put human eyeballs to your resume. Work your contacts to see if they can help you make deeper contact into that company.

Peter has written a book, Finding a Job on the Web. Call him at 317-598-9768 to get a copy, or subscribe to his newsletter at www.weddles.com. Of course, go to the AMA's job board for information on the latest marketing jobs as well!!

Posted by David Kinard at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)