Focus group vs. interview : what is best for your market research ?
By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab •
[caption id="attachment_41932" align="alignright" width="470"] Our guide to market research can be downloaded free of charge[/caption] How should you conduct your market research ? A Focus group? Interviews? Which method should you go for ? We often get that question from…
A new way to finance the growth of startups : bonds ! (Part 2)
In part 1, Jean Carvajal explained the various types of crowdfunding available to companies seeking financing, including issuing stocks, bonds and taking out conventional loans. In his opinion, bond financing is a great method as it provides funding flexibility and…
A new way to finance the growth of startups : bonds ! (Part 1)
The topic of financing startups' growth is a recurrent one on this blog; simply because it's a problem that many entrepreneurs are faced with and that they don't always solve. Today we're interviewing Jean Carvajal, President and Creator of Investbook.…
Facebook new patent for credit rating through social networks
Have you heard about Facebook’s new patent to evaluate your credit rating based on your social network ? Everyone refers to it but despite all my efforts I’ve been unable to find a new such patent application filled in by Facebook…
Probably the best business card ever created
Have you ever realized that business cards are too seldom used to leave an impression on your prospects ? I just found out what is probably the most amazing business card ever conceived. Read further if you want to know…
Not sure SnapChat will become a profitable business
By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab •
71% of snapchat users are under 25. In a world where businesses try to attract and touch youngsters, this is a very unique selling proposition. Despite a market capitalization of 16 to 19b$ doubts still exist about the business model…
How to drive Generations Y and Z back to traditional media
Traditional medias have a huge problem to get in touch with the Y and Z generations, which both have their own media consumption habits. A recent initiative launched by Egmont, a UK-based press house focusing on children, brings a possible…
Shared Economy: the three radical changes of the last 30 years
The Shared Economy is one hot topic that all medias are covering massively those days. I recently got interviewed by a Belgian magazine for a special issue on the subject. On that occasion I gave them with my view on…
Ryanair: the best complaint letter ever sent + tips to get compensated
Complaints are important for companies aiming at improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Yet, most companies don’t answer complaints (50-60% according to the interview of Prof. Davidow you can listen below), which is a very frustrating experience for complainants. This is…
Market research talent wanted : join our team !
IntoTheMinds is a market research company based in Brussels. We conduct market research in various industries and countries. We also perform profitability analysis that we combine with our marketing skills to make clear strategic recommendations. Most of our customers are…
Big Data : Belgian website Realo displays social profile of neighborhood
The news made a big buzz on 17 June in Belgium. Big Data based website Realo.com unleashed sudden polemic after months of existence (see for instance this article in French). Their mapping of real estate properties displayed not only properties…
Service quality and satisfaction : when will real-estate agents change ?
Whether you are looking for a property to buy, sell or rent, chances are high that you have dealt with real estate agents. In Belgium real estate agents have a bad reputation and as we showed in a previous research,…
Retail: 4 mistakes that will make your customers leave your store
In those days of showrooming (browsing shoppers) it has never been so important to ensure your customer is satisfied and stays in the stores. Those 4 mistakes will certainly make your customers leave your store right away. Make sure you…
Big Data: TAM Airlines creates unique customer experience
Let’s stick with our new habit of having a shorter Friday post. Thanks to our good friends at Creapills, we learned about the initiative of TAM Airlines leveraging Big Data and Data Analytics to increase passengers’ satisfaction. TAM Airlines used…
Explore evolving trends with Google Ngram
I was attending a Big Data and BI conference last week in Paris; one of the presenters, Tom McDonnell of Monterosa, presented an amazing graph. It showed the usage of the word “interactive” in books published between 1900 and 2000.…
87% customer loyalty : the magic recipe to make billions
In the last years, I've been very cautious in explaining to our clients how to increase customer loyalty. When I was giving conferences 10 years ago the equation was still "easy" to solve: more customer satisfaction led to increased loyalty.…
How to train thousands of employees on customer satisfaction with a serious game
How to inform and train all your employees on the importance of customer satisfaction ? This is very complex when you have hundreds of employees, even more when they are not in direct contact with the customer. This challenge was…
HNGRY : visionary entrepreneur launches new retail concept in Antwerp
Sometimes you don’t need to go very far to meet some inspiring people. In the past I used to go abroad to meet visionary entrepreneurs (like Enric Ruiz Geli in Barcelona or Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria in Paris); this time I…
Will Facebook become your entry door to the Internet?
Facebook strategy is crystal clear. Facebook wants to become the only website you'll be using to enter and navigate the Internet. Never before has the message been so clear: everything must go onto Facebook and all other websites should become…
DHL, Amazon and Audi partner to revolution the supply chain
If you are in e-commerce, you know that delivery is a crucial part of the customer experience. If you want your clients to be satisfied and to repurchase from your site, you’ll have to make sure the delivery runs flawless.…
TUZZit : 8 great online tools for your startup
Many would-be entrepreneurs we meet strive to either look for or even make up the visual and creative collaborative tools that will ease their team thinking process. This difficulty further increases when those teams are decentralized. Business model canvas, 5…
The fishbowl helps increase satisfaction and loyalty in restaurants
Most upscale restaurants are by now equipped with a "fishbowl", reserved for VIP and the best clients of the restaurants. Have you ever heard about this ? If not, read further ... A marketing tool to increase satisfaction and loyalty…
Co-branding: this partnership doesn’t make sense
It seems that marketers are sometimes very creative to promote the most unusual and irrealistic associations between two products or brands. Today's example shows that creativity has no limit: not only is the cobranding initiative pretty "odd", but the promotion…
Quantitative market research firms threatened by a paradigm shift
Well established players in quantitative market research are entering some troubled times. Their business model is being shaken by a paradigm shift operated by Big Data companies. Read further to discover two amazing examples of how big data and data…
Data Mining: does your insurance spy you on Facebook?
Have you ever thought that what you post on Facebook may have a direct financial impact on the price you pay for products and services? You may want to read further if you want to find out why. We just…
I tried UberPop: a great customer experience
I have written a lot on Uber (some positive but also some more negative things) but never took the time to try. I eventually did and it was great. On the day of the public services strike in Belgium, I…
Media : Will Le Figaro Premium succeed in selling online news content?
Le Figaro, France’s first newspaper in terms of audience, announced last week it was launching a premium paying edition (Le Figaro Premium). This innovation is a huge challenge, like for all newspapers which have seen offline audience and advertising revenues…
What do buyers of online news content look like?
Are people willing to pay for online news content? This question has been studied by many people, academic and auctioneers alike. The answer which has consistently been brought is that users are indeed willing to pay for content. But results…
Fedex wants to take TNT over: will it happen or not?
In 2010 we predicted already that the market of courier delivery services would consolidate.Our prediction quickly turned true as UPS tried to take over TNT. This takeover was later rejected by the European commission, arguing that this would have restricted…
Brand image : Hublot store bets on new technologies
Innovation is the nexus of retail marketing, especially when it comes to the differentiation of points of sales (POS). Innovation often comes first from the top, i.e. from premium brands which have the money to invest in new technologies. Today…
This store window is interactional … but not digital
The Converse store in Berlin has a very nice and creative idea to make sure people and prospective customers are attracted in the store. Let's have a look at what they did. The problem with most store windows is that…
Marketing strategy: should banks charge customers more?
The boss of the National Bank of Belgium suggested that banks change their tariffs and charge customers for services like cash withdrawal, payments made by bank cards, yearly fees charged to have a bank account, … Is it a good…
5 Questions you should answer when doing your market research
When you carry out market research, there is one thing that you need to study very carefully : what are the factors influencing the market that you have no influence upon. Those factors are of different nature and it’s very…
Our new blog : +25% audience, +50% page views
Just before Christmas we launched the revamping of our blog(s). With a few weeks perspectives we draw the first conclusions and see what works and what doesn’t. Increase in audience, increase in page views The first striking improvement is…
Alain Milliat: interview of a successful entrepreneur
Today we inaugurate a new article format. We wanted to give a voice to people that we hear too little in our opinion: successful entrepreneurs who have managed to master the difficulties of entrepreneurship and have grown their businesses. Besides…
How to prepare a questionnaire for qualitative research
[caption id="attachment_41932" align="alignright" width="470"] Our guide to market research can be downloaded free of charge[/caption] Qualitative research is what we consider the first real technical step of market research. The qualitative questionnaire(also called interview guide) is instrumental for the success…
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