Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Shift From Financial Equity to Customer Equity

This financial crisis can't help growing, and has affected European's Markets. Some Belgian banks are nationalized, somehow the same way AIG has been saved. We can see that during crisis times, the liberal doctrine has to stay aside...

Now Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, has said that the financal markets will never be allowed to work the way they used to, because they have shown the system had problems. I don't think it is right. I believe this is a part of capitalism, the risk you take when you invest somewhere. There will always be some crisis, no matter how much rules you can establish to prevent them. However, when a crisis occurs, some new concepts and trends emerge, and that is what is great about it.

I have already talked last week about how this crisis could help the growth of sustainable development based businesses, by a lowering interests of investors in traditional financial institutions that have failed to show their strength during this crisis. I also believe that the equity of businesses should not only be due to the market shares growth expectations, but more based on operational results.

Do you know any companies that have no customers? The purpose of a company is to respond to a demand, and hence, to some customers. A company's stability is based on its customer portfolio. However, this is not much considered as a criteria to evaluate a company's market share value.

Most of financial institutions that are in trouble right now had millions of assets on steroids due to high speculative approaches.

On a customer equity based system, your company's equity is based on your customer, on their ability to generate business. Even during crisis like right now, your customers might lower their consumption, but they will still stick with you, allowing you to go through the crisis with minimum arms.


What do you think about this idea?

Monday, September 29, 2008

Are Loic Lemeur and Seesmic doing fine?

Seesmic and Loic LemeurI wanted to speak today about Loic Lemeur, our French superstar of entrepreneurship, and CEO of Seesmic, a great online video start up that I recommend you to check out. I have been a follower of his blog the past year and a half, and I love to get news about his activities and the development of the companies. However, Loic, and I understand that, has decided to stop broadcasting his "Seesmic du Jour" a daily video telling us what was going on with Seesmic and his other projects. As I have said, this was a huge work to get a video of great quality everyday. He then decided to stop, because maybe he was not finding the feedback he was expecting. I regret it, but ok.

The problem is Loic has always been a great blogger, blogging at least every day. And for the past weeks, his contribution has been very small. That is the reason why I am rising some concerns. I am not talking about that only because I am decieved as a fan of the blog and the service, but also because this is not good when a company doesn't communicate.
 One of the thing I have learned about btob communication, is that when a company is not attending a conference or stopped their advertising programs, this is not a good sign. It shows to your customers and competitors you are not doing good, that something is going wrong.

I wish Loic will start back a little bit more on his blog, and I hope this does not mean that Seesmic is experiencing problem (I know the actual economic environment is probably not good). I also wants to encourage Loic and wish him all the success possible.

Good luck Loic, and I hope to see you soon when you'll stop by Paris.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Statistiques clés du Ecommerce en France

ecommerce Paris 2008Comme j'en avais déjà parlé auparavant, je me suis rendu la semaine dernière au salon du Ecommerce Paris 2008. C'est toujours intéressant de se rendre à ce type de salon pour discuter mais aussi se procurer les dernières informations sur le marché.

C'est à cette occasion que l'on m'a remis le guide du participant à ce salon. Outre bien évidemment un plan du salon ainsi que le détail des exposants, se trouvent en début des statistiques sur l'état du marché du Ecommerce en France. Il est toujours important de garder des statistiques actualisées sur les performances de l'industrie, et c'est pour cela que je voulais les partager aujourd'hui avec vous. Je vais vous épargnez les statistiques sur l'évolution des ventes etc... C'est important, mais très peu parlant pour moi. Non je voulais partager surtout des statistiques qui sont pour moi très intéressantes:

Evolution des moyens de paiements (source FEVAD):
On peut voir que les paiements en carte représente la large majorité des paiements en ligne. Ce qui est aussi intéressant, c'est la faiblesse des paiement en crédit en ligne. Je pense que ce marché devrait se développer très rapidement dans l'avenir, avec des offres spécifiques sur les produits concernés (de type hi-fi, ou bien voitures par exemple).
  • 85% cartes bancaires
  • 32% portefeuilles en lignes (Paypal...)
  • 22% paiement par chèque
  • 18% chèques cadeau
  • 15% Virement bancaire
  • 14%Paiement en plusieurs fois sans frais
  • 13% Carte privative ou réserve associé à une carte
  • 13% Prélèvement bancaire
  • 10% Carte bleue virtuelle
  • 10% Paiement à la livraison
  • 1% Crédit en ligne lié à un achat donné
  • 1% autre
Montant du panier moyen par secteur (source Direct Panel):
 
Il est toujours intéressant de connaitre les paniers moyens par secteur. On voit que le secteur du tourisme réalise de très beau chiffre d'affaires par client. Cependant, le secteur du meuble et de la décoration ne réalise que 226€ en moyenne. Ainsi, on se trouve certainement sur de l'entrée de gamme. Là aussi, je pense qu'il y a du travail à faire et surtout un gros potentiel.
  • 1 11,9€ Séjours
  • 330,9€ Billets de train, avion, ferry
  • 271,9€ Produits électroménagers
  • 265,7€ Produits électronique/Hi-tech/ multimédia
  • 262,6€ Location de véhicules
  • 252,8€ Meubles et articles de décoration
  • 226,9€ Hébergement touristique
  • 193,8€ Articles de bricolage et de jardinage
  • 111,8€ Produits alimentaires/épicerie
  • 98,4€ Bijoux/montres
  • 79,1€ Billeterie/spectacle
  • 58,9€ Jouets/jeux
  • 52,4€ Vêtements/maroquinerie/accessoires
  • 40,8€ Produits cosmétiques/parfums/parapharmacie
  • 31,2€ Produits culturels et loisirs
  • 16,9€ Développements photos numériques
Evolution des populations d'acheteurs (Source FEVAD/Médiamétrie)
 
Une statistique très intéressante, c'est la progression de la cible plus de 50 ans (+30%) ainsi que des retraités (+37%). Avec le papy boom, c'est une cible qui devient de plus en plus attractive, surtout très consommatrice. Alors, on est sur une cible spécifique, loin de la génération 2.0 et Facebook. C'est un très grand axe de développement.
  • 69% Hommes
  • 63% Femmes (+22%)
  • 51% Moins de 25 ans
  • 83% 25 - 34 ans
  • 70% 35/49 ans
  • 64% 50 ans et plus (+30%)
  • 81% CSP+
  • 66% CSP - (+19%)
  • 63% Retraités (+37%)
  • 66% Paris et RP
  • 66% Province (+20%)
Evolutions des catégories de produits achetés (source Direct Panel)
  2008 2007
Produits Culturels et loisirs 55% 53%
Produits électroniques 45% 40%
Développements photos numériques 26% 24%
Produits électroménager 21% 19%
Jouets/jeux 19% 16%
Abonnements Internet 15% 16%
Abonnement téléphonie mobile 11% 8%
Bijoux/Montres 11% 5%
Location de véhicules 10% 9%
Produits alimentaires/épicerie 9% 10%

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Total et Sofinco lancent leurs cartes co brandées

En ce moment, c'est la grande mode des cartes co-brandées. Ainsi, la Société Générale et Universal avait sortie une carte de paiement proposant des avantages sur des téléchargements de musique sur le site de la célèbre maison de disque.
Aujourd'hui, c'est Total et Sofinco qui font un partenariat, afin de bénéficier de réduction sur vos pleins d'essence.

"Elle sera utilisable dans l'ensemble des stations du groupe et permet de bénéficier de remises de 3 %, soit 4,5 cts/L (dans la limite de 1200 euros par an), 6%, soit 9 cts/L (dès que le montant des
transactions atteint 6 000 euros dans l'année) et 9%, soit 13,5 cts/L (6000 euros atteints accompagné d'un contrat souscrit auprès d'un des partenaires essentiels) sur les achats de carburants dans la limite de 1 200 euros par an, ainsi que d'une assistance dépannage véhicule (auto, moto) gratuite pendant quinze jours pour tout achat supérieur à 40 euros."


C'est très astucieux de la part de Total, qui cherche de nouvelles sources de revenus alors que la consommation d'essence risque de baisser ces prochaines années (due au prix du pétrole et l'émergence de nouvelles sources d'énergies). De même, Sofinco jouit de la puissance de marque de Total. Reste à savoir si le grand public va adopter ce nouveau moyen de paiement.

Et vous, que pensez vous de ce type de carte?

Friday, September 26, 2008

How to clean up your desk

You know I often translate the videos of Henri Kaufman and Pierre Philippe Cormeraie. They expose 7 key points in 7 minutes on a specific topic. This time, they are speaking about how to clean up the desk. But you will see that in fact, this is not the primary issues. The main thing is to have the best desk in order to be efficient in your work.

Today, the video explains you how to clean up your desk:
  • Get back to the original concept: What is a desk? This is a key question you have to ask yourself. Is it a meeting room? Is it a way to show you are organized? Not really, this is mainly a working tool.
  • Clear desk = clear mind ? This is what people think most of the time. But this is not true. There is a new book "perfect is a mess". It explains that cleaning up and maintaining your desk clean takes a lot of time, and that actually it is more efficient to keep it as a mess. The idea is you should have the desk you need to work. You need it to be clear, fine, but it is ok to keep it messy.
  • Everyone has two brain hemispheres. One dedicated to thinking, and calculating, and one for creation. For people that are very creative, it is very difficult to clean its desk. This is hence frustrating, and it is better not to clean it up for this target.
  • Keep things accessible: Far from your eyes, far from your mind. Keep the files you are working on close to you, because they will still be on your mind. If they are piled up out of the desk, you will probably forget about it.
  • The new method: Three piles, one to trash, one to keep, and one "I don't know". Most of the time the "I don't know" pile is full. Therefore you review it, and reorganize it, until it is done.
My advice is that you should not focus on cleaning up your desk. You need to be in an environment that you feel good about it, that stimulates your work force. A clean desk doesn't mean a clear mind. If you really need organization, I recommend you to read some books like Getting Things Done of David Allen. Very good video, because it gives a new focus on the problematic.

What not to do during an oral presentation/conference

As I have already explained in my blog the previous post, I have gone today to the Ecommerce salon of Paris. I have attended couple of conferences proposed during this event, and wanted to talk specifically about one.

Foremost, I want to let you know that this is not only a critique. I believe we all have some weaknesses while we speak in public, including me. So try to consider it as an advice, and a way to improve your oral skills.

  • The look: the host was mid casual mid formal, but a very strange look: blue jeans, with a very classical jacket and a red flashy tie. A mix between an IBM representative and a young communication consultant. Not really proper. Try to be consistent, find your look and stick with it.
  • PowerPoint issue: I know it could happen to anyone. You will always have powerpoint problems. Guy Kawasaki said that you have 45 minutes to present your business plan, 15 min for the presentation, 15 min for the questions, and 15 min to get PowerPoint ready. We watched a bugged version of the presentation. But I believe that this would have been fixed if the presentator would have come a little bit earlier to the session... Come early and test your presentation right away.
  • Slides in English: We are in France for god sake! Not that I don't understand English, but the fact the presentation was in English makes me suspicious. I am sure this was a corporate presentation, not at all customized to fit in the conference. Even though you have pre prepared presentation, you must customize them to speak about the topic, and match the audience interests.
  • No eyes contact with the public: In his overal behavior, the guy was facing down, and making very few eyes contact with the crowd. He seemed he was in his own little world. This is very important to play with the audience, and to show it you are paying attention to their feedback. Play with the public, and pay attention to how it behaves.
  • The tune: It is important to play with your tunes, change the intonations, to have specific breaks.
  • The balancing movement: This is terrible, you know, you are balancing on your leg...
  • No presentation guideline: It is not necessary to introduce the table of content for an oral presentation, as long as there is a main guideline. But there, no table of content, no links between the different slides. You don't really see the point. A lot of statistics, but no real meaning was taken out of it. Stats are great, but they need to be used to point out something. I usually introduce the presentation first, letting people know how the presentation has been defined, and therefore, show out the guideline.
  • Authority problems: It can happen that the audience doesn't really pay attention to your show. But there, the presentator ask two people at the first row to stop talking whereas this private conversation did not seem to bother the public. I mean, you are facing a professional crowed, you are not in an inner city junior high school... If people don't listen to you, there is probably a problem...
  • An evidence of the poor presentation: I turn my head and nobody is taking notes, which was not the case for the prior conference.
  • Not up-to-date slides: One of the slides show Obama and Clinton fighting with boxing gloves, to represent the intense competition on the web. It has been couple of months Clinton is now out of the race. An up-date with the picture of McCain could have been sweet.
  • Approximations: You are an expert and it is important to be precise in what you are saying. "Obama has 1.2 million friends on Facebook". Wrong. This is not possible as the maximum is 500.000 friends. However, he might have a group of 1.2 million friends on Facebook. That is different. I would have liked the presentator to be sharper.
  • Too general: you have people that are already in the Internet sphere: they know the basics. People are seeking for examples new ideas, new concepts. Nothing that you could found there.
  • Nothing operational: As I have said that was general basics stuffs presented. I would have appreciated some operational advices.
  • Oups: There is a picture showing the two famous character of the Apple vs Microsoft commercials, hand in hand. It symbolizes, according to the presentator, the search engine optimization effort and the social media optimization working together... The commercials is exactly the opposite, where we can see a competition between the two major companies of the computer industry. Really bad
  • The gifts: Good idea to offer presents to the audience at the beginning of the conference. But when they come, it is simply some discounts on some of the services of the company... This is not a present! This is a commercial offer... Kind of deceiving there too.
  • Don't answer the questions: At the end of the conference, there was some time dedicated to questions. No answers to none of them. "Come and see me at my booth". Yeah right. I think it is important to answer those questions, especially because they confirm your expert status and they might complete some points of your presentation you have not covered properly...
Just to finish, a positive point. The conference was video taped. This is a great idea, because it allows you to improve your performance. If, of course, you spend some times reviewing it, which is rare that it happens.

Hopefully this post will help you for your next presentations.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Ecommerce Paris 2008

ecommerce Paris 2008Ecommerce ParisJe suis passé aujourd'hui au salon ecommerce Paris 2008, se déroulant à la porte de Versailles.

La qualité de l'organisation
Le salon était très bien organisé, avec de très beau stands, une équipe d'hôtesses d'accueil dynamique, et des salles de conférences bien équipé. De même il y avait entre autre un espace wifi, ainsi qu'un espace Nespresso offrant des espressos gratuits.

Les exposants
crmmetrix ecommerce Paris 2008Beaucoup d'exposants de qualités. J'ai été ravi d'aller au stand de CRMmetrix, société avec laquelle j'ai certaine affinité, puisqu'elle est dirigée par Laurent Flores, dont je lis régulièrement le blog, le customer listening blog.

Xiti ecommerce paris 2008Xiti aussi, spécialiste de l'analyse web, avec qui on a parlé pas mal de social score, concept passionnant et encore à définir. J'ai déjà parlé de ce concept sur mon blog, et j'y reviendrai très prochainement.
De même, Zlio, dont je suis client, qui a apporté pas mal de nouveautés sur leur site, notamment la capacité de jouer sur les marges des produits proposés sur son site.

Elle n'était pas exposante, mais j'ai eu l'occasion de discuté référencement avec, Lurie Laurie, dont j'ai apprécié l'ouverture d'esprit.

Les conférences
looneo ecommerce parisJe n'ai biens sûr pas tout vu, donc je ne parle que des conférences auxquels j'ai assisté. Il y a eu du très bon, du moyen, mais aussi du très mauvais (j'y reviendrai), qui d'ailleurs me permettra dans un avenir très proche de faire une liste d'erreurs à ne pas commettre lors d'une présentation en publique. Je tiens notamment à souligner la prestation d'Alban Pelletier qui vient de créer Looneo, un site d'avis de consommateurs, sur la création et la gestion de communauté de consommateurs sur le web. De même, j'ai particulièrement apprécié l'intervention de Gérard Spatafora de Millésima, une société spécialisé dans la distribution de grands crus, qui a mis en évidence les problématiques réelles du e-commerce, ainsi que les avantages de ce canal.


Conclusion
Très bon salon, avec de nombreux experts de qualité. J'en ai retiré beaucoup de pistes de réflexion, des statistiques, mais aussi des concepts intéressants. J'y reviendrai avec intérêt l'année prochaine.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Adidas.fr: not such a good website

Adidas.comI have already talked last post that I am currently prospecting new shoes for next basketball season. Actually, this is not as easy as it seems. I am really struggling finding some that would fit me needs. Anyways, I have been an Adidas users for last three seasons. I like their gears, and that is the reason why I started looking for what was up with their products. I am actually very interested by the model hereby, TS lightspeed, that I found on the basketball section of adidas.com.

I went on their websites, and I actually found some nice shoes that looked like it was what I was seeking. However, there is a lot of things in this websites that bugs me and deceived me:
  • There is no prices. I know, the website is not an online store, but a price range would be sweet. I have no ideas what the prices of their shoes are, and therefore it is difficult to have an idea how much I should expect to pay.
  • I don't know where I can find my shoes: There is a list of retailers that provides Adidas gears. Cool. But I am looking for a specific model of basket ball shoes. I called some of the retailers listed and visited other ones. None of them have the items I was looking for. Some of them even told me they did not provide these ones, because it was the old porducts, and they should receive next one in October. That means I am playing with no shoes for a month?? That is very weird. My advice would be to have a link on the shoes we like on the website that will provide an extensive lists of the retailers that actually provides this specific model, not some Adidas products, but the model.
  • The online stores presentation is messy: Adidas don't own an online store of their own. Fine. They give a list of online stores where we can find models. Ok. But first of all none of the stores listed provide the basket ball shoes I am looking for. Second of all, the presentation is messy: They provide you a German, a British and a French store. Foremost, they advertise the German website which is (obviously) written in German! I am ok because I speak a little bit this nice language, but I want to buy it in France!!!
  • Which player use which shoes? That is a minor remark. But Adidas pays tons of $ to sponsor NBA players to wear their gears. They have a nice presentation of their NBA squad, with the stats of the players and their pictures. But I think they should add below the model they wear. That could be a nice add on. But again, not the priority though, even if it is a fast stuff to fix.
To summarize, I am deceived, a little bit mad because I don't find what I want. I think that Adidas should try to get an application that would link the different products they display on their sites, where you could find the stores that sell this specific item (and not any Adidas product). Also, I advice them to develop fast an online store application for the French website.

adidas.com

Ballers Network: Nike lance un site Internet communcautaire sur le basket


Alors que je prospectais sur Internet des nouvelles chaussures de basket pour la saison, je suis tombé sur le site Internet ballers Network, via une bannière publicitaire sur le site Basketsession.

La communauté des pratiquants de basket sur le web
Nike vient donc de lancer un site très 2.0, afin créer un site pour les amoureux de la balle orange, où ils pourront se présenter, parler des terrains (basket de rue) où ils jouent, ainsi que les différentes ligues. Il y a d'ailleurs un groupe sur Facebook associé à ce site.
Le site est encore en beta (mais là, c'est vraiment du beta), et il n'est pas encore possible de s'inscrire sur le groupe et de compléter l'information sur le site, chose qui sera possible très prochainement.

Nike une marque très 2.0
Ce n'est pas la première fois que le leader de l'équipement sportif a développé un dispositif favorisant l'échange entre les pratiquants d'un sport.
En effet, Nike était déjà très "marketing tribal", avec son Nike Plus et sa communauté d'adeptes du running, où ceux ci pouvait partager leurs performances, notamment grâce au podomètre placé dans leurs chaussures et relié à l'Ipod d'Apple.

Mais je reste tout de même bluffé de la façon dont Nike s'approprie cette nouvelle tendance communautaire en concevant des programmes marketing innovants. Cela affirme les qualités marketing de la marque.

Et vous, que pensez vous de ce site?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Stop massacring English

This is a great commercial campaign in France for English classes via the phone. That is true that French people are well known for their weak foreign languages skills. I think the commercial is very funny and points out well the problem.






Monday, September 22, 2008

Why I haven't posted much these past few days

I haven't really posted much these past few days and you might wondering why. Well, I have tons of ideas of blog articles, like always you are probably thinking. Maybe even too much, because I am still way back, and have tons of blog posts I need to do right now. Especially, complete my series of posts about the evolution of the distribution.

In fact, I have been very busy. I took care of paperworks at the French prefecture in order to get some papers for my girlfriend. I have also participated to many job fairs, and attended couple of job interviews. Meanwhile, my birthday was on Sunday (thanks for all the people that sent me some emails and posts on my Facebook's wall). So it was pretty hard to find some extra minutes to focus on the blog. But don't worry, you'll find new entries very soon, and I'll share with you some thoughts I had lately.

A great way to develop your sales skills

I wanted to speak a little bit about one of my personal experience, that I believe gave me some great basis to develop my sales skills. When I first entered into my business school, Ipag, in Paris, there is a big event that happens couple of weeks after the class starts, which is called "the week end of integration". The purpose is to have a huge party with all the students of the different classes, in order to get to know each other and to understand better the "party culture" I would say of the students. For a week end you go to the south of France, and you need to pay for the trip and the food and the hotel.
In order to get the money, the school provides you some pens to sell. Thus, all the students are picking up some pens, go in the streets, and try to sell as much as you can, in order to pay as less as possible your trip.

A lot of people did not really enjoy it. First of all, you are selling something in the street, where people are busy and in a rush, so you can expect a lot of refusals... Secondly, you really need to have great human skills, and not be shy: you need to approach as much people as you can, without knowing them, and convince them to help you.

However, I really think this has been a great experience for me. I don't think that it gave me some sales technique, but it shape my sales will. Whatever the number of people that did not buy your pens is, you still need to keep going on, be smiling, and so on. I think that it is a great exercise, in order not to be shy, be out going.

I think this experience contributed to develop my sales skills, my conviction power, and my interest in the  sales business.

Sell in the street

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Schriver blogging

I am the only Schriver who is blogging? I know for a fact that a lot of people named Schriver like me are on the web. There is a Schriver Museum, a Nicolai Schriver (yes, and he is working in the marketing field in... Scandinavia!), among others. There is also a Facebook group of Schrivers from all over the world, and it was quite big as far as I remember.

But today, as I was checking my Yahoo ranking (only a few of my visitors come from this search engine, which is deceiving), I found on the first page of result a certain Sarah Schriver! I am glad to see the online schriver community growing. I wish good luck to Sarah for her blogging effort.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Will the actual financial crisis enable a shift to a more sustainable approach?

The biggest crisis since 1929financial crisis
The mortgage market meltdown brought us the biggest financial crisis in the US since probably the great depression. The whole financial world is impacted by it. As an example, we can see that the different industries around the financial market has been affected:
  • Banks: Washington mutual is closed to file for bankrupcy, City Bank's head has been fired
  • Mortgage companies: Countrywide firing tons of people
  • Insurances:
  • Consulting companies: The infamous Lehman Brothers that filed yesterday for Bankrupcy
Let's not forget that this crisis also has a very deep impact on the job market. A lot of people used to work in the real estate market and the financial industry. Real estate agents, insurance professionals, mortgage specialists, and even some other people like printers or business coaches are running out of work with this conjuncture.

To be totally honest with you, I really don't think it is the end. This is not the beginning, but we haven't seen the end of the tunnel just yet.

Crisis lead to shifts
Most of the time, the biggest crisis lead to a dramatical shift
  • . For instance, the big petrol crisis in the mid 70s led French government to  install a nuclear program to get energy autonomy.
  •  The second world war is the main responsible of the birth of the UN, in order to promote peace in the world and prohibit potential genocides.
  • In 1929, the US government established Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac in order to fight against foreclosure, and adopted the New Deal that built the highway system that eased the development of the country within the next few decades.
Will we get a shift after this crisis?

Sustainable developmentSustainable development toward us
We have already experienced some changes in people minds with this crisis. Indeed, the high prices of gas led customers to use less and less their cars, and to promote car pooling and public transportation. A French study explains that the consumption of gas has decreased by 12% in August 08 compared to August 07.

But now what's up with the financial market. We can see that the fact financial products are becoming more and more complex led big companies to obtain very risky products, including the infamous "sub prime loans". But will this crisis lead to a dramatical shift in financial markets habits?

Sustainable development companies kept aside of the crisis
Sustainable development companies, or green companies (as you like) are not that much affected by the crisis. Actually, because most of the time you can get fiscal benefits out of it, they are what we call in French "valeurs refuge" (shares that are not impacted by good or bad economical conjuncture). Therefore, they represent a great way out for investors willing to stop the bleeding.

Conclusion
In my opinion, I don't think so. Let's be realistic. First of all, financial markets are highly speculative, and that's one of their first interest. Secondly, it's cyclical. I don't want to talk about "destiny" but the Kontradief and Juglar cycles define well this issue. But however, I think that this crisis will probably lead to the development of a better way to manage business, and probably help the rise of sustainable development companies and models.

I hope so though....

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

What US customers are really expecting of multichannel shopping

Multichannel retail in the US
Multi channel shopping is one of the greatest problematic that retailers have to face. Whether they are Internet based business or traditional retailers, they are seeking for more and more synergies between all their channels of commercialization. A new market studies shown out on the emarketer website exposes what customers' expectations really are about multichannel features.

We can see indeed that the majority of US Adult Internet users are willing to have the ability to return merchandise to a store even if it was purchased online or over the phone, or to have the option of having merchandise delivered to their home or picking it up in store after purchasing online. For the first feature, this implies a real supply chain effort, whereas this feature is not as common as people might think.

Multichannel retail

Monday, September 15, 2008

Manage your sales income

As a sales person, your revenues are probably composed by a commission based compensation. If you have great persuasion skills, you probably have comfortable revenues, but this is not an easy job to manage your revenues, especially for seasonal markets. Here are some great tips found on monster.com.

Assess Your Current Cash Flow

According to financial planners and seasoned sales professionals, the first step toward stabilizing your finances is to create an objective picture of them.

“Do a cash-flow projection which shows ups and downs by month,” says Sestina. “Keep this on a spreadsheet or Quicken, and record your sales and expenses there. The cash-flow sheet has a positive influence because it’s a goal sheet. When salespeople put it down in writing, they usually meet their goals; it’s a psychological thing.”

Developing a useful projection means spending time tracking actual outlays, being sure not to omit anything substantial. “I give them a spreadsheet and ask them to itemize monthly expenses,” says Stevens. “Lots of folks haven’t even done that.”

A consultation with an accountant can assure you that you’re creating a financial analysis sufficient to serve as the foundation for a sound plan.

Create a Financial Plan, Not a Fantasy

The next step is to create a spending and savings plan that will enable you to cover current expenses, save for a house down payment, retirement and other major goals, while weathering the downs and ups of life on commission.

“When your income is sporadic, consider making two budgets, one with your accustomed level of spending, and one no-frills baseline budget,” says Sally Herigstad, a CPA and author of Help! I Can’t Pay My Bills. “When the money comes in more slowly than expected, you can cut back to the baseline budget and know you’ll make it.”

Some experts suggest saving a set percentage of each commission check, regardless of whether you’re having a good quarter. To do that, you’ll need a buffer of perhaps several months’ expenses in your spending account, to get you through the lows.

Get External Support for Your Plan

Very few of us are consistent enough savers to make such a plan work without outside help. So it pays to save through an automated transaction, whether direct deposit or a transfer to a savings, investment or retirement account.

“With each check, set aside a predetermined percentage based on your budget, for savings and investment,” says Brad Stroh, co-CEO of Bills.com in San Mateo, California. “Some financial institutions let you arrange automatic transfers from your checking account to a savings account.”

But don’t count on anyone else to oversee your financial arrangements -- including tax liabilities, which often catch salespeople unawares.

“In my second year as a sales rep, I made great strides but failed to realize that my employer was deducting based on the tax withholding rate of my previous year’s income [which was significantly lower]", says Corey Donovan, vice president of business development at Vibrant Technologies in Minnetonka, Minnesota. “I was shocked to find that I owed several thousand dollars come April 15.”

Look at the Larger Picture

Alas, setting a steady course for your finances and sales career doesn’t ensure success. “If even your baseline budget exceeds your average income over a period, it’s time to make some hard decisions,” says Herigstad.

All your determined planning and disciplined action may ultimately lead you to target a more lucrative sales position or industry. “Sometimes people realize the potential isn’t there in their current job for what they want to do financially, so they look for a new job,” says Sestina.

Publicité Zidane et Grand Optical: cela manque de sens



Zidane et la publicité de GrandOptical
Zidane vient de devenir l'éffigie de GrandOptical pour ses campagnes de publicité. Je viens de voir cette publicité à la télévision aujourd'hui. J'ai ensuite trouvé d'autres publicités où Zidane se rend chez cet opticien.

Cependant, je me pose beaucoup de questions sur cette publicité. En effet, Zinedine Zidane n'a jamais porté de lunettes en temps que joueur, que ce soit sur les terrains ou en dehors. De même, toujours présent médiatiquement ces derniers temps, il n'affiche jamais une paire...Zidane grand optical

Il existe pour moi un vrai manque de sens. Qu'est ce que Zidane apporte à la publicité? De l'exposition? Certainement, mais le seul fait d'avoir recours à une célébrité n'est pas une garantie de transmettre le message publicitaire.

Cela me rappelle en fait à l'époque où j'étais à l'Ipag, en cours de communication, où nous devions nous pencher sur une problématique de com' et proposer une copy stratégie. Un groupe avait décidé pour le LCL d'utiliser Zidane pour leur publicité, car c'est la personnalité la plus appréciée des français. Mais, bien que la présence de Zidane ne peut être qu'une excellente caution à la qualité des prestations, il n'y a aucun fond... Et c'est ce que je ressens avec cette publicité.

De plus, outre le fait que Zidane n'est certainement pas un consommateur de GrandOptical, il y a un sincère manque de relation entre ce que peut apporter Zidane en terme de valeur (le jeu, la compétition, la classe...) et ce pourquoi il est utilisé dans cette publicité. Quel rapport entre les qualités footballistiques de Zidane et le slogan "un autre regard sur vos yeux"?

Le contre exemple: Johnny Halliday
Lui non plus, la star du rock français n'a pas de problème de vue, mais à signer avec une entreprise de lunetterie, Optic 2000. Mais là, la marque a réussi à transmettre du sens dans ce choix. Johnny = star du rock = lunettres noires. C'est ainsi qu'on voit dans la publicité Johnny Halliday avec de superbes lunettes de soleil, alors que le soleil tape sur la route de Memphis.

Cette publicité est pour moi beaucoup plus intéressantes, et bien plus fine. Bien sûr, je comprends que les lunettes sont devenues des accessoires de modes, mais il faut tout de même ne pas oublier d'avoir une  publicité porteuse de sens.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Special K: Food company embraces Internet advertising

Special K online marketingAn article of the Ad Age found on the Customer listening blog explains how Cereal brand Special K has leveraged Internet to enhance the customer experience. CMO Mark Baynes explains that "analysis of the Special K initiative of the last 18 months showed digital media exceeding that of broadcast ROI."
This is a great news, a great example that Internet communication and e-marketing tools actually work, and for a very diverse range of products and companies.

I am also glad that such a famous brand is satisfied about its web strategy. Definitely, the Internet hype is becoming a main stream.

Friday, September 12, 2008

ilike, a very different start up

Ilike and Robert ScobleI invite you to read Robert Scoble article on his blog: In startup success blogs don’t matter, paradigm shifts do. He explains how Ilike, the famous social web application dedicated to share your music preferences with others, has become one of the greatest success story of the web even though they used very few conventional ways to promote their services.

Indeed, in the Silicon Valley, where web companies spring up, all of these eager-to-battle entrepreneurs are seeking for trendy spots where they will get exposure of a web 2.0 celebrity like Michael Arrington.

Scoble explains:"How did THAT happen? It wasn’t because they got bloggers all hot and bothered about them. They didn’t win any contests. I don’t even think they showed up at Demo or TechCrunch or other industry conferences. If they did, they didn’t cause any headlines on blogs about how they were going to be THE next hot thing.

What did they do? They were first out the gate on Facebook’s application platform. That was a real paradigm shift. It was the first application platform I remember where I could see the apps YOU had loaded."

Indeed, in this social web world, your website or application's financial value is based on the number of users you can get. Most of the business models are based on online advertising, and the more people logged on your site, the higher the interest is to advertise. But the fact is that it is more important to focus on delivering a great product, seeking for this "paradigm shift", instead of trying to look for an all star selection when you are nothing but a rookie.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hype Cycle for Social Software 2008


As you know, there is a lot of hype around the new capabilities of the Internet and the new online communities that are created. Here is a chart you can find on skitch.com, and it picture the social software hype cycle defined by Gartner.

What is very interesting when we watch this chart, is that right now, the different trends defining the web 2.0 are in the curve, which means that the hype is melting down. We could already notice this fact, especially on the stock market, where Google's shares were going down. Indeed, there was a lot of expectations coming hand in hand with this brand new medium. Like any other major innovation, it was difficult to figure out what would be the big pictures in the next 2 to 5 years.

The next challenge for web 2.0 companies
Now, web 2.0 technologies and services' advantages and the opportunities they are creating are clearer. There is however a next big challenge awaiting web 2.0. The "plateau of productivity" or the massive adoption phase, where more and more users will use the different services. This is a key phase, where the true uses will be shaped. A great challenge is still ahead for Facebook, Google or other Twitters (especially Twitters which is still mainly used by geeks).
The blogging is not hype anymore, and a real social trend
Another important information, the blogging hype has passed the trough of disillusionment. Actually, you could have noticed it: we had this past year a lot of blog closing, very few new people willing to open their blogs. Blogging seemed to have become "has been", old fashion compare to the excitement of video content, Facebook and cell phone craziness. Anyway, blogging is not dead, it just went through its puberty stage, and is now a mature phenomenon.

I really like this graph, and you can probably use it to explain the main trends of the Internet these past few years.

Why I don't use video for this blog and what I think is a good use of video blogging

video blogging You have probably noticed that this blog is 99% text. I sometimes use video content, of commercials I find interesting, or interviews, but I never record videos of myself. There are two main reasons for that:
  • First of all, I must admit that I am not probably properly equiped. I have an old webcam, with a poor mike. I have already experienced some problems when I started to use Seesmic. Loic Lemeur even told me that I needed to buy a specific mike in order to provide better videos. But so far I still have not bought any new webcam. I even uninstall mine, because I was not using it...
  • Secondly, I don't use videos because of their lack of search engine optimization skills. Google don't really value videos much in its web browser. Text is still king, and if I want to recruit new visitors, or if I want to get the attention of the blogosphere, text is still better
Now, video blogging has some great advantages. I have enjoyed watching every day Loic Lemeur's Seesmic du Jour for about a year. I think it gives more interaction. But I think the main reason why I would use video would be for on the go interviews.

For example, when you go to a fair, or a networking mixer, or some kind of event, you meet interesting people that you discuss about specific issues. Most of the time those kind of interviews are a great mine of information. I think that taping those kind of short interviews are great, and I would for sure consider recording some of the people I meet.

What do you think? Are you using videos in your blog?

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

My manager profile by Career Path

I'd like to come back just for a minute on my manager profile defined by career path. If you notice, what is interesting is that they explain the three main concepts that matters to me:
  • Advertising/public relations
  • Sales
  • Building long term relationship

My manager profile by Career Path


Careerpath.com is a website owned by careerbuilder.com, which helps you define your career plans. I received an email from them, telling me to participate to their quizz, in order to define which job will suit me the most. Here are the results.

To be honest with you, this is very close to what I was expecting, and I think it pictures well my profile.

Career Quiz Results
People with Green interests like to do things that involve interaction with other people. They enjoy opportunities to influence others by debating and discussing the opinions and ideas. Most often these activities are focused on ways to help other people improve or grow personally and professionally. They enjoy the spotlight and don't shy away from a chance to be on stage. They like to think out loud and seek out other people to engage in verbal dialogue. Hobbies may include: Theater, community service projects, club member, volunteer coaching, homeowner's associations. Career choices often are: Sales, Teaching, Social Service, Clergy, Advertising, Politics, Public Relations, Hospitality, Entertainment.
People with Blue strengths are good at building long term relationships with others that are based on trust and respect. They are sensitive to the individual needs and concerns of others and respond with great understanding and intuition to emotionally difficult situations. They are good at making complex decisions because they will take the time to carefully evaluate their options so they make the best decision the first time. An additional strength they often have is to think about the future and put plans and strategies in place that are focused on long term goals.


Monday, September 08, 2008

Recruitment and web 2.0: Stonfield Inworld hires via Seesmic

Do you know about Seesmic? This is the new video social community on the web, created by French entrepreneur Loic Lemeur. The company ambitions to give a new dimension to web 2.0, enabling users to chat and converse with videos.

Even though Seesmic is still in a beta version, the community is pretty impressive. Now some new ways to use the service are springing. One of them that I find very interesting is the recruitment idea. Some companies have indeed started to use the website to hire some new bees.

Among them, I wanted to talk about Stonfield Inworld, a French web agency specialized in virtual worlds (like Second Life). They are using Seesmic to interview candidates. What I like about this idea is that you are able to check right away the candidate skills to communicate.
Further information can be found here.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

L'évolution de la grande distribution (2): L'exemple de Monoprix


On a vu dans un précédent article de quelle manière les grands magasins ont du adapté leurs concepts magasins ainsi que leur modèle économique avec l'apparition de nouveaux concurrents. Aujourd'hui, nous allons nous intéressé à son petit frère, Monoprix.

L'histoire de Monoprix est en effet très proche de celle des grands magasins. Premièrement, Monoprix est apparu comme une marque Low Cost, des sortes de "mini grand magasins", proposant des produits diverses et variés à des prix bas. Deuxièmement, les Monoprix, tout comme les Macy's ou Printemps, sont situés en centre ville.

L'arrivée de la concurrence et l'appréciation de l'enseigne
Ainsi, au moment du développement des supermarchés et autres hypermarchés, Monoprix a du subir une forte concurrence sur ses prix: son concept étant basé sur sa capacité à proposer des prix bas, il est difficile de voir arriver de nouvelles enseignes proposant des prix plus attractifs

Une fois encore, l'image de l'enseigne est mis à mal, et Monoprix se retrouve devant un dilemme: faut il casser encore ses prix, mettant à mal les marges de l'entreprise, ou bien accepter le changement de statut, et développer la qualité. Monoprix, tout comme le Printemps en son temps, optera pour la deuxième approche.

Monoprix: un modèle de marketing d'enseigne
Monoprix a entrepris un énorme travail de marketing d'enseigne il y a une dizaine d'année, en proposant un magasin local, proposant des services et produits innovant. Grâce à leurs MDD, alors que la plupart des enseignes proposent des produits de bases à bas prix, Monoprix crée des produits fortement différenciant et innovant, ce qui contribue à l'appréciation de l'image de marque.

Nouveau challenge pour les hypermarchés
Le prochain article portera sur le nouveau challenge que les enseignes d'hypermarché sont en train de relever, alors qu'elles se trouvent confrontées aux mêmes problématiques marketing avec le développement du hard discount.

A voir aussi:
L'évolution de la grande distribution (3): Les hypermarchés

L'évolution de la grande distribution (1): Les grands magasins

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Soccer club embraces the web 2.0 precepts

Soccer 2.0What an interesting story! United is  5th division soccer team in England. It is owned by close to 30 000 shareholders, each of them having invested 43 euros to run the club, which makes about 1.2 million euros. Last week, the club has decided to trade one of their players John Akinde, to Bristol City (2nd division), for 175 000 euros. 7 452 of these shareholders have made this decision, with 82% of yes.

Some other teams in France have tried to accomplish the same, especially at Alfortville. I'll probably complete this article when I'll get more information about that, but basically fans of the team can invest and make decisions.

The author of this article (published in Sport Magazine in France) is concerned about the fact that some fans could take control over a club, deciding for a yes or a no of what should be the strategy of a team. I actually think it is a great news: sport is getting back into the hands of amateurs, that love the sport, and are more concerned about the game than profits and political decisions.

What do you think about it?

Thursday, September 04, 2008

L'évolution de la grande distribution (1): les grands magasins

J'ai toujours été passionné par la distribution, notamment par la grande distribution. J'ai toujours trouvé cela incroyable de voir la vie et la richesse de ces magasins. D'ailleurs, cette certaine fascination m'a conduit à faire le master distribution et relation client de l'université Paris Dauphine.
Je voulais partagé avec vous aujourd'hui et au cours de ces prochains jours, certaines des réflexions que j'ai mené sur l'évolution des systèmes et enseignes de distribution. En effet, l'industrie est en constant évolution, une évolution rythmée par les évolutions technologiques et sociales.

Aujourd'hui, nous allons voir le début de la distribution industrialisée, avec la période des grands magasins.


L'innovation par le discount
L'industrie de la distribution est marquée par la recherche des bas prix. En effet, chaque nouveau mode de distribution a basé son succès sur sa faculté à proposer des prix plus bas que ses concurrents contemporains. Nous allons voir dans quelle mesure les évolutions techniques et sociales ont façonné les stratégies des distributeurs, et toujours vers plus de marketing et de branding.

Les Grands magasins: du rôle du discounter au magasin de luxe
Lorsque les grands magasins sont apparus, ils étaient positionnés sur les prix bas. Grâce à la formidable capacité de ces nouvelles enseignes de regroupés en un même endroit la plupart des produits de la consommation quotidienne, le directeur de magasin était capable de casser les prix.

Cependant, les grands magasins ont du faire face à un problème: les grands magasins se trouvaient en centre ville, car les moyens de transportation étaient encore à l'époque rudimentaire. Avec l'expension des villes, le mètre carré se trouva de plus en plus cher, et il fut difficile d'augmenter les tailles de ses magasins. De plus, une nouvelle concurrence était en train de s'installer, avec les hypermarchés et les supermarchés, plus grand et dans des endroits où le mètre carré était bien moins cher, profitant ainsi de l'essort de l'équipement automobile.

Le grand magasin d'aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui, les grands magasins ont développé massivement leurs images de marques. Que ce soit Macy's ou Les Galleries Lafayettes, ils ont totalement réorienté leur assortiment au fil du temps, pour devenir des centres commerciaux du luxes. Ils ont ainsi du totalement changer leur positionnement marketing, leur assortiment, et leur culture, pour passer du discounter au marchand de luxe.

Nous allons voir dans les prochains épisodes que ce phénomène, où l'arrivée d'un concurrent (l'hypermarché) aidé par une nouvelle technologie (la voiture) est un phénomène courrant, auquel nous sommes en train d'assister en ce moment même.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Why it is still important to have a great diploma


Internet: a fantastic source of information
Nowadays, it is easy to access information. For a minor investment (an Internet connection) you can have access to a large amount of information, and sometimes of great quality, on any type of medium (video, sound, text).

To be honest with you, I deeply believe that thanks to Internet, anyone on this planet, with a little bit of motivation and cleverness, is able to know as much bout business as an MBA, can learn how to play guitar as good as any professional.

That is the reason why a lot of people, especially in the Internet entrepreneurship field, consider therefore that it is useless to attend a great university in order to succeed. Some of them, that attend some great business schools, like HEC in France, claim they have wasted their time for years because nothing of what they learnt in these schools is applicable to their start up.

The fantastic opportunity to expand your network
But I don't think this statement is true. What makes the value of prestigious programs like Stanford or Harvard are not only based on the education that you have but also about the environment they provide you. Indeed, those programs allow you to meet people, wether they are professors, professionals or students. It will help the student to shape his business network. Everybody knows how valuable some strong connections in a professional lifes are a key factor of success for your career, especially right now, as online communities and network platforms are transforming big time our way to interact with others.

Network and community websites are the hypest right now
The success of LinkedIn, Viadeo, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or MSN Live is based on the fact the allow people to contact in a more efficient way. However, as you are starting your career, it is important to have a good core to develop around your network. And famous universities remain one of the best way to do it, as you will have the opportunity to connect with peers and highly respected professionals.
To sum up, the value of the diploma of a prestigious university is not simply in the education, but in the opportunities to set your professional network at an early age.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

How to write the winning cover letter aimed at specific companies?



After how to write the winning resume and how to success in your interview with a head hunter, PPC and Henri Kaufman offer us a new video to help job seekers. This time, how to writhe the winning cover letter aimed at specific companies.

  1. Target and focus your letter: You are applying to companies that did not propose a job. They don't expect your letter. Therefore, you need to work better your cover letter, in order to explain them why they should consider hiring you, even though they did not think they needed you. This is thus not a mass mailing. If you would send 50 letters responding to some job ads, for an unsollicited candidature you shoud focus on 5. customize them, and spend time making them attractive. You also need to find out to whom the letter is dedicated to (marketing director, or product manager, try to find the chart of the company).
  2. The reason why: Why are you proposing your services? Why did you decide to leave your job? Why do you want to work for this company? Explain the reasons why you are sending your candidature.
  3. What can I bring in? My expertise, my experience, my network, you need to explain the main reasons why you are a great addition for the company.
  4. The tune/style: You need to show your determination off. You need to create empathy. I want to work for you and I already know you. You need to find out about the company: You know it as much as if you'd work for them. Also, in order to affirm the quality of your candidature, feel free to use a nice paper.
  5. Show that you are taking a risk. You must show that you are taking some risks and you are ready to be challenged. You can explain that you are taking some risks, and that you accept it.
  6. The availability: Instead of telling you are available right away, say that you will be available in a month or three. Most of the time, people says they are ready right away, but hiring staffs don't like losers.
  7. What's the next step: When do we get in contact.
Conclusion: The results of such an approach are not as good as the ones resulting from responding to ads. But don't give up! When it works, it is such a great feeling, because you would have picked the company and the position that you wanted to get.


Monday, September 01, 2008

LinkedIn adds precious features to its Groups

LinkedIn GroupsI received last week an email from the LinkedIn Groups department letting me know they add some new interesting features:
  • Discussion forums: Simple discussion spaces for you and your members. (You can turn discussions off in your management control panel if you like.)
  • Enhanced roster: Searchable list of group members.
  • Digest emails: Daily or weekly digests of new discussion topics which your members may choose to receive. (We will be turning digests on for all current group members soon, and prompting them to set to their own preference.)
  • Group home page: A private space for your members on LinkedIn.
I have always been very interested by these kind of private groups on the web, as I am supporting the effort of my master's alumni association to create an online community. Therefore I manage the LinkedIn Group, the Facebook Group and Viadeo Hub of the alumni association.

For a while, and I have said it already on this blog, I did not like LinkedIn Group. I also considered that the lack of option for this groups were the main weakness of the website, especially while you compare it to Viadeo's hubs, which are fantastic and propose all the tools you need in order to create a private business network.

I went through quickly these different new options. I think this is a cool job that has been accomplished, even though I think Viadeo's group are a little bit more consistent. Indeed, some key features of Viadeo's hub are missing in this LinkedIn's version. Especially, you don't have a job posting item, nor a calendar to organize and promote your events. I wish it will come soon...

Anyways, I wanted to congrat LinkedIn for this effort. That comforts me in the fact that LinkedIn is the best online business network so far. However, if they want to become competitive in the private business group area, they should really work hard on adding new important features.