Persuasive, pertinent, and practical marketing advice.
A leading-edge but common-sense approach to data-driven marketing.
This excellent debut business book addresses the remarkable upheaval in marketing that’s resulted from the rise of digital media and, more specifically, from data mining. Chavez, O’Hara, and Vaidya—who built a data-management company called Krux, which is now part of Salesforce—map the past progression of personalized, “people-centric marketing,” set ground rules for the present, and peek into the future of the industry. The book presents an introductory overview of internet advertising, which lays the groundwork for a discussion of what the authors call “the datafication of everything.” Their intelligent assessment of privacy concerns is timely and highly informative, but their book’s primary strength is its pragmatic, levelheaded approach to applying data analysis to strategic goals. Substantive sections include identifying and describing sources of “data-driven power,” such as segmentation (categorization to help reach the “right person”) and personalization (to tailor and deliver the “right message”). Just as valuable are a discussion of “Five Common Pitfalls” that readers may face (including an “Absence of Clear Goals” and “Failure to Anticipate Risk”) and an overview of the authors’ “three-layer model” for data-driven marketing (“know, personalize, and engage”). Throughout, the authors highlight case studies to demonstrate how major marketers employ data to solve specific problems. One example shows how entertainment company Warner Bros. used ticket delivery and purchase information to better identify specific moviegoers; another highlights the manner in which Hershey—the candy, amusement-park, and retail company—met the challenge of cross-pollinating data across corporate divisions so it could be more effective at segmentation. The authors wrap up the book with a few forecasts regarding data-driven marketing; not surprisingly, artificial intelligence and the “Internet of Things” make appearances here, but one of the more intriguing prognostications may be an “all-in-one intelligent marketing hub.” Although the book is very much about the future of marketing, it’s not a visionary puff piece; rather, the authors share battle-tested examples of how their forward-thinking principles are being put into practice.
Persuasive, pertinent, and practical marketing advice.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-260-44153-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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