All Posts By John Carlson

Simplicity. Shopping local. Sustainability. Nature. Doom-scrolling   There are many short-term trends and long-term trends of which businesses need to be aware. Both are important and must be understood if the optimum marketing strategy is to be developed and implemented. This missive focuses on five long-term mega-trends – trends that, while exacerbated by COVID 19, started long before the pandemic and ...

Destination. Focus. Knowledge. Product. Perception.   Research suggests that some 50% of businesses do not have a documented marketing strategy. Many businesses have no marketing strategy, while others have a strategy that resides in the heads of management, a small section of the business plan or a bunch of notes that allows. For me, there are three critical questions here; what is a ...

A lot has changed due to the COVID 19 pandemic. When the pandemic was at its worst and shutdowns were common, business confidence (and consumer confidence) were at an all-time low. Post pandemic, business and consumer confidence rose sharply. Confidence is already beginning to moderate. Some of these changes will be short-term, while others will ...

Have you ever walked past a Bakers Delight store and felt the immediate impact of the smell of baking? Most of us have had this experience along with the resulting pull to go into the store and make a purchase – no matter how unhealthy. Even though we know that the cake we are about ...

Consumer behaviour, while often irrational, is almost always predictable, given the availability of the relevant data. Thanks to years of research, empirical and anecdotal evidence – there are in 2022 the consumer insights to accurately predict consumer behaviour in most settings. There is also a growing body of evidence pointing to simple cues that impact ...