Standard Class

Google seem to have surpassed themselves with "analytics" it looks really easy to implement with great features like geotargeting, visitor segmentation, trend reporting and a cool site overlay feature what's more it's free! They have challenged all their competitors by giving customers the tools to see if (or prove that) Google is the best advertising solution for them. It also gives them all the data they need to create products that really work for customers before customers realise that the current products need improving.

I am glad to see that Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures a New York based VC firm is using podcasting to find the best elevator pitches for new concepts. His blog actually publishes people's ideas as MP3's. His view is that the pitches are not proprietary information, it is what the VC makes of it that counts. He listens to these pitches on his bike ride into work, what better time to take in the complexities of an entrepreneur's pitch.

I read a fascinating piece on presentation Zen comparing the presentation techniques of Gates and Jobs.
Although Bill gets a bit of a bashing in the article, it is not really comparing apples with apples (so to speak). Steve's presentation does look streets ahead of Bill's but it is always easier to make "Big picture" presentations more interesting. Having said that, Bill does need to hire a decent graphic designer. Perhaps it is all about relevance to the audience being addressed? Whatever the excuse, there is no need to use clip art!

I you are ever in Lisbon make sure you go to the Alcantara Cafe, Rua Maria Luisa Holstein 17. It is tucked down an uninviting side street but once you are inside the food is great and the reclaimed warehouse space makes for an interesting evening, there is even a large pool table and nightclub next door. Make sure you check out the gents for some very interesting urinals.

Only in the Philippines would you see such amazing entrepreneurism combined with high service levels. PSKF blogged about black marketeers in the Philippines who take your order in the lift on your way to work and deliver your goods to your office in the afternoon. Whether it is dvd's of some electrical goods they can get their hands on them for you.
What a fantastic business model unknowingly copied from professional services organisations. No business premises costs, go and do meetings in the client's offices. Keep stock levels low, purchase on demand. Deliver a personal tailored service with reliable delivery. What a great leveraged business model.

An estimated 236,000 Chinese became ($) millionaires by the end of 2004, while in India, 61,000 now individuals have assets exceeding USD 1 million. Anybody who thought that these emerging markets were all about selling volume to massive markets was right. We should also remember that there is a massive high net worth individual class as well as a booming middle class to sell premium products and services to. I do not have the figures for Brazil and Russia but I am sure they would mirror these. figures from Cap Gemini

What great word of mouth marketing by Yale. Last year they earned $ 3b from their investments, but they still have a campaign to raise donations of $3,000 from alumni. It does not make any sense on the face of it for such a rich institution to be collecting such small amounts until you look a little closer. Ben Franklin said "he that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than whom you yourself have obliged". Yale is using this small donation, by their income standards, to bring Alumni closer to the Yale brand. Once they have made a donation they will feel more compelled to support the school in more important ways such as by recommending it to potential students. They have created their own very successful word of mouth campaign in the most unusual way.