Monthly Archives: May 2011

Monitor Your Sales Calls? Yep, It’ll Save You Money

Posted on Tuesday, 31 May 2011 2:21 pm by markpilip

I just got a sales call from a very large information services company.  The inside salesperson wanted me to purchase some the data they had to offer and was asking if I was the right guy. I answered “sure” and … Continue reading →

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Fire 20%

Posted on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 8:19 am by markpilip

You need to fire 20% of: Customers Products Features Things you do every day each and every year. A lot of those things made sense last year or the year before.  And a lot of those customers may have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Product Development, Rants | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Payment Processors are the Ball Bearing Factories in the War on Spam

Posted on Monday, 23 May 2011 10:19 am by markpilip

Has the Schweinfurt of the spam industry been identified, in the form of three big credit card payment processing companies?  The New York Times published an interesting article today, which indicates that 95 percent of the credit card transactions for … Continue reading →

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Utica: City With a Warm Heart

Posted on Friday, 20 May 2011 5:03 am by markpilip

My favorite place in the world is my hometown of Utica, New York. Some people wonder why, as it’s seen as an old manufacturing town that’s past its prime.  It’s dying. It’s decaying. It’s got problems, don’t get me wrong, … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity, Travel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

LTV>CPA

Posted on Thursday, 19 May 2011 8:54 pm by markpilip

Fred Wilson recently wrote this great post on LTV>CPA.  It’s something us old-school direct marketers had ingrained in us from day one.  It’s something that’s not taught as much as it used to be.  It’s worth a read, particularly the … Continue reading →

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Big Data and the Rise of Asymmetrical Analytics

Posted on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 11:58 am by markpilip

The McKinsey Global Institute just issued their report Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity.  It’s worth the time to read and act on (not think about).  Now. The McKinsey analysis looks at five sectors in some detail–health … Continue reading →

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It’s Never About The Money–UAW Wages Aren’t Why U.S. Cars Suck

Posted on Tuesday, 10 May 2011 5:05 am by markpilip

Interesting article in The Truth About Cars on how Ford still has an $8/hour fully-loaded disadvantage to the transplant (Japanese and non-union) automobile manufacturers. The union wages and union rules are red herrings. Yes, they make for good talk and … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Leadership, Marketing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What Are You Quarterbacking Today? Or Are You Getting Things Done Instead?

Posted on Monday, 9 May 2011 5:00 am by markpilip

The hardest position to play in football is quarterback. You have to be an excellent athlete, of course, but also have the intelligence to learn complicated playbooks, manage the clock and show leadership to your team mates. To be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Organization | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Lazy Train (IAD)

Posted on Saturday, 7 May 2011 8:02 am by markpilip

Riding the new Aerotrain at Dulles airport right now and noticed an incredibly dumb communication oversight. Rather than have the announcements for the gates recorded in a nice human voice, the train builders elected to use a robot voice. It … Continue reading →

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Corporate Sports

Posted on Friday, 6 May 2011 5:50 am by markpilip

Go into any office, particularly early in the day once everybody has had a chance to get settled and have their coffee.  What do you hear? Keyboards clacking away, punctuated by the periodic click of the mouse as the send … Continue reading →

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