The blog

In the first article of the VoiceTech series: ‘Voice Technology: more than a buzzword?’ the basics of this new and exciting technology were discussed. In this second article, we go one step further and dive into the commercialization possibilities. Do consumers already buy goods or services via their Smart Speaker? And if so, how is their purchasing behavior? Should you choose to be present on Amazon’s or Google’s ecosystem? Or both?

Growth hacking is gaining more and more attention and not only in the startup world. Nowadays, even well-established business are looking for growth hackers - also called full-stack marketers. Growth hacking is far more than an uber fancy buzzword. It is a true philosophy that has the potential to shape a product or a service not only faster but more efficiently, unlocking growth by driving better results in less time.

When you think about social media marketing, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram probably pop in your mind immediately. But did you know that social networks have been surpassed by one-to-one messaging apps in terms of users for a while now, or that 77% of all European online referrals come from dark social? Dark social refers to social sharing that can’t be accurately tracked, e.g. people sharing links through one-to-one messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, or through SMS and email.

Getting closer to your customers? Companies like Amazon, that leaves one seat open during meetings because it is occupied by their most important stakeholder – the customer – , or Zappos who even created a ‘School of WOW Customer Service Training’, are living proof of the importance of customer centricity. Like Peter Drucker stated so well: “With respect to the definition of business purpose and business mission, there is only one such focus, one starting point. It is the customer (…) any serious attempt to state ‘what our business is’ must start with the customer’s realities, his situation, his behavior, his expectations, and his values.”

Once the month of September comes, the summery days of empty roads and jam-free commutes are gone. So, faced with the old daily commute, people tend to get creative. There’s the ones who go crazy with Waze and its proposed shortcuts, or the secret opera-singers; then there’s those who incessantly call and the ones who desperately try to get some work done, however possible. Still, no matter which way you cut it, countless minutes seem to vanish into thin air every day.

Traditional companies are looking for ways to cope with the disruptive change associated with the digital revolution. We believe strategic partnerships with selected newcomers provide the answer. To maximize chances for success, a well-thought partnership strategy must be developed and implemented.

On Monday August 29th, 17 excited THoMers arrived at a cosy farmhouse in Berendrecht with the sparkle in their eyes: the Immersion Camp of The House of Marketing was about to start!

In this Point of View I want to address three questions about the Belgian digital landscape in which all companies and citizens operate at the moment. I wonder why Belgium is still lagging behind in terms of digital maturity and e-commerce compared with other countries within the European Union? But don’t be afraid, there are government measures underway or being applied as I write. And finally I’ll try to see what can be done better because, let’s be honest, in Belgium as in France and The Netherlands, there is a slight tendency to criticise what our politicians do. It’s all part of the game.

Some weeks ago, when driving my car, I was listening to the radio. The newsreader was talking about a contest in The Netherlands called “The Golden Windegg”, a competition organized by the “Foodwatch” organization. As a company you particularly hope not to be nominated for this award, and if you are, you cross your fingers in the hope that you don’t win the prize for most misleading product of the year. The “lucky” winner of the Golden Windegg 2015 was Albert Heijn, for their cranberries. Although these cranberries are sold as so-called “superfoods”, they consist of 68% added syrup and contain only 30% real cranberries. Needless to say, this is a prize the store should not be proud of.

Snapchat is hot! The instant messaging app that allows you to send photos or videos (these are the ‘Snaps’ in Snapchat) that can only be seen by the receiver for a maximum of 10 seconds, has reached 6 billion daily video views worldwide. More importantly, Belgium is the country with the second highest usage of Snapchat amongst youngsters, with 46% of teens using the app. (Webindex, 2015)