The blog

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.

The GDPR clearly describes the rules on giving privacy information (articles 12, 13 and 14). So, you can either go look up those articles and skip the next paragraph, or read our summary (I have my fingers firmly crossed you will stay on this page).

THoMers Dennis, Inge, Laetitia, Pieter and Thomas attended Web Summit, the largest tech conference in the world, hosted in Lisbon, Portugal. Web Summit equals 22 conferences connecting different industries, from AutoTech and MoneyConf to SaaS Monster and Talk Robot. In the slidedeck below they share their insights, learnings and the things they found remarkable. Enjoy!

Those seeking answers to how cookies will be affected under the GDPR might struggle with the multitude of legislation around this concept. You have the GDPR, the ‘Wet Elektronische Communicatie / Loi Communications Electroniques, and soon there will be the EPR (E-Privacy Regulation to update the E-Privacy Directive of 2002). So, it is quite easy to get lost with all these regulations. And for those who thought that a clear answer can be given on how to deal with cookies, sorry to disappoint you… But let’s stay pragmatic and see how you can best approach this question.

One of the most impactful outcomes of the GDPR is the principle of ‘explicit consent’. Just google the word and you’ll find more than 12 million articles. And just so you know, googling GDPR gives you about 5 million results… So yes, there is much to say and read about ‘explicit consent’ under the GDPR.

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.”

If the word ‘Bitcoin’ doesn’t ring a bell, then you should probably up your financial and technological knowledge and Google the word urgently. However, there is a pretty good chance that you have heard or at least read something about this disruptive digital currency that is currently shaking up the global financial markets. And maybe you’ve even been one of the lucky early investors who have enjoyed stellar profits on the skyrocketing ride Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has taken since the beginning of 2017.

Anno 2017, almost all marketing gurus are shouting the same message: “Data should be one of your main drivers when determining your (future) business direction”. Unfortunately, it often just remains a good-looking quote and nothing more. Our Yearly Marketing Survey shows that currently only 25% of Belgian marketers personalise their marketing approach and a mere 11% have begun exploring the world of predictive analytics. For those who are currently looking for successful ways and tools to implement data in their strategy, the Netflix story may be a great source of inspiration.

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.