Official Blog of GTM360 Marketing Solutions
Although I had my first taste of ecommerce as far back as 1998, over the years I’ve preferred to shop at brick-and-mortar stores – at least in India – because the offline channel shields me from the intrinsic delivery risk of the marketplace model and saves me the friction of transacting online with credit cards. … Read more
I’ve been asked several times about the difference between Data Mining and Predictive Analytics. Well, that’s not strictly true. I’ve been asked only once and that too in the following tweet from @IBMAnalytics visible to me among 15.7K of its followers: https://twitter.com/IBMAnalytics/status/459004965298528256 Replies ranged from the ubiquitous “depends” – will some people begin all their … Read more
All of us receive spammy offers from banks, consumer brands, ecommerce websites, retailers and many other businesses. If you’re like me, you probably delete these SMS / email messages without even opening them. Once in a while, we get a discount coupon on our birthday or wedding anniversary. They are more targeted but we still … Read more
I recently received an offer for INR 100 discount on my next trip on Meru Cabs, India’s leading cab dispatch company. To redeem this offer, I’d need to enter a certain code when I used the company’s mobile app to book my next ride. My first reaction to this offer was, “How the heck am … Read more
There’s no shortage of studies about the hidden costs of cash to merchants and others. Take this recent HBR report for example. On the face of it, they all make a solid case for society to turn cashless from tomorrow. However, when I’ve scratched the surface, I haven’t found a single one of these articles penned … Read more
The quick service restaurant chain FAASO’s recently launched MOBILE wrAPP, an ordering, payment cum loyalty app. Available on Android, iOS and Windows, the app lets users locate stores, browse the menu, place delivery or takeaway orders, and make online or cash on delivery payments. To incent repeat purchase, the company credits INR 400 (~US$ 6.67) … Read more
The leading British technology and Internet apps blog Make Use Of recently launched a loyalty-cum-rewards program where readers earn points for sharing its articles on social networks. In the past, I’ve come across rewards for filling forms, completing surveys and taking other actions but this is the first time I’m seeing a website rewarding social sharing … Read more
Every update to Google’s search algorithm – Penguin and Panda to name the latest two – is accompanied by major upheavals in the rankings of websites on the Google Search Engine Results Page. Take the case of Mahalo for example: After the Panda update, the human-powered search directory found itself shunted off from the #1 position … Read more
Fixing the misalignment between Sales and Marketing is a challenge that probably harkens back to the inception of business itself. The 4.3 million results you’ll find when you Google for “Sales Marketing Alignment” speak to the humungous amount of chatter on this subject. On the other hand, there were merely 20 searches for this keyword … Read more
In Will The Sad State Of Logistics Hurt eCommerce?, I highlighted how DHL, FedEx and other multinational courier companies are 8-10X costlier than the local ones, and are, therefore, affordable only for high-value consignments. I recently went through an experience which highlighted the risk of sending anything valuable via couriers. I placed my credit card … Read more