When you think of fast food restaurants, what is the first idea or image that comes to mind? McDonald’s has its Big Mac, Golden Arches and “billions and billions served.” Burger King has its memorable (if questionably effective) “King mask” TV ads. Subway has its long-time spokesman, Jared, who successfully slimmed down to a healthy…

According to recent news reports, BMW is going to be the next big automotive brand to introduce an electric car. The BMW electric vehicle will be known as the ActiveE, it will have 170 horsepower, go 100 miles per charge, and will be 100% electric, using no petroleum. This is a big step for BMW, which…

Twitter, the online service where people can post short, 140 character public messages (“tweets”) has been one of the biggest media darlings of recent years. But is Twitter’s growth going too far? The site claims to have 200 million users, but how many of them are actively using it as part of their daily lives?…

I am a strong believer in the notion that the ultimate goal of any research program is to drive business results. Customer satisfaction research is no different. I came across an interesting perspective on customer satisfaction research in Research Magazine and it got me thinking. I think, many a times, customer satisfaction is used as a company-wide…

For the past several years, young people have fallen out of the habit of wearing a wristwatch. After all, who needs a wristwatch when you have a cell phone? Most young, tech-savvy people prefer to simply use their smart phones as their time pieces, without strapping an additional item on to their wrist. But according…

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal (“The Return of the Class System”), several cruise lines have been making an effort to hold on to some of their biggest-spending customers and getting them to spend more – by revamping some aspects of a traditional cruise and offering a  more exclusive experience. Cruise lines…

The U.S. manufacturing industry has long been a poster child for recession, “offshoring,” job losses, and a changing way of life for the middle class. Manufacturing is one of the industries that has been hardest hit by the recent economic downturn as jobs move to countries like China that have lower labor costs. And yet,…

What message is your marketing really sending? Is your company’s advertising consistent with your brand, or are you misleading your customers? Companies often send out marketing messages that are less than truthful – at best, they are missing an opportunity to clarify what their brand really stands for. At worst, they are actively deceiving their…

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (“Wal-Mart Tries to Recapture Mr. Sam’s Winning Formula” – subscription required) highlights the struggles of Wal-Mart, America’s largest retailer, which recently announced its second annual decline in U.S. same-store sales. While Wal-Mart was widely expected to be one of the “winners” of the Great Recession, as customers became more…

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (“Hollywood: The Price is Wrong” ) highlights the growing difficulties that movie studios are facing in making a profit from home movie rentals.  DVD sales have long been one of Hollywood’s most profitable ways of selling movies – it costs less than a dollar to print a DVD,…