If history is to be trusted, in 1748, a middle-aged Benjamin Franklin scribed a maxim that today is seemingly as elemental as his discovery of electricity.  In his Advice to a Young Tradesman, Franklin wrote, “Remember that time is money.”    With the current economic climate, who can question this wisdom? Deliberating on Franklin’s advice, it is easy to distill his argument down to a simple matter of efficiency.  Indeed, “efficiency” has become an increasingly common buzz word in today’s global marketplace, instilled in our vernacular by black belts.  MORE >>

In a recent post I provided thoughts on how to bridge the actionable analytics gap assuming the analytic skills, tools and resource gaps are fulfilled and yet a large analytic divide still may exist in your organization.  In this post I would like to go back and address analytic skills, resources and tools.  I'm not going to provide suggested solutions, as all environments differ, but, I would like to provide key considerations as there are many analytic buzz words and hype in the marketplace, some of which are valid and some should be hampered. . A few key considerations to keep in mind-. MORE >>

Think of this analogy: vegetables don’t always taste great unless they are cooked. Furthermore, these vegetables won’t be loved unless they are cooked to reveal the right color and consistency thus making them appetizing. Likewise, for the best response to your marketing programs, interactions should be “cooked” according to your customers’ particular preference. It is a challenging task to understand your customers’ behavior and to forecast marketing performance appropriately based upon the potential outcomes of this behavior. Analysis plays a critical role in this process. MORE >>

We all know that there are several big name ecommerce vendors who have a stellar reputation for delivering on their promise of a great online customer experience. From the ability to browse, locate user reviews, compare pricing and quickly purchase products or services, these companies have the online experience down to a science. They have figured out how to provide offers to me based upon my preferences, get me to enroll in customer loyalty programs and educate me on their offerings. BUT, what happens when the technology fails? My advice to these organizations? Cheers, Renay MORE >>

Here are some ways to prepare: A current trend making its rounds through corporate finance departments is the adoption of 18 month rolling forecasts and movement away from the traditional 12 month budget cycle.  The theory behind this change is that a rolling forecast results in more frequent updating to projections which in turn results in a more adaptive organization.  Additionally, this encourages more iterative and strategic long term thinking and eliminates much of the effort required to prepare a budget that is often outdated at its completion. MORE >>