Very Good Read: Drake Morton

Everything I Need to Know

About Business I Learned From Google

by Aaron Goldman , Wednesday, October 21, 2009

And the beat goes on. What started off as 10 simple marketing lessons learned from Google blossomed into 15 and then 20 before seeding a full-fledged book (in-progress). From there, I dove into lessons from Google about product development. Today, I’d like to bring it up a level to what Google can teach us about general business practices. For my next topic, I think I’ll lighten the mood with we can learn from Google about dating — so start tweeting your suggestions now!

1.     Innovate or die. Google fosters a culture of innovation by allowing employees to spend 20% of their time working on non-core projects. And, for core projects, it puts a relentless focus on continuous improvement. Heck, in the past year alone, Google made 359 changes to its Web search product. I guess when it’s as easy as a click to switch from Google’s bread-and-butter product to a competitor, it had better keep innovating. Netflix is a great example of a company devoted to innovation. It runs a contest awarding $1 million to anyone that can improve its recommendation algorithm by 10%.

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Microsoft Earnings Down As It

Prepares Major Product Updates

by Gavin O’Malley

Marking Microsoft’s only second consecutive down quarter ever, the software giant on Thursday reported $13.10 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter — a decline of 17% from $15.83 billion.

The poor earnings come at a critical time for Microsoft as it prepares to roll out updates to nearly every one of its major products in fiscal year 2010. The Redmond-based company shocked the industry last quarter when it reported a 6% year-over-year revenue decrease, from $14.45 billion down to $13.65 billion — its first-ever year-over-year revenue decline. (more…)

 You Need to Understand This: Drake Morton

How Buying Decisions Are Made

We absorb information through our sensory perceptions and process this information unconsciously, automatically, habitually. How these perceptions are processed by our conscious mind determines the decisions it will make. So, even though our conscious mind is actively absorbing all manner and forms of impressions, it is totally unaware of most of them. It can literally do it in its sleep. In fact, it can’t stop doing it! (more…)

Interesting Spending Information: Drake Morton

Change Noted In Consumer Spending Expectations

According to the latest ChangeWave survey of U.S. consumers, conducted January 5-9, editors Paul Carton and Jean Crumrine suggest that this latest survey shows some intriguing signs that consumer spending may finally be stabilizing after a prolonged slowdown. While overall spending still looks terrible, they say, the 90-day outlook is not quite as horrible as it was in the December 2008 survey. Fifty-seven percent of U.S. respondents said they’ll spend less during the next 90 days than they did a year ago — but that’s three points better than in the December survey. Another 13% said they’ll spend more — two points better than previously. (more…)

Things you need to know: Drake Morton

Very much on point: Drake Morton

Depression-Era Digital

by Josh Chasin , Wednesday, November 26, 2008

THE ECONOMIC NEWS, YOU DON’T need me to tell you, is not good. The Dow has lost 26% of its value in the last three months (and that’s after this week’s rally.) Retail sales are dropping, home values are falling, jobs disappearing.
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From my perspective these are Great Numbers:Drake Morton

10/20 Snapshot of Media Plans & Budgets For 2009

At the “Masters of Marketing” Conference by the Association of National Advertisers recently, 1,200 client-side marketers, media and creative agencies and others, were polled via handheld devices about their marketing mix, budgets, plans, and tactics throughout the event. The results are shown here: (more…)

P&G Web Move is Challenge to Retailers

By Jonathan Birchall in New York

Published: October 19 2008

Procter & Gamble is testing its ability to use the internet to sell its toothpaste, household cleaners and nappies directly to US households, in a potential long-term strategic challenge to its retail partners.

The company is supporting a website, theEssentials.com, that is exclusively selling its brands, with items such as single tubes of Crest toothpaste and bottles of Mr Clean cleaning fluid, to boxes of its Pampers and Luvs brand nappies and Gillette razors. (more…)

For Immediate Release

Drake Morton
DRAKE MORTON & ASSOC INC
(310) 734-6239
(818) 991-2538
drake@drakemorton.com
http://www.drakemorton.com

Tough Times Call For Immediate Actions

Westlake Village, CA - August, 27 2008 - Number One Rule for Business Owners, “Communicating with your customers should be at the top of your To Do List.” “In order to compete in today’s marketplace, it’s absolutely essential that businesses know their customers.” You must be Smarter, Faster and Sharper then your competitors.
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Great Read, Great Marketing Opportunity: Drake Morton

Leveraging Social Media

To Create Social Commerce

By Cory TreffilettiWednesday, May 21, 2008
If you recall, way back in November of last year, I laid out my predictions for 2008. Among those predictions, of which I have to say I’m not doing too well, there was one for the “killer app” in social media — and I want to revisit that topic because I’m still flabbergasted that no one has come up with it yet!
The beauty of social media lies in the aggregation of the everyday consumer. Most of social media is currently being used as a networking or a (as the name implies) social interaction tool.    I use it for keeping in touch with old friends and my extended business network, but the opportunity lies in going far beyond social interaction. How come no one has cracked the code or determined the application of social interactions for creating commerce?
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