Shopping history never moves in one single direction or all at once. There have always been regional and chronological divergences from mainstream developments.There are also retailing modes that fall by the wayside and then return at a later date in new guises or with new names. They often have every appearance of being newly invented.

The History Of Shopping: A Recurring Cycle

<ul><li>Self-service was the shopping revolution of the 20th century.</li><li>Promoted as a modern, efficient way to shop, self-service entailed both a different type of store layout and new norms of customer and shop-worker behaviour.</li><li>There was no need for counter service if customers were making their own selections.</li><li>All available goods were put out on display, within reach.</li><li>No need to ask someone to fetch them.</li><li>The abolition of counter service meant that their various skills, including their people skills, were made redundant.</li></ul>

The Self-Service Revolution

<ul><li>With self-service firmly established to assist supposedly "time-poor" consumers, the stage was set for internet shopping to promise an even more efficient way of doing things</li><li>You don't have to take yourself anywhere to get to the store, which never closes</li><li>Everything is always on the screen</li><li>There is still a trolley or basket, but not one that you have to push or carry</li><li>The shop assistant is wholly absent from the screen</li></ul>

Internet Shopping

<ul><li>People began to support and use independent local shops.</li><li>Home deliveries were organized by smaller shops, often working together in groups.</li><li>In the media, shop assistants were referred to as “frontline workers”.</li><li>The pandemic had demonstrated what shops were really for, and why we should not let them go.</li><li>Town centres had been dying a much-discussed death for years, as more and more shops were being closed down and stayed unused.</li><li>Some towns were taking action to resist the trend, battling back with collective imagination and sometimes with significant financial backing.</li></ul>

The Impact Of Lockdown And Going To The Town Center

<ul><li>Until the middle of the 20th century, most shops offered home delivery as a matter of course.</li><li>With self-service came the end of most home delivery services.</li><li>The new delivery services offered by smaller, independent stores that started up during lockdown represented a return to local arrangements that were standard before the arrival of Self-Service.</li><li>New technology has actively contributed to the revival of an older form of shopping.</li></ul>

A Return to Home Delivery

From pop-ups to fast fashion to same-day delivery, every retail innovation is reminiscent of one that came before.


Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

The fascinating history of shopping and its influence on how we buy stuff today

If we look at the recent developments in AI, it can seem as though the developers and creators of AI applications have lost control of its powerful potential.But these reports lose sight of the more effective and well-governed developments that are supporting and optimizing real work and the interchanges happening every day between humans and AI. When AI is approached comprehensively for how it can optimize an entire system-- including the humans within that system-- it has a higher chance of delivering meaningful impact.

AI And Customer Experience: The Premise

Customer care was one of the top use cases for AI.60 percent of executive respondents believe AI will play a role in 11 percent to 30 percent of their processes-- a considerable but not necessarily dominant influence on how most businesses operate. The overall acceleration of digital adoption has likely changed these metrics post-pandemic and the need to implement digital and AI solutions is now imperative to be competitive.

The Facts

One of the fastest areas of adoption for AI in the enterprise is chatbot applications.What customers really want is instant access to someone (or something) that understands what they need. Self-service customer engagement is trending towards delivering that-- but companies need to work with a partner that can deliver at scale.

ChatBots: The First Experience With AI

Employees need systems that support a balance between complex tasks and easy-to-execute deliverables that satisfy a sense of accomplishment and completion of work at the end of a workday.The design and implementation of AI must consider empathy and how it augments and supports the self-reported, lagging skill set for listening and understanding.

Supporting a Growing AI-Native Workforce

The customer engagement employee is an AI worker, their knowledge and contributions are essential to AI implementation. You cannot separate the two.The next generation will have moved beyond being 'digital natives' they will be 'AI natives.'Contact centre employees are at the cutting edge of an AI-literate workforce in our society and we have the opportunity now to provide the technology that will support their work and better serve customers.Companies need to expand the aperture in how success is measured against the human-side of the AI equation.

The Bottom Line

The need to implement digital and AI solutions is now imperative to be competitive.

Discover the world of business and economics.

economics

Economics

business

Business

artificialintelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence Is Not a Strategy. It Is a Customer Experience Accelerator

Getting a startup noticed is hard, as Dave Gerhardt, a marketing specialist who worked at various tech companies, noticed. Nobody wants to hear from yet another company, but the founder could act as the spoke-person, bringing:Trust : People want to buy from people, not faceless companiesExpertise & Content: We all wanna hear from the expertsAuthentic Leadership: The founder should be authentic & interesting individuals.

Founder Led Marketing

If you are the founder of a tech startup stop thinking of yourself as the CEO.
Become the CSO, Chief Storytelling Officer.

The first step is framing the founder’s story. The founder is the leader of this movement, but the story must tie back to the company. Dave recommends answering these stories: <ol><li>What is the founder’s (company's) backstory? </li><li>What’s the problem your business exists to solve?</li><li> Who’s the villain your customers are facing? </li><li>What’s the solution that you offer? </li><li>What are the benefits of using your product? </li><li>What’s life like before and after using your product?</li></ol>

The Founder's Story Kernel

Dave proposes a 3 stop process to market a company through its founder:<ol><li>Craft a simple authentic & compelling story</li><li>Publish consistently using social media & podcasting</li><li>Creating a feedback loop with other thought leaders</li></ol>The founders are usually lacking the time, but startups who are movements need a leader. So:<ul><li>The founders need to make time</li><li>The marketing team can rally around the founder & do the heavy lifting: planning, editing, publishing, measurement. </li></ul>

3 Steps to begin Founder Led Marketing

A niche is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service. When you have a niche, it means that you have a clear focus on your intended, targeted customer for today. Not the vision of the product you are selling, the product you are selling right now. The niche works best when you create a villain. It gives you a conflict, and allows for conflict resolution. You want your brand’s product or service to be seen as the resolution to that struggle - a hero to save the day.ex: Drift's enemy were website forms.

Focus on a niche & an enemy

Elevator Pitches are too abstract. Try an explainer instead. The goal of the explainer is to get the attention of your potential audience. The format is like this: <ol><li>You know how __________________ (insert the problem or old way of doing things that you aim to change)? </li><li>Instead of __________________ (problem/old way), we have a __________________ (solution/new way). </li><li>We call it __________________ (name of the product or category). </li></ol>Ex: “You know when you go to a website u have to fill out forms to do anything? “Instead of making people jump through hoops, Drift is like having a 24/7 assistant..."

The Explainer

In the early days, nobody will be interested in telling your story for you. You, the founder, have to take the lead. You have to think of your company as a media company and become a publisher:<ol><li>Engage on Twitter & LinkedIN</li><li>Start a podcast.</li><li>Be on a constant press tour, by engaging with other thought leaders.</li></ol>Consistency is key: Stick to the niche. Stick to the schedule. You need to do it for at least 6mo before seeing any tangible results.

Become a Publisher

<ul><li>There are two ways to get followers: education & entertainment. Most will try too hard to be entertaining—not a good fit. Instead, focus on education. Any founder can educate. </li><li>Show consistent clarity of thought. </li><li>Compress ideas down. Present in a quick and readable way; remember that everyone is scanning, and you want them to read your material. </li><li>Be a contrarian. Be different. The feed is noisy. Strong opinions stand out. </li><li>Participate in conversations. Comment, ask questions etc</li></ul>

Tips for being a valuable though-leader as a founder

<ul><li>Nothing is more authentic than the voice (and face) of a person. </li><li>The podcast can be the foundation for short form content. One podcast can generate audio snippets, posts or slideshows.</li><li>Can help connect with influencers that will amplify your message</li><li>It can serve as a way to engage the early adopters of your product</li><li>The production of a podcast can be automated so that it scales in terms of production and distribution.</li></ul>

The Power of Podcasts

Dave was the CMO for Drift, where he struggled getting attention. He turned to the founder to break through the noise ... 

You're part of an elite group of builders, creators, and innovators who have accomplished something few can claim: you've founded a company. Now the challenge of standing out in the crowd begins-and how you differentiate yourself counts. Building a brand and growing a business can be expensive and time-consuming. But you have a key advantage and secret strategy, one that will set you apart no matter your industry, product, or company size. You have a story, and it's one of your most valuable assets. In Founder Brand, marketing expert Dave Gerhardt reveals how to build your brand by positioning yourself as the story, heart, and soul of your business. This is a tactical guidebook that first shows you how to tell your story, then how to put your story to use as a marketing strategy. You'll learn how social media provides a bridge between you and your customers, the platforms that are appropriate for your business, and how to measure results to truly determine value. This book is the ultimate resource for founders, CEOs, and marketing teams trying to find their company's niche, strategize for the future, and create brand awareness that establishes the credibility and trust your products deserve.

startup

Startups

books

Books

podcasts

Podcasts

You're part of an elite group of builders, creators, and innovators who have accomplished something few can claim: you've founded a company. Now the challenge of standing out in the crowd begins-and how you differentiate yourself counts. Building a brand and growing a business can be expensive and time-consuming. But you have a key advantage and secret strategy, one that will set you apart no matter your industry, product, or company size. You have a story, and it's one of your most valuable assets. In Founder Brand, marketing expert Dave Gerhardt reveals how to build your brand by positioning yourself as the story, heart, and soul of your business. This is a tactical guidebook that first shows you how to tell your story, then how to put your story to use as a marketing strategy. You'll learn how social media provides a bridge between you and your customers, the platforms that are appropriate for your business, and how to measure results to truly determine value. This book is the ultimate resource for founders, CEOs, and marketing teams trying to find their company's niche, strategize for the future, and create brand awareness that establishes the credibility and trust your products deserve.

Dave Gerhardt

Founder Brand

In the early days of modern content marketing (2008/2009), the content approach to marketing found fertile soil. The old content marketing was found in loyalty magazines, employee engagement magazines, and content on how to use innovative products, such as Jell-O's recipe book. In the early 2000s, content marketing became a continued strategic business function. The trigger was the expansion of Web 1.0 technology - web search.

Content marketing history

Early concepts of the metaverse date back to the early 2000s. The marketing hype around virtual currencies goes back to 1999 with Beenz and Flooz. <ul><li>Beenz positioned itself as "the web's currency". The site paid people in Beenz for viewing ads or signing up for a service.</li><li>Flooz, a virtual currency startup, used its internet currency as a loyalty program to internet merchants.</li></ul> Web 3.0 concepts in the early 2020s are like content marketing concepts in the early 2000s. These concepts aren't new, but they may transform into solid business strategies.

Web 3.0 isn’t new - it's just time

Web 3.0 technologies will impact the way consumers experience, consume, transact, and behave. But it is very early days. Web 3.0's first iterations are about how people gain and share content, join virtual communities and create customer experiences. In marketing, we may see the introduction of immersive participation and intelligent peer-to-peer transactions with a shift in allowing consumers to control their personal data. This means content-driven marketing experiences might evolve to where consumers control the connection. Retaining the relationship would require delivering great value.

Web 3.0 opportunities for content marketers

Blockchain technology enables these new decentralized capabilities for new customer experiences and supports direct peer-to-peer transactions without a centralized service provider. Decentralized content, marketing, and advertising will change the digital relationship between customers and businesses. This is called tokenized customer experience or tokenized CX.

How blockchain fits into content marketing

Marketers may soon be able to issue "tokens" (or smart contracts) powered by blockchain technology to enable more automated, secure, and trusted customer experiences. These tokens can enable any transaction involving digital artefacts (including ads, downloadable assets, subscriptions, or access to communities) and empower consumers to help shape their experience. They also enable marketers to develop more creative content and marketing experiences, meaning the scope is largely a content marketing approach.

Tokenized CX is just content marketing evolved

The early days of Web 1.0 were all about FINDING pages, blog posts, and downloads of documents, meaning marketers needed to focus on publishing content.  Web 2.0 pushed marketers to create responsive (and contextual) approaches so that customers could EXPERIENCE something better. But along the way, the focus shifted from creating findable content to finding intent signals that marketers used. As data becomes more precious, things will change again. If it continues to develop as expected, the promise of marketing in Web3.0 is to help customers CREATE something better.

Tomorrow’s content marketing and Web 3.0

Web3 and content marketing as a business strategy.

What you need to know about the impact of Web 3.0 concepts like NFTs, blockchain, and metaverse on the future of content marketing – Content Marketing Institute

crypto

Cryptocurrency

How Content Marketing Fits Into Web 3.0 (You Might Be Surprised)

The video essay’s reintroduction is one of the side effects of the pandemic. People became dissatisfied with the brain-numbing monotony of "day in the life" vlogs, test kitchen videos and makeup tutorials and instead wanted entertaining, but informational and analytical content.

Hour-long YouTube videos shows our desire for more nuanced content

Video essays have been around for over a decade on YouTube. Many Gen Zers were raised on video essays, academically and intellectually. Today, there are video essays devoted to virtually any topic you can think of, ranging from about 10 minutes to an hour. The video essay has been a means to entertain fan theories, explore the lore of a video game, explain or critique a social media trend, or expound upon an argument, hypothesis, or curiosity proposed by the creator.

The rise of the video essay

While TikTok's sudden rise has proven the need for bite-size content, the popularity of video essays from new and old creators suggests that long-form videos are still needed. One may argue that the video essay is in its golden era. Viewers are willing to indulge in user-generated content that is as long as multi-million dollar cinematic production by a major Hollywood studio, which was improbable a few years ago. People want to devote time to content they find interesting.

The video essay is in its golden era

Some video essayists have experimented with shorter content as a topic testing ground for longer videos or can expose people to topics or types of content they are unfamiliar with. The growth of shorts gave rise to hybrid creators who alternate between short and long-form content. People have a desire to understand things more deeply. So when people get tired of short takes, they want something more nuanced and in-depth.

Shorts are like a sampling of what you can get with long-form content

Social media discourse are simmering down. These days, creators are approaching controversy from a removed secondhand standpoint. Whether the video is a mini-explainer or a 40-minute hypothesis, it requires the creator to do their research. This often leads to summaries of alternative opinions or perspectives, which is very different from the more self-centered "reaction videos" and "story time" clickbait side of YouTube. This means there is a positive shift if social media discourse that encourages us to engage with ideas in good faith that we might not otherwise entertain or think.

Social media discourse is becoming less reactionary

Long video essays on YouTube are popular. TikTok hasn’t entirely shortened our attention spans.

creativity

Creativity

videos

Videos

The video essay boom

"Goblin mode” is spending the day in bed while scrolling endlessly through social media, pouring chips in your mouth, downing Eggo toaster oven waffles with hot sauce over the sink because you don't care to put them on a plate. Leaving the house in your pyjamas and socks to get a Diet Coke from the bodega. Goblin mode is not an identity, but a frame of mind that can be switched on and off. It's about a lack of aesthetic.

The era of goblin mode

Goblin mode is the opposite of trying to improve yourself. On TikTok, #GoblinMode is fixed to everything from "smoking weed alone and getting scared", to "not taking your meds". The trend is a departure from the hyper-curated "cottagecore" influence of early pandemic days -  a 2020 trend that included pastel colours and showcasing wholesome homemaking skills such as baking and embroidery. But as the pandemic wears on endlessly, people are tired of such goals and is feeling kind of wild.

Reason for the goblin mode

On TikTok, this hashtag has 366,000 views and features videos of users proclaiming to be the opposite of "that girl" - a highly curated aesthetic. The "that girl" trend sets an unrealistic standard for girls to think that if they aren't waking up early to exercise, their lives are not put together.

#goblinmode hashtag

Goblin mode embodies a certain air of harmless mischief. The power of goblin mode is that it takes over. You act crazy and enter a very mythological space where you want to make trouble after years of pandemic induced disappointment.

Healthy goblin mode and destructive goblin mode

The term embraces the comforts of depravity and a direct departure from the ‘cottagecore’ influence of early pandemic days

remotework

Remote Work

mindfulness

Mindfulness

Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many people going ‘goblin mode’?

Over 50 million people worldwide refer to themselves as content creators, a term used to describe everything from YouTubers to podcasters to writers to artists to people who sell courses online. According to people paying attention, content creation is the future of work, regardless of your industry. Everyone will have to adopt some of the skill sets and behaviours of creators to succeed.

Content creation

Creators are less judged on their talent and more on how good they are at being themselves. They really are a one-person media empire in whatever medium they choose. The creator economy is different from the gig economy. Both promises that you can be your own boss, but one agrees to participate in a particular place in an existing system, while the other adds something to an existing ecosystem that is new. (Consider YouTube or Instagram or TikTok creators who rip content found elsewhere.)

The creator economy

There are creators that try to educate the public on important topics. Then there are creators who promote hatred, racism, or bigotry, but all are creators. The vagueness of the word "creator" allows numerous startups to blossom. Yet, creators are underserved by the traditional industry. They're not getting paid regularly by the same employer, so they are considered riskier.

"Creator" is so utilitarian that the word is almost meaningless

The creator economy is much more volatile than Uber and gig companies. You have to adapt to platforms and adapt your public persona to continue to resonate, which is an almost impossible task. Yet, many creators make a good living by themselves on the internet. There could be a sense of FOMO around content creation because of how easy it is to do and how difficult it is to make money from.

Creators suffer from burnout and isolation

When did everybody start calling themselves content creators?

career

Career

I’m a creator. You’re a creator. We’re all creators!

<ul><li>Ask questions!</li><li>"Tell me more about that," or "Open-ended questions" may lead to more insight about the other person.</li><li>Discuss common goals to remind your counterpart that you share some of the same desired outcomes (e.g., common goals for the company).</li></ul>

Get curious

<ul><li>The best way to break the ice and begin a more earnest negotiation is to call out the unspoken fear</li><li>Humor is often a valuable tool</li><li>Being able to laugh-especially at yourself-can make a tough negotiation better</li></ul>

Call it out-or joke about it

<ul><li>Be aware of the silence in the conversation and use it to your advantage</li><li>When there are pauses in the discussion, don't rush to fill them up with words</li><li>Let the silence linger</li><li>You may be surprised at what your counterpart blurts out</li></ul>

Don’t be afraid of silence

<ul><li>Refocus the negotiation on the matters at hand by defining one or two key points at the start of the negotiation.</li><li>This narrows the scope of the conversation so there is less opportunity for the discussion to veer off-topic and get heated.</li></ul>

Fight fire with water

<ul><li>You'll have a stronger negotiating stance if you are willing to walk away from the situation</li><li>If you don't have a walk-away point, you've given up one of your negotiating options</li><li>Insurance against being treated unfairly or having to strike a deal with a jerk</li></ul>

Know Your “Walk Away” Point

The next time you are across the table from someone who's not acting in good faith, there are some ways to shift the situation in ways that may defuse tension, align goals, and give you more of an advantage.

Sometimes, you may find yourself across the table from someone negotiating in bad faith. Here are some tactics that can shift the game in your favor. 


communication

Communication

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

5 tactics that can help you negotiate with jerks

The red carpet event preceding the awards show is always a visual spectacle. Celebrities mill about in their best designer clothes and their outfits are splashed across televisions, magazines, and social media.In marketing, you also have to play up the visuals, because the stats don’t lie: 91% of people prefer visual content over written content. Things like videos, infographics and social media images can help engage the audience and boost brand awareness.

Visuals, visuals, visuals

<ul><li>It's not just about the logo or advertising campaigns. It's the way your brand presents itself to the market and interacts with your audience.</li><li>Be mindful of all aspects of your business from a branding perspective including product design, employee relations, and customer support.</li></ul>

Branding Is Everything

If you’ve seen the infamous 2017 "Best Picture" mix-up between La La Land and Moonlight, then, like me, you’ve probably tried to erase that cringe-worthy moment from your memory.<ul><li>Any data you provide must be accurate for your company to have any credibility</li><li>When your brand generates high quality, reliable data, the benefits include better decision making, improved productivity, lower costs, and higher sales</li><li>Always double-check your work, and be hypervigilant concerning data</li></ul>

Accuracy Is Important

Ellen DeGeneres went into the crowd and brought together some of the night's biggest stars including Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, and more - to squeeze in for a selfieAfter posting the photo on Twitter, it received over 3 million retweets and was used as an advertisement for SamsungThis shows the sheer strength of social media when something goes viral

Social Media Is Powerful

<ul><li>The goal is to find out what appeals to your customers, then to capture their interests through narrative marketing campaigns</li><li>It's about going outside of your product or service and focusing on your company values</li><li>For example, Patagonia established a narrative as a company that "aims to use [their] resources" to save the world from extinction"</li></ul>

It's All About Narrative Marketing

Behind the heavy crystal curtains, the bevy of celebrities, and the swelling orchestra, there's a lot that a marketer can take away from the Oscars.

The glitz! The glam! And the...marketing lessons? That’s right — behind the crystal curtains, there’s a lot that a marketer can take away from the Oscars.

The Oscars: The Glitz, Glam, and the Marketing Lessons | AdRoll

What is content writing?Content writing is writing readable content for publishing, marketing, or distributing anywhere. I don’t confine it to the online world only. Content is content, dude! It doesn’t have to be ‘online’ to be ‘content,’ you know.

Content Doesn't Have To Be Online To Be 'Content'

What is content writing? Is it worth it? And what are the future, scope, and importance of content writing? This post will answer all of your questions.

writing

Reading & Writing

What Is Content Writing? What You Need To Know (2022) | Abdol Rauf

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