Customer Lifetime Value: definition, calculation, and an example
The Customer Lifetime Value (or CLV) is one of the best indicators to determine the value of a customer. It is very interesting to find the most profitable elements of its customer base. Nevertheless, the definitions of the concept differ according to the sources. However, our definition includes the most relevant scientific sources on the subject. In this article, we will also detail the calculation of the CLTV (click here to...
Market research in Belgium: the 10 best data sources
Last week we delivered our Top 10 in France. This week, find the 10 data sources to consult for your market research in Belgium. These sources will be useful to you, whether you are a newcomer to the market, a young entrepreneur or you want to expand your field of activity. A checklist is also provided at the end of this article. Summary Official national statistics Companies financial data Consumer protection Customs and border...
Boco Brussels: the reasons behind the failure
Boco Brussels is over. The franchise was held by Star Food Company, who initiated legal reorganisation proceedings before the Brussels Commercial Court. This is the end of the Boco adventure in Belgium, a concept we have been following since its very beginnings. We had also met a long time ago with its co-founder Simon Ferniot (brother of the chef and TV presenter of the same name, also co-founder) to talk to us about a concept that,...
How to use market research to get prepared for export
While market research is obviously essential before the creation of a company, it is not the only time when the different techniques that make it up can be applied. Entering a foreign market (for example, an export market) is another case where market research is crucial. Not only is this a new market for you and your company, but it is likely that this export adventure will be further complicated by the lack of knowledge about the...
The secrets of conducting market research or how to ensure the success of your (future) business: Part 1
This article on market research is brought to you by the market research agency IntoTheMinds. It is the first of a series of 3 devoted to conducting market research (you will find the 2nd article here, and the 3rd here). We also remind you that in 2018 we wrote a comprehensive guide to conducting market research. You will learn, step by step, how to progress in understanding your market. This guide will give you the essential keys...
The secrets of conducting market research or how to ensure the success of your (future) business: Part 3
How to do market research? You will find the answers in this article, offered to you by the market research agency IntoTheMinds. Find here episode 1 and here episode 2. We completed this series of articles in 2018 with the creation of an online market research guide that you can access free of charge on our website. For any question, request or quote for market research in Belgium, France or elsewhere, do not hesitate to contact us....
Market research: changes for consultancy subsidies in Brussels
The rules concerning the consultancy subsidies (which apply to market research projects) have just changed substantially for the Brussels region (see here the official website in French or in Dutch). On 31 January 2019, a new regional decree was passed which, although it does not really modify the conditions of attribution, dramatically affects the amount of the subsidies to the consultancy up to then granted. Three significant...
This Delhaize supermarket has been turned into an Urban Art temple
What can be done with an abandoned supermarket? A temple of urban art? In any case, this is what Alexandra Lambert and Fred Atax of the Strokar association, who initiated the artistic project around a former supermarket in Brussels, asked each other. And the very least we can say is that this has been a success. Follow us today on a tour of this unique project and read this article right to the end to find out the latest on the legal...
New in 2018: step-by-step market research guide for all
Happy new year everybody ! What an amazing year 2017 has been for us. We feel blessed to have carried out so many market research and Big Data projects last year : banking, retail, media, FMCG, luxury, IT, indusrail goods, … you name it. We have done dozens of projects in many different industries. We have welcomed one more consultant in the team who has proved to be very talented from the very beginning. We are so proud to have...
How I got in the TOP10 of Linkedin’s most viewed profiles
8 weeks ago I started an experiment. I wanted to jump into the TOP10 most viewed profiles of my Linkedin network. I succeeded. Read further if you want to find out how I achieved jumping from the 100th place to the 10th and what it brought me. Short intro : what does my Linkedin network look like My Linkedin network is made of approximately 1980 connections. I removed very few of them along the years, basically only people who really...
Competition forces traditional taxis to change : finally !
The traditional press is full of articles regarding the legal procedures against Uber in Europe. In this judiciary fight, traditional taxis and VTC (Vehicule de Tourisme avec Chauffeur) have joined forces to fight Uber’s aggressive strategy to enter the market despite legal requirements (for more information read our previous article on this topic). Brussels minister for mobility was proud to announce that he had seized vehicles...
Delta Lloyd : qualitative methods used to reveal business opportunity
After the remarkable marketing campaign “The billable Talk” launched by Delta Lloyd to help independent workers get insured for revenue losses, we come back today with Karlien Kelgtermans, Marketing Communication Project Leader at Delta Lloyd Life, on the development of this project and its first results. IntoTheMinds: There are more than 1m independent workers in Belgium. Yet, only half of them are insured against revenue...
Essential business tools for startups : 99€ training in Brussels on 29 November
Would-be entrepreneurs will be delighted : a 1-day training session will be organized on November 29th 2014 in Brussels to teach, refresh, train essential skills to successfully start or develop your venture. If you want to register, just follow this link and fill in the online form. Practical details on the workshops Price : 99€ early bid (if you register before November 15), 199€ otherwise Price includes lunch and coffee Venue :...
What are the main reasons to create a company?
After the post we published 2 weeks ago on why companies fail, another interesting piece of statistics published by the French National Institute for Statistics (INSEE) regards the motivations of people to start their company and how these motivations have evolved since 2006. You’ll find the complete table below (we did the translations ourselves given that those interesting statistics are unfortunately only available in French)....
Future idea ? Coaching videos on market research
Let me reveal you a private part of my life : on Sunday evening I usually iron my shirts while watching videos in streaming. I usually watch French broadcasts like Envoye Special (on France 2) or Capital (on M6). I chose the first one to accompany my ironing session last Sunday and watch the video below. The first part of it is dedicated to a French entrepreneur who became of professional real-estate investor. However he didn’t chose...
Marketing strategy : Hello Bank launches a pop-up store in Brussels
Pop-up stores belongs to the marketing toolbox as a promotion instrument. Fact is that they have been usually used by brands in the fashion sector to promote a collection, raise awareness in conjunction with another event (for instance the Fashion week), or to touch customers in some particular areas. Pop-up stores are much less used by players from other sectors and that’s why the initiative of Hello Bank (a brand of BNP Paribas) is...
BMW associated to Kuka in a marketing operation
BMW launched a marketing operation with industrial robot manufacturer Kuka in its Brussels flagship store (located Boulevard de Waterloo 23-24). A giant transparent glass cube, ca. 3 m wide, has been installed at the entrance of the store to operate demonstration of the robot capabilities. A Bavarian co-branding initiative It seems that co-branding initiatives are popular currently. We just reported on the Dandoy / Delvaux initiative...
SIAL : the best place to conduct market research on food & drink trends
The worldwide largest food & drink fair will open next month (from Oct 19 until Oct 23rd). Some 6300 exhibitors from 103 countries (!) will attend the show and present what is thought to be the largest products range available on earth. The fair is held every 2 years and we have the pleasure to have be press-accredited for 4 years. Why is it important for us to visit the SIAL We visit the SIAL for several reasons. The first one is...
New pop-up stores project : weekly update #2
As we announced last week we are finalizing an online initiative to store and maintain accurate and up-to-date information about the best pop-up stores worldwide. This initiative is a kind of POC (Proof Of Concept) to test our ideas to build a larger website on all new ideas, innovations and creative development in the retail world. We chose the retail world on purpose because it’s moving fast and represent approximately 50% of the...
Selling consulting services : how to cope with intangibility
All our clients in the last 10 years have something in common : a difficult relationship with intangibility. Customers buying a market research, unless they understand what the difficulties of a doing qualitative and quantitative research are, usually hardly understand what they are paying for. Value = tangible ? The problem with marketing consulting and with consulting in general, is that the deliverables are usually slides. In other...
Delvaux and Dandoy associated in a co-branding initiative
Let’s finish the week with a brilliant idea of co-branding launched by our beloved brand Dandoy in partnership with Delvaux. For those who don’t live in Belgium Dandoy is a century-old company manufacturing high-quality biscuits, and Delvaux a renown leather goods manufacturer. Both companies are based in Brussels and members of the association Brussels Exclusive Labels. More than a century of tradition Quite incredibly in today’s...
Differentiation: A bookstore paints a dictionary’s page on its facade
Getting future customers’ attention is difficult. Consumers are subject to thousands of auditory, visual and olfactory cues every day. Retailers must be very creative to differentiate themselves. A book store in Brussels has found an interesting way to be different, yet still coherent with its positioning. Exterior and interior identities aligned with the store’s marketing strategy The Ptyx bookstore collaborated with Edena and...
Uber banned: Brussels taxis remain up to 122% more expensive.
On the website of the European Commission Neelie Kroes attacked publicly minister Brigitte Grouwels for the “crazy court decision to ban Uber in Brussels” (read more about Djump and UberPop business models in our article published a few days ago) Consumers will keep paying high fares. But are prices of Brussels taxis really outrageously expensive ? The answer is in the article. Let’s start with Kroes’ words on...
Successful market research and yet another store opened in Brussels
After last week’s announcement that a new store was opened in Brussels after a successful market research, we are also proud to report (with some delay however) that yet another store (this time in the HORECA sector) was opened by one of our clients near the European Commission in Brussels. Ethnik was opened by Steve Gravy on 5 Avenue d’Auderghem to serve customers’ needs for fresh, tasty and healthy food on the go. We coached Steve...
Market research : new retail store opened in Brussels thanks to IntoTheMinds
We are glad to announce that one of our customers eventually found the perfect spot for a new creative leisure store in Brussels. L’Atelier de Myna opened on 8 March 2014 at 144 rue Meyerbeer in Brussels (Uccle) in a 400 sqm space with a large parking lot. IntoTheMinds helped the two entrepreneurs conduct their market research, identify the key success factors and build a meaningful differentiation. Thanks to the results of the market...
Green business: become an entrepreneur with the BSE Academy
BSE Academy is a program that supports green entrepreneurship, funded by the Brussels Capital Region (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest) and the European Regional Development Fund (EFRO). During 6 months, 8 teams of 2-4 people with complementary profiles will be coached. These individuals are selected following this call for candidates. The aim is to provide support to each participant for the implementation of its business plan and...
The unique personnality of 3-stars chefs
At ESADE conference from March 25th-27th a very interesting research was presented on narratives from Top Chefs. The sample studied by Magdalena Marowska was made of narratives by the late Bernard Loiseau, Heston Blumenthal, … The discussion that followed revolved around the personality of the chefs. Pictured as entrepreneurs, chefs of this level (3-star Michelin) are a very special type of entrepreneur. Their emotional component is...
One Day One Idea: improve the customer experience with a touch of fun and humor
It may seem easier to engage online customers with slogans and humor. Yet we have found in Paris last winter a unusually good example of humor in the retail sector. The pictures below were taken at Cojean, a chain of quality fast-food stores in Paris. We found the catchy and funny slogan worth a post. Advice for your marketing strategy Customers will reward you if you make them laugh and have a “spiritual”...
“42” School: why Xavier Niel’s initiative may fail
Non-French people are likely not to know Xavier Niel. He is however a famous tech entrepreneur, a billionaire and the CEO of Free, the telecom company that has been shaking the grounds of telecom competition landscape for years. Xavier Niel declared a war to the three French telecom operators (SFR, Orange and Bouygues) in 2012 when he launched in January its own mobile phone offer starting as low as 2€/month. One year after starting...
50% of the firms created in 2006 have died: all the factors influencing firm’s survival
There is a lot of controversy around survival rate of startups. A survival rate of 25% after 7 years is often mentioned although there’s no evidence around it; other authors speak of a 90% survival rate. The discrepancy is so huge that real actual figures are very valuable. Such figures have been published last week by the French statistical institute INSEE (Link to the original source – in French only). In 2006 a total number of...
Thank You Merci
From time to time you meet inspiring people. I have the chance to meet many entrepreneurs coming from very different horizons and with various backgrounds. Although they are all special some of them show world-class expertise and skills. My encounter with Jean-Luc Colonna d’Istria will certainly remain as one of the most inspiring moments of 2013. The marketing director of Merci, the now world-famous concept store of Boulevard...
HOW TO : market research, product positioning and pricing
Market research is important and you know that this is what we specialize in. Yet market research is only the beginning. Out of the results of the market research you should be able to draft your strategy and determine (among others) your positioning strategy as well as your pricing. Those two aspects are usually complicated to master and differ greatly depending on the kind of market (B2B or B2C) you’re in. I was asked by the...
Find your audience: how to position your research work
As I explained in an earlier post, I was very disappointed to see my research work rejected at this year’s EMAC conference. Fortunately the very same research work was accepted and presented at the 5th International Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research. This conference, though more limited in size than the EMAC and its hundreds of participants, gave me a great boost of energy … and hope. I was finally able to...
One Day One Idea: an excellent example of a useful QR code
If you are a regular reader of this blog you may remember our previous post on getting QR codes right. Basically we were claiming that most companies were neglecting the consumer behavior when implementing QR codes, resulting in consumers’ pains not being solved. The customer wants to be helped in making a choice The baseline is that customers want to be helped in making a choice. And it must be quick. Any use of QR codes which...
50% of complaints answered without apology: bad for customer satisfaction !
This is the result of an analysis we conducted on a sample of 226 companies having answered to online customers’ complaints on the French forum www.lesarnaques.com. We presented these results and the proposal for a new conceptual model at the 5th International Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research which was held from March 25th until March 27th at the ESADE Business School of Barcelona, Spain. Among other...
One Day One Idea: challenge the norms
Why should certain things remain unchanged? Why do we like to say we can’t change things? After having spent so many years in consulting, working for big companies and for the smallest (and nevertheless sometimes the most interesting of all) companies, my judgment has slowly evolved from “why should cope with the forces on the market and get the best out of it” to “we can be the sparkle that initiates the chain reaction and a global...
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