Dave Oventhal
When Poor Planning Meets Reality

In the March/April 2024 issue of Car & Driver magazine, Jamie Kitman points out the gains and pains within the current four-wheel EV landscape. Kitman’s Upfront article, Alternating Current provides the painful reality of “piss poor planning” (my words, not his) within the hallowed walls of auto OEs, again. As history seems to always repeat itself, once again the lack of reality has bit auto manufacturers in the ass. When global governments started mandating zero-emissions by 2035, the OEs’ jealousy of Tesla gained unprecedented momentum.

When Poor Planning Meets Reality

market research

Small Data

Small Data

As a long-time market researcher, both quantitative and qualitative, I am always on the hunt for good research books. Hoping to find new ways to perform my job, I love learning from other professionals. Global brand consultant Martin Lindstrom wrote an interesting book to help market researchers and brand managers better understand customers through qualitative research. Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends is a collection of Lindstrom’s travels and his techniques for what he refers to as a “sped-up version of ethnography” (he calls it Subtext Research).

Market Research - Best Practices

Market Research - Best Practices

One of the most important skills for product managers, brand managers, and anyone involved in marketing is market research (MR). To wow customers and out-maneuver competitors it is critical to understand what your customers need, how they use your products, why they don’t buy competitor products, etc. In addition, you need to understand the same information about your competitor customers. To uncover these insights, you need to conduct both qualitative and quantitative MR.

Five Critical Product Management Skills

Five Critical Product Management Skills

Product managers need many different skills to succeed. However, five key skills all product managers need to excel at are writing, market research, creative thinking, storytelling, and critical thinking. This blog discusses these five skills and provides some great resources to help build your skills. When you become a lifelong learner, you will have a great time changing yourself, your organization and community.

Market Research Training

Market Research Training

Like with most skills, it is helpful to study and attend training classes to accelerate their learning. MR includes multiple specialties and requires a variety of skills (e.g., designing questionnaires, interviewing, creating reports, moderating focus groups). The more you can improve your MR skills, the greater insights you will uncover to make better decisions. Also, a team that can conduct high-level MR will gain increased market understanding compared to that obtained through a third-party vendor that is not familiar with your products or industry.

Market Research: Biases & Ethics

Market Research: Biases & Ethics

When conducting market research (MR), two key areas to be aware of are biases and ethics. Bias is defined as prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group; typically in an unfair way. Ethics are the moral principles that govern your behavior or how you conduct an activity. In this age of fake news, it is critical to ensure your research minimizes bias (yours and respondents) and you conduct ethical research. Conducting your research with minimal bias and with an ethical behavior is critical as a provider of market information to drive decision making, solve problems, or identify new opportunities.

Skill Up! Market Research Training

Skill Up! Market Research Training

Like most skills, it is helpful to study and attend training classes to accelerate learning. Market Research (MR) includes multiple specialties and requires a variety of skills (e.g., designing questionnaires, interviewing, creating reports, moderating focus groups). The more you can improve your MR skills, the greater insights you will uncover which will help you make better decisions.

Communicating to the Heartland

Communicating to the Heartland

Most marketers on the “coasts” do not truly understand the mid-west consumer. If you are marketing products or services towards the mid-western consumer, you need to get out of the office and spend some time with this massive demographic. Put aside your assumptions and learn first-hand what makes this massive segment tick and how you can better align with their needs.

Paul Jankowski wrote an excellent book titled, Speak American Too: Your Guide to Building Powerful Brands in the New Heartland. For marketers targeting the “Heartland” or rural America, this should be a required reading. It is a great read that presents a real and actionable overview of a target segment that most brands stereotype incorrectly or just avoid.