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Acqui-hiring or Acq-hiring or talent acquisition, a combination of the words acquisition and hiring, is referred to the process of acquiring a company to recruit its employees with or without showing interest in its current offerings or their continued operation. Those companies that engage in buying say it is talent acquisition and it typically comes with a per head price. The process also provides a relatively favourable exit strategies for employees with the prestige of being bought by a bigger company which is combined with the typical hiring process. Acqui-hiring has been increasingly becoming common in VC-based startup companies especially within the tech-sector. As of March 2013, Facebook was the largest performer of this process with over 12 in the last five fiscal quarters. Other brands like Twitter, Yahoo and Google are also ranked alongside Facebook for similar practices. This activity is facilitated by acqui-sourcing which is the process of identifying organiza...

A qualitative methodology that is used to describe consumers based on psychological attributes is called as psychographics. It has been applied in the study of personality, values, attitudes, opinions, interests and lifestyles. Though psychographics is often equated with lifestyle research, it has been argued that it should apply to the study of cognitive approaches including attitudes, interests, beliefs and opinions while lifestyle should apply to the study of overt behaviour.   As this research method focuses on interests, activities & opinions, they are sometimes abbreviated as ‘AIO variables’. The study of individuals or communities using psychographic can be valuable in marketing, demographics, opinion research, social research and prediction. Psychographic attributes can be contrasted with the variables of behaviour like purchase data and usage rate, along with organizational descriptors or firmographic variables like industry, number of employees and fu...

Behavioral cues indicating a prospective or existing customer’s intentions in terms of their readiness to buy is called as Buying Signal. This helps in making sales process more efficient and high-yielding than before. Companies often rely on tolls like leading scoring, predictive analytics and account-based marketing (ABM) technologies to identify buying signals. It is often triggered by a change in a customer’s attitude or behavior. For example, a company which signed a lease just now to rent office space in a building and hired a CIO may demonstrate the right buying signals to show that t is ready to buy server hardware or networking gear. In this example, buying signals may not be directly related to the product or service but indicates the prospect’s readiness based on secondary factors. While companies might have enlisted tools previously like direct mail or cold-calling to identify new prospects, other tools like analytics and ABM can be used to identify a more ta...

Solution selling is a methodology used in sales where a salesperson focuses on the customer’s problems to address it with appropriate offerings of the company rather than just promoting it. Here, the solution for the problem is linked to the product and its benefits received from using it. Solution selling is usually used in sales where products are a part of the elements making a solution to a customer’s problem. The term was developed by Frank Watts in the year 1975. He began teaching “solution selling” as an independent consultant and then presented his sales process to Xerox Corporation as a one-day workshop in the year 1982. Next year, Electronics magazine portrayed his method as an unmistakable trend in the distribution of systems-related products. Solution selling has become somewhat a generic topic in the marketplace with its core brand carrying distinct characteristics. Those brands that follow this method generally apply an approach like that of consultative sa...

Blue Ocean Strategy is referred to a market with no or less competition for a product. This strategy is centred on searching for business where only a few firms function and with less or no pricing pressure. It can be applied across different sectors or businesses and is not limited to any one. The term Blue Ocean Strategy is coined by professors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne and used in their book “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant” in the year 2005. With intense competition among businesses, firms try their best to gain market share and with pricing pressure influencing their functioning, their existence in the market in under threat. This situation arises when a business is operating in a saturated market, referred to as Red Ocean. When there is limited scope for growth, firms look out for verticals or avenues to find new business where they can capture a market and enjoy uncontested market share...

Bounce rate is an internet marketing term that is used in web traffic analysis which represents the percentage of users visiting a website and then leaves or bounce rather than continuing browsing the website. It is calculated by counting the number of single web page visits by a user and divides it by the total number of visits. Bounce rate (in percentage) = Number of visits in a single page by a user / Total visits to the website Bounce rates are helpful in determining the effectiveness or the performance of an entry or landing web page in generating interest of users. The web page that has a low bounce rate means that it is effectively causing visitors or users to view other pages of that website. High bounce rates indicate that the website is performing ineffectively without attracting the interests of visitors. They usually visit an entry page and leave. Interpreting bounce rate measure should be relevant to the business objectives of a website and also its de...

Call to action (CTA) is a marketing term used widely in advertising and selling where any device is designed to prompt an immediate response or encourages an immediate sale. CTA mostly refers to the use of words or otherwise phrases that can be incorporated into ad messages, web pages, sales scripts, etc. that encourage consumers to take prompt action. In marketing, CTA is an instruction to the audience group which is designed to provoke a quick response usually using verbs like “call now” or “find out more”. Other types of CTA might provide consumers with strong reasons to purchase something immediately like that of an offer which will only be available for a limited time period or during special deals. For example, order before midnight to receive a free gift with your order, two for the price of one for first 25 orders, etc. Marketing materials like brochures, flyers, catalogs, etc. make use of call-to-action in which instructions are designed to show customers how to...

Hawthorne effect, also known as observer effect, is referred to a type of reaction in which people modify an aspect of their behaviour in response to their awareness of being observed. From an original research conducted at the Hawthorne Works in Illinois focused on work structure changes like working hours and break times and was initially interpreted by Elton Mayo and others. As per the interpretation paying attention to the needs of all workers would improve productivity. Later on, the interpretations done by Landsberger showed that the novelty of being research subjects and the increase in attention to workers from such researches might lead to certain temporary increases in their productivity. This productivity gain is linked to a motivational effect due to the interest shown in the workers and this interpretation was called as the Hawthorne effect. For example, if a person who is conducting an experiment were to ask the subject about the number of times he has he...

Ambient Advertising is a technique of placing ads on unusual objects or unconventional places where one would not expect to see an advertisement. It evolved as a concept as it has a lasting impact on the minds of consumers which makes it more effective. Ambient advertising is about creativity and how effectively the advertiser can communicate the message to its consumers through those ads. It can be done along with traditional means of advertising or as a standalone form of communication about the brand’s offerings. Ambient advertising aims at surprising its customers with ad placements. For example, an ad behind a car is not unusual but using its wiper as a part of the advertisement will look different and throws an element of surprise in the minds of consumers. The key to a successful ambient media campaign is to choose the best media format currently available and then combine it with an effective message. It can be found on infrastructure, public spaces, vehicl...

BASHO Email is an attempt to gain the attention of a prospective lead via personalized emails so as to arrange a meeting with them. It is not meant to be super-scalable but when done right, it lets you achieve a steady jump in your email response rates and a total number of booked meetings. It is always great to call a prospect but if time restricts you, then BASHO email is your go-to solution. There are many reasons to implement BASHO email. Firstly, to increase the conversion rate by 60% to 80%. As people tend to open personalized emails, BASHO emails do the work for you if done right. Secondly, it can be used to reach high-value accounts like that of a leading CEO. Thirdly, it is easy and does not require any special training to set strategies. Find any point that can create a way to reach out to prospects in a more personalized way. BASHO emails can be used for more than sales. For example, marketers and bloggers can use BASHO emails for collaborative initiatives, fo...

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) are scales that are used to rate performances. They are normally presented vertically with scale points with a range from five to nine. For example, a five rating for an employee may require them to put in more efforts than an eight rating employee. This system was developed by Smith and Kendall to provide a better method of rating employees and differs from the standard rating scales in one central aspect i.e., it focuses on behaviours that are determined to be important for completing a task rather than looking at the general employee characteristics like personality or work habits. BARS are designed in such a way so as to bring the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative data to the employee appraisal process. Though this system is often regarded as a superior performance appraisal method, it may still have drawbacks like unreliability and leniency bias. BARS is developed through data collected from the Critical I...

Earned Value Management (EVM) aka Earned Value Project/Performance Management (EVPM) refers to a project management technique used for measuring the performance and progress of a project in an objective manner. It has the ability to combine the measurements of the project management triangle i.e., scope, time and cost. EVM is able to provide accurate forecasts of project performance problems in a single integrated system, which is considered as an important contribution for project management. Conducting an early EVM research showed that planning and control are significantly impacted by its use and also, using this methodology not only improves the scope definition but also helps in the analysis of overall project performance. EVM principles are also considered to be positive predictors of project success. EVM has been widely used in government contracting like in the new Federal Acquisition Regulation. The essential features of an EVM implementation include creating ...

Breadcrumb navigation is a tool used in web searches that allow users to retrace each and every step, or otherwise go back to a point in time that relates to their previous search. The name is derived from the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” in which the two main characters of the tale used breadcrumb trail to find their way back home. Breadcrumb navigation helps in linking the user back to the prior website page during the overall online route or backtrack through the previous pages. It may also be called as breadcrumb trail or a cookie crumb trail. Breadcrumbs are categorized into three: path breadcrumbs (dynamic breadcrumbs that reveal the path which the user took to arrive at any given page), location breadcrumb (static breadcrumbs showing a given website’s hierarchy relative to the website page’s location) and attribute breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs that provide information that categorizes the current web page). The parent page of the web page is usually displaye...

In business, disruptive technology is referred to an innovation that creates a new market and value network which eventually disrupts an existing one, displacing the already established firms, products and alliances that are leading in the market.   It was defined and analysed by Clayton M. Christensen, an American scholar along with his collaborators beginning in 1995 and has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st Century. Here, we cannot categorise all innovations as disruptive even if they are revolutionary. For example, in the late 19th Century the first automobiles were not a disruptive innovation as it was a luxury item unaffordable to many, and did not disrupt the market for other means of transport like horse-drawn vehicles. The market remained intact until the lower-priced Ford Model T was introduced in 1908. These innovations are often seen to be produced by outsiders or entrepreneurs in startups rather than the existing market l...

SERVQUAL or Service Quality is an approach to manage the business processes so as to ensure full satisfaction of the customers by providing high-quality services. It is a framework developed by Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry in the eighties, aiming at measuring the scale of quality in service sectors. SERVQUAL was originally measured on 10 aspects of service quality and later on reduced to 5 to measure the gap between customer expectations and experience.   These gaps are caused by various factors like not knowing the customer’s expectations, using the wrong service quality standards, service performance gap, etc. The 5 SERVQUAL dimensions used for assessing the service quality include Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Reliability (R-A-T-E-R). Initially designed for the use of service firms and retailers, the SERVQUAL model became widely discussed when it comes to customer satisfaction and service quality. But it takes a much more broader perspecti...

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a continuous process of detecting and decreasing/eliminating manufacturing errors, streamlining supply chain management, boosting customer experience, and ensuring that all the staffs of the business are up to speed with their training. It aims in holding all the parties involved in the production process who are accountable for the total quality of the final output. TQM is a set of management practices that places a strong focus on process measurement and controls as means of constant improvement. While it was originated in the manufacturing sector, its principles can be used in a variety of organizations or industries like manufacturing, banking and finance, and medicine. And TQM techniques can be applied to all departments within the organization as well and ensures that all employees are working toward the goals fixed by the company thereby improving the function in each and every department. The essential requirements for successf...

Reverse marketing, as the term suggests, refers to a marketing concept wherein the customer seeks the firm for its product/service on their own and not vice-versa. It is usually done by traditional advertising methods like television ads, print ads in magazines and through online platforms. Here, companies provide valuable information to its consumers without asking them to purchase anything. Reverse marketing is used by firms to improve their brand image rather than just spreading awareness about their offerings. This approach is also used in B2B markets and supply chain management. One of the most famous ad campaigns is that of Dove Campaign for Real Beauty launched in 2004. Rather than advertising the key points of the products the campaign focused on the natural beauty of women to sell their product. As a result, their sales skyrocketed above $1 Billion and caused the brand to recreate their brand around this strategy. To start off with reverse marketing, the first ste...

Online reputation determines how others perceive when they search for your business online. In simpler terms, it’s your image on the internet, what people talk about you and what people perceive. Online reputation management or ORM is about improving or restoring your name or your brand’s good standing online. This is majorly done by countering, weakening or eliminating the negative materials found in the internet and enhancing the positive reviews and stuff about the brand so as to improve the customer’s trust in you when they search for you online. It’s infact not only about managing negative business reviews and content in search engines but also encouraging happy customers to provide positive feedbacks as well. ORM is very important for your business since – Prospective customers who are looking to buy your product may change their purchase decisions when they see bad reviews, negative blog posts or comments. Infact according to BrightLocal - “85% of the consum...

Boil the Ocean refers to an impossible task taken up by an overly ambitious company or individual given the reality of your resources. This phrase is used when someone goes overboard or makes a project unnecessarily difficult. For example, a manager directs his employees to prepare a presentation for a business client. He insists the employees to prepare different versions of it in four different languages when the probability of someone speaking a different language is less or nill. Here, the manager might be accused of trying to boil the ocean with his command to prepare the presentation in different versions. In addition to the term being referred to in business situations, it is often used in group settings to highlight an out-of-control discussion. To minimize the threat of such ocean boiling in group settings practicing effective meeting and discussion management helps. Also prior to a meeting, gain agreement for your proposed meeting agenda to avoid any further ad...