Author Archives: markkolier

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About markkolier

Futurist, entrepreneur, left lane driver, baseball lover

Customer Data Profile Appending – the genie is already out of the bottle

Posted on February 3, 2014 by markkolier

The Wall Street Journal wrote about it last Thursday January 30th in an article entitled ‘How a Family Tragedy Landed on a Retailer’s Mailing’ Forbes wrote about it the week prior –   ‘OfficeMax Blames Data Broker For ‘Daughter Killed in Car … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Best business practices, Consumer Behavior, Data collection, Data driven marketing, Marketing stuff, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The last days of cash?

Posted on January 21, 2014 by markkolier

There has been much talk over the years about the irrelevancy of the U.S. penny. The report in 2012 from Bloomberg was that it actually costs 2 cents to make one penny.  With a nickel it’s just as bad – … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Attitudes, Consumer Behavior, Living in the World Today | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Monthly subscription music services – WINNER!

Posted on January 16, 2014 by markkolier

I am not necessarily proud to admit this but although I have had an iPod for many years, I have never purchased any music in the iTunes library.   I just had the feeling that it was not something that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Experiences, Entertainment, Streaming Music | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Remember when Jet Blue wasn’t just another airline?

Posted on January 13, 2014 by markkolier

It doesn’t make sense to get mad at any particular airline anymore.   To declare ‘I’ll never fly that **!!ing airline again” is counterproductive since the alternative is likely  an airline with higher fares and zero service differentiation.   Sure there are … Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, Consumer Attitudes, Customer Experiences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Regulating personal drones – will they become the property of the FAA?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by markkolier

Ever since I saw the piece on CBS 60 Minutes last month where Amazon’s Jeff Bezos coyly introduced a product not quite ready for prime time – the Delivery Drone, I’ve again been thinking about personal drones.  A January 2nd, … Continue reading →

Posted in Living in the World Today, Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t be fooled – This Groupon and its restaurant is actually a bad deal

Posted on December 30, 2013 by markkolier

I have written several times about daily deals.  Yet even I had thought that one of the good things that happen with Groupons is having a restaurant that you enjoy send out a Groupon so you can enjoy a meal … Continue reading →

Posted in Best business practices, Daily Deals, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Will consumers accept retail credit card surcharges?

Posted on December 23, 2013 by markkolier

Last week I read an article in the December 19th issue of The New York Times describing how credit card companies like American Express, Master Card and Visa are considering altering policies that disallow retailers the ability to charge consumers … Continue reading →

Posted in Best business practices, Consumer Attitudes, Consumer Behavior, Customer Experiences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m done with Multi-vitamins

Posted on December 19, 2013 by markkolier

I like to think of myself as an evidenced-based person.     For most of my life) I have taken a daily multi-vitamin going back to One-A-Day and probably even trying a Flintstone multi-vitamin along the way (that my Mom bought of … Continue reading →

Posted in 50+ market, Brand Advertising, False claims | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Renting a truck for the day hasn’t changed in forty years and that’s ok for now

Posted on December 16, 2013 by markkolier

We rented a truck yesterday.   It was a 14 foot truck which is a fairly large truck and is listed as a commercial vehicle.   I don’t have a commercial driver’s license and was not informed by the clerk that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Best business practices, Customer Experiences, Living in the World Today | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fifteen seconds of morning glory

Posted on December 12, 2013 by markkolier

The view in the photo is much like that which I see every morning on my commute to New York City by train that for at least part of the ride trails the Connecticut shoreline.   I am finishing my first … Continue reading →

Posted in Living in the World Today | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments