Customer segmentation is probably the most important concept in marketing. But it is also one the most difficult to do well. In this post, I reflect on four key issues that marketers must address in their segmentation work: Scope of segmentation – What is the appropriate scope at which segmentation studies should be conducted? Specifically, how do we reconcile the level of depth required by engineering with the breadth required by cross-business alignment? Inbound versus Outb

My thoughts flit around Like butterflies On gossamer wings Soaring on currents Of glorious memories Only to descend steeply Into melancholy valleys Pausing on a flower of love To drink your heady nectar Till it is time to move on To lands unknown And gardens unseen To fly is to keep living For thoughts want to be free Like butterflies On gossamer wings. #poetry

A new day dawns today in America as Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the United States. This is a time for us to look ahead. But it is also a time for me to look back and to marvel at how far this man and this country have come in four short years. I distinctly remember the phone call in the spring of 2004 from my friend David Jacobson, who is very active in Democratic political circles and has been deeply involved in Obama’s Senate and Presidentia

For students of marketing, Barack Obama’s campaign is an excellent marketing case study on positioning and messaging. Here are some lessons I take away from his campaign: Focus on pain points: Successful marketers are very clear about the customer pain points that their products or services address. Apple improved the lousy experience of buying and listening to digital music with the iPod. And then it improved the lousy experience of web browsing and gaming on mobile devices