TARIFFS 2018 marked a year of change in the United States’ long-standing tariff policies. For the first time in over 15 years, the federal government adjusted tariffs on core raw materials – mainly aluminum and steel – to correct a perceived trade imbalance. Although not yet fully implemented, tariffs range from 10% to as high…

While customers may still reign supreme in today’s marketplace, businesses may be overlooking another fundamental truth that could be thwarting them from achieving essential customer insights. Here’s the real story: Know your customers. While customer-centricity is still considered standard practice for most businesses, it’s getting even more intense as technology, big data, and ecommerce have…

We’re well into 2018, and despite a few bumps in the road, the year is shaping up to be a good one for business. Expectations of fewer regulations, a brighter tax picture, and high consumer expectations all point to healthy growth. But, as always, we need to keep abreast of what’s trending to be sure…

In today’s marketplace, what sets the winners apart from the also-rans? Virtually all of them have developed top-notch, user-friendly digital strategies. If you have clear digital channels, you will make buying choices easier for your customers, which in turn, will result in increased sales. Time, time, time. In this revved-up world we live in, people…

“Get me whatever you can.” We’ve all heard these five words. But beware: They are certain to set up a project for failure. Even though stakeholders love to give this direction…they don’t really mean it! A project can’t be completed successfully if its scope is not well organized, and if there is no clear alignment…

Author Victor Hugo wrote, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” With global online retail sales projected to exceed $1.9 trillion by the end of 2016 and $4.1 trillion by 2020, e-commerce is clearly here to stay. Walmart’s acquisition of Jet.com highlights this changing landscape, and portends…

Systematic Evolution of Data “Analysis frameworks” are created in order to help a researcher collect, sort, prioritize and interpret a variety of existing data and information about the subject or context that has to be analyzed. The purpose of an analysis framework is to provide a disciplined methodology allowing a systematic evaluation of the data…

Proactive’s War Game offering increases the probability of success in the face of market and competitive uncertainties, because your team has already considered them and is better prepared to act. Case in Point: A client in the nutrition space faced a significant decision on non-GMO food – should they make a significant investment in marketing,…

There were several valuable presentations on day one of the Society of Insurance Research (SIR) conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Keynote speaker Bill Harnett of Harnett Advisors discussed how every business is now subject to technology disruptions, Moore’s Law and the exponential change it brings. Bill asserted that “every industry is becoming a tech company,” and…