Comments for The Alpha Factor http://thealphafactor.com A revolutionary new look at what really creates market dominance and self-sustaining success Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:50:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 Comment on How to weather an economic downturn – Part 1 by Jesse Kanclerz http://thealphafactor.com/2008/06/27/how-to-weather-an-economic-downturn-%e2%80%93-part-1/#comment-54 Jesse Kanclerz Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:02:03 +0000 http://ballgroup.com/?p=44#comment-54 Also consider that expenditures on human capital increase during a recession, or perceived economic slow down. When people feel their job is insecure they start improving upon or learning new skills. In other words it's a boom time for online college courses and campus' that offer night classes. Plus, the spending trickles down into other product categories, Amazon for books, software, etc. Opportunity still abounds if you look for it. Also consider that expenditures on human capital increase during a recession, or perceived economic slow down. When people feel their job is insecure they start improving upon or learning new skills. In other words it’s a boom time for online college courses and campus’ that offer night classes. Plus, the spending trickles down into other product categories, Amazon for books, software, etc. Opportunity still abounds if you look for it.

]]> Comment on Alpha learning applied: Good enough is good enough… Until an Alpha makes it better by Alpha » Dallas Blogging http://thealphafactor.com/2008/08/01/alpha-learning-applied-good-enough-is-good-enough%e2%80%a6-until-an-alpha-makes-it-better/#comment-53 Alpha » Dallas Blogging Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:37:41 +0000 http://ballgroup.com/?p=54#comment-53 [...] Alpha learning applied: Good enough is good enough… Until an Alpha … [...] [...] Alpha learning applied: Good enough is good enough… Until an Alpha … [...]

]]> Comment on Why your market research doesn’t work by Michael Hollon http://thealphafactor.com/2008/07/18/why-your-market-research-doesnt-work/#comment-52 Michael Hollon Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:20:14 +0000 http://ballgroup.com/?p=48#comment-52 As a 17 year veteran of managing market research, I'd say you have hit upon one of the most important reasons some research methods don't work well. A promising NEW way to generate consumer insights is to monitor and analyze consumers' online blog conversations and other discussions. While they may not make up the most statistically representative sample, bloggers generally have something to say - unlike many traditional research respondents that often have not even considered the things that research managers cover in surveys. Bloggers are more candid and depending on the product or brand being evaluated, they may offer better purchase behavior insights than tradition research methods would generate. There are disadvantages to be sure, but overall I think it will be a powerful new tool for researchers. Also, regarding recommendations as a purchase influencer - I believe that a recommendation from family, or a fellow experienced consumer, is more reliable info to make a purchase decision than many of the irrational ways that influence purchase behavior. This is all the more reason that monitoring online recommendations is a good (not perfect) tool for understanding what consumers really think. As a 17 year veteran of managing market research, I’d say you have hit upon one of the most important reasons some research methods don’t work well. A promising NEW way to generate consumer insights is to monitor and analyze consumers’ online blog conversations and other discussions. While they may not make up the most statistically representative sample, bloggers generally have something to say - unlike many traditional research respondents that often have not even considered the things that research managers cover in surveys. Bloggers are more candid and depending on the product or brand being evaluated, they may offer better purchase behavior insights than tradition research methods would generate. There are disadvantages to be sure, but overall I think it will be a powerful new tool for researchers.

Also, regarding recommendations as a purchase influencer - I believe that a recommendation from family, or a fellow experienced consumer, is more reliable info to make a purchase decision than many of the irrational ways that influence purchase behavior. This is all the more reason that monitoring online recommendations is a good (not perfect) tool for understanding what consumers really think.

]]> Comment on GE’s stock drop indicative of much bigger problems for American business by wball http://thealphafactor.com/2008/05/05/ges-stock-drop-indicative-of-much-bigger-problems-for-american-business/#comment-34 wball Wed, 07 May 2008 14:25:13 +0000 http://thealphafactor.com/2008/05/05/ges-stock-drop-indicative-of-much-bigger-problems-for-american-business/#comment-34 Thanks, Kelly. As an insider at GE, you must be extremely exasperated at the knee-jerk reacton of stock analysts and institutional buyers to this situation. As I did the research for "The Alpha Factor," I really began to get excited as I realized that what I was uncovering was a new way to assess a company that was far more predictive of future success. Not only was a low Alpha Factor score highly predictive of share loss when a competitor raised its Alpha Factor score, more importantly, it was easy to predict future growth of a company as its Alpha Factor score rose over time compared to its competitors. Two things typically confounded that success potential: 1) lack of confidence among top management, so they slipped into "competing" when they really did not need to, and 2) self-destructive short-term profit generation tactics designed to shore-up short-term profit numbers for the benefit of stock analysts. The book, which is available for "pre-order" through online booksellers, gives much more detail about how the revenue side can be managed as effectively as the cost side is. If you read it, I would welcome your comments and critique. Best wishes, Wes Thanks, Kelly. As an insider at GE, you must be extremely exasperated at the knee-jerk reacton of stock analysts and institutional buyers to this situation.

As I did the research for “The Alpha Factor,” I really began to get excited as I realized that what I was uncovering was a new way to assess a company that was far more predictive of future success. Not only was a low Alpha Factor score highly predictive of share loss when a competitor raised its Alpha Factor score, more importantly, it was easy to predict future growth of a company as its Alpha Factor score rose over time compared to its competitors.

Two things typically confounded that success potential: 1) lack of confidence among top management, so they slipped into “competing” when they really did not need to, and 2) self-destructive short-term profit generation tactics designed to shore-up short-term profit numbers for the benefit of stock analysts.

The book, which is available for “pre-order” through online booksellers, gives much more detail about how the revenue side can be managed as effectively as the cost side is. If you read it, I would welcome your comments and critique.

Best wishes,

Wes

]]> Comment on GE’s stock drop indicative of much bigger problems for American business by Kelly http://thealphafactor.com/2008/05/05/ges-stock-drop-indicative-of-much-bigger-problems-for-american-business/#comment-33 Kelly Wed, 07 May 2008 13:25:54 +0000 http://thealphafactor.com/2008/05/05/ges-stock-drop-indicative-of-much-bigger-problems-for-american-business/#comment-33 Totally agree and extremely well written. When the short sighted goals are all that matters the company will not be successful over the long term. Totally agree and extremely well written. When the short sighted goals are all that matters the company will not be successful over the long term.

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