Read our latest thinking,
data analysis and
insights on a range of topics
Get answers, without asking
Internal data shows exactly how you did today or yesterday. External data tell you were your customer is heading next. Being - and staying - relevant and current, today as well as tomorrow: that’s what external focus is all about. External big data, market insights on the basis of search and orientation behaviour, provide answers to questions such as: What is my target group looking for? Where are people searching online? And what are the trends and developments within my market? It is impossible to answer these questions using only internal data.
02Artificial Intelligence is closer than you think
"Artificial Intelligence is one of the most profound things that humanity is working on. It's more profound than, I don't know, electricity or fire." Those are the words of Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Meanwhile, on my way home, I am listening to a BNR radio item on the advancements of AI, and it gets me thinking about the subject again.
03Online, the customer lays down the rules, you don't
I get into the car after a game of tennis. I throw my racket on the back seat and while I am driving home, I ponder on a question I was just asked: ‘Martijn, please tell me, how can my business survive in this online world? Some of my best customers are buying online nowadays. From my competitors!’ A gripping question with which many entrepreneurs – small and large, B2B as well as B2C – are struggling on a daily basis: how to stay successful in a world in which the internet has become so dominant?
04You can't stop the wave, but you can learn how to surf
I enjoy listening to my son as he talks about the latest trends. What is in and what is out? What jeans are hot today and which pair of sneakers is an absolute must have? After dinner, we go online together and look at the rising popularity of jeans X, try to predict how long it will be before sneaker brand Y conquers the market and speculate about why everyone will want to have coat Z this winter.
