Caddying for the Caddies

August 25, 2010

It may surprise some readers (especially the non-golfers) that golf is an activity I’d classify as pleasure. Even if I’m not playing well, it’s a good walk and there’s generally some entertaining banter with the rest of the four-ball. I’m one of those golfers who is happy to be carrying his own clubs, but my [...]

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Adding Sizzle to the Steak

August 24, 2010

“Sell benefits, not features” may be the most clichéd piece of guidance given to people involved in marketing and sales, but it’s certainly the most valuable. It’s also indispensable when starting a business. Benefits are hard-wired into the NoMU range of products – primarily a collection of proprietary herb and spice mixes that enable the [...]

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The Theme from Time

August 23, 2010

Late one Sunday evening (probably about 20 years ago) I turned on my car radio as I was driving home, and heard the Theme from Time for the first time. The streets were quiet, Sir Laurence Olivier’s narration was other-worldly and the words struck deep into my core. I know it sounds weird, but there’s [...]

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In Amazon We Trust

August 20, 2010

When the all-encompassing history of online retail is written, it is likely that the author will identify trust – or absence thereof – as perhaps the biggest initial factor inhibiting the growth of ecommerce. Fears around credit card security have largely been dealt with by banks’ continually tightening up procedures, but the main issue remains: [...]

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How to Increase Sales

August 12, 2010

Sales and marketing – or S&M for short – are often lumped together as one function. While they are related, and both necessary to the success of an enterprise, they comprise different stages of the product eventually reaching the customer. For me, marketing prepares the environment for sales; the textbook example of Kottler’s demand expansion. [...]

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Gewurztraminer Meets Banana

August 4, 2010

Often, I think, too much is made of food and wine pairings. Achieving the perfect complement between the flavours of the wine and food (in the midst of myriad subjective factors) is almost impossible, and threatens to distract from the enjoyment of either the food or the wine. Having said that, wine dinners can be [...]

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Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

July 24, 2010

I sometimes get asked, as one does, for a list of my favourite books of all time. The one I’m about to share with you may not get into even the top 1000 of the most absorbing, entertaining or stimulating books. However, it’s right up there as a simple encapsulation of life wisdom. Moreover – [...]

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Purebred Friends

July 24, 2010

Genetics, especially as applied to the breeding of the swiftest racehorses, is a subject that occupied a great deal of my brain space until wine started taking over (that would be the subject, not the substance, although I wouldn’t deny its daily effect). The moment when chromosomes match up can be something of a lottery, [...]

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A Surprisingly Successful Phishing Exercise

July 22, 2010

Over the past week this site has been hacked by scammers operating phishing campaigns. The first one targeted HSBC clients. No sooner had I killed this one than they launched one for Alliance & Leicester. With some additional technical assistance the problem now seems to have been fixed. I can’t say I’m in the least [...]

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Driving on the Right Side of the Brain

July 21, 2010

In the light of my previous life as a wine retailer, it is not surprising that I should have found my way to ecommerce. By the end of July I’ll be running four different online stores (only one selling wine, though). Clearly, this sales channel is somewhat different to bricks and mortar retail, but the [...]

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