Our views

Blackfriars believes that firms must not target where markets are today. Instead, we believe that for companies to thrive, they must target where markets will be. To help our clients do this, we periodically write pieces that observe and predict fundamental changes in business, and how companies can cope with these changes.

Should you wish to comment on our views, write us at feedback@blackfriarsinc.com or post a comment to The Blackfriars Blog .

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Marketing Through The Coming Energy Crunch
September 26, 2005

What can businesses do about the economic damage caused by the triple whammy of three dollar gasoline, increased product prices, and higher taxes caused by the late fall hurricanes? Find out how marketing can help defuse the coming consumer backlash in HTML or PDF formats.

The Tyranny Of Too Much
June 1, 2004

Advertising effectiveness is dropping, brand extensions aren't working, and customers are more dissatisfied than ever. What's behind these business phenomena? Blackfriars calls the root cause The Tyranny Of Too Much. You can read about this trend and what you can do about it in HTML or PDF formats.

How Google Is Defining 21st Century Marketing
April 25, 2004

Industry luminaries like Forrester's George Colony and CNET's Charles Cooper are already writing Google's obituary at the hands of Microsoft. But Blackfriars believes that these naysayers just don't understand the battlefield on which Google is competing. The reality is that this is a marketing and media war — and Google, not Microsoft, is setting the high-tech marketing standard. HTML PDF

Tough Times Demand Disciplined Marketing
August 27, 2003

A big budget won't make prospects understand the barrage of inconsistent, seat-of-the-pants messages being thrown at the market by corporations. Building business in this economy requires simple, clear, and consistent messages to the market over long periods of time. And that means that marketing needs discipline. HTML PDF

An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Real Software Warranties
June 2, 2003

It's time for the software industry to recognize that it can't sell flakey software for millions of dollars as-is and charge the customer again to fix it. HTML PDF

Don't Blame The Economy For Poor Technology Marketing
March 15, 2003

Too many are assuming that technology -- even commodity technology like PCs -- will sell itself again once the economy recovers. Blackfriars doesn't think so. Instead, we think buyers have retrenched to a much more basic purchasing pattern -- buying products and services they can prove helps their business. To deal with that change, technology vendors must do two difficult things: focus and simplify their marketing. HTML PDF