Category Archives: Resources

Market Segmentation

  By Rita Sterling | April 3, 2011 - 2:14 pm | ,
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Part of a company’s overall strategic plan, and a critical component, is the marketing plan which includes the identification of target markets.  One of the best websites I have found that talks about market segmentation in a straight-forward, comprehensive and easy-to-understand way is: http://www.strategicmarketsegmentation.com.  The author of this site is Linda P. Morton.

Here are some of the author’s articles:

1. Targeting the WWII Generation
2. Segmenting Baby Boomers
3. Targeting Generation X
5. Targeting Generation Y
4. Targeting the Upper (Elite) Class
5. Targeting the Middle Class
6. Targeting the Working Class
7. Targeting African Americans
8. Targeting Asian Americans
9. Targeting Hispanic Americans
10. Targeting Native Americans
11. Targeting Arab Americans
12. Targeting College Students
13. Targeting University Faculty
14. Targeting Professional Boomer Women
15. Targeting Mid-Life Men
16. Targeting CEO’s
17. Targeting Investors
18. Targeting Retirees

Another website that gives a simple introduction to market segmentation (albeit for the health industsry) is: http://fortepartnersllc.com/2010/03/healthcare-marketing-the-basics/

The Future is Getting Ready For You, Are You Getting Ready for the Future?

  By Rita Sterling | March 10, 2011 - 2:06 pm | ,
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The Future is getting ready for you as you will see in this video made by Corning. Even though it is essentially an ad for Corning Glass, it is very informative about work and home technology of the near future. One of the ways to get ready for radical change in the future is by learning about these pending changes ahead of time so you won’t be overwhelmed by so many new things coming at you simultaneously. To that end, take a few minutes to watch this video and imagine the implications for you personally and/or professionally.

Shell Energy Scenarios to 2050

  By Rita Sterling | October 5, 2010 - 10:35 pm | , ,
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Shell is famous for it’s ability to develop plausible scenarios for the future.  We have gained a lot of insight from their work as we help our clients plan for the future. 

From Shell’s website: “Shell uses scenarios to explore the future. Our scenarios are not mechanical forecasts. They recognise that people hold beliefs and make choices that can lead down different paths. They reveal different possible futures that are plausible and challenging. Our latest energy scenarios look at the world in the next half century, linking the uncertainties we hold about the future to the decisions we must make today.”

Click on image below for a pdf of their work.

Strategy Development/Strategic Planning

  By Rita Sterling | July 22, 2010 - 6:52 am |
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Business, government, and community leaders must think, plan, and act strategically if they are to meet their legal, ethical, and professional obligations now and in the future.  One of the main reasons for business failure is lack of a strategy/strategic plan.  With 1-3 days of work, you can set your organization up for sustainable success.

SMALL BUSINESS/NON-PROFIT START-UP ENTREPRENEURS: If you are an entrepreneur wanting to start a business or non-profit organization, we at Sterling Insights recommend that you:

1) start by filling out the assessment developed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) at: http://www.sba.gov/assessmenttool/index.html.   The SBA has developed excellent tools for small businesses.

NOTE: Even if you already have started a business successfully in the past but are interested in starting another business now, this is still a helpful tool.  Having successfully started a business before is not a guarantee that you will be successful in the future, especially if you don’t do your homework, particularly market research. 

2) once you complete the SBA assessment, you will be given suggestions on how to address your short-comings.  Complete the free online classes that are suggested for your particular situation.  One of the most important elements of starting a business is determining the feasibility of your business concept. 

3) finally, go through the 4 stages of “Managing Your Business From Start to Finish” which is a step-by-step business planner: http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/index.html.

You are now well on your way to a very good start for your business.  If you need help with any of this and/or want on-going coaching to keep you on track, please contact us at 619-659-1234.  We look forward to helping you. 

MEDIUM-TO-LARGE ORGANIZATIONS: If you are a medium-to-large organization, you most likely have been operating with a strategy that is either implicit or explicit.  This strategy is a) working well but needs updating, b) not working well and needs to be overhauled, c) not working well because it has not been communicated to and followed by the rest of the organization, or d) working well but will need to change in the near future due to external or internal forces. 

In any of these cases, we  can help you go from where you are now to where you want/need to go in the future.  We have a creative process that will help you develop a strategy that fits your organization, your customers, and the constantly changing internal and external environments in which you find yourself.

Please fill out this survey: (coming soon as of 7/21/10)

Change Management Worksheet/Survey

  By Rita Sterling | July 8, 2010 - 12:12 am |
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Click the link below to take the Change Management Worksheet/Survey. This will help you understand the major elements that should be in place for effective change programs and where you stack up against that list.  Your personal information will be kept confidential (name, organization, phone number, email) and the results of all of those who fill this out will be anonymously reported publicly including type of industry, number of employees, and number of months your change management program has been in existence. Thank you for filling out this survey.

Change Management Worksheet/Survey

NOTE: Please be assured that any personal information collected is kept strictly confidential and that no answers will be attributable to individuals or specific organizations. Information collected will only be used for the purpose of this research study in aggregate. Sterling Insights, Inc. adheres to the professional market research standards of ESOMAR (www.esomar.org ), the World Association of Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals.  For more information on Sterling Insights, please visit our home page at: www.sterlinginsights.com.

Layoffs – Downsizing by Rita Sterling

  By Rita Sterling | May 23, 2010 - 7:33 pm |
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Businesses are continually adopting new ways of doing things. One way that is happening is in the area of layoffs/downsizing/rightsizing.  More and more I am believing that business executives need to rigorously hold themselves accountable for learning about, and engaging in, best practices for running their business/division. Their actions have such a large effect on other peoples lives, not just their employees but their community, their nation, and the world. As for layoffs/downsizing, perhaps there are new practices that executives can begin to embrace.   I found the following two articles particularly helpful on this subject.

1) The Real Cost of Layoffs By Carole Matthews |  Jul 19, 2002 
Many companies use layoffs to help boost the bottom line, but in the long run, such hasty measures cost a company more than they save! 

2) Once Again, Downsizing is Still a Bad Idea by Rick Maurer  |  Thursday, May 6th, 2010 

3) Recalculating the Cost of Big Layoffs. By Scott Thurm 
Lots of good hard-number examples. It still amazes me after so many years of solid research on the impact of downsizing (see Wayne Cascio’s work for starter) that it still seems to be the default reaction when costs have to be cut.  I encourage you to read this fine article by Scott Thurm and pass it along.”   How Honeywell took a different tack.