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Paula Rosenblum

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Managing Partner, Retail Systems Research, LLC

533 points

A nationally recognized retail business and technology authority. A visionary with a unique ability to translate business needs into practical solutions. Extensive participation with technology solution providers in strategy development and market planning. Extensive participation with retailers in strategic business and technology planning.

Jan. 12, 2012

Paula Rosenblum and 5 other people answered this question

It's been said that people buy with their hearts, but justify with their heads. How can someone who buys with his/her head learn to sell?

Maybe it's more accurate to say everyone buys with their emotions and rationalize those emotions with logic. Heaven knows, that's true of high end purchases like real estate and cars.
In my opinion, the best salespeople are those who 'believe'. They resonate emotion-to-emotion. more

Jan. 4, 2012

Paula Rosenblum recommends this answer by Chris Selland

Will 2012 be the year of the customer?

I believe that power in business relationships has been - and continues to move - inexorably toward the customer. That trend will continue through and beyond 2012. So it is not THE year - but we will certainly see the customer continue to gain more ... more

Customer Service

Community Management

Jan. 4, 2012

Paula Rosenblum and 24 other people answered this question

POLL: What do you feel is social media's biggest pitfall?

It's addictive.

Online Marketing

Jan. 3, 2012

Paula Rosenblum and 9 other people answered this question

Enterprise software users prefer Excel... what can vendors do about that?

We've come upon this time and time in our benchmarks. It's not about age. Users just prefer the familiar control, look and feel of the Excel interface.
Our conclusion? Enterprise software vendors - especially for planning: make your user interface excel-like.
On the flip side, ... more

Information Technology

Enterprise Software

Dec. 29, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 14 other people answered this question

Is offering discounts the right strategy to attract customers?

Looking at it from a retail perspective:
The very short answer is "It depends".
The longer answer is "Discounts are a good way to drive traffic into the store or onto the retailer's site. Generally they are most advantageous at times when consumers might otherwise ... more

Dec. 7, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 3 other people answered this question

Will a brick & mortar app store succeed?

I don't believe this is a concept with legs. If the app is so complex it needs a translator, it's a bad app. Consumer facing apps have to be simple and intuitive. more

Information Technology

Dec. 1, 2011

Paula Rosenblum answered this question

Does a competitve or integrative model best describe retail strategies for online & instore promos?

A big question, and the answer is "It depends". There are still a lot of retail merchants who view the web as cannibalizing their store sales - but that's because compensation strategies are channel specific. The more clever retailers are associating web sales with their ... more

Oct. 27, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 14 other people answered this question

Is it possible to run a 100% virtual office?

Absolutely. My company is purely virtual and we're doing pretty well. This way, all our extra cash goes towards our health insurance. more

Oct. 7, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 23 other people answered this question

Is Facebook getting too complicated?

It is WAY too complicated. Newsfeeds, and tickers and who all knows what else. I'm a technical user and I STILL can't figure it out quite.
I see some people's stuff multiple times, and others not at all. There are friends who I don't ever ... more

Information Technology

Product Usability

Social Networking

Sept. 29, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 2 other people answered this question

Do you think Amazon's new $199 tablet will hurt sales of the Apple iPad?

Nope. If you read the reviews, it's a very different type of device. The best description I read is that the Amazon tablet is designed to "consume content" rather than also "create it". That's a VERY big difference.
That doesnt mean Amazon won't come up with ... more

Sept. 9, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 1 other person answered this question

Do you think we'll see an increase in hiring this holiday season?

PS The key to payroll to sales RATIOs is that the payroll moves in relation to sales. It's the ratio that's important. more

Aug. 29, 2011

Paula Rosenblum answered this question

How are back-to-school sales trending, in grocery, as we come into final stretch of season?

Hi Christina,
You asked about 6 different questions. Not sure I can answer them all, but I'll give it a go:
1) I'm not sure what grocery has to do with BTS unless you count their small office supplies aisle. So that part I have to say ... more

Back to School Sales

Aug. 22, 2011

Paula Rosenblum answered this question

What social media tactics should retailers use to capitalize on Black Friday & Cyber Monday?

I have very mixed emotions on this one.
First off, Cyber Monday is a fantasy. It dates from the time when most of us didn't have broadband connections at home - and presumes that people do most of their shopping at work. That's just not ... more

Aug. 17, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 3 other people answered this question

What are some other features that you wish Google+ had?

You know, I'm not sure WHAT Google+ could do. At some point, a person's capacity to spend time lounging on social networks get over-extended. The thought that I'm supposed to check yet another network every day has me exhausted! more

Aug. 17, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 3 other people answered this question

Why is Groupon losing so much money?

That was a long way to go for a short answer, but it's really instructive.
As for the "ASCOI metric" it reminds me of the first internet bubble days. The concept that if you throw enough money at marketing, eventually it "sticks" and you get profitable.
A ... more

Aug. 9, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 2 other people answered this question

It seems like emerging tablets can't quite compare to Apple's iPad. Why is this?

There's a corrolary question to this and that is - why can't PC makers create a lightweight laptop that can compete with Mac AirBook? If they did, I would have bought one. Instead I bought the Air. It's unmatched.
I think other vendors are trying ... more

Information Technology

July 26, 2011

Paula Rosenblum recommends this answer by Debra Templar

I recently read about a new retail trend: Try-on fees. Is this just going to push customers away?

This ridiculous idea came about from the Wall Street Journal quoting "Australian" retailers as resorting to try-on fees. There has been discussion from ski boot retailers, bike retailers etc who spend considerable time with customers - fitting them properly - who find the customer then ... more

July 26, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 2 other people answered this question

Do you think the disagreement over the debt ceiling will put a damper on the IPO frenzy?

It seems like none of us are quite sure what the results of this new game of chicken are going to be.
I don't know how to explain the impact of a country the size of the US being in default on its debt. I think ... more

Deficit Reduction

July 22, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 8 other people answered this question

How can small retailers encourage customer loyalty?

Be the un-Walmart. Know them by name if you can, let them know if you've just received some merchandise they might like, be the best at service, be competitive / close on price, and if applicable, carry unique products not easily found.
Go out of your ... more

Customer Loyalty

July 21, 2011

Paula Rosenblum and 9 other people answered this question

Do you think it's a wise move for Mark Zuckerberg to be so visible on Google+?

I don't see anything bad about it, particularly. It demonstrates lack of fear of the competition, a willingness to learn from them, and a certain je ne sais quoi that I like.
Google gets to either accept him (which means he remains there as a ... more

Customer Service

General Management

Information Technology

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