Episodes

It’s Thanksgiving time again. Which means it’s time for me to share what I’m thankful for in 2024… and what I’m looking forward to in 2025. What am giving thanks for this year? And, more importantly, how do they help you learn and grow as you look ahead to next year? That’s what this episode of Thinks Out Loud is all about. Want to learn more? Here are the show notes for you. Giving Thanks 2024 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 441) — Headlines and Show Notes Show Notes and Links How to succeed in M...

Just a few months after its 26th anniversary, Google faces more threats heading into next year than ever. The rise of artificial intelligence provides users with an alternative way to search. Regulators, legislators, and courts are trying to break its market dominance. And younger consumers, especially, increasingly turn to social platforms to find the answers they need. And, yet, in the midst of these threats… Google just had the most successful quarter in its history. So, what’s the reality?...

It’s time for Big Tech’s earnings once again. And, this time around there were some notable updates, particularly from Meta Platforms (i.e., Facebook) and Microsoft that hint at the future of computing — and, more importantly, the future of your customers’ digital experience. Meta, in particular, shared a compelling vision of where they’re looking to go as a company, not only for the next few quarters, but for the decade ahead. I’m not convinced they’ll succeed. But I’m impressed by the clarity...

Do artificial intelligence and digital more broadly scare you? Do their potential harms keep you up at night? In short, are these tools evil? I don’t think they are. Truly. And, most of the time, neither are the people who create them. That doesn’t mean that AI and digital can’t cause harm for your customers, for your business, and for you. The question instead should be, “How can you keep these tools from causing harm in the world?” And that’s what this episode of Thinks Out Loud is all abou...

Some folks think that artificial intelligence is a white knight, coming to rescue their businesses from gatekeepers such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and the rest. But is that true? Is AI the key to unlocking Big Tech’s gates? Or is it just another gatekeeper waiting in the wings? In this episode of the Thinks Out Loud podcast, our company founder and president, Tim Peter, takes a look at whether artificial intelligence might play in helping you bypass gatekeepers, and how you can start connect...

AI might kill your brand — but probably not. It’s far more likely that AI will kill Big Tech’s brands, and in particular, Google. The search giant faces more threats to its business right now than at any time in the last decade-plus. What are the big threats facing Google’s dominance? Why do those threats matter to your business? And, most importantly, how can you make sure that the four big threats Google faces next year don’t become threats to your business too? That’s what this episode of Th...

Artificial intelligence will shape the way your customers interact with your brand. That’s undoubtedly true. In fact, it’s possible we’ll see cases where the customer might not interact directly with your business, letting their AI agent handle the transaction on their behalf. OK, that’s still probably a few years away. But it’s clearly on the horizon. And that potential behavior might mean trouble for your brand. In theory, it’s possible that AI could kill brands for good. Or could it? As it ...

Digital gatekeepers always work to get between you and your customers. That was true five years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago. And it’s still true today. They kill organic traffic to raise their revenues and gain greater profits. That hasn’t changed in decades, and I don’t believe it’s going to change anytime soon. What can you do about it? How can you bypass the gatekeepers and grow your business? That’s what this repost of a prior Thinks Out Loud episode is all about. Want to learn mo...

Consumers are adopting AI at a remarkable pace, as fast as they adopted computers and the internet. And we’re only starting to see how that might shape our businesses in the longer term. Part of the problem is that it’s not always easy to know which customers are using artificial intelligence and how they’re using it. One way to think about it though is to look at how a single individual uses AI, not as a representative sample, but to get a clearer picture of some of the possibilities of AI use...

A listener of this show told me recently that, “People are already overwhelmed with the amount of social media they manage.” That’s a real challenge, on that can make it tough to find the time, resources, and budget to break up with Google, Facebook, and the rest of Big Tech. And that’s a problem. Because reducing your dependence on Big Tech is core to driving more profitable revenue for your business in the long term. So, how do you do it? How do you diversify your marketing mix when you’ve a...

Google faces enormous threats to its business. New entrants using artificial intelligence may provide a better search experience for their customers. Those same new entrants are also competing for Google’s massive ad revenues. And, of course, the search giant is fighting for its life in a government antitrust case. Those are major challenges — and a giant signal that Google might not win the AI economy. At the same time, they’re still one of the world’s most valuable brands and a key driver of ...

Is AI destined to make content, music, art, and marketing worse? Almost certainly. Truly. It’s also almost certainly going to help many people create many great works that they had neither the skills or access to create in the past. That’s the reality of new technology and new tools. As the quote says, “when you invent the ship, you invent the shipwreck.” Some of what AI offers will be amazing. Some will be will terrible. The key for marketers, business professionals, artists, and, frankly, ever...

Google makes immense amounts of money. It is, by far, the biggest website in the world. Its size and success, though, can mask deeper issues. Its size and success can hide big problems. And Google has a big AI problem. Google, in all likelihood, is also one of the the biggest drivers of traffic and revenues for your business. And its problems — big or small — could be a much bigger problem for you. That’s why it’s crucial that you keep on what’s happening to the search giant… and why you’re rea...

Building Plans for an Uncertain Future — Big Tech Earnings Q2 2024 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 431) Big Tech announced their earnings for Q2 2024 and, to be honest, not much has changed in terms of the big trends. Lots of talk about artificial intelligence. Lots of talk about cloud computing. Lots of talk about advertising. You know what we didn’t hear lots of talk about? Customers changing their behaviors much. What’s also true is that customers can change at any time. We saw it with mobile. We...

We talk a lot on this show about diversifying away from Big Tech generally, and about diversifying away from Google, specifically. Which is great in theory. But it can be hard to do in practice. As one listener of the show said recently, “People are already overwhelmed with the amount of social media they manage.” Even if you want to diversify, it can be tough to find the time and resources and budget to make that happen. So, what can you do? How can you diversify your marketing mix when there’...

The big news story this week is that Google lost (the first round of) its antitrust case in Federal court. While it’s way too soon to know for sure how this will affect your business in the near term, it’s nowhere near too soon to think about why it matters in the long run. Because, if you’re like most businesses, Google represents a significant chunk of your traffic and revenues. Anything that causes them to lose focus, lose their mojo, or, most importantly, lose trust among consumers ultimatel...

Big Tech and AI are the biggest threats to your business. At the same time, they’re also the biggest enablers of your business. Putting them to work for your business is a tricky balancing act. But it’s one that you can manage. The trick is building from five key themes that Big Tech and AI bring to the market. What are those five key themes? How can you balance the threat and benefit of Big Tech and AI? And, most importantly, how can you put Big Tech and AI to work to build your business? That...

Peter Drucker said it years ago: Your job is to create a customer. But creating a customer can be hard, especially as media and creators and influencers get bought out or burned out. Essentially, media is continually in a process of being bundled or unbundled, of integrating and dis-integrating. So, how are you supposed to acquire customers — to create customers — in that world? The simple fact is that the world we all live in changes constantly. It’s true for your customers. It’s true for your...

Smart companies are using AI to improve their sales, marketing, and customer service. Even where the tools aren’t transformational, they’re helping businesses large and small drive greater effectiveness and efficiency. And that’s even before you consider their impact on the individuals on your team. How is your business supposed to compete with that? Is the answer to “fight fire with fire” and simply “sprinkle a little AI on it?” Or, is there a better way? (Spoiler: There’s a better way). So, ...

Are you still bullish on artificial intelligence for marketing? I am, even despite the AI hype cycle starting to run its course. Yes, more people are asking, “What’s the point of artificial intelligence for our marketing and our business anyway?” And that’s a Good Thing™. It shows that more people are looking past the hype of AI and instead asking “how can we use artificial intelligence well to improve our customer experiences and to improve our business results?” In short, people are asking, “H...

The world is changing quickly. Artificial intelligence and Big Tech and changing customer behaviors are advancing rapidly. It can feel like they’re running us down like a hungry bear and that we have to keep running… or face the consequences. There is a way to ensure you can outrun the bear though. And that’s by continuing to learn. The question is, what are the best ways to improve your learning? How can you keep up with the amount of information necessary to learn, stay informed, and continue...

The AI hype cycle is running its course, with more people starting to ask, “What’s the point of artificial intelligence for our marketing and our business anyway?” That’s good. That’s a super healthy development. Why is that a healthy development? Because it means more people are looking past the hype of AI and instead asking “how can we put this to work?” The key point to note is that you can put AI to work in marketing for your business. And what’s most important is looking at how you do that...

In a recent episode, we looked at how Google is using artificial intelligence to change the search experience and why that’s ultimately a risk to your business. To offset that risk, we started a brief series on how to build traffic and revenue beyond Google. Today, we’re expanding that series by introducing you to our CORE Methodology, a framework for choosing the right channels to market your company. What is the CORE Methodology? How does it help you? And how do you put it to work to build tr...

Google is changing search. The company’s AI Overviews features increasingly puts answers in front of customers, bypassing the need for a click. The problem for you is that those clicks often drive traffic and revenue for your business. Even if you can do cool SEO activities to figure out how to be the answer presented, that’s still no guarantee that customers will end up on your website or app. And that’s potentially very bad for your business. What can you do about it? It starts with building ...