So I spent literally my entire weekend thus far making a presentation for my very last class of my MBA. It’s a presentation on public policy analysis, only 15-20 minutes long. Why we spent so long on it has to do with our inability to work together without laughing and telling stories between short spurts of hard work. However it made for a very happy day and a very creative presentation.

Now that I have eaten my dinner I plan to shower and get down to doing the final exams for this class so that I can go to school tomorrow having completed all the coursework to earn my (already kind of granted) MBA.

Then onto 13 days of my medicine sub-I, three days of mad studying, Step 2, and brighter pastures: Neurology.

I love my life.

PROM business done : Ordered my corsage. Made my nail appointment. Finalized a hair style. Shopped and my final dress fitting is tomorrow.

Finished my part for my last group project of High School. Watching Step Up. FINALLY saw Think Like A Man. Painted my nails blue. Got ColdStone.

I think today was very productive :D <33

Today it has become vital the MBA candidates for a MBA guide or make a guide for them to be able to pass MBA entrance examination. the marks one scores is what plays a vital role in being selected for MBA courses today thus making a MBA guide a vital tool to access before sitting for MBA entrance exams. But there is one factor that comes before searching for MBS guides which is willingness to make sacrifices so as to mold a successful MBA future.

Recent studies show many candidates have been appearing for the MBA entrance exams due to peer pressure and this has been directly linked to the high number of failed MBA exams by candidates. It is vital that parents understand that the candidates are not studying for them and for themselves. This means that the candidate should only apply for MBA courses that they want to pursue in the future. The list of courses could be found on many MBA guide and it is more important that a candidate choose a course they genuinely like to increase the chances of passing MBA entrance exams.

If the course has been chosen is the desired one that the MBA candidate wants to pursue in the future than MBA guides linked to the course should be searched for on the internet and universities which will make it easier to pass MBA entrance exams. This is because the subject’s that would be involved would be of interest to the candidate thus leading them to study more intensely and understand solutions to problems that may crop up during MBA entrance exams. The MBA candidate’s future is also at stake and the course must be carefully selected to avoid MBA degrees from being a total waste.

Wastage of time and money following MBA guides a candidate may not desire and only do them due to peer pressure have been noted to be a pure loss in the future. This is because many candidates are doing the courses to please parents and once the course are completes and MBA degrees achieved many candidates are known to abandon the profession for their desired one. Many MBA have been noted to pursue fields like agriculture and many other fields after graduation and this occurs due to peer pressure. It results in a total wastage of time for the lecturer, candidate and parents since only having a degree does not help achieve anything. MBA guides should be used only to pass MBA entrance exams of ones choice so as for them to pursue the career in the future.

This was one of my favorite classes at Tuck. Scott Neslin is a fantastic professor. For me, what made the class really interesting was the exceptionally hands-on nature of the material, and the fact that finally I understood what the smart people at Quantcast (my prior employer) actually did.

I’ll leave the technical matters out - it’s all there in the course materials. But the key learnings were all managerial:

• Database Marketing (DBM) is the use of customer databases to enhance marketing productivity through more effective acquisition and retention of customers.
• Profit Equation of any marketing campaign:

  

DBM is best used to Enhance Marketing Productivity, Enhance Customer relationships and Create competitive Advantage. How do we do this? The 3 fundamental tools are:

• Tool 1: Lifetime Value of the Customer: The net pres

  

  ent value of incremental future expected profit contribution once a customer has been acquired.
• Tool 2: Predictive Modeling: The use of statistical tools to decide which customers to target for marketing efforts.
• Tool 3: Experimentation (testing): The use of small sample tests to decide which customers to target for marketing efforts. Usually done in conjunction with Predictive Modeling.

There are strategic and organizational issues with DBM that must be addressed:

• Competition: How will they react? Think back to core strategy/game theory dynamics. Our data is the key advantage - no one knows your customer better than you do.
• Competence: Not every organization is a Quantcast. Can your company actually do any DBM or should it be outsourced? What tools should be used? Should we assume the “black box” mentality - that is trust the algorithms in the tool?
• Organizational: How does Marketing coordinate with Finance and the technical/engineering people? Should we be customer-centric or product-centric?
• Marketing Integration: How do we communicate across all mediums (media-mix), and not conflict with existing campaigns.
• Systems Integration: Who pays for the necessary databases and systems?

Database marketing elevates the platform from which you exercise your best judgment. It’s a very powerful quantitative tool to help you be a better general manager.

I found this online this afternoon whilst doing some research for an essay. Though an hour long, it’s a great speech with some some great take aways for the viewer. There is some irony to having found this the week of my last exams as an undergraduate at Manchester Business School.

Enjoy.