The new economy of “Free” is causing a major economic shift that will not go away even after we recover from the financial crisis. Here is an example of two high-end (expensive) Steak House chains and how they are adopting (or not adopting) to the new economy of “free”.

Pundits are still sorting out the underlying causes of the Great Recession triggered by the 2007 housing bubble burst that led to a high rate of defaults on subprime mortgages. But, there is a less obvious economic megatrend that has been brewing for years now that can significantly impact your luxury real estate marketing practice. The new economy of “Free” is causing a major economic shift that will not go away even after we recover from the financial crisis. Riding this wave of change, rather than resisting it, can empower you to take over the market leadership position in your marketplace.

This Blog Has Moved To… As I mentioned in a post yesterday, one bit of BusinessCasualBlog-relevant news relates to “parking” BusinessCasualBlog.com (this blog) in 2011. But, you can still get all these same updates and free content from MelAclaro.com. Oh, I won’t be shutting BCB down anytime soon. (After all,…

Another 365 days quietly slips into the past. A year that had devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, China and Indonesia, its fair share of tropical storms, hurricanes and even large volcanic eruptions in Iceland and Japan. Natural disasters often remind us how extremely insignificant we are.
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Adversity often affords us a special opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people. No other event in 2010 made that more clear to me than the rescuing of the 33-trapped miners after a two-month ordeal underground. Truly inspirational! However why …

I’m cross-posting from MelAclaro.com this year’s Top 10 Lists for the most viewed articles on this blog and on MelAclaro.com. Breaking News About Future Articles on BusinessCasualBlog One bit of BusinessCasualBlog-relevant news piece: About half-way through the video above, you’ll find me musing about “parking” BusinessCasualBlog.com (this blog) in 2011….

Three emerging marketing trends are worth considering when you develop your 2011 luxury real estate marketing plan. They are 1) The return to snail mail vs. email or social media; 2) The direct approach of using the telephone to connect with prospective clients/customers, and; 3) Consumers are seeking intrinsic value vs. status symbols when purchasing luxury goods. Collectively they represent a larger trend in consumer behavior: Contrarian and independent thinking

“What moron would hire you” says Larry King to an agent during a spoof interview. “I don’t care” says the Realtor.
Ouch! It’s a pity that the overall image of real estate agents remain at such low levels that some consumers actually feel that is a true reflection of the industry. Those of you reading this post are clearly way, way better than that, but unfortunately there are “others” out there that…well lets just say, like last week’s parody, the humor hits a nerve. (Go to this actual blog post …