Telecom Italia CEO Says Iliad, Poste Are Its Only M&A Options
On a conference call with analysts Thursday, CEO Pietro Labriola reiterated comments dating back to 2022 that 'for consolidation, Iliad or Poste were the only possibilities.' Italy's one-time phone monopoly does not have a preference for a possible partner, the CEO said. 'We remain focused on results and executing our plan.'
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Time Business News
28 minutes ago
- Time Business News
How Smart Marketers Use the 80/20 Rule to Double Their Success
Marketing can feel overwhelming. You have dozens of strategies, hundreds of customers, and countless ways to spend your budget. But what if I told you there's a simple rule that can help you focus on what really matters? The 80/20 Rule in Marketing has been helping businesses grow for decades. This powerful principle can transform how you think about your customers, campaigns, and results. The 80/20 rule, also called the Pareto Principle, states that 80% of your results come from just 20% of your efforts. An Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto discovered this pattern in the 1800s when he noticed that 80% of Italy's wealth belonged to 20% of the population. This same pattern shows up everywhere in business and marketing. Most companies find that: 80% of sales come from 20% of customers 80% of complaints come from 20% of clients 80% of revenue comes from 20% of products 80% of website traffic comes from 20% of pages The numbers don't have to be exactly 80/20. Sometimes it's 90/10 or 70/30. The key point is that a small portion of your efforts creates most of your results. Start by looking at your data. Don't worry – you don't need to be a math expert. Here are simple ways to spot your 80/20 patterns: Customer Analysis: List your customers by how much they spend with you each year. You'll probably find that your top 20% of customers generate most of your revenue. These are your VIP customers who deserve special attention. Product Performance: Which products or services make you the most money? Often, a few star products carry the weight while others barely break even. Marketing Channels: Track where your best customers come from. Is it social media, email, referrals, or paid ads? The 80/20 Rule in Marketing often reveals that one or two channels bring in most of your quality leads. Content Success: Look at your blog posts, videos, or social media content. A few pieces probably get shared much more than others and bring in more customers. Amazon discovered that a small number of products generated most of their profits. They focused their marketing budget on promoting these winners instead of trying to push everything equally. Netflix found that 80% of viewer hours came from 20% of their content. They used this insight to invest more in creating hit shows rather than producing lots of mediocre content. A local restaurant owner I know realized that 20% of her menu items brought in 80% of her profits. She simplified her menu, reduced costs, and increased profits by focusing on what customers actually wanted. Once you know your 80/20 patterns, you can make smarter decisions: Budget Allocation: Spend more money on the marketing channels that bring your best customers. If email marketing generates 60% of your sales but only gets 10% of your budget, it's time to rebalance. Customer Focus: Give your top 20% of customers extra attention. Send them special offers, check in personally, and ask for their feedback. Happy VIP customers often become your best source of referrals. Content Strategy: Create more content similar to your top performers. If how-to videos get more engagement than product photos, make more tutorials. Product Development: Instead of launching completely new products, consider improving your best sellers or creating variations that appeal to your top customers. The 80/20 Rule in Marketing isn't about ignoring the other 80% of your efforts. It's about being strategic with your time and money. Don't cut everything that isn't in your top 20%. Sometimes the 'less productive' 80% serves important purposes like attracting new customers or supporting your main offerings. Also, remember that your 80/20 patterns can change over time. Review your data regularly – maybe every six months – to make sure you're still focusing on the right things. Some businesses get so focused on their top customers that they stop trying to find new ones. This can be dangerous if your VIP customers leave or if market conditions change. You don't need fancy software to start using this principle. Begin with simple questions: Which customers spend the most with me? What marketing activities bring the best results? Which products make me the most profit? Start tracking this information if you aren't already. Even basic spreadsheets can help you spot patterns. The 80/20 Rule in Marketing works because it forces you to focus on what really moves the needle in your business. Instead of trying to do everything perfectly, you can invest your limited time and money where they'll have the biggest impact. Remember, marketing success isn't about working harder – it's about working smarter. The 80/20 rule helps you do exactly that by showing you where your efforts will pay off the most. Start small, track your results, and watch as this simple principle transforms your marketing results. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Britain's net-zero scheme is being derailed by opposition to solar and wind projects
Britain's plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 won't be derailed by high costs, even though Brits are now paying some of the world's highest residential electricity prices. Nor will the effort be derailed by lack of support from the Labour Party, which has issued a manifesto claiming that Britain will be a ' clean energy superpower.' Instead, the country's net-zero scheme will fail because of the fierce opposition from rural landowners throughout the British Isles. They are telling the owners of proposed solar and wind projects to take their oceans of photovoltaic panels and forests of giant turbines and put them somewhere the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. The proof is in the numbers. Since Jan. 1, there have been nearly four dozen rejections of solar or wind projects in England, Ireland, and Scotland. Among the latest was a rejection last month in Kent, where a planning inspector spiked plans for a massive solar project owned by the French company EDF. The 257-acre project was rejected due to what the planning inspector determined would be a ' significant adverse effect on the receiving landscape.' Also in July, a scheme that aimed to cover 114 acres of prime agricultural land in Scotland with solar panels was rejected by local officials. The project near the town of Coupar Angus had received 44 letters of objection and just one letter in support. I have been tracking the rural backlash against alt-energy projects in the U.S. for 15 years. As the Renewable Rejection Database shows, there have been at least 878 rejections or restrictions of wind and solar projects in the U.S. since 2013, including 82 this year. I am also tracking the international opposition to alt-energy in the Global Renewable Rejection Database. The numbers in the global database show the extent of the local opposition to solar and wind energy in the British Isles. Thus far in 2025, there have been 64 rejections or restrictions of solar or wind projects in countries outside of the U.S. Of that number, 45 have been in England, Ireland, or Scotland. And of that sum, six rejections occurred in July alone. The opposition to these projects is ferocious, and it has been ongoing since at least 2016, when local campaigners defeated a proposal to build a 12-turbine wind project near Scotland's Loch Ness. One of the latest high-profile battles is over the proposed Calderdale Energy project in West Yorkshire. If built, the 300-megawatt plant, promoted by a Saudi outfit called Al Gihaz Holding, would be one of the biggest onshore wind projects in England. The plan calls for 41 massive turbines, standing 200 meters high, to be built amid Walshaw Moor, a region believed to have inspired Emily Brontë's masterpiece, 'Wuthering Heights.' The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has called the project ' entirely inappropriate.' Opponents have already collected over 15,000 signatures calling for the rejection of the giant bird-chopping project. The surging resistance to solar and wind projects in Britain rhymes with what I have seen all over the world. Although climate NGOs, the pro-solar claque, and pro-wind lobbyists try to dismiss rural residents' objections as NIMBYism ('not in my backyard'), the reality is that everyone, everywhere, cares about what happens in their neighborhoods. Over the last 15 years, I have interviewed dozens of people from numerous countries who have fought solar and wind projects. Their concerns are the same. They are rightly concerned about the deleterious health impacts caused by noise pollution from wind turbines. They are concerned the projects will hurt their property values. Numerous studies have shown that wherever solar and wind projects are built, the value of nearby properties tends to fall. They are concerned about their landscapes and viewsheds. They are also worried about wildlife. And increasingly, objections are being made about the destruction of agricultural land. To cite just one example, last year, the provincial government in Alberta announced an 'agriculture first' policy designed to protect Canadian farmland from solar and wind development. The province also created a 70,000 square kilometer buffer zone around the Rocky Mountains to preserve viewsheds from alt-energy development. Despite the never-ending hype about renewable energy, land-use conflicts are a binding constraint on the expansion of solar and wind energy. That's true in England, Ireland, Scotland, and in rural communities worldwide. After watching these fights for years, it is clear to me that the farmers, ranchers, and residents of rural communities are not just going to roll over and take it. They will continue to fight to protect their communities, and the numbers in the Global Renewable Rejection Database will continue to rise.
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Nuclear Plant's Unexpected Adversary Is Jellyfish
Bonjour et bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I'm Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz. If you haven't yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter. Mid-August is traditionally the slowest news period of the year in France, with politicians, financiers, business executives and most readers on vacation.
