Blog news

The Google-dance has happened to b2blog!. Two months after switching URLs, it looks like Google has fully assimilated the site. My page rank is 5 again. The archives are getting hits from the search engines, instead of to the old site. And I finally invested in Blogger Pro to make posting a little easier and to pay kudos for their services. (Also made a "Amazon donation" to Harmonica Lessons website, too. Keeping the internet economy going.)

I'll be posting an article about site search, inspired by a recent white paper from GlobalSpec.

How do I control my URL

This article makes you feel like ownership of your URL is held together with bubble gum and string.

Where the hell is my website?

Helping a friend

Vincent Flanders asked at Web Pages That Suck what you would do if your spouse had a website that sucked? I think this applies to any family or friend who knows your are involved in web sites. Here are my thoughts: I'd do two things...

1. Give him/her a copy of Web-Usability by Jakob Neilsen. It's more subtle than Vincent's book.

2. I'd ask him/her to show you their best competitor's website, then ask them what makes it the best. Maybe compare it one-for-one with their site.

Then make a list of things that they should/can add to their site to make it more like that competitor. That will help them focus and be ready to dump certain techniques.

CRM shopping update

Well, the local Goldmine rep hasn't called me back regarding my two messages I left. Someone I know says their contract with Goldmine is on the rocks, so maybe that is why. They also pointed out their very high support rates, which, when rolled into my quote don't look that scarry, but by their own are quite high.

I talked to the inside sales manager at SalesLogix this week. He advised me that as long as I am talking to one of their resellers, I should stick with them until I request to eliminate the relationship thru SalesLogix. This is done to avoid competition between dealers, which I understand. He did tell me that if I want their software set-up to work with our ERP software, I will have to buy from our ERP company, as they are the only ones licensed to sell that version.

So, trying to select from the top two CRM software packages is going to be an excercise in patience, it looks like!

Are they for real???

Apparently SBC Communications wants royalties for a certain type of web interface. Royalty fees in the thousands per year, to boot. Found on www.f*****company.com

Museum Tour requested to pay license to SBC for patent

Update: This story is hitting the press pretty good. Here is a sample article ComputerWorld

Blog marketing

In response to an email I recieved:

I’ve heard about marketing related blogs, but I think they will be hard to pull off. You need a number of ingredients:

Knowledge
Passion
Personality
Support

Knowledge is the hardest, I think, especially if you aren’t selling a service. Why? Because people are going to be most interested the experiences of other users like themselves. No one wants to hear a salesman pontificate about his products success and wonderful uses, will they? (Services are different because you are selling your knowledge.)

My idea is to do a limited-time blog for the sole purpose of documenting a customer experience. Take my current shopping for a CRM program and subsequent installation. A blog could be a diary of my experience. The CRM company could feature my blog as a way to let new potential clients see and prepare for such an undertaking. Of course the question is how do my efforts become owned/used by the company I am buying from and why?

Interesting?

A new website tool for me

I've always found myself looking for tools to help do what a computer should be able to do. Right now, I want to learn how to better control access to my website and my blog. Turns out that adding a "htaccess" file can do a lot of behind-the-scenes tricks like automatic redirects. I'm going to try this to get my old blog page off of Google. Google says until it sees the redirect, it will still crawl the site, although the bare-bones content there should reduces its value considerably. Here is a helpful guide to the tricks you can employ.

Comprehensive guide to .htaccess- intro

About B2B marketplaces

Online marketplaces were promised to revolutionize business, and it is partially true. This article reports the electronics industry still has 83% of its B2B exchanges in existance, in comparison with half that for this type of market in general. For the small players like me, we aren't affected, but we should know what the marketplace is doing or not doing.

Electronic Business

Postcard decks redux

I've written about postcard deck advertising before. Attracted the attention of a fellow launching a new product who asked me to recommend some decks. My market is different than his, but I did write this back to him.

But some advice I will give you is that it is best to pick card decks associated with a trade publication if at all possible. They have certified their circulation list via a BPA audit. There are a lot of secondary card decks out there using less credible, but maybe viable, lists. One I get mailings from is www.venturedirect.com. They seem large enough to be trustworthy.

Since my post last year, I've become even less likely to run card decks. They are good for getting attention, but less valuable for brand building. Plus my marketing interests are shifting. One thing I will tell you to not expect many cards to actually be returned. Most that are will be from prisoners.

I expect that the card deck is a dying breed anyway. Two publications I know of are sending emails instead of, or in conjunction with their snail-mailing. To that end, you might consider sponsoring a third-party newsletter, perhaps for an online site, or a trade publication. Then it becomes branding.

Scam busted!

Blogging sometimes seems hardly worth it if you count by page views, but the number of people I've talked to along the way has made it enjoyable.

I received an email from the Canadian Competition Bureau, who investigates deceptive telemarketing. They were responding to my posting dated October 01/2002 about receiving phone calls from ecommerceregister.com.

Turns out they have filed charges against this company for deceptive telemarketing, among other things. Turns out there was a relationship with Hanson Publications, who used to keep calling wanting to "renew my directory listing".

If you've been contacted by ecommerceregister, I'm sure the Canadian Competition Bureau would love to hear from you. Email me and I will get you in touch with the right people.

Robbed on Google

Someone copied a website 100%, then submitted to Google under another domain name. The original site disappears off Google and the new site now redirects to another site. Cruel! Will this be a trend?

MarketingFix: Is it Possible to Steal Website Domains on Google?

Making a better ad

Based on this survey, one could create a "don't do this" list for b2b advertising. I'm working on a new ad that probably breaks about half of these. The other half I'm probably breaking but don't realize it!

Mobium Survey The results are in. Here’s how people responded to Mobium’s question, “What’s wrong with business-to-business communications?”

The limitation of the Internet for engineers

"A search engine can locate specific information you are looking for, but it can't provide information that you didn't know you might need."

The editor of a trade magazine makes the argument that publications and trade shows have value by bringing learning and interaction that move technology forward. I'd add that salespeople are still part of that mix. What he has done is acknowledge that print/shows/sales needs to realize that they are not just about product data, but education and collaboration.

Test & Measurement World Online

How early 90s!

I just got a 19 page fax. And not one I requested either. It is a survey for "buyers guide" for a trade publication I have only passing interest in. Pages 4 to 18 is a list of products that I'm supposed to go thru and check which ones we offer. Most are just different chemical compounds which I don't even offer. Then I suppose they want me to fax back all 19 pages?? And someone there is supposed to read the 8 point type that's been faxed twice?

I know it can be hard to get support to apply technology for a project, but it is painful getting the fax. I can only imagine what the coordinator of this project will feel when she gets hundreds of these back.

An interesting read

Mark Joyner is someone I've been interested in, but maybe a little sceptical of, too. He is a great copy-writer, and here is a good one to read. You'll learn more about cloned babies and marketing at the same time!

MindControlMarketing.Com Letters

Goldmine demo

We had the local "platinum" reseller for Goldmine in yesterday to discuss our needs and demo the software. An overall positive experience. He will set me up with a "thin-client" so I can test out the software on his server--pretty nice!

He made me realize that I haven't got an official response from SalesLogix yet. Its getting to be a while. I'm a forgiving person, but if you are selling sales tools, I expect first-class service. So far, SaleLogix has a hole to dig out of.

A recommendation

I read this book last year and was just recommending it at Heal Your Church Website, and thought I should recommend it here. A perfect balance of the nitty gritty issues without getting technical.

The Art & Science of Web Design by Jeffrey Veen

Another survey???

What is it with CRM people and forms? And forms that don't link into their own CRM software, no less. I got another one today from the Goldmine dealer I mentioned in the previous post. Apparently Goldmine did let them know to contact me, so the felf compelled to send me their own form. There weren't many questions, but why do they need to be asked, and in this manner? Having trouble starting a conversation? The other Goldmine/Saleslogix guy I talked to asked similar questions. Here are today's two questions:

Your three biggest sales and marketing pains (e.g. qualify leads faster, obtain more new leads, provide timely inquiry response, nurture current leads/relationships, reduce time to prepare quotes, forecast sales better, improve team selling processes, analyze our markets and territories, develop a practical marketing plan, etc.).

Does our closure rate on trade show leads exceed our market share percentage?

What is our closure rate on proposals to qualified prospects?

Our customer retention rate is?

What are the first questions you want to ask your customer? How do you want them asked? What impression do you want to make? Should I trust CRM "consultants" who don't ask themselves these questions?