Archive for the ‘Rants & Raves’ Category

Can you really make a “Brick & Mortar” business successful on the web?

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Get ready.. This is going to be one of my famous rants..

I took some time this weekend to thumb through the paper and take a look at the local companies who advertise there. I ran across a couple of companies (names withheld to protect the guilty) that run sizable ads – like quarter page or larger – that had previously contacted me saying they weren’t seeing the results they wanted from the web and wanted to know how we could improve their site.

What I think is funny is that in each case, the costs of everything I proposed to them (including an AdWords budget) would have cost less than $1,000 with me completely guaranteeing the results. In both cases, I was told no because of budgetary reasons, or that they didn’t feel the plan I proposed would work for “their business”.

It totally bewilders me how somebody who could spend hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dollars for an advertisement that runs one day, but won’t even give a second though to investing a few bucks into improving their website so that it targets their ideal client, weeds out unqualified or undesirable clients, and compels a direct response from the visitors, which generates leads and sales at virtually no cost.

Guess what, mystery companies Y & Z: You’re about to start hearing from me a lot more.. and here’s why: You are my perfect client. It isn’t because I think you have a bad website (actually, one of them is VERY nice).. It’s simply because you appear to have never seen success from your sites.

Experience is a great teacher, and it has taught me that even though many times I have to drag the customer kicking and screaming, once they actually start receiving results from their website their entire outlook changes. Not just their outlook, but their bottom line as well. We don’t get in there and try to recommend technology just for the sake of recommending technology. We focus on your goals and what it takes to get there.

We also teach you how to measure your results. Most of the time, this is the one thing that our competition leaves out. Sure you can have a great looking web site, but do people buy? Do they sign up for more info? If you are advertising online, what ads are they clicking on?

If you don’t know the answers to those questions. Don’t worry, you will. Don’t get caught up in the mindset where you think that your business is somehow different. We can work with every business and every industry and I guarantee you, we will find a way to make your website more profitable.

As for companies Y & Z.. I have a strange feeling you will see their success stories here soon.

Thanks for your time!

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If you want to market by email – learn the rules.

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

You know, I have long suffered from a condition that makes me easily annoyed with people who don’t have at least a little respect for my personal e-mail address.

As many of you know, I have been known to buy a house or two in my time for investment purposes. As such, I am a member of a Real Estate Investors Association. During our meetings, new investors who are trying to build up a list of contacts are always asking for cards or passing out email list sign-up forms. I have no problem at all with this practice as I think it is a great way to build a network.. However, where I am going with this is that there should be some certification required before people are allowed to send out a message with over just a few recipients. ESPECIALLY if it is a marketing message.

Let me phrase it differently: Putting a group of recipients that don’t know each other in the “TO:” box of a message instead of the “BCC:” box of a message should be a crime. This is one of my biggest pet peeves – ever – and it seems there is always a new batch of nitwits that don’t have the common sense to figure it out. I mean, really, it’s bad enough that every time I buy a product online I have to search the page for that conveniently pre-checked box that subscribes me to another newsletter that I don’t want.. Why should I have to be constantly replying to people and explaining to them that there are some simple rules you should follow, out of common courtesy, when sending an email.

SO:

I have come up with what I think could be a polite, but effective way to curb this. Instead of replying with my normal, canned response, I have come up with a new response. Here it is:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your message, but I think you might have have broken one of the rules.

Please visit: http://www.pleaselearntherules.com/

Thank you and regards.

Yes, as you may have guessed, I also created the Please Learn The Rules web site. Now before you go on ranting about how much time I must have on my hands, consider that I have about a half hour in putting that site online (most of which was re-wording the text several times so people don’t get offended). Then think of how much time it takes to skim through 40 or 50 emails a day that you have no interest in, just to find out you have no interest in them. In that respect, you could say I did it for the benefit of everyone.

Feel free to send along any rule-breakers you come across to the site also. Let’s take back our inboxes and spread the word!

Thanks for your time.

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Posted in Marketing & Social Media, Rants & Raves | No Comments »

Take control of your domain – its yours!

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Wow. This is one of those blog entries that I really hate to write. The reason I hate writing it is that it is very real situation that happens probably a lot more than even I think. What warrants it as this weeks topic of a rant is that a friend and client of mine is going through it as we speak. 

I am sure you heard of the “bargain” companies that offer a “free domain name” with their hosting services. The catch is that when you try to leave, you find that you never really owned your domain at all and you can’t take it with you. This little trick has been around for a while now, and I would hope that anyone reading this would smell this scheme from a mile away and steer clear of it.

Well that’s not really what happened here, but the end result is the same, and in this case leaves me scratching my head. You see in this case, my friend/client is the legal registrant of the domain but still seems to be powerless to change the contacts and/or transfer it to another registrar.

Before I go too far, (and sorry for making an example out of you, {name removed for privacy}) I just want to make one statement to anyone who did not register their own domain name: GET YOUR DOMAIN NAME UNDER YOUR NAME AND CONTROL, NOW! I don’t care who registered it for you if it was a web developer, your “computer guy” or even uncle Fred.

Here is the story: This particular client purchased a highly customized version of my Premier Sites database system. At the time, a quick WHOIS showed me that his “computer guy” owned his domain. I mentioned to him that he should get it put in his name – and he did – or so he thought.

Here we are over a year later and we determine we need to make some changes to his nameserver records. No big deal, right? Well, as it turns out, even though he is the “registrant” of the domain, all of the “contacts” for the domain remained as his computer guy. 

It just so happens that at the same time there is some billing disagreement between them and the computer guy basically refuses to make any changes.. or.. get this.. even approve a transfer to another registrar.

Obviously your first thought is “Well, let’s just write a little letter and get it changed. After all, I *AM* the registrant, right?” Wrong.

Interestingly enough – guess who the registrar is? You guessed it. The computer guy. He is part of some domain reseller program, who, when calling the “parent” company listens quietly to your request then tells you contact your reseller.

Gee, thanks.

Will he get his domain back? Yes – but it will be a potentially nasty fight. You see ICANN has rules about people hijacking domains, but they are all geared towards someone who takes someone else’s trademark and tries to sell it back to them. In this case, the client is even the legal registrant – so none of the normal ICANN rules apply.

Fortunately, the client and I have identified a couple of options, although neither are particularly attractive, he WILL get his domain back.. eventually.

I will do my best to keep all of you that are interested updated on the outcome of this – but please, Please, PLEASE – I am BEGGING you – Check the ownership and Administrative contact for your domain names and make sure it is YOU.

Sorry for the rant, but I hope it saves you some money and frustration in the future.

Thanks for your time.

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Let’s talk about listening..

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

I write about this a lot – and rightfully so – I believe it is one of the most fundamental things that a business can do to increase sales, customer satisfaction, ROI, TCO, IRR or whatever acronym or metric you want to use. Why do I believe this? Because I have proven it.

The topic: LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS!

Your customers will tell you what they want – but most of the time they won’t make you listen to them. One of the things that I always try to help my clients do is find ways to measure the wants and needs of their customers. Not just the customers you like and maybe have a chummy relationship with, but even those that you might feel are a little more of a pain to deal with. Have you ever given thought to why they might be a pain in the first place? Usually they will tell you.

In his book The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz tells us that Big people monopolize the listening and small people monopolize the talking. In all of my reading, I have found listening to your customer to be one of the most common qualities that all marjor business success stories have in common.

In all this talk about listening, I keep talking about your customers. I’m not talking about just your current customers, although that’s a good start. You should also look into capturing the opinions of customers that decide not to do business with you. Even better, find out what happened to those customers who have done business with you before but don’t anymore. You might think you know the answer already, but ask anyway. I have found that many times people are surprised at what they find!

Another strategy is to talk to the folks that are on the front lines with the customer like your delivery driver, customer service rep or salesperson – find out what they think – get their opinion on how you’re doing as well. Make it anonymous if you want – you are looking for honesty not praise here. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart once flew his aircraft to Mt. Pleasant, Texas and parked it with instructions to the copilot to meet him 100 or so miles down the road. He then flagged down a Wal-Mart semi-truck and rode the rest of the way to “chat with the driver.” When asked about it, he said that it “seemed like so much fun” and that he had learned much. 

In business today, you have the ability to collect and process an enormous amount of information. Perhaps I should rephrase that – you have always had the ability to collect the information – but through a strong systems strategy, you have the ability to store, organize, search and act upon the information you collect. Customer feedback is a crucial part of this cycle. Why do you think that just about any time you buy something online these days you get a questionairre in your email a few days later? 

Think about it.

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New year, New Site, New Opportunities..

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Well here we have it. I think that quite possibly for the first time in history I am actually going to make good on a new years resolution before new years day. 

If you haven’t checked out the web site today, you might want to take a quick peek. It’s changed. 

A lot.

I have been in need of cleaning some things up, removing services that I no longer offer, etc, and kept putting it off under the notion that client projects had to take priority.

As you know the old saying, carpe diem, I took the opportunity while most of my clients were off work and closed down through the holidays to go ahead and put the last few polishing touches needed to make the site live.

It’s still a work in progress. I want to completely update the Products area to put more information up about PowerHelm and Premier Sites, but it will have to wait for a couple more weeks.

Anyway, my personal goal was to have the site up on New Years Day, I managed to make it happen.. A day early none the less!

If this is an indication of how 2008 is going to be for Mosier Information Services, well, all I can say is “Watch Out, Here we come!”

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Merry Christmas To Everyone

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

Just a quick and easy note to say Merry Christmas. 

I hope that everyone reading this is having a wonderful day! If you don’t celebrate Christmas then please replace the word Christmas with whatever your December holiday is called and I truly hope it is your happiest and most joyful one yet!

(PS – Stay tuned to this channel, I have a feeling you’re going to see some big changes toMosierData.com somewhere around the first!)

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Why I hate the term “Consultant”

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Since founding Mosier Information Services, I have gone through a sort of transition. My very first business card listed my title as “President”. After a while in business, I had a new logo designed (the one we use today) and took the opportunity to update my title on my business card to “Developer / Consultant” mainly because I felt that was a little more descriptive of my job.

Today, I am again making a change to my title. I have decided to call myself a “solutions architect” instead of consultant. If you’re like everyone I have run this by so far, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “What?!”

Let me explain.

I made a conscious effort to drop consultant. As a matter of fact, I will work over the next weeks to drop the word consulting from anything that Mosier Information Services does. Not because I don’t think we’re good at helping clients – quite the opposite is true – but there is a particular stereotype that goes along with consultants. 

That stereotype – the one that during my days as an IT Director I agreed with wholeheartedly – is one that I want to shake. I forget where I heard it, but the old saying goes something like, “A consultant is someone who will borrow your watch then charge you to tell you what time it is.” 

Another illustration is from an old story talks about a plumber that was called in to fix a leak. He took a careful look at the pipe, gripped his hammer with both hands and struck the pipe as hard as he could. The leak stopped. He then presented a bill to the customer for $250.35. The client was furious. “This is outrageous; you were only here for two minutes and all you did was hit the pipe!” The plumber took back the bill and itemized it for the customer. When the man got it back it read, “Striking the pipe with hammer – 35 cents. Knowing where to hit – $250.00″

Henry Ford once said “The moment one goes into the expert state of mind, a great number of things become impossible.” I strive to keep Mosier Information Services grounded and am going to do my best to prevent us from ever developing a know-it-all mentality. Yes, we are specialists and have an enormous wealth of specialized knowledge in the technical arena, but the only expert on our customer’s business is our customers.

When we engage with clients, we want to go in and work collaboratively. We want to understand why they do what they do and how on earth they do it. We want to make sure that any solution we propose meets with their expectations, their company culture and the resources they have to make it work. Yes, by some definition, this would still fall under the guise of “consulting” – but to me – and my team – it’s much more than that. We truly enjoy building our clients businesses. Sometimes when we leave a client meeting, the solution that we all agree on have little to do with technology and more to do with organization or marketing, but it always comes from the client’s expertise coupled with our specialized knowledge. 

So in a nutshell, that’s why I have boycotted the title of “Consultant.” Maybe “Solutions Architect” isn’t the best one either, but it’s all I have for now and I am going to run with it until something better comes along. If there is one thing I am not afraid of is change.

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Never Say Never

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

I met with an old co-worker for lunch the other day. I won’t say his name out of respect but if he’s reading this he’ll know who he is. The long and short of the discussion came down to my new “strategy” as a solution architect and he integration of information systems strategy and technology into the nuts-and-bolts of the business.

He told me I was nuts. He said people don’t want the kind of advice I am offering. They hate change. This idea would never work. He offered so many reasons why I should stick to just being a programming and IT services firm that simply does what they are told that I almost gave into it.

After lunch, on the drive home I got to thinking.. Maybe it’s just him that hates change. The reason that I have made this change in my business model is because it DOES work. I didn’t wake up one day and decide that everything was broken and I had to fix it… Mosier Information Services has evolved, and will continue to do so… Exactly like my clients do. The fact that over the last couple of years my clients have allowed me to grow in the role of a trusted partner says it all.

No one ever gets successful making problems into excuses. Colonel Sanders was “too old” to start a business. The Wright Brothers knew that no-one had ever flown. Henry Ford faced a “lack of demand” for his automobiles. David was too young, too unskilled and too poorly equipped to face Goliath. They didn’t let these things stop them from being successful. Neither will I. 

Plus, I forgot to mention one thing at lunch. My success is measured by the success of my clients, not by my annual sales or profits. You will never convince me that aligning my interests with that of my customer is wrong. It’s the strategy that has made several of my clients successful already and it’s the one that got Mosier Information Services where it is today.

In closing, to Mr. X – If you’re reading this – I will leave you with a quote from George Bernard Shaw: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” I appreciate your opinion and hope that your upcoming venture is successful. As for me, I will keep evolving with my clients.

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