Posts Tagged ‘strategy’

How would you answer this question?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

If you’re among the group of small business owners that have a pulse, you’ve either put up a web site or thought about it. Lets assume, for the purpose of this blog entry, that you do have a web site. I want to ask a challenging question: Are you happy with what it does for you?

The initial response I usually get to that question when I ask it in person is, “What do you mean ‘what it does for me’? It’s just a website.” Sometimes people will tell me that they’re getting however many hits a day or month and others still will tell me how proud they are of the job their brother/sister/cousin/uncle/etc did for free.

What most people don’t know is why I ask the question the way I do. Many assume that my follow up to either of the above answers is some sort of sales pitch to sell them a website. That assumption is dead wrong. I sort of consider it a pre-qualification question. Experience has shown me that people who see a website as an online brochure or some other static existence where the success is measured in “hits” are not my target customer. When I receive one of these answers, I generally change the subject, and, if I’m lucky, the other party in the conversation never figures out what I do for a living.

So, with that being the case, what is the answer I look for? I am looking for the one person out of 30 that responds by telling me how much money their web site is making them. These are the people I can help. Their feet are already wet, they have gotten a taste of business on the web and are generally hungry for more. I am always excited to continue the conversation when it heads this direction. Even more so if they begin to tell me about what they have vs. what they want or list some of the things they wish their site did that they don’t think is possible.

Interestingly enough, the reason I love talking to folks about how to make their business more successful on the web isn’t because I own a web business and am trying to make a sale. I mean, yes, I have to make a living and all, but the real reason is simple: I love creating solutions. It’s a passion I first experienced in the 80’s when I wrote a management system for a Door and Window company on group of Commodore 128 computers sharing a central hard drive… That particular solution in and of itself is a testament to my creativity – and over the last 20 years I have only gotten better. 

Anyway, I need to run for now, but if you are one of those folks that are hungry for doing more with the web, give us a call and lets talk. I promise, no sales pitches and no pressure. Let’s just see if we can come up with some ideas that fit your business. Thanks for your time.

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Posted in Marketing & Social Media, Web Development | No Comments »

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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Posted in Rants & Raves, Systems Strategy | No Comments »

Internal technology matters too

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

I do a lot of client interviews for various reasons. Historically, it’s been to brainstorm with the client on their web strategy or design a custom database solution. More and more now, I find I’m being called in to help determine an overall information system strategy.

One of the first things that I always look for are the jobs everyone seems to complain about. In most companies, especially the smaller companies that tend to be my clients, I often find that these “ugly” tasks aren’t needed at all. In fact, most of the time, they are only there in the first place because that’s the way it was done years ago and no-one ever changed it.

Now even though I am an advocate of change, I rarely recommend a change to a process that works. I just see if there is a way to make it more efficient. Sometimes all that takes is asking the person who does it what would make it better.

Henry Ford often said that when he had a time-consuming and unpleasant task to do, he would assign the “laziest man I can find” to do the job. He observed, “Within a day or two, he will come up with a quick, easy way to do it”

Interestingly enough, most companies don’t need a consultant to come in and explain to them how they can do better. What does a consultant know about your business anyway? After all, if the consultant was so good at your line of work he would be doing it himself, right?

What does this consultant-bashing blog entry have to do with technology? Everything. 

When I talk about information systems strategy, I often talk about things from the perspective of customer service. Equally as important is the internal aspects of information management. Making sure that your employees are well informed and have the proper tools for doing their job goes a long way. Even if you’re a small company – say 10 to 15 people, you can still benefit from things like shared calendars, an intranet (basically an internal bulletin board) and even remote access to email and computers in your office.

If you have all the technology on the outside facing the customer but your internal processes are a mess with no organization or strategy then your customers will eventually be dissatisfied because there is no way you can keep up with your promises and the expectations you are setting for yourself. 

Information Systems can help – but only when you decide to integrate them into your overall business strategy. For many companies it is an ugly process to go through but it is one that is absolutely essential if you expect to sustain any long-term success. Having a strong partner in this area is one way that you can control the process – in terms of time and money – without having to have an expert on staff. “Wouldn’t I want an expert on staff?” you might ask. The answer is no. A properly designed system can be run by the experts you already have on staff – the ones that do the work day to day.

It’s hard to put my insight into strategy into the constraints of a blog entry, so if you would like more information or would like to talk about this or anything you see on this site, please give us a call. We’re happy to talk to you.

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Posted in Systems Strategy | No Comments »