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Google Helps Small Business
Businesses Can Post Coupons Online |
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Google is giving small business a leg up with the launch of its coupon program, an addition to the Google Maps application that allows businesses to create and post coupons for web visitors to print and use.
 This free service will work in conjunction with Google Maps - a visitor types in a business name and the address, contact info and link to a printable coupon appear. This is business locator on steriods. Now, not only will someone be able to find a furnace repair person in Cincinnati, they'll also get a usable discount. And the business has measurable results from their marketing effort.
Look out, Yellow Pages... better yet, look ahead. Google is leaving you in the dust.
 Read About Michele Miller
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Chew on This
Wrigley Co. Works to Reinvent Itself |
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 William Wrigley, Jr., great-grandson of the founder of the Wrigley company, seems to be pushing quite a few buttons with the "old guard" ensconced in the cobweb-laden inner sanctum of management and directors. Sensing a change in direction for the chewing gum and candy industry, William Wrigley has seen brands like Trident and Ice Breakers eat away at Wrigley's #1 positioning and vows to do something about it.
In the past year alone, William Wrigley has let top managers go, launched a $45 million research & development facility outside Chicago and hired the company's first chief officer of marketing. Wrigley seems to be very focused on streamlining operations, increasing awareness of trends and delivering what the consumer wants... which might be something completely different than what Wrigley has historically offered.
William Wrigley is meeting up with his fair share of resistance, but is to be applauded for a smart, savvy approach to reinventing this company from within.
It's nice to know a 110-year old company can still experience growing pains... and come out on top.
Read About Michele Miller
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Chatting up Customers
NYTimes reports that live chat is increasingly prevalent on sites |
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 The New York Times reports today (registration may be required) that more companies than ever are incorporating some kind of live chat model on their e-commerce sites.
Bob Tedeschi nailed the most important issues. Customers want to be in charge, and the live chat must be used to enhance the buying process not become an intrusive part of the selling process.
Perhaps one of the most promising aspects of the story is that one of the biggest vendors of live-chat technology has retained Paco Underhill. He rightly suggested "tweaking the chat overtures to make them less jarring and adjusting the apparent ages of the women pictured in the chat boxes, veering away from people who look so young that they could be seen as novices."
The biggest factor being overlooked is using a live chat feature on your site to help identify what needs to be improved. If you keep getting the same questions on your chat feature, you need to change your site to incorporate the answers so you customers can continue their self-service shopping.
Read About David Young
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Happy Birthday, PC
The PC Turns 25 |
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 25 years ago today, IBM introduced the first personal computer, revolutionizing technology and the world as we know it. While it's a little sad to see how much of the market IBM has lost over the years (and with its laptop division now owned by Lenovo), they broke ground for young turks like Dell.
After 20 years, I switched over to Mac and would never go back... but for the everyday needs of the average business exec, the PC rules. It will be interesting to see what the next 25 years brings...
Read About Michele Miller
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101 Dumbest Moments in Business
Because Everything Important Comes In List Form |
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 Business 2.0 Magazine gives us 101 reasons to
feel better about ourselves (unless you're on the list). Some entries are better than others, but by the end you should have a new
appreciation for all of the ways that your co-workers
don't suck.
I wonder what the PTA had to say about number 80? The
List
Read About Rex Williams
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Viral Marketing Turns Into Epidemic
OK Go's Videos Sparking Fan Wildfire |
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 The first time I encountered the new OK Go video for Here It Goes Again, I was highly entertained. Then I realized the marketing genius behind this and their other video for A Million Ways. Filmed for a cost of about $25, the videos have been viewed millions.. yes,
millions... of times and have even sparked a dance video contest.
Yes, their music is great... but their grasp of understanding that by putting free content into fans' hands, you create great marketing, is pure brilliance.
Read About Michele Miller
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Google Targets Radio and TV
Same Dance, Different Song |
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 Google is basically developing networks, tools and systems that should allow for more refined targeting with audio/visual based marketing. Potentially very useful, but as an effective marketing tool, these efforts will still have many of the same hurdles as traditional advertising models. (salience, word of mouth, etc.)
I see a lot of chest thumping about goals and potential, but I see very little that demonstrates an inherent understanding of that nuanced and complicated creature called "human".
Is anyone else concerned that many of those "targeted" ad budgets will fall flat on their faces because the ads still suck?
No amount of technology can make a company's message resonate with a potential customer. If those messages are just steaming piles of unsubstantiated hype, the novelty will very quickly wear off and Google's new systems could become just another ad venue to be muffled by the next Tivo equivalent.
Even if a targeted commercial for pants comes on my radio and I have an old pair of pants that need replacing, I'd still rather listen to my White Stripes collection undisturbed. Sorry Google, rocking face comes before pants.
It still has a lot of potential though.
Read About Rex Williams
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One of Us
Tapping Into A Subculture |
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If you are unfamiliar with World of Warcraft, it is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game and over the past couple of years it has become somewhat of a gaming phenomenon. With a player base of over 6 million, the monthly subscribers range from celebrities, military officers, retirees, husband and wife teams, and of course, nerds.
Successful games such as this have no shortage of inside jokes, fads, and sub-cultures, but in this case a WoW reference has made its way into marketing. Allow me to set the stage.
In the game you play a character of your own design. As you progress through the game, your
character obtains stronger pieces of armor and weapons for the inevitable battles ahead. One of the weapons is called the
"Ice Barbed Spear". The weapon is good quality, but it's so common that it's a little
embarrassing to be seen with one. Less savvy players are
usually very excited and vocal upon obtaining said weapon, hence the tongue-in-cheek video praising their newfound awesomeness.
A business attaching itself to such an inside joke will do little to reveal their essence. But from a subcultural perspective, when a company like Jobsite is this familiar with the proprietary humor of a virtual world, many of those people will feel a shared connection with the company, and encouraging that "one of us" mentality never hurts. A few years ago, the FUBU clothing line built an entire brand with a similar concept.
Read About Rex Williams
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Contacting a Contact and About the About
Super advice from Bryan Eisenberg about two important pages on your site |
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Best-selling author Bryan Eisenberg has been dishing out super advice over at ClickZ for nearly 5 years now. If you will take the time to read all 239 of his articles, you'll be way ahead of most.
The two most recent articles talk about two very important pages on your site, but pages that usually get only a cursory effort from most site developers. Your "About Us" ( read the article) page is a key source of confidence for many of your customers (many could care less).
An "About Us" page is a tremendous opportunity to cement a relationship with many prospective customers. It can put a human face on an otherwise technical, dry, and impersonal page. Properly written, it can provide some serious buying resolve to certain customer segments.
Your "Contact Us" ( read the article) page is equally as important. People want to know how to reach you when there's a problem...or if they want to compliment you! Bryan gives some great examples of companies doing it right and companies doing it wrong. He wraps it up with this:
The "contact us" page is a lifeline for many businesses. For others, it's what a visitor should click on as a last resort because she's failed to find answers elsewhere on your site. Either way, take the responsibility. Make sure visitors don't become frustrated before they reach out. In the end, that's the key measure of a good "contact us" page.
Read About David Young
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Here are 