Erich Stauffer

Category: Technology

  • Getting the Right Marketing Mix Using Social Media

    Currently there are many social websites that have created a platform for you to speak directly to and with your current and future customers.  There are also many tools that help manage this relationship, pushing the same content out to all platforms at once, or changing it slightly using built in rules.  There are no hard and fast rules for the Web 2.0 landscape because it is all still so new, but what we can do is look to those businesses who are having success in these new areas.Know, trust, buy. Erich Stauffer Marketing Consulting.

    We measure success by the three methods, “know, trust, buy.”:

    1. Brand awareness. (Does the customer know you?)
    2. Brand favorableness. (Does the client trust you?)
    3. Increased sales. (Does the client buy from you?)

    Blasting your message out to one or as many social media sites as you can will help get your brand more noticed, and so achieve more awareness, but you also need to be genuine.  The best Internet marketers make sure to engage with the customer and not just try to sell them something at every turn.  The medium lends itself to this sort of engagement and turning down the opportunity to do so may break the trust, or the brand favorableness.  Once you have established both the know and the trust, then the customer feels free to buy from you, but there is value to both brand awareness and brand favorableness even if the one who you are impressing does not buy.  Once the goodwill is out there, the person you engaged with may refer you to someone else.  Like the butterfly flapping it’s wings, even the smallest twit on Twitter may lead to a hurricane sale on the other side of the world.

  • ROI on Traditional Mail Marketing Campaigns

    Peter K. Francese, President of American Demographics, is famous for his rule of thumb, “If you get more than two replies for every hundred pieces of mail you send out, you’re doing great.”  This is because in the old days, a 1% return on a direct mail marketing campaign was considered successful and eventually became the standard.  Recently, some email marketing companies have touted returns as high as 1 in 57, but once you convert that to a percentage, it is still in line with the overall average of 1-2%.  So is direct mail or email the best route for your business?

    Gary Christensen, who has been writing about making profit through the mail since 1973, recommends a “2-Step Method”.  The first step is mailing as many small ads as you can in order to draw inquiries.  These ads should contain something for the reader in exchange for contacting you.  The second step is to process the iquierers by contacting them by phone or another round of mail.  The same could also apply to email.  In this way, you are spending more money only on those who may actually be interested in what you have to offer, rather than sending out more information to more people first, which is more costly.

    However now that we have discussed both the traditional ROI and the 2-Step Method, you can see that there may be a better way to gain more customers or clients for your business.  The more targeted the ad, the less money you need to spend, and the more the return on investment.  This is how Google, Bing, Amazon, and other online advertisement companies have changed the marketing landscape in the last decade.  Instead of blasting out your message to 99% of the wrong audience, you can pay to only speak to the people already searching for your product or service.

    If you have more questions about promoting, advertising, or marketing your business, services, or products online, please contact Erich Stauffer at http://erichstauffer.com.

  • Using Google Apps with Microsoft Outlook

    One of our clients wanted all of their staff to have email access through Microsoft Outlook on each PC, but they didn’t have the need for a Microsoft Exchange server.  Instead, we configured their domain to install Google Apps, created email accounts and distribution groups for the staff members, then configured Microsoft Outlook on each staff member’s PC to allow them to have access.

    “The difference between Exchange and Google Apps is transparent to the user, ” said Erich Stauffer, Business Consultant at Erich Stauffer, Inc.  “They don’t know and they don’t care – as long as it works.”  And it usually does.  Google Apps sports a 5-nine’s uptime which means they are up 99.999% of the year.  This means they can statistically be down for up to 8 hours a year, but uptime is significantly higher with Google than with your own standalone Exchange server.

    However, cloud computing like this is not for every customer.  Some would not be able to keep secure data on remote servers and Microsoft Exchange does offer the ability to keep all email stored locally, but even so, only the email kept internally stays secure.  Once it leaves your organization, unless the email is encrypted, it is prone to eavesdropping.  Another reason for an Exchange server would be for backup’s, but with Outlook, you can download Google Apps mail as a PST, then store the PST as your back-up.

    What unique, money-saving technology can Erich Stauffer help you with today?

  • Economy 3.0: Employees as Owners

    As we start to climb out of the recession we were in and enter into what some are calling Economy 3.0, a new trend is emerging. More and more bankrupt companies are being bought or given to their employees.

    The Times of Northwest Indiana reported on June 26, 2009 that unionized workers at the Gary Post-Tribune want to purchase the newspaper from the bankrupt Sun-Times Media Group. The Gary Newspaper Guild has the support of its national union and a Massachusetts consulting firm that helped an employee group purchase some of Maine’s largest papers from the Seattle Times Co. The Sun-Times Media Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March of 2009.

    The UAW, a union of automobile manufacturing employees, now owns 55% of Chrysler/Fiat and 39% of General Motors, according to USA Today. Both car companies underwent bankruptcies in the Spring of 2009, both helped along by the Obama administration. So is this trend one of the people or are the people following the government’s example?

    Maybe the government learned it from the people. In 2007 a group of former employees in Culver City, California bought their employer Small World Toys Inc. out of bankruptcy for $12.5 million.

    It would be hard under normal circumstances to get enough employees together to do anything singular with thier money, but having their employer go bankrupt seems to have a rallying effect amoung the people. If this trend turns out to be good for the employees over time, maybe more employees will band together before their employer goes bankrupt and have a larger stake in their employers future – as part owners.

  • Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill as Stimulus Package

    The climate bill currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives tackles global warming with new limits on pollution and a market-based approach to encourage more environmentally-friendly business practices. With all the new rules and reallocation of money, this bill essentially equates to a stimulus package for businesses involved with energy creation or preservation.

    The legislation is intended to reduce the gases linked to global warming and to force sources of energy to shift away from fossil fuels, which when burned, release heat-trapping gases, and toward cleaner sources of energy such as wind, solar and geothermal. This means that any company currently producing solar panels, wind mills, or geothermal pumps will surely get a boost in revenue if this bill passes.

    The idea is to try to reduce the overall level of pollution, regardless of whether a particular factory reduces emissions or not using a cap and trade system. This system is another way for included businesses to make money because if one business already does not pollute, they can sell credits to a business that does. Eventually all polluting businesses will have to reduce their pollution and the market will reach an equilibrium, but before then, there will be a market for capping and trading.

    In addition to energy producers, businesses that help with energy efficiency will also see a boost with the Waxman-Markey bill. In fact, these companies will probably see it first as measures to boost energy efficiency in buildings and appliances are the low-hanging fruit that does not require major infrastructure changes or new technologies. Other changes are decades off and probably will come when the cap gets more stringent and permits get more expensive.

    Even if this law does not pass another one like it may pass before the end of the 2009 calendar year. The Obama administration clearly thinks something has to be done about preventing pollution and reducing our dependencies on foreign sources of of energy. While this plan ignores nuclear energy, a future bill may include this as a more comprehensive way to look at our country’s energy policy. Regardless, there are clear winners here in the energy sector.

  • Flat is the New Up

    As early as July 2008 Newsweek was reporting that “flat was the new up.” NPR reported it again in December of 2008, and AMNews has again used the term as late as June 22, 2009 in describing medical offices remaining steady against other types of commercial real estate. When corporate earnings estimates are released, it is considered good news when they are not announced lower than expected. No bad news is good news. Flat is the new up.

    In markets that are all, but rational, the human emotional element plays a large part in shaping the events of the economy as a whole. Before the recession hit, everyone was saying, “a recession is coming,” and as if on command, a recession came. Now we are starting to hear the opposite. Warren Buffet, the second richest human on Earth, has said “Not off the bottom yet”, but John Bogle, the legendary 80-year-old founder of mutual fund giant, The Vanguard Group, suggests otherwise believing that stocks already have hit their low point for 2009.

    Business Week is doing its part by starting a weekly column it calls “The Case for Optimism.” Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler is, “looking past the financial turmoil and economic unrest gripping the globe to focus on the promising future that lies on the other side of this storm. We’ll chronicle the forward thinkers investing in R&D, launching promising new products, entering new markets, or implementing management and leadership…BusinessWeek is optimistic about the economy amid the sharpest downturn since the Great Depression.”

    People matter. Everything begins as an idea. One man’s change in thought can change the economy. Change the way you think and you can change your reality. If we keep telling ourselves that things are going to get better, that we have hit bottom and there is no where to go but up, then that is what will happen – and may be happening. Bloomberg reports consumer spending was up in May of this year.

  • A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

    Ever wondered what difference a website can make to your local business? This is a story Patrick Neeman told about two business owners he knew personally.  One friend thought his local business was okay without it, while the other followed the path online.

    Neeman said to his first friend, “Why don’t you have a small website for your business?” This friend runs a small business where his clients spend their money with him on a discretionary basis — that is, it’s for entertainment purposes.  They have to physically visit his business location to use his services, and even though he could sell merchandise online, it makes no sense because most vendors could beat his prices.

    “Looking around his office, he had some computer from the prehistoric era that had dial-up and nothing else. He would never, never really embrace the web like he needs to generate business from it,” said Neeman.

    The other friend, Bob The Chiropractor, just started his business recently in spite of the recession. He runs a chiropractic business, but Neeman met him previously at a marketing company and said, “He’s really a businessman that happens to be a chiropractor, instead of the other way around.”

    Because of the nature of his business, the customers also have to come in to use his services and it’s extremely local. Bob’s really embraced the web, and it shows. In fact, Neeman doesn’t even list the URL – he invites you to type in “Bob The Chiropractor” at Google.

    How well is he doing?

    He’s doubling the size of his office because he’s overbooked. End of story.

    Neeman writes, “Not everyone should get a website, because like any marketing activity, to do it truly well you have to embrace it, and it does take some extra effort. But if you put in that effort and do it right, the rewards can be tremendous.”

    View the full article to find out How to Make the Web Work for Your Business in 5 Steps.

  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

    Guy Kawasaki was part of Apple’s Macintosh team. He helped develop the computer and although it became a huge success, much of the rest of Apple wondered at the time why resources were being taken away from the Apple II, the current product leader. This lead Guy to one of his core themes, “Kill the cash cow.” He has this in common with Jim Collins who has a similar saying, “Sell the mills,” which refers to Scott Paper Company selling their paper mills in order to directly compete against Proctor and Gamble.

    The Art of the Start is not Kawasaki’s first book, nor has it been his last. Rules for Revolutionaries came before and his most recent book is Reality Check. Although all of Kawasaki’s books deal with the entrepreneurial spirit and development, The Art of the Start is a no-bull how-to manual for getting any business, school, or church off the ground and running. The very first chapter lays out the five things any organization needs to do to start. All you have to do is follow them.

    The following is an excerpt from the FAQ section at the end of the first chapter:

    Q. When should I worry about looking like a real business, with business cards, letterhead, and an office?

    A. Make business cards and letterhead immediately. Spend a few bucks and get them designed by a professional or don’t do them at all. Ensure that the smallest type size is twelve points. An office isn’t necessary until customers are coming to see you, or you run out of space for the team.

    Q. Do I need a Web site?

    A. Yes, particularly if you’re going to raise money, serve lots of customers, change the world in a big way, and achieve liquidity. Customers, partners, and investors will look for your Web site from the very start.

  • How to Delete a Digg Submission

    The short answer is, you can’t.  According to Digg.com:

    We are able to edit submission titles, categories & descriptions. Contact us from the email address associated with your username and include the Digg.com URL of the submission as well as the changes you’d like to make.

    However, as stated in the section 6 of the Terms of Use, we don’t delete content unless it is in violation of our Terms of Use. Please note that un-Digging a story removes it from your profile, but not from Digg.com. Additionally, we can’t switch a submission’s thumbnail for you, but we can remove it if you’d like.

    So what are your options?

    1. Undigg it. This is irreversible. You can’t redigg something you’ve undug. This is the weakest option.
    2. Bury it. This pushes it down, but it can be promoted by someone else’s digg. Again, nothing permanent.
    3. Narc it. Turn it in for violating something in their Terms of Use.  That should be easy enough as it has many, many rules.

    Note that everything you post becomes public domain under the Creative Commons license.  This means it is not your own, other than you being one member of the public.  So, when you post things to Digg, just be aware of the long-term implications.  Post wisely!

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