Marketing / Social Media / Technology / Productivity Speaker and President/CEO of SpinWeb
In: Lifestyle| Productivity
14 Mar 2010SpinWeb became a ROWE a few years ago. Since then, we have enjoyed a happier workplace, more balanced lives, and improved productivity. From my perspective, ROWE is to the traditional workplace as the Renaissance is to the Dark Ages. I look back on our pre-ROWE work environment and I actually feel embarrassment at how we ran things. I feel the need to apologize to my employees for the senseless way we ran the company. Unfortunately, it happens to be the way most companies today still do things.
The good news is, we are a now in a ROWE and life is good. However, when I describe our company and ROWE to others, I sometimes get interesting reactions. Aside from all the predictable “That would never work in my company” reactions, I sometimes hear things like “Oh, that sounds like my company… we’re already a ROWE.”
Really?
It’s easy to hear a few things about ROWE and then declare that your company is already a ROWE, but in most cases that’s not quite the case. When people claim they are already in a ROWE, it’s usually because they have a flexible schedule, or the option to telecommute. This does not mean that your company is a ROWE. Let’s look at a few indicators. These apply to all employees in the organization.
If any of these apply to your company, then I would encourage you to re-think your work environment. Are you really in a ROWE? If so, great! If not, let me know. I would love to introduce you to Cali and Jody. ROWE will change your life.
As always, comments are welcome. Are you in a ROWE?
In: Marketing| Technology
19 Feb 2010I frequently attend networking events during which I meet a variety of business owners. Often we exchange business cards and I continue to notice a trend which disturbs me: the use of consumer email as a business email address.
I often see email addresses using the domain “sbcglobal.net”, “yahoo.com”, or (shudder) “aol.com” listed on a business card. This really makes me cringe. It’s poor branding, and says to the world that your business has not invested in a proper email system. It’s also risky to operate your business on a free system or a system that is designed for consumer email due to the lack of support and functionality.
When you are using a proper email system for business, your email address will match the address of your website. For example, my email address is michael@spinweb.net, which matches my company’s website address: www.spinweb.net.
There are many options for excellent business email. At SpinWeb, we provide Google Apps for Business for our clients, which gives them a complete email, calendaring, documents, and collaboration system. Other companies may want to consider using Microsoft Exchange, which is a great business communications system. Scott Sells at ZingTech provides an excellent Exchange solution.
Let’s get rid of the consumer email addresses on business cards. Brand your business properly and use a system you can rely on.
In: Design| Lifestyle| Marketing| Productivity| Technology
14 Feb 2010At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives. We’ve been doing it since 1996 and have gotten very good at it. We’ve gotten so good at it that it amazes me how fast and how well we deploy new websites on time, on budget, and with amazing design quality.
Sometimes, however, I think we get so caught up in the mechanics of our systems and processes at the “runway” level that we can lose sight of why we are doing what we do. How does our work make a difference? How does it change the world? How does it change lives?
I think it’s important to stay focused on these questions and the answers that go with them. So what does our work really mean?
One very exciting part of our work is seeing how a beautiful new website can inspire confidence, pride, and brand strength in the organizations that we work with. Often, we work with businesses that are looking for that extra push to help take them to the next level and reach new markets and when we create a website that helps them look like an industry leader, it has direct application to business growth and especially company morale.
We also love to empower individuals within the organization to do their jobs well. When we help the marketing director launch her online campaigns in a fraction of the time it used to take, she now has more time to work on other activities or spend time with her family. This improves her quality of life.
It brings a smile to my face when we can help a non-profit modernize the online donation, fund raising, and volunteer recruiting process so that they are able to help more people in need and bring positive change to the world.
When we can provide online tools that help event planners promote and manage successful conferences, we are helping bring together professionals who learn from each other and grow in their professions.
When we provide businesses with a website that helps them reach their customers and deliver solutions in a more efficient way, we are giving them the ability to grow faster and create jobs.
There are so many ways that online marketing and technology can improve the quality of life for those who embrace it. I love being a part of it and creating the solutions and tools that change lives.
No matter what you do, make sure you understand why you are doing it and how it makes a difference, no matter how small. At SpinWeb, we create professional websites and online marketing initiatives that change lives.
In: Design| Marketing| Technology
6 Feb 2010I get a lot of email promotions. Some are newsletters I have asked for, while some are spam from Indy Chamber members who have decided to subscribe me to their mailing lists against my will. In any case, one thing I notice about many of these email campaigns is that no matter how well-designed or appealing they are, they frequently miss the boat on the call to action.
For example, I often get an email inviting me to an event. Let’s say I want to go – what do I have to do? Much of the time, the campaign invites me to call a number to register, fill out a paper form, or reply to the email. If it’s a paid event, sometimes I’m told that I should bring a check or cash to pay at the door. Really? All I should have to do is click a link and register online. Anything more complicated than that is guaranteed to encourage people to ignore your message.
What about a spa offering 20% off selected services this week? The email should contain a prominent link that allows the recipient to book services online immediately.
Here’s the thing. When people are scanning emails, they are in a certain context. That context is clicking on things and getting information as a result of that clicking. Trying to make the user change contexts to make a call or print a form is working against the momentum that is already in place. The path of least resistance to the user is to remain in that context of clicking and processing. This is why you should allow your customers to get what they need or perform a transaction with a few clicks.
Don’t make it difficult for your customers to do business with you. Make sure your call to action is a click.
