Atilus Internet Marketing & Web Development

This blog post is technically related by nature but not by content.

We have spoken about this issue before, but the business community at large is still not listening.

As a service provider or a product retailer, which should encapsulate all businesses, your number one concern, priority, and purpose is to relate, appeal and please your client or consumer base. PERIOD.

Furthermore, I do not care where you are placed in your managerial hierarchy within your company, what your name badge dictates, or email signature signifies, you are a Customer Service Representative. As high up as the President and CEO of a company, you exist because of your consumers not in spite of them. Your title is only pertinent and reflective of your internal company role not your external company role.

This blog post is inspired by a recent experience of mine, in which I was told by the “General Manager” of my apartment complex that she could not guarantee that the maintenance men would take their shoes off before entering my living room to fix my air conditioning unit (which has been broken and “fixed” 4 different times.) You cannot promise that they would take their shoes off? Why not?

She responded that they report to the “Maintenance Manager” and he reports to her. What?

Does there have to exist such a disconnect in a management interface?

She should have agreed to my simple request and responsibly made sure the “Maintenance Manager” was aware of my concern. A simple phone call would have alleviated any potential problem.

It is amazing how something so simple can mean so much to your customers, and yet be so hard for businesses to comply.

Well, my lease is up soon, and my check book reports to my pen and my pen reports to me… looks like I have a disconnect of my own.

A related video you may find interesting:

01 Aug | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business.

I spoke to an old friend of mine over the weekend to discuss what has been accomplished since we last spoke. It was a pleasantly nostalgic conversation that usually ends in some sort of friendly, competitive salutation, in which we become motivated even more based on the others level of success.

But more than an increased drive to better myself as a business man, is my new found thirst for building better relationships with my clients. I’ve always known, but I realized even more how important that friend’s relationship is to my business.

He not only offers insight, inspiration, and criticism, but he also holds the mirror up to enable me to see what he sees. That mirror shows me my faults, but more importantly shows me a confirmed sense of accomplishment.

He is my cheerleader. And that is what is missing from my relationship with my clients.

As a consultant, I am quick to point out problems and offer viable, cost effective solutions to help maximize ROI in advertising employments, but perhaps I could begin throwing in a cheer or two.

28 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Clients.

You have already taken a huge step towards marketing success by choosing to create a website to promote your company, sell your products and services, as well as brand your company online.

But with all the ways to conventionally and unconventionally market your website, which direction is best?

Read the rest of this entry …

16 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Internet Marketing.

We all hate a traditional bait and switch scam where you are expecting one thing and are sucker punched with another. With the economy in the current state that it is in, it is certainly no surprise that marketers and business owners are becoming creatively deceptive. (Perhaps they should read my blog post, which offers tips to beat the economy with respect for your company and your consumer.)

Gas stations have been advertising one amount per gallon, but charging another… just for using a credit card?

They call it the “cash customer discount”, and I am torn to an opinion. On one hand, I respect that gas prices are increasingly more expensive, and in an attempt to pass savings on to consumers, they are only profiting an average of 2.7 cents a gallon. Also, offering “cash discounts” enables them to bypass expensive credit card transaction fees averaging 2% of sale per transaction, in addition to encouraging customers to come into the store to purchase perishable goods, lottery tickets, etc.

But then the responsible and ethical marketer in me steps in. Bait and switch schemes are never okay. Ever. They are profiting from pure dishonesty and that is intolerable.

Though, by advertising both prices- cash and credit, which they are now being forced to do, this turns the mindset around from screwing credit card users to now offering a sensible, cheaper alternative to those willing to pay cash. And I can sit well with that.

As seen on Yahoo. Produced by ABC News.

09 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Community.

There is no denying that we are experiencing turbulent economical times. DUH!

That certainly wasn’t breaking news, but I am noticing a tremendous flow of negative energy coming from business men and women who fear the future of their companies, but are failing to notice the more obvious ways to break free from the closing grip of the recession.

I am not a genius when it comes to market analytics, and I don’t claim to have the answers to all of your business related problems. But what I do have are 5 more obvious, but commonly forgotten, tips to remember when riding the wave of this fickle economy, and I suggest reading to the end.

Read the rest of this entry …

08 Jul | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Internet Marketing.

Hmmm… I have heard this a million times. And frankly, I’m tired of the excuses.

“My clients don’t use the internet.”
“My clients are older.”
“My clients are not technically savvy.”
“My clients only respond to conventional advertising.”

First of all, stop making such assumptions about your audience! And even if your current audience are the way you presumptively describe them, do you not want to open your company up to a new audience to augment your marketing?

As so eloquently stated in the latest edition of Marketing Profs e-newsletter:

David Meerman Scott, in a post at his Web Ink Now blog says:
“Nonsense! These days everyone is online. Executives use Google, government workers read blogs, people who donate money watch YouTube videos. And even if they don’t go online at work, they do at home. Stop making excuses and reach your buyers in the way they want to be reached.”

Shabam!

The internet is the fastest growing, most accommodating, flexible, laser precise, form of marketing available today. Expand onto the web, and if your current audience doesn’t respond accordingly, then capture a new one.

30 Jun | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Business, Internet Marketing.

You can learn a lot from a bank teller.

I never realized how important tellers are to a bank’s success or failure, but I think there are some fundamentals any business can learn from this fact.

Bank tellers ARE a key component of any bank’s sales force. I had never thought about this. I have been banking with Wachovia for a number of years - and will shortly be switching, but I have never thought of the tellers as “sales people.” Only once do I remember going into a Bank of America and being hounded by a representative about some bank services. But, bank teller’s really are a key component to any bank’s sales force and I realized this while reading Karen Miller’s (bank marketing guru) blog:

Getting bank and credit union tellers to sell has always been a challenge, even if they’ve had all the sales training money can buy… (read full post)

Today I spent a very enjoyable morning at a branch with two experienced tellers, leading an updated sales training session… when [tellers are] asked if they feel good when they help a customer by recommending a beneficial product, they always respond “yes”. So, the “feeling good” part is what we focused on. (read full post)

Although each of the two linked posts don’t specifically address this, I think there is an underlining message. A message similar to Seth Godin’s idea “Proximity to Pain“:

The closer you are to the point of need, the more you can charge. Pizza at the airport costs five times more than pizza on the way to the airport. Tax audit services in the middle of an SEC investigation cost triple what they cost before one. Scalped tickets cost more than ones bought in advance, by mail.

Emergency towing in a strange town costs more too.

The single easiest way to increase your fees is to get closer to the pain. It’s interesting to note that no large-scale advertising ventures are closer to the pain than the Yellow Pages or Google. Both of which are insanely successful.

Teller’s are the one’s talking to the customer, learning about the bank’s customer’s families their lives and problems. Teller’s are closest to the pain. A teller then can simply connect that pain, with a possible bank solution. For example, maybe a teller learns of recent trouble with a regular’s car and makes the connection to a personal auto loan the bank offers.

But, what can any business conclude from this? And can I possibly relate this to a website?

Too Many Companies Specialize Their Sales Staff

Selling to existing customers is easiest, and selling products to existing customers that solves their problems, validates their worth by you the company selling to them! This is madness!

By selling them a solution, you are proving to them you are listening. And, as long as your product holds up to your claims, it should actually be solving, or making their lives better - always a terrific thing.

Concentrate on those people and processes closest to the customer

Your receptionist is close to the pain, your website is closest to the pain, your account executive or teller’s are closest to your customer’s pain. Listen to them and provide them with the materials and assistance they need to match that pain with your solutions.

23 Jun | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Business.

How much does a website cost? Well… that depends. How much does a building cost? “Ballpark figure. If you had to give me a number?” All buildings are different. Is this a manufactured home you’re thinking of? A commercial building? Perhaps a beautiful lake front mansion with marble Romanesque columns. I guess the answer should be… it depends. And web development is not much different.

I can’t believe that it would take a company apparently as professional as yours upwards of 12,000 to make a blog. Either you’re ripping customers off or you’re incompetent. One framework could be re-used thousands of times, saving you time and your customers money. Yes, each site needs its own modifications, but if you build a solid framework you can run pretty much anything off it.

I’ll address this comment later, but first of all I would like to thank Scott for writing and publishing his great article on our blog – to which the above was a comment - just a few weeks ago. He was really able to sum up “what does a website cost.” Without going into full detail on everything mentioned here is just a brief break down of what was discussed regarding the cost of a good website:

• $1000-$2000 Basic Design Website
• $3000-$7000 Custom Design Websites – visually attractive, completely unique design
• $7000- $12,000 Content Management System (CMS) Websites
• $12,000- $100,000+ - totally custom situations, implementation of more advanced design & programming, etc.

Visit the Complete Article - What Does a Website Cost?

Internally we had discussed the idea at length – writing an in-depth article about how much does a website cost – and, finally decided to hit “publish” after weighing everything. We effectively laid all of our cards on the table, allowing our audience, the web developer community, our competition and future clients to understand how much this web stuff costs. The truth is the biggest thing we were concerned with in writing and publishing an article like this would be backlash from the web community or independent developers. Ultimately, the benefits outweigh the negative – we have to educate the community on the steps, time, and price involved in a proper web presence.

Personally, I am sick and tired of hearing two things from new or potential clients:

Read the rest of this entry …

13 May | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Business, Design, Web Design.

With the arrival of the next great internet boom – the internet marketing boom - the possibilities are limitless. The internet is exploding with new features and technologies such as interactive shopping, podcasting as well as newly emerging E-marketing tools and ideas. Among these new features are WiFi advertising (advertising to users of your WIFI network), and Internet capabilities on wireless phones such as 3G (AT&T’s network).

For those of you not in the industry, internet marketing is the buzz in the advertising and marketing world. With ever changing technology and improved techniques, and a now solid foundation of return, internet marketing is slowly coming to the forefront of marketing discussions.
And this internet revolution is even outpacing newer, less conventional forms of marketing and sales. Take for example traveling on any major airline. E-ticketing is available 24 hours a day and is convenient (whereas if you call the 800 or 888 number, you will be billed a transaction fee); you can print your ticket(s) 48 hours before the flight or 1 hour before the flight, at no additional cost attached.
I think that it is important that the advantages and disadvantages are carefully studied in contrast to traditional marketing. But that doesn’t mean the industry is without its evils. Issues that are still prevalent in and around internet marketing include: spam (which needs to be more heavily regulated), consumer loyalty (which needs to be studied more), and the different advertising strategies and performance that internet marketing has over traditional marketing.

However, one of the largest concerns of the general public is security and privacy on the internet. For example, if you read my previous post “Flirting with Diaster”, the attached You Tube video has a prime example of this: When Sarah Lacy asked the audience to begin asking their questions, an audience member stood up and said “What is the biggest obstacle that Facebook faces?” Zuckerberg replied “Building systems that allow users control of their applications/information.” The audience member replied, “Is it a security issue allowing users to control of their applications/information?” See how security is reiterated each time the audience member asks a different question? I have to say, it is a major concern of the general public, and must be addressed.

On the other hand, Internet marketing has truly revolutionized the marketing industry as a whole; traditional advertising and marketing firms better sit up and take notice and quickly adapt to the to the ever changing internet/technology as the general public consumes more media, does more searches, and spends more time online. Additionally one major advantage that internet marketing has that stands out ahead of traditional advertising is that with internet marketing you are able to customize and personalize your site from start to finish, making the process interactive between the internet marketing agency/firm and the client. And these custom solutions are growing the internet eco-system. For example, custom interactive shopping has revolutionized the way the general public shops, while improving the online shopping experience.

With that said, do you think internet marketing will revolutionize traditional marketing? You be the judge.

09 May | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Business, Clients, Internet Marketing, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization, Tech Trends, Web Design.

The SXSW (South by Southwest Interactive Conference) interview, March 9th, Austin Texas. This was no ordinary interview, chosen Business Week Journalist Sarah Lacy was to interview keynote speaker Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook.
I would like to be nice and feel sorry for Sarah, but the utter truth is this interview was a “trainwreck”. Because of Mark’s shy, nature it was uncomfortable for Sarah from the beginning because of her way of “personally” interviewing him. Throughout the interview she dropped self-references, and had a “flirty” style of discussion (body language says it all), further she enjoyed talking about her relationship with Mark as an interviewer, more than asking him questions about Facebook or the like.

It didn’t stop there however; Sarah did not connect with the audience on any level. Sarah in my opinion created an adversarial relationship with audience. At one point the crown became so upset and vicious with her she responded to the crowd by saying “You don’t know how hard my job is up here” and she said “I am trying to ask interesting questions….you think you guys can do any better?” After asking the audience to come ask their questions, she said to the audience: “If you think I suck so bad why don’t you send me an e-mail?” The next audience member then responded by saying: “what’s your e-mail address?” At this point the roar from the crowd was out of control. She begins speaking of his journal that he writes about his ideas for Facebook and that she heard that he burns them, and Zuckerberg says “I don’t burn them” He proceeds by saying “You have to ask questions”, if you watch the video you’ll hear the crowd roar and clap in Zuckerbergs favor. At one point in this utter disaster (supposedly an interview), she says “You’ve seen me throw a full glass of water at Michael Errington, I just want to warn you” Zuckerberg reaches for the bottle of water, and places it on the floor. What else could possibly go wrong?

There are two sides to every story right? or shall we call it “crisis management”?

Throughout the interview both Sarah and Mark took two completely different routes if you will. A few days after the interview both Zuckerberg and Lacy responded on her Twitter message by responding “Seriously screw all you guys. I did my best to ask a range of things.” This is clearly not the way to manage crisis, despite all of the criticism she received from the audience and bloggers days after the interview.

Zuckerberg, took a much more humble approach, he held a Q & A session , with a little humor Zuckerberg began the Q & A by saying “Yesterday’s Q & A wasn’t enough fun”. The audience asked him about privacy issues and where Facebook as a social network sees its self in the near future.

This keynote interview, had two sides to the story. Look at how Lacy responded on her Twitter message with a cold shoulder, and look at how Zuckerberg held a Q & A and humbled himself.

Was Lacy handed “the pink slip” after this interview?Unfortunately not.
Do you think Sarah Lacy learned her lesson? To be brutally honest with you, NO!

06 May | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Business, Community, social media.