June 2005
Monthly Archive
CeBIT Australia sets world record for largest mobile ticketing event
CeBIT Australia 2005, part of the largest consumer electronics and technology exhibition series in the world, created a world record by issuing 30 per cent of tickets as m-tickets sent direct to attendees’ mobile phones when they pre-registered online.
The m-ticket option confirmed consumer acceptance of mobile ticketing, with 13,000 attendees choosing to receive the m-ticket directly to their mobile phone.
M-tickets are around half the cost of mailed paper tickets for the event organiser and offer the convenience of instant delivery and last minute availability. They also enhanced the CeBIT brand by association with innovative technology. Aside from Japan and Korea, Australia leads the western world in mobile ticketing technology.
SMS helps with transport timetables
It’s late afternoon and you are wondering if it will be a slow stroll to the bus or train stop or if you hurry, you can catch the next bus/train and avoid a half hour wait. But how do you know when the next bus/train will be passing your stop? SMS can help.
In Wales it is not a problem. They have introduced an SMS text service that allows you to text the code of your stop and you will receive a text message back telling you the next four departure times.
Use your mobile phone to find out the times of the next bus
Product Review: Humanoz Staff Systems
MattE 26 Jun 2005 | : Communications, Marketing, Media
While PlusOne does not offer staffing issues services, we’ve recently discovered a software program that will take the headache out of staff management.
It’s called Humanoz Staff Systems. We all know the employee management minefield can be a tricky situation even for the experts, and this software program will reduce the risks by guiding you through the employment cycle – from recruitment and employment to performance review and termination.
This software program will allow you to properly manage and fully document all facets of the employee relationships. It is simple, easy to use and up-to-date and will help minimise of staffing issue risks and reduce potential unfair dismissal claims. Some of the features are:
Free market research
MattE 25 Jun 2005 | : Marketing, Web
Looking at a new business venture or wanting to explore some different avenues for your current business?
One of the best ways to track down information is via a web search. Sit down with a cup of coffee and spend a few hours seeking out what you are after.
But there is an easier way! Google Answers is a service that allows you to ask a professional web surfer to do the research for you. Pay what you want, though amounts are typically US$50+
But there is another aspect to Google Answers that means you can get some great research result for nothing. This is achieved by searching the site using various keywords that are related to the information you want. You might be surprised at what you discover – and the depth of response by the Google Answers person.
Welcome customer complaints
MattE 24 Jun 2005 | : Marketing
I once had dealings with a businessman who claimed his business was so good, get never got customer complaints. “You never get them, or they are never made?” I asked. The truth was, he never heard them, but they were still being made. I know, because I had heard them around town.
Customer complaints often cause many businesses to become defensive. This is because often people take the feedback personally. So how do we change this and start to recognise them for what they are – a gift.
The first step is to ensure everyone in the business hierarchy starts playing the ball and not the player. Huh? Let me explain. Generally – all to often in fact, the finger is pointed at an individual who’s ‘fault’ it is. That is playing the player. The ball on the other hand, it the situation, be it customer service was slow, the wrong part shipped, etc. What a business needs to be doing is focussing on the situation, the problem. The resolution of the problem may be to ensure that staff are properly trained, adequately resourced or that a function is not understaffed.
So what is a good conversion rate on a website?
When seeking our free website appraisal, many website owners are wanting higher conversion rates. So it interested me when I saw this headline:
“Online Retail Report Card: Highest Conversion Rates Amongst Non-Brick-And-Mortar Retailers, According To Nielsen//NetRatings Megaview Online Retail” on the Nielsen//Netratings site
The best US site for conversions, according to the survey is a site called QVC – a large shopping site that has a conversion rate of 16.3%. Compare this to Amazon at 12.5% and Ebay at 12.3%. Importantly, the average amongst the top 100 sites surveyed was 4.9%.
Now before you get all excited, remember, these are big companies who pour millions of dollars into buyer behaviour research, examining site flow etc. The good thing is of course, that we can go and observe these sites and pull them apart, see what it is that makes them tick.
Avoid the Fatal Presentation Trap
MattE 22 Jun 2005 | : Communications, Marketing
Getting your product or service sold to an organisation is never an easy thing and developing a fancy presentation in programs such as PowerPoint extolling the virtues is the answer….
Not so according to Jeff Thull.
He has a new book out and it is discussed in this article Avoid the Fatal Presentation Trap
Search Engine Ratings
Want to know the most popular search engines and their statistics? Nielsen NetRatings Search Engine Ratings last updated for March 2005 gives some interesting results.
Note stats are for US users – a survey of 1 million users, but it indicates that Google is still definitely ‘King of the Hill’.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Achieve a better website by avoiding these 10 basic mistakes
Ever since I started doing free website reviews, there have been some common elements where many of the websites miss the mark. Usually this is because webmasters forget to recognise that websites are a multi-faceted thing – a bit like an onion – with layer on layer of interdependent elements. If you miss an element, then the integrity of the site is put at risk.
The outcome of this can mean:
§ Not being found by search engines
§ Pages not being indexed because no other page links to them
§ Not ranking as highly as you should,
§ Confused site visitors who leave,
§ The site is just’Too hard’
§ Potential customers do not develop trust with your site; so will not buy from you
§ Complete site rework required as a result of poor planning
Here are a couple of errors and suggested methods for improving them:
Customer services – I give an A to….
MattE 17 Jun 2005 | : Marketing
At PlusOne, we are firm believers in the end results of good customer service (after all we do run customer focus training). This is because good customer service contributes to loyalty – be it to the business or the brand and in turn this leads to an increase in profitability.
At PlusOne are firm believers in the end results of good customer service (after all we do run customer focus training). This is because good customer service contributes to loyalty – be it to the business or the brand and in turn this leads to increase profitability.
And while we all like to bemoan poor customer service to anyone who will listen (though now back to the offending business nearly enough…), it is important that we pass on good experiences. After all, this is what testimonials are all about. So let me share a postive experience.
