September 2005
Monthly Archive
Win a free Sony Playstation Portable ? - With SMS always read the fine print - the great SMS rip offs
MattE 25 Sep 2005 | : Media, SMS
Very little in life is free , as is nicely outlined in this post on Cayoblog cayoblog :: Free as in…
It’s an ad. 500 free SMS messages if I call this number. At home, I check the terms and conditions. Sure, there it is. By accepting the 500 free messages, I am in fact signing up to a monthly service which will cost me £ 1.50 a week. For whatever, more ads, more rubbish. But the SMS’s are free. Sure. They are free, other than the fact that you have to pay for them.
Of course not all SMS ‘free offers’ are loaded with some payment clause - perhaps it just means you will have to receive 3-5 advertising SMS each week per X number of txts you send.
Real world marketing vs internet marketing
MattE 25 Sep 2005 | : Marketing, Web
A thread on a forum demonstrated how experience in real world marketing does not automatically translate into internet marketing prowess - things are different on-line and a real world marketing background may fail you.
This paragraph got me thinking…
We’ve heard the splash page comment a few times, we’re trying to do an in-between corporate identity thing but include some product images. My wife has a lot of marketing and branding experience and she is really trying to create a brand image so we really don’t want to go straight into the product area. We’re going for a more boutiqe-y market than mass market.
How to call Telstra directory assistance for free
MattE 23 Sep 2005 | : Communications, Media
This was sent to me in an email -it is just for land line phones, mobiles are charged extra..and it is only for Telstra customers.
If you have a better take on this, share it via comments.
For anyone contemplating using the Sensis directory service number, 1234, DON’T!
Sensis, as you may or may not know, is a subsidiary of Telstra. The 1234 number is replacing the Telstra 12456 directory assistance number, but this time with outrageous costs attached: 40c to call the number, then 4c A SECOND!
So you want to start your own internet business….
MattE 22 Sep 2005 | : Marketing, Web
Set up a website and sell stuff on the internet - easy money right? Well not exactly…
I started in on-line commerce way back in the heady early days of the internet - 1997 - selling business books on-line through the Australian Business Bookshop. Basically I listed a whole lot of business titles, including the back cover blurb and the table of contents. Focusing on Australian titles I had between 150-200 titles at any one time. Business was OK, returning about $200 a week in sales.
But it was hard work. First the publishers had minimum shipment volumes, so if someone wanted one book, I had to top that up with 2-4 other titles in the order to reach the benchmark. Then I had to repackage all orders. By focusing on titles that sold the most I could move most of the ‘top ups’ but not all. After about 18 months I closed it down as my stockpile of ‘top up’ titles got taller than me.
One thing I did learn was how to get pages right, including descriptions and meta data. Also linking. That was in the good old days when links really counted and spam sites etc had not reared their heads.
Care needed in the use of SMS
MattE 18 Sep 2005 | : Communications, Marketing, Media, SMS
I was interested to read this post about supposed plans by the Australian Defence Force to use SMS as part of their recruitment drive ‘Army needs u’: ADF mulls SMS recruitment.
Sure, lists of youth are accessible from list brokers - heck we get enquiry for them all the time - but as I say to people making enquiry, “is this the BEST way to reach them?”
This is quickly followed by an explaination of the need to make SMS marketing different. To make it work it needs to deliver entertainment and/or value.
Customer Service Quiz
MattE 17 Sep 2005 | : Marketing
Try this simple test to see how you fare in the customer focus scale:
Do you have a clear understanding about your customer’s wants
Do you communicate these needs to your staff
Do you have clear service standards
Unlimited Choice and Attention Deficit Customers
MattE 12 Sep 2005 | : Marketing
Today we are not limited by choice, but a proliferation of product/service choices and the challenge to get the consumer’s attention in an attention deficit society.
What we need is a USP
What is a USP? The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is all about answering the customer’s question, “Why should I do business with you instead of your competitors?” A good USP is all about how it benefits the customer.
Quicken - Your Communication Preferences…
MattE 09 Sep 2005 | : Communications, Marketing, Web
Several years ago I used Quicken as my bookkeeping program, but due to various factors I have moved to another program.
Quicken diligently sends out newsletters, but as i no longer use the program I have no desire to receive them any more. So I clicked on the unsubscribe link at the bottom which takes me to their Quicken - Your Communication Preferences… page.
All is well and good when I am asked for my Customer ID, because that is at least buried at the bottom of the email.
But the user-friendliness of the whole exercise falls apart when I am asked for my PIN.
Of Hurricane Katrina and Customer Service
MattE 04 Sep 2005 | : Communications, Marketing
Hurricane Katrina has brought destruction hitherto unseen in the USA. Potentially worse than the hours of the hurricane’s assault on land, has been the widely criticised response by authorities to the human need in the hours and days of the aftermath.
When one considers the USA’s ability to send mighty forces halfway around the world, to ingratiate itself on the day to day workings of foreign governments and to impose its will on the unwilling, the impotence in their ability get it right at home when they are needed is similar to many businesses inability do deal with certain business aspects.
WHAT? I hear you ask, has this got to do with business….
