In The Solution Space

Archive for the ‘General Information’ Category

I always get asked, “Craig, what do you recommend for [fill in the blank for an application, tool, website]?”  After being in the business for 20+ years, I have seen a lot of princes and frogs.  I really enjoy sharing sites, tools and applications that I have come across and thought were really interesting or ones that I actually use and love.  Here they are in no particular order.

Email & Collaboration

Google Apps and Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite.  These are great for the small to medium sized business who doesn’t need or want to own their messaging and collaboration infrastructure.  Both of these services are backed by robust hosting, high availability, excellent security and really good functionality. Downsides?  Google plays better to a wider browser set than does Microsoft and support for Google is mostly web based versus live people at Microsoft.  Microsoft has a very robust partner network for design, implementation and support.

Customer Relationship Management

salesforce.com.  These guys invented the Software as a Service space for CRM and they continue to innovate.  They offer different editions that fit any budget.  Microsoft and other players offer their solution but they are in the taillights of the clear leader in my opinion.

Accounting/Invoicing/Project Tracking

I have recently discovered FreshBooks.com, a totally online hosted solution that is easy to setup, affordable and has functionality at its heart.  Imagine tracking your expenses, time sheets, generating an invoice and have that invoice delivered electronically to your client, all with the push of one button.  Additionally, you can give your clients online access to their invoices through the system.  This is some really good software on a hosted platform.  No software to install=easy.

Website Management / Content Management

If you are looking for solid software to get your site up and running quickly, using WordPress blogging software as a content management system is an excellent (and free!) choice.  You might spend some additional time getting all the right plugins in place for your site (contact forms, search engine optimization and others) but this is one flexible platform that is easy to use and update.  ALSO, if you want/need a more customized theme for your site, Artisteer is an easy to use graphical design application that will create your WordPress theme and template pages in no time.  In fact, that is how this blog and my website (www.solutionspacetechnologies.com) was designed.

Hope that this helps answer some questions about available technologies for the small business owner and operator.  However, if you want some additional strategy or expert advice to your particular business problem, please contact me at Solution Space Technologies.  As we say, get out of the “problem space” and into the “solution space”.

It’s enough to make anyone crazy.  Social media “gurus” shouting as loud as they can about using twitter, facebook, blogs to attract new customers and keep existing customers.  A recent conversation I had with a retailer summarized the problem best.  They were trying to do all these new things but were not clear about how this was going to increase their core business.

I asked a few questions.  Do you have a customer database containing purchase history? Answer, yes.  Great.  Next question, Do you have email addresses for those customers?  Answer, not all of them but many of them.  Great.  Last question, do you send targeted offers to them via email?  Answer, no but we do send them email marketing messages.

So I gave them this suggestion.  Turn Data Into Information.  If you know what they have bought, build separate email marketing lists under the following criteria:

• Customers who haven’t bought anything for over 6-12 months.  Create an offer to encourage them to return to your store.
• Customers who have bought a lot of items and you want to reward them for their purchases.
• Customers who consistently buy from you over a longer period of time.  Create an offer to reward their loyalty.
• Customers who bought a high ticket item and you want to reward them.  Create an event with similar customers and create a strong brand affinity.
• Look for customers who buy a particular item, and create an offer to buy related items or accessories

The fact is, there is a lot of data in a retailer’s Point of Sale systems and too often it is not turned into information that is actionable.  My earlier rant about social networks is not that they are unnecessary, but they are a tactic to building customer loyalty and there is a lot of low hanging fruit in your “information orchard” that is ready to be harvested into increased sales and profits.

I was talking to a colleague who was telling me about a 20-something slickster who is selling himself as a marketer and his pitch?  Social Media/Marketing/Networking…it’s all you need and hey, it’s free.  Really?

Last I checked, social networking is one of many tactics, a way to reach customers, have conversations, but it is not the marketing silver bullet.  They (FB, Twitter, et al) are tools to engage but you need the strategy first.  Right, Slick?  Where is the strategy?

So before you leap on that social media bandwagon without asking about the substance of the marketing, the measurability, and strategy, take a deep breath.  Don’t be pressured to re-act to the “hottest thing on earth” as we all know hot cools, and those approaches and tactics all need to strike the right balance to make your business grow.

Good: 10 Tech Tips for 2010 To Grow Your Business. Best: It’s Free! http://ow.ly/12t7i

Today I was reminded about how we as technologists are too quick to forget about celebrating when good things happen. As I launched my client’s new website the realization that these moments happen without much fanfare struck me.  These moments are the proverbial tree falling in the woods…is there a sound when they fall?  It’s a lousy analogy but I think you get the idea.

So I am celebrating.  I toast my client, Amanda Wurzbach of Total Dish Marketing, to having a site that she will realize much success with. I hope you check it out at www.totaldishmarketing.com

I see the great hoopla over the Apple tablet and, though deserved, seems to be over the top in relation to the thousand plus “silent” but important launches that happen everyday. So here is to those launches too.

Come to think of it, everyday is a day to celebrate.

Welcome to the blog site for Solution Space Technologies.  We want you to be informed as well as have an opportunity to have questions answered about technology solutions that can directly affect your business.  Besides talking to us directly, if you need some quick insite to a product, need to get some tips in selecting solutions for your company, this is your resource.

Stay tuned for some helpful information to make your business more profitable in 2010.