Mobile Website Developer Wanted

November 15th, 2011 · · Jobs No comments

We are looking for a mobile website developer to create a mobile version of a North American Website for a large Toronto-based multi-location company. This will be a version of an existing site with automatic mobile browser detection. We will be working on the writing and UX of the site, but you will be working on the development. A preferred candidate will have:

  • A portfolio of mobile websites to show that work on various devices
  • Ability to target stylesheets to handheld devices
  • Ability to create fluid layouts that will work with various sizes of mobile devices
  • Ability to work with PHP or other server side scripts for automatic mobile browser detection

It would be nice if you could also design the site, but this is not required. Please send us some sample sites along with confirmation that you can do the above. Please contact stefanie@convertinc.com to apply. Only those selected will be contacted.

iPad App Developer Wanted

October 26th, 2011 · · Jobs No comments

We are developing an app for babies similar to Alpha Baby.

This will be a highly interactive, colourful and sound-enabled app that will allow babies to enjoy using the iPad. The app will feature different original animals, making sounds and speaking in languages including: English, French, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.

We are looking for a developer to partner with to code our app. We will provide designs and thorough technical specifications. Please contact us if you are interested.

What is Strategy – Michael Porter

October 25th, 2011 · · Strategy No comments

In this compelling video of Michael Porter, he discusses “What is Strategy” and the common pitfalls in defining strategic directions for firms. For him, strategy is about being different. “It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.”* Strategy is about competitive position. He defines it as “a combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the means (policies) by which it is seeking to get there.”*

Porter is saying that many people mistake strategies and steps. For example, they will say that their strategy is to “Internationalize”, rather than showing the unique way in which they choose to attain their goals. This is an important difference, since with a true strategy, you can constantly change your tactics as the environment changes. If you are focusing on steps, you are not so flexible.

Now – I don’t want to be too picky about definitions by quoting the grandfather of strategy but a lot of Marketers are out there calling themselves Marketing Strategists, then they will only provide tactics (Get on Facebook! Get on Twitter!) Any consultant worth their salt will be able to tell you why, how and what makes you different, instead of just recommending you show up. Now more than ever, it is important that your marketing strategy be flexible, and you do not get there by relying on a set of tactics.

*Michael Porter. Harvard Business Review (Nov-Dec 1996). and Competitive Strategy (1986). Michael Porter. Harvard Business School Press.

Conducting Marketing Audits – Important Questions

October 23rd, 2011 · · Marketing Audits No comments

We are all so busy implementing the latest programs according to the needs of Management, other department heads, employees and others. But, this scatter shot approach is not always beneficial, and it can turn the marketing department into a home for pet projects instead of an important revenue-generating centre. We all want to satisfy our stakeholders, but it is more important to give them what they need, which is ROI-generating initiatives, not just what they want, which ultimately may put your job at risk.

Ultimately, as Marketers we need to show that we are creating value. A Marketing Audit can help you do that. After the Audit is complete, I like to also create a framework for future-proposed initiatives, to see if they are in keeping with marketing goals or not. In this series on Marketing Audits, I am going to go through questions you should ask, along with creating specific tools for measurement. It is important not to make this a long drawn-out process, so you can focus on go-forward steps as soon as possible.

Go through a list of your current marketing initiatives, from the stuff you are doing, your employees, your partners/distributors, your franchisees and more.

  1. What are your marketing goals? Make a list.
  2. Are these goals realistic given the resources you have? Put a column next to each goal, and state whether it is realistic, or not realistic.
  3. Make a list of your Marketing activities. Do these activities support your marketing goals? Score them from 1-5 where 1 is a lot of support, 0 is neutral and 5 is no support.
  4. Are you getting a good ROI on your marketing initiatives? Score them from 1-5.
  5. How are these programs doing in terms of getting new customers? Score them from 1-5.
  6. How are these programs doing in terms of loyalty among existing customers? Score them from 1-5.
  7. Look at the programs that are successful. Can you enhance these programs? If these programs are being done by franchisees, partners or locations, can you make sure others within the network are learning about them? Can you take the success of these programs and apply them somewhere else? For example, if you are having success in PPC, can you look at moving on to other Search Engines? Can you expand your geography on those programs? Can you use other tools such as improving landing page etc?
  8. Look at the programs that are not successful. Can you improve these programs? Is it time to kill them? For example, in the environments I am in, I have found that Social Networks such as Twitter and Facebook are not direct lead generators. I am testing and testing, but I have still found it to be a great loyalty tool, but not such a great lead generating tool except in lifestyle products. Every industry is different, so talk to other marketers to compare notes. Do not trust online case studies, since these studies are often not reliable, and are done only to promote the marketer doing them.
  9. Are you effectively managing your brand? Do an online search for websites, social media and PR activities. Have people out in the field pick up promotional flyers, take photos of billboards and other marketing tools. Take an honest look at the brand, and rate the strengths and weaknesses. I have done this before by printing out materials and hanging them on a wall. This can be an effective way to see if we are all speaking the same language.
  10. Take a look at the strengths of your brand, and rank them against your top three competitors.
  11. Look at the weaknesses of your brand, and rank them against your top three competitors.
  12. How strong are internal communications and communications with partners and distributors? Rank this from 1-5.
  13. Are you engaging your stakeholders in building effective marketing programs?
  14. Look at your initiatives as a whole. If you are not attaining your goals, why? What needs to change?
  15. What has changed in your business or the businesses of your partners and customers? What changes do you need to make to your marketing programs?
  16. How is the competition marketing to their audience? You don’t want to be “me too”, but look at
  17. What are current trends that you can apply to your business? How are thought leaders marketing to their audience? Is there anything that you can learn from them and apply to your business?
  18. What marketing research can you conduct?
  19. What marketing experiments have been successful, and what can you apply to your programs next year?
  20. What marketing experiments can you conduct this year?
  21.  How are you communicating your marketing strategy to your management, and to the field? Score this from 1-5.
Creating a Marketing Audit document answering these questions can help create the right environment for measurable marketing programs. See upcoming posts on tools for Marketing Audits, and specific sections for Digital (including Social Media), Print, Broadcast, Research and Public Relations, and a special section on Marketing Audits for Franchise networks.
Special thanks to Sitepoint for giving some inspiration to my questions.

 

Why I Am a Social Media Skeptic

October 12th, 2011 · · Social Media No comments

As a marketer, and a creative person in general, I am always excited to see and try the latest innovations our industry has to offer. When Social Media (SM) first emerged as as a medium, I was very enthusiastic, and ran a number of tests. As I got into it, some were very, very successful, where message met target market successfully and created sales (that is what we are here for right?). Others, were not so successful – in fact they were bombs. So much so, that I considered abandoning SM all together.

Yet, I kept seeing SM consultants saying how great the medium is. Try a Google search on Social Media Criticism and most of the articles are about how to respond to criticism on social media, rather than looking at the medium critically. All of this hype bothers me and takes credibility away from our industry. If we critiqued and analyzed more within the industry, we would be able to be more accountable to our stakeholders, and create more useful programs. Here are some reasons why I am a social media skeptic.

1. There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Solution: In Marketing, as in all things, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet, SM consultants seem to think that they always have the answer. Any marketer in traditional media knows that you use the right strategy in the right situation. Tools include: Direct Mail, Trade Shows, TV, Radio etc. And, the it takes an intelligent planner or strategist to determine the right mix for your market and brand. But for some reason, the SM consultants think you should throw that all away and use their tools despite your situation. I guess when you have a hammer, all you see is nails.

2. You Need to be Where Your Customers Are: Despite what the SM Acolytes will tell you, not everyone is in the conversation. One of the true guiding principles in marketing for me is that you need to meet your customers where they are. If you are selling to say, Owners of Hotel Properties in the Hospitality Industry for example, I do not think they are spending their time on SM. That person is typically working 12-hour days, and is not on the internet. You should be focusing on Direct Sales with a rep with industry knowledge, experience and contacts. Look for where your customers are – social networks often have demographic information about their users.

3. Your Time is Money: In my experience with Franchise networks, there are many business owners who are approached by SM consultants who say that SM is a free tool to get leads. In some industries, this is true, but in many, it is not. Spending hours updating Twitter, Facebook and blogs is not as useful in many industries as PPC or offline activities.

The best thing to do with any new medium is to start small and test, then go big if it is successful. As a SM skeptic, I am not dismissing it, but I am testing it. I hope that as the industry matures, the consultants in it will as well.

Steve Jobs: The Greatest Entrepreneur of Our Generation (So Far)

October 6th, 2011 · · Entrepreneurship One comment

On the announcement of his passing on Wednesday, I got to thinking about his contributions to this world and came to this conclusion:

Steve Jobs is the greatest entrepreneur of our generation. He brought us so many inventions, including the Mac, the iPad, the iPhone and the iPad. He changed the way we consume music with the iTunes store. He founded Pixar.

You think of some of the other Entrepreneurs of our time, and they only had one or two good ideas. Bill Gates with his Operating System. Sergey Brin and Larry Page with their search engine and adwords model. These are great ideas, but Steve Jobs just had so many groundbreaking inventions that will keep changing the way that we live.

Also, it is my belief that a company is an expression of its founder. Like a piece of art or a song, the person who made it is inseparable from the thing itself. You add up all of that person’s beliefs and experiences, and you see it expressed in his or her company. See Steve’s quote on design:

“In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.”

You can clearly see this principal in all of his products. We will miss you Steve.

 

Educational Blogger Wanted

October 3rd, 2011 · · Jobs No comments

Are you ready to make the world a better place? Are you able to inspire? An international tutoring company is looking for a web writer based in the Toronto area. The job will be to provide an education-based blog every week. Must-haves:
- a love of learning
- ability to inspire
- cultural sensitivity
- native English speaker
- residence in Canada
- knowledge of the Canadian and American education system from Elementary to University
- impeccable grammar
- experience in Social media including generating a following

The blog will be at the center of both the newsletter and the social media program, so posts should be both engaging and able to pick up viral attention. This is a very independent work-from-home position. We will be asking you to proactively send us one blog post per week on Thursdays. Sometimes the topics will be selected by us, but mostly by you, so there is a lot of creativity involved. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a business that helps children, and make a difference.

Compensation is 10c/word, and we will be asking for a post once a week. Contact me at stefanie@convertinc.com to apply.

New World of Work – A Race to the Top

October 3rd, 2011 · · Work Life No comments

In his recent blog post, The Forever Recession, Seth Godin says that there are two economies. One is the manufacturing economy where it is a race to the bottom, and communities across the world will risk the environment and labour in order to become the cheapest means of production. If it can be systematized, it will be. If they can automate your job, they will.

He says that economy is not coming back to North America, and we don’t want it anyway.

The other economy is what he calls the “revolution of connection”:

When everyone has a laptop and connection to the world, then everyone owns a factory. Instead of coming together physically, we have the ability to come together virtually, to earn attention, to connect labor and resources, to deliver value.

This economy, I believe, is not necessarily limited to North America. It will be worldwide, and the competition will be fierce. But, the life in this new economy certainly seems like an adventure.

When Vendors Fail: 8 Tips on Succeeding Despite Your Vendors

September 29th, 2011 · · Project Management No comments - Tags: , , ,

As a Project Manager and in life I am a “make it happen” person, but as a PM, I am constantly relying on others. Whether it be vendor-recommendations from clients, or new vendors I select myself, there are times when a vendor fails me. These situations are aggravating for everyone and can make emotions run high. Like many PMs, in the past few years, I find that I require teams with more diversified skills, and due to budget restraints they are more scattered across the globe. Because of this, projects get delayed, and quality suffers. Here are some tips that have helped me succeed despite my vendors:

1. Make the Process as Transparent as Possible to Your Stakeholders: Let your stakeholders know that you are trying everything in your power to make their project happen. Copy them on e-mails and tell them about your process. This shows them that you care about the project and can remove some of the frustration. It is not purposely making anyone look bad, it is just telling the truth.

2. Do Not Pay in Advance: Waiting for a final cheque can have a humbling effect on even the most unapologetic vendor. Paying them a deposit is standard practice, but do not pay them 100% in advance.

3. Apologize for the Vendor, Not for Yourself: Approach your stakeholders with understanding that the project is late, or not up to par. But, since you are not in complete control of the situation, you do not have to keep apologizing or taking it personally – you can only say that you will select different vendors in the future.

4. Escalate: This is an obvious one, but sometimes simply escalating the problem to their superiors or higher level people in your organization can create movement.

5. Don’t Look for the “I” in TEAM: Realize that thinking that you can control all situations is a pretty egotistical thing to think. Even though you are the PM, you are relying on other resources. Not getting too caught up in it can help you be more dispassionate and help you think more clearly. For more on this, see Bob Sutton’s classic blog post on why indifference is as important as passion.

6. Create Alternate Plans: If there is just one piece of the functionality that does not work, you can create an alternate plan and release the project without it. Then you can buy time for the difficult vendor, or find someone else to complete the project.

7. Let the Vendors Understand the Consequences: Let the difficult vendor know about your disappointment in how the process is going. Don’t be too hard on them, since you do not want them to give up. You just want them to know that this behaviour is not acceptable.

8. Know When to Exit: Sometimes you have to simply pull the plug and cut your losses. In this economy, it seems that a lot of creative shops are struggling to stay alive, making it difficult for them to complete projects that they have already committed to. Despite assurances, sometimes you have to simply pull the plug and start anew. This is another item that you want to keep open to stakeholders.

In the end, usually you just have to push through the project until the finish. You can blame a bad vendor for one project gone awry. But, if you keep working with the same vendor you can only blame yourself. “Fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice shame on me”.

Marketing Skeptics

August 19th, 2011 · · Web Marketing 2 comments

I recently created a post on one of the online marketing boards, with the following complaint:

“There are too many snake-oil salesmen in our field. What can we do?”

This was reflecting my frustration with the amazing potential of the field of online marketing, but also the fact that there are so many phonies in the industry. I then suggested perhaps having a Marketing Designation, or some sort of central rating of ideas.

Within one hour, my post was deleted, with no explanation.

Far be it for me to analyze the psychology of forum moderators too much, but I do think this reflects the thinking out there. A kind of extreme positivity, that anyone who is looking at the work critically is not a true believer. I am tired of this.

I think our industry needs more skeptics. Yes, we do not want to squelch creativity, and I think this is one source of the lack of skepticism, but imagine what could be done with creative energies more usefully focused?

Another root of the problem is that everyone is selling something. Don’t question Social Media because Gartner says Social Media CRM is going to be a billion-dollar industry (billion… with a “B”). But – the reality is that Social Media is just not for everyone.

Finally, I think that Marketers just like shiny new things. It is in our natures. And, we are so excited to push forth with something new with a powerful burst of enthusiasm. Who wants a skeptic to get in the way of that?

But, the industry desperately needs it. And, for the next few posts I am going to be looking skeptically at some of the recent trends in Marketing. Don’t be afraid.