Archive for June, 2006

I just wanted to share my GREAT experience with Konica Minolta.

My relatively new (and definitely under warranty) 2430DL died…rather spectacularly… (There was a stomach churning THUNK and then a *FATAL ERROR CODE*!

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Here are some VERY interesting stats:

Recent statistics indicate that more and more often people are turning to the Internet — instead of the yellow pages — to find local businesses like yours that are close to home. Check out these stats from the Kelsey Group…

• 74% of households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally!
• Approximately 45% of people searching locally intended to buy!
• Respondents who used traditional Yellow Pages decreased from 75% to 62%

As a local business owner, it’s crucial to realize that the Internet is now — more than ever — an extremely important tool for attracting customers.

This issue is just one of those that we’ll be discussing at the Marketing Edge for Retailers site!

Keep watching. I hope/plan to go live in the next week…

I’ll announce it here and in the Groups.
Tink

Jeffrey Gitomer is one of my favorite Sales Mavens. He sends out an Email Newsletter on Tuesdays that is well worth reading.

http://www.gitomer.com/index.cfm

Today he was talking about how the internet is affecting the sales process and discussing buying an automobile. The couple of points that I found were significant are:

*quote*

Because an automobile is so personal, most customers want to see it, touch it, and drive it before they purchase it.

*end quote*
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Here is an interesting tidbit offering a LOT of food for thought!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/06/19/trend.fishing.ap/index.html

First off, who can NOT love the idea of Pink Waders and fishing equipment. Way back when, I was a union stagehand in IATSE. I spray painted ALL of my tools pink, and let me tell you… if any of the guys borrowed them, they were quick to return them! *VeryBigGrin*

But, ignoring everything else… this is the paragraph that most got my attrention:

*quote*

Outdoor marketers have found it makes good business sense to reach out to women, said Monica Pelletier, spokeswoman for the national Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.

“The thinking used to be that the man is the one who goes fishing and he’s going to decide whether to take the family along, but really it’s the woman who decides where to take the family. She determines the activities,” Pelletier said.

*end quote*

The bold, italics are my own and sure give me something to think about! Are we in Needlework and Quilting giving ANY thought to this significant fact? Hmmmmm……

I have some specific ideas that I intend to share with my Gold member Retailers!

Tink

As a result of input from Retailers at TNNA last week, I have ended up going in a slightly different direction with the Marketing Edge sites. Both the Retailer site and the Designer site will be membership sites

The Retailer site will be going live first. It will have two levels of membership: Silver and Gold. Participants at both levels must be qualified Retailers, either online or offline.

Silver membership will be free. The Silver level will have basic information access, but far fewer bells and whistles than Gold membership.

Gold membership will have all of the information provided at the Silver level PLUS much additional information, step by step tutorials, time-saving services, and various discounts on workshops etc…

There will be a Forum (being installed at this very moment!) and both levels will have access to it. Silver members will have a basic section and Gold members will be able to access the Silver areas as well as their own more structured discussion area.

In addition, I will be offering email consulting services for Gold members. There will be a cap on the number of retailers from each discipline (Needlework and Quilting) that I will be able to accept.

It has been an adventure getting the Membership site up and running. I found a good company with an excellent reputation to provide the software and installation. It has been a very pleasant experience and I will be happy to report in greater detail if any of you retailers are considering implements a site such as this!

The company providing the software is in Russia and it took me a bit of time to figure out the time differences… there is 7 hours diference, btw.

Which brings me to an important point of business etiquette… The web is truly international and without geographic borders. Because of this, you should have YOUR time zone clearly listed on EVERY page of your website. Putting it alongside your contact phone number is a good place. The same information should be provided in every email or every time you provide your phone number!

This morning I am working with Alex in Russia, later today I will be working with my friend Bjorn in Sweden…
Tink