Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

The other day I was meeting with a client about their web site. They had found out the happy news that their Flash elements could (maybe) be searched! Sooo, I had to climb on my soapbox gently remind them that Flash - while it’s “cool” - may not be the best idea.

Then I read this from a web developer news site: Adobe, Google and Yahoo Join Forces To Make Flash More Searchable
“Previously, search engines had a hard time peering inside Flash files to accurately read and catalog the content within. This created a barrier for Flash adoption among content producers, many of whom were nervous that search engines wouldn’t be able to see much of what they put inside a Flash movie. Adobe especially is hoping this new agreement will erase that barrier.”

(I can practically hear all the “creative” agencies jumping up and down - “See, See, Flash/Splash is great! Now there’s NO reason not to do that whiz-bang entry page with no text!” Aaargh and yaarggh.)

So? Does this make Flash any less time-consuming (wasting) or annoying for the human being looking for you online? I mean, c’mon. And, who among us doesn’t know how to find that teen-tiny dim little “skip this ad” in the upper-right corner of the NYT pages after the first time? I don’t even notice who is advertising now - I’m so quick to click on skip.

P.S. People don’t care about your carefully crafted keywords and Google Adwords strategies. They want to know what you’re going to do for them…and make it snappy!

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, emarketing, keywords, SEO, web development, Flash

Related Posts:
Web Sites: The Dark Screen of Death!
Five Signs You Should Fire Your Creative Agency

Let’s say you sell adorable little pink elephants - and you’d like to be at the top of Google search results. So, you hire a “web marketing expert” for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) advice.

STOP!

First, think about how people really will look for you, then what they’ll find when they get there (the best SEO in the world is worthless if your site is broken.)

One of the SEO snake oil practices is telling you they can “guarantee top rankings!” They look for the number of times a particular keyword or phrase was searched for within the last month and the number of search results according to Google. They then tell you that the lower the search results, the better chance the keyword will be successful for you. So, they recommend “puce pachyderms” That’s right, pick words that don’t get used often, and, by golly, your site will do great!

This wacked keyword advice was actually given by a local “web marketing expert” in a recent article. …and people wonder why I’m so grumpy about the word, “expert.”

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, emarketing, keywords, SEO

Well, of course not! But in the virtual world, some marketers think it’s perfectly fine to barge into your private space, uninvited, blaring their pitch.

Example: Ads on Facebook. Now, I’m most definitely not their target demographic for most ads. (I also ignore all of ‘em. I’m not on Facebook to read ads.) However, based on what I’ve seen, their “target demographic” is “people who love all kinds of ads, have nothing better to do, and who will buy anything.” How many people do you know that fit into that category?

Now, look at your own marketing. Are you trying to barge into people’s lives, unasked? Keep this in mind, as you think about all that new-fangled social media stuff. (Which isn’t really so new-fangled. It’s people talking to people.)

Read More: Facebook Ads Prove The “Targeting” Demographic is Silly. by Robert Gorell, at GrokDotCom.

Related Posts:
Will A Rich Young Latina Who Buys Diapers at Wal-Mart Buy McCain?
“Marketing” is broken and I’m thrilled!

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, social media, Facebook

One reason there are so many bad web sites is that people think of their sites as something they simply “take live” - separate from planning and the “real” business. Some flashing lights, lots of cool technical stuff, and voila! IT’s ALIVE!…then it goes lumbering off into the woods…whu-oh!

I recently got a call for a woman who had been referred to me by a client. Since I get most of my business from referrals, I was happy to chat for a few minutes. Unfortunately, I won’t be working with the woman. She simply couldn’t grok that we needed to have a discussion re strategy and goals before we leaped into building her site…and that there was a lot that had to be done before we even start talking to web techies about the building.

…and so it goes. I’m sure she’ll find someone to get a web site up and runninglumbering…and then she’ll wonder why it’s not doing what she expected.

Tags: entrepreneur success, web design, emarketing, marketing troubleshooting

The following is based on a press release I recently received. Names deleted to protect the clueless. I’m snarky, not mean.

1. Look at their work. Is it cookie cutter? If they start every press release with the sentence, “(name of client), a leading provider of (insert industry) solutions today announced…” - keep looking, for somebody that can actually think. (Tip: Not every company can be “leading” - particularly in start-up mode. You’re not kidding anyone. Ditto “global provider” Having one guy with a phone in Singapore doesn’t a global company make.)

2. They sprinkle the release with the CEO corporate speak that we’ve all seen at least a thousand times before (and the media has seen about a gazillilon…yawn….) Example: “Joe Smith, CEO of Acme, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with (Name of Client), a leading provider of (industry) solutions. They will be an integral part of providing best-of-breed, world-class solutions to our market.” Zzzzzzz….(Yes, people love quotes, but they should say something.)

3. They - um - forget to put contact info on the releases they send out over PRWire. So, what happens if - by some wild stretch of the imagination - a reporter is simply dieing to talk to yet another “leading provider of solutions” Hmmm…oh well…

4. They tout they can send the release out to thousands! Yes - and get blacklisted by editors and bloggers…and greatly damage their client’s credibility. You can blast out to the world with a push of a button, with services such as PRWire, but does the world care?

4.5. They are clueless about online media rooms. If the press release makes it on the client’s site at all…it’s buried. You have to want to find it…and then you’ve got to download a PDF file (not knowing the length or size) before you can read the thing.

Also see, Four Red Flags When Hiring A Web Developer

P.S. PR is NOT “marketing.” It’s one tool in your kit and should be used intelligently - or not at all.

Read More:
Susan Getgood, Good Pitch, Bad Pitch
Stowe Boyd, The Growing Backlash Against PR Spam
Rick at Blogworld, Should Bloggers Blacklist PR Firms?

Related Posts:
Why I Don’t “Do” PR.
Grab ‘N Go Marketing (Why you should have a good online media room.)
Wasting Your Time on “Thousands.”

Tags: entrepreneur success, online media room, public relations, press release, marketing troubleshooting

Or…how to lose two customers in four days.

Doing business on the Web is great. BUT, some companies take the living/breathing the web stuff way too far.

Example: WebFaction. I recommended the company to a client for hosting. We are now on day FOUR of trying to get her email working. What could have been a 15 minute call has turned into a flurry of back and forth emails and no resolution.

As a former Director of “Worldwide Help Desk Services” for Unisys, I’m painfully familiar with the costs of phone support. But, not offering it in this case is likely going to lose Web Faction at least two customers. (My client and I talk to a LOT of people - on and off the Web.) And, we’ve eaten up a lot of Sean’s time (the fella who provides support for Web Faction out of Las Cruces - so the company must grok some of the basics of remote support…) I asked him to call my client and got the response “we don’t provide phone support.” Great.

After some digging, I found the CEO of Swarma in London who owns Web Faction. Sent him an email via Linked-In.

Now, it’s up to WebFaction. Can they recover? Do they even want to? Stay tuned…

Oh - and WebFaction? I hear they’ve got this new-fangled thing called “online chat” and some radical thingie where you can access other PCs remotely. Golleee!

Monday Update: Richard, one of the co-founders of WebFaction, responded to my email to the support address on their web site. Iit seems the problem is fixed. WebFaction claims it was a Comcast problem (they block the specified port).

Two things:
1. WebFaction should post re such known problems - and have a standard fix, written in non-tech language, step-by-step. (And, if your problem is you can’t send email - it makes it really difficult to communicate with them via email…)

2. Richard, although apologetic, didn’t provide any personal contact information (including - sigh - a phone number.) And, he said the situation appeared “under control” - that if there were further issues he’d call my client. (How about calling her anyway? Take two minutes and might be a good service recovery.)

I have to compare this to Scott Westerman, Regional VP of Comcast - who passes out his direct line, email, and Twitter info with great abandon, including starting a Q&A forum at Duke City Fix. I forwarded Richard’s email to Scott this morning and he’s already responded (within about 5 minutes) that he’s on it. I have no doubt that he is - I’m not sure the man ever sleeps (or stops smiling.)

Wednesday Update: No response to my email of Monday. I also invited Richard to post a comment here - nothing. And, no call to my client. Guess we’ll be looking for a new hosting service for both this site and that of my client. Any recommendations from my readers? Hello? WebFaction?

Tags: web hosting, Web Faction, emarketing, marketing troubleshooting, customer service, Remi Delon, Comcast

A young entrepreneur asked me what I thought of his new site…my reply: “It looks like Darth Vader is trying to sell me something.”

The dynamic fella is in the video production business, so I’m not too surprised he loves the black…and the “pop” of the graphics. But…what if:

A. People want to know why they should pick him over a gazillion other companies?
B The people (decision makers) are aging baby boomers that have difficulty reading white text on black pages?
C. Somebody wants to print a page from the site?
D. Somebody is in a real hurry and doesn’t have time to click around to find out more about the company?

He also couldn’t tell me how much business he gets from his current site. Hmmm…so how is he going to see if the new one is better?

Tags: entrepreneur success, web design, emarketing, marketing troubleshooting

The Press Release Is Dead! Um, not. Certainly, the traditional corporate speak releases - mass produced for mass media - are rapidly going the way of the Dodo bird. What with the gazillion ways we can get information, companies and mainstream media can’t control the message anymore.

However, reporters also freely admit they get many story leads and ideas from the Web (including - ahem - blogs). So, the easier you make it for them to get info about you, the better chance you have of getting more visibility. Further, many of us still live in towns or cities where the local paper of record may be run (likely is) by people who want things the old-fashioned way - like in a release.

Instead of a “press release” - think of it as Grab N’ Go Marketing. Prepare the information in your Online Media Room accordingly.

Read More: Mary Ellen Merrigan on 15 things to consider for your Online Media Room.
Rebecca at SEOMoz, Have Online Press Releases Gone the Way of the Dodo?

Related Posts:
Wasting Your Time On “Thousands”
Nobody Will Read Your “Vision” Press Release Either
Press Releases: They Don’t Care What Your CEO Says

Tags: entrepreneur success, online media room, public relations, press release, marketing troubleshooting

People routinely abandon web site shopping carts…often because: A. It’s difficult to find relevant info quickly; B. it’s impossible to quickly make changes; C. The site forces them to start all over if they change one element of the order…and those little cart icons can be flat hard to find. (Particularly for us aging Baby Boomers, who have the bulk of discretionary income in this country.)

Brick & Mortar Example: Lowe’s. They’re supposedly more helpful and “woman friendly” than Home Depot. And maybe they are, if you can manage to flag down an employee.

Earlier this week I went to buy a lot of dirt in BIG bags. But, first I had to find a flat-bed cart. I walked up, down, around, out, back in…no carts. And, no employees around to ask. Sooo, I unloaded a cart that was apparently being used for restocking, stuck way at the back…and proceeded to heft about 300 pounds of dirt on the cart. Employees (having magically appeared), intent on their tasks, zipped around me as I was grunting and groaning, And - yep - I would have bought more, but I couldn’t manage two flat-bed carts.

So - in both the real and virtual world:

1. Have carts ready and waiting, all over the place. Have a “buy now” button everywhere you have a product on the web site…don’t make me have to go somewhere else to buy it. The more I click the more likely I’ll abandon my shopping…as I almost did at Lowe’s, but I needed the damned dirt since I was in mid-project.

2. Make it easy to get/find help! If you’ve got an online chat feature, make sure it works and is staffed (At one site I was told everyone was on break and to send an email. Buy-bye!) In the real world, have signs, phones, buttons…and train employees that when they see a customer looking (or groaning) to stop and help. (Really, customers should be more important than sweeping the back room.)

Next trip I’m buying mulch….good thing I’ve got Ibuprofen!

Tags: customer service, ecommerce, emarketing, Lowe’s, marketing troubleshooting

Lordy, lordy, the trouble I’ve seen in reviewing people’s web plans and sites…here’s another real world example of a designer/developer you shouldn’t hire:

Flag 1. No results when you google them. And these people want to sell you SEO (Search Engine Optmization)???

Flag 2. They don’t have a web site. Sorry, the old “cobbler’s children” dodge won’t work here. If they’re supposed to be “web experts” they should not only have a site, but a GREAT one - that both looks great and works great.

Flag 3. Their email address is @aol or @msn, etc. Shows they’re clueless about emarketing and branding. It’s very easy to have your own domain and email, even if you don’t have a site.

Example: which do you think has more credibility? mary@maryschmidt.com or mrschmidt4502@aol.com?

The free and ISP email addresses scream hobby business.

Flag 4. Their eletters end up in your spam folder. Text is poorly formatted, fonts are whacked and the whole thing set off spam alarms…and they’re trying to tell you how to “optimize your online marketing???” Ouch!

As for knowing all that “techie stuff” that you don’t - don’t bet that the developer knows a lot more than you, just because he or she can throw around some jargon…as evidenced by all the terribly broken sites out there.

Related Posts:
Don’t Hire An Ad Agency To Build Your Your Web Site
Web Business Model: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Tags: web marketing, small business marketing, marketing troubleshooting, web design, web development