Comments for The SENSIBLE MARKETING Blog for Startups & Small Business http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz Attract prospects and convert them into customers -- without breaking the bank. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:26:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 Comment on Google Trends: ThomasNet vs. GlobalSpec by Brendan O'Connell http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/google-trends-thomasnet-vs-globalspec/#comment-1905 Brendan O'Connell Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:49:23 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/google-trends-thomasnet-vs-globalspec/#comment-1905 Thanks for your comments on ThomasNet. You may wish to know that after months of user research we are happy to announce the new ThomasNet.com is going live tonight sporting a new look and offering easier navigation, new content and more accessibility to information. I encourage all your readers to check it out. Thanks for your comments on ThomasNet. You may wish to know that after months of user research we are happy to announce the new ThomasNet.com is going live tonight sporting a new look and offering easier navigation, new content and more accessibility to information. I encourage all your readers to check it out.

]]> Comment on Marketing Gimmicks Can Kill by Jason http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/cheap-marketing-gimmicks-at-helio/#comment-1065 Jason Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:10:55 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/cheap-marketing-gimmicks-at-helio/#comment-1065 I'm currently 9 months of my 2-year contract, and i can't wait for them to be bought out so that i can cancel with out early termination fee. Their customer service is hands down the worst of any company i have ever dealth with. I'm convinced it's 5 guys in a double wide trailer down in oklahoma. Each time i call i get some country-boy sounding person who doesn't know hardly anything about their phones. I LITERALLY had to explain features of the phone to the rep becaue he was arguing that such a feature did not exist when i was already using it. Another time i had a CS rep ask for my PASSWORD so that he could log into my account and see what i'm seeing. AREY YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?! I asked 6 times to speak to a supervisor. I kept being placed on hold only for the same rep to pick up and tell me that a supervisor would just say the same thing that he had just told me I’m currently 9 months of my 2-year contract, and i can’t wait for them to be bought out so that i can cancel with out early termination fee. Their customer service is hands down the worst of any company i have ever dealth with. I’m convinced it’s 5 guys in a double wide trailer down in oklahoma. Each time i call i get some country-boy sounding person who doesn’t know hardly anything about their phones.

I LITERALLY had to explain features of the phone to the rep becaue he was arguing that such a feature did not exist when i was already using it.

Another time i had a CS rep ask for my PASSWORD so that he could log into my account and see what i’m seeing. AREY YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME?!

I asked 6 times to speak to a supervisor. I kept being placed on hold only for the same rep to pick up and tell me that a supervisor would just say the same thing that he had just told me

]]> Comment on Marketing Gimmicks Can Kill by david http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/cheap-marketing-gimmicks-at-helio/#comment-1042 david Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:03:42 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/cheap-marketing-gimmicks-at-helio/#comment-1042 i just ordered and received the ocean for 80 bucks with no deposit on ebay through an authorized dealer it also came with about 1oo bucks worth of extra accessories i just ordered and received the ocean for 80 bucks with no deposit on ebay through an authorized dealer it also came with about 1oo bucks worth of extra accessories

]]> Comment on Care and Feeding of the Press by Sasha http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-press/#comment-469 Sasha Mon, 26 May 2008 05:08:06 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-press/#comment-469 Hi Michael! I love this article. You've really come a long way since the days of Control Engineering!! One would think that I'd be familiar with that guide you posted, but no one ever called me to ask for my input!! One thing that irks me is when companies or their PR firms send me a release in a PDF format or as a Word Doc that is protected!! I wish they would just send it as a RTF file or just paste the text in the email. Another thing the guide didn't mention is to never take an editor to dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant! :-) Just stick to the basics, maybe a steakhouse, seafood or Asian. I have a hunch you learned that lesson in Chicago that night! Take care! Hi Michael! I love this article. You’ve really come a long way since the days of Control Engineering!! One would think that I’d be familiar with that guide you posted, but no one ever called me to ask for my input!! One thing that irks me is when companies or their PR firms send me a release in a PDF format or as a Word Doc that is protected!! I wish they would just send it as a RTF file or just paste the text in the email.

Another thing the guide didn’t mention is to never take an editor to dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant! :-) Just stick to the basics, maybe a steakhouse, seafood or Asian. I have a hunch you learned that lesson in Chicago that night!

Take care!

]]> Comment on Learn from visitor usage patterns and improve your website–for under $15 by Mark Schar http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/best-website-analytics-tools-for-small-business/#comment-438 Mark Schar Sat, 24 May 2008 06:55:24 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/best-website-analytics-tools-for-small-business/#comment-438 <strong>Great post!</strong> Capturing data from search sources, social networks, campaign metrics and other sources can be a challenge for even the largest companies. At <a href="http://www.intuit.com/" rel="nofollow">Intuit</a>, we've had a good deal of success with <strong>Omniture</strong> (Web Analytics Application) and <strong>Brio</strong> (OLAP Application) to measure/track/report on website and online marketing initiatives. One word of caution, I only suggest this scenario for those organizations with dedicated IT resources, as there is a bit of customization involved in the deployment. Great post! Capturing data from search sources, social networks, campaign metrics and other sources can be a challenge for even the largest companies. At Intuit, we’ve had a good deal of success with Omniture (Web Analytics Application) and Brio (OLAP Application) to measure/track/report on website and online marketing initiatives. One word of caution, I only suggest this scenario for those organizations with dedicated IT resources, as there is a bit of customization involved in the deployment.

]]> Comment on Connect with Customers & Prospects by Aurelius Tjin http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/connect-to-customers-with-email-marketing/#comment-279 Aurelius Tjin Thu, 08 May 2008 05:59:52 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/connect-to-customers-with-email-marketing/#comment-279 Nice post! The ideas and insights are very worth reading. You really gave me valuable information. Thanks for sharing it! Nice post! The ideas and insights are very worth reading. You really gave me valuable information. Thanks for sharing it!

]]> Comment on Orlando Ortega Murder - One Year Ago by Nasta Echevarria http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/orlando-ortega/#comment-248 Nasta Echevarria Tue, 06 May 2008 20:55:09 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/orlando-ortega/#comment-248 I did have the honor of meeting Orlando when we were kids. He had the brightest eyes anyone can possibly have. I feel in love at the first meeting. He was and will always be a special part of my life! I wish I had reunited with him in my older years. He seems to have had many friends!!! Rest in Peace Black Panther! I did have the honor of meeting Orlando when we were kids. He had the brightest eyes anyone can possibly have. I feel in love at the first meeting. He was and will always be a special part of my life! I wish I had reunited with him in my older years. He seems to have had many friends!!! Rest in Peace Black Panther!

]]> Comment on Learn from visitor usage patterns and improve your website–for under $15 by Tal Schwartz http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/best-website-analytics-tools-for-small-business/#comment-105 Tal Schwartz Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:23:46 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/best-website-analytics-tools-for-small-business/#comment-105 Actually, you can setup a FREE ClickTale account. We provide Visitor Recording Analytics which let our subscribers replay movies showing individual surfers mouse movements, clicking and scrolling pages, generate heatmaps with advanced overlay statistics, that uncover significant trends such as visitor hesitation and average hover times. ClickTale has helped thousands of websites run easy to implement, inexpensive usability testing to minimize abandonment of shopping carts, maximize completion of online forms, and optimize landing pages. ClickTale is a hosted service, so there is no software to install and setup takes just a few minutes. Visit today and setup a FREE ClickTale account. Actually, you can setup a FREE ClickTale account.

We provide Visitor Recording Analytics which let our subscribers replay movies showing individual surfers mouse movements, clicking and scrolling pages, generate heatmaps with advanced overlay statistics, that uncover significant trends such as visitor hesitation and average hover times.

ClickTale has helped thousands of websites run easy to implement, inexpensive usability testing to minimize abandonment of shopping carts, maximize completion of online forms, and optimize landing pages. ClickTale is a hosted service, so there is no software to install and setup takes just a few minutes. Visit today and setup a FREE ClickTale account.

]]> Comment on Email a Cost-effective Alternative in Tough Times by Angie L. Langdale http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/words-from-bill-nussey-and-silverpop/#comment-61 Angie L. Langdale Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:14:35 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/words-from-bill-nussey-and-silverpop/#comment-61 I enjoy your blog. This post is so true as our markeitng budget is in a continual state of flux. However, one thing that does seem to return the biggest bang for the buck is e-marketing. What amazes me (and I guess i am lucky), is with all the obstacles and spam filters and email verification systems--we still get through to a large percentage of our opt-in lists. Educating your email subscribers on whitelists and such is very important also. -Angie RBI-US I enjoy your blog. This post is so true as our markeitng budget is in a continual state of flux. However, one thing that does seem to return the biggest bang for the buck is e-marketing. What amazes me (and I guess i am lucky), is with all the obstacles and spam filters and email verification systems–we still get through to a large percentage of our opt-in lists. Educating your email subscribers on whitelists and such is very important also.

-Angie
RBI-US

]]> Comment on Get the Most from your Tradeshow Attendee List by Chris Hoskin http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/email-append/#comment-23 Chris Hoskin Sun, 02 Mar 2008 20:52:39 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/email-append/#comment-23 Great post. I wrote a post a while back called 'The Show must go on', which listed a few pro and cons about exhibitions. Its here -> http://rawstylus.wordpress.com/2006/07/09/the-show-must-go-on/ chris @ rawstulus.wordpress.com Great post.

I wrote a post a while back called ‘The Show must go on’, which listed a few pro and cons about exhibitions. Its here -> http://rawstylus.wordpress.com/2006/07/09/the-show-must-go-on/

chris @ rawstulus.wordpress.com

]]> Comment on Email Marketing 101 for Dummies by elleaybynicolemiller http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/email-marketing-101/#comment-29 elleaybynicolemiller Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:09:02 +0000 http://blog.sensiblemarketing.biz/email-marketing-101/#comment-29 So true you are. Especially in my line of business, I see realtors who use the same tools that I suggest using but the presentation of it is horrible and not appealing in any way, shape or form! So true you are. Especially in my line of business, I see realtors who use the same tools that I suggest using but the presentation of it is horrible and not appealing in any way, shape or form!

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