Sean Parnell
Caveat Emptor: WMPU DEV & Their “Money Back” Guarantee
Here’s a nice happy new year from WPMU DEV.
Don’t you like it when someone claims you were “dealt with” even though your question wasn’t answered? Dealt with = they dealt with you so that you are no longer a problem for them, and so much for their “Guaranteed!” claims… At the end of the day: a charge of $158 for a question that still hasn’t been answered. Not even a partial refund? We shall not be troubling them with our business any longer.
***
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Thank you for your WPMU DEV subscription!
Date: January 2, 2012 8:38:45 AM CST
To: ***@innovaxisinc.com
Hiya,
... Continue Reading >>Must Read: “Hey, Startups: Don’t Hire A PR Agency”
Below is an excerpt of my new favorite article, written by Brant Cooper on Business Insider. It reminds me why we write press releases on an as-needed basis for a fraction of the $5K per month PR agencies charge for a retainer…
“Before you hire a PR agency or even consider PR, the first thing you need to understand is what you are trying to accomplish, what is your objective. Second, you should consider whether that objective is right for the stage of your business. If you are an early startup, pre Product-Market fit, or even pre “Sales and Marketing Roadmap,” you should not hire a PR firm.
“Hiring an agency is wrong,
... Continue Reading >>B2B Mystery Shopping
Need to find out how much a competitor and/or their channel is charging for their products and services? Want to gauge another company’s responsiveness and customer service? Need to do all of the above without them knowing it’s you? Then B2B mystery shopping may be what you seek.
The Innovaxis marketing consulting team averages 20 years of market research experience. Specifically, we have acquired B2B mystery shopping pricing in the following markets:
- Document imaging software
- Office technology service contracts
- Video conferencing services
- Hazardous-duty lighting
- Residential construction
- Security systems
- Engineered valves
- Powder actuated tools
- Construction fasteners
- Circuit breakers
- Conduit and wire
- Printer cartridges
- Specialty paper
Joan Lunden, “The Journal” & Buyer Beware
Buyer beware, indeed.
One of our high-profile clients contacted us to ask for advice on whether or not to participate in the taping of “The Journal.” After an introduction from Joan Lunden “herself” the phone was handed to a senior producer who then solicited my client for $22,900 in order to help fund a special that would go out on public TV and the internet to over one million viewers.
Since this did not pass the sniff test–no producer that we know of asks interviewees for money because they always need content, and they seek investors if they need funding–we recommended against this and contacted the Joan Lunden people through here website. We got this response below,
... Continue Reading >>ECM Keyword Searches: What Generates the Most Website Traffic
I ran a search for the following keywords on the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and found the following monthly searches—vendors and resellers of document imaging and enterprise content management (ECM), take note for your website content and SEO strategies. Keep in mind, however, that the more generic the keyword, the harder it will be to gain a foothold in the top three search results. Ask us about how to get around this.
Keyword
Monthly Searches
Scanner
20,400,000
Human Resources
11,100,000
SharePoint
6,120,000
PDF Conversion
3,350,000
IT Outsourcing
2,740,000
OCR
2,740,000
Scanners
2,740,000
Purchase Order
1,830,000
Supply Chain
1,830,000
IT Management Services
1,500,000
Risk Management
1,500,000
Invoicing
1,220,000
Workflow
1,220,000
Data Entry
1,000,000
ECM
1,000,000
Microfiche
823,000
Content Management
673,000
Online Forms
673,000
Scan Software
673,000
Data Management
550,000
HP Scanner
550,000
Medical Records
550,000
Storage Device
550,000
Canon Scanner
450,000
Document Management
450,000
Epson
450,000
Online Storage
450,000
Document Conversion
400,000
Scanner Program
368,000
Accounts Receivable
301,000
Computer Backup
301,000
Data Storage
301,000
Records Management
301,000
Windows Scanner
301,000
Benefits Compensation
246,000
Disaster Recovery
246,000
Document Scanning
246,000
Epson Scan
246,000
Network Storage
246,000
Scanner Printer
246,000
Archive Storage
201,000
Contract Management
201,000
Data Processing
201,000
Document Imaging
201,000
Business Continuity
165,000
Document Scanner
165,000
Manged Services
165,000
Online Purchase Order
165,000
Storage Server
165,000
Data Migration
135,000
Form Builder
135,000
Cloud Storage
110,000
Document Services
110,000
Email Management
110,000
Portable Scanner
110,000
Data Capture
90,500
Microfilm
90,500
Wide Format Printers
90,500
Wide Format Printing
90,500
Document Scanner
74,000
Wide Format Printer
74,000
Fujitsu Scanner
64,000
Patient Records
60,500
Storage Backup
60,500
Electronic Forms
49,500
Kodak Scanner
49,500
Form Processing
40,500
SharePoint Document Library
40,500
Book Scanning
33,100
Enterprise Content Management
27,100
Archival Storage
22,200
Forms Processing
22,200
Laserfiche
18,100
Document Workflow
14,800
Large Format Scanner
14,800
MFP Scanner
14,800
Data Center Service
12,100
Wide Format Scanner
12,100
Document Capture
9,900
Document Migration
9,900
Large Format Scanning
9,900
Invoice Processing
8,100
Wide Format Scanning
8,100
Aperture Card
5,400
Information Lifecycle Management
4,400
ImageSilo
2,400
Accounts Payable Automation
1,600
HR Automation
1,600
Cloud Document Management
1,000
Human Resources Automation
880
Mailroom Outsourcing
320
Virtual Mailroom
120
... Continue Reading >>White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO: What’s the Difference?
As long as it produces results, does it really matter who does SEO for your company? If you answered “no,” think about how a $17 billion a year company like JC Penny was penalized by Google for using a 3rd party SEO firm that tried to game the search engine’s organic (a.k.a. natural or unpaid) search rankings.
And claiming ignorance about the use of these tactics is no defense.Whether the perpetrator is a rogue vendor or a misguided employee, if you get caught — and all SEO scams are eventually caught — the risk is that your business is demoted — or even removed — in search results. For those that rely on the online channel for a significant portion of their prospects (read: all businesses now),
... Continue Reading >>How to Message All Facebook Fans
Since there doesn’t seem to be a straightforward answer to this out there on the interweb, here is your 20-second answer for you Facebook admins out there managing company websites who want to email all of your followers:
- Click “Edit Page” at the top right of your company Facebook page (or “Edit” next to “About” on the left side of your page, halfway down)
- Click “Resources” with the flag next to it, six items down from the top on the left (there used to be a “Marketing” tab but that is now gone)
- Under “Connect with People” click on the last item “Send an Update” next to the email icon
- Write your subject line,
The Company Brochure: Still Generating Sales in the Digital Age
In the rush to implement the “latest and greatest” (and untested)techniques, too many marketers overlook simple, proven methods fordriving business. Take the humble sales brochure. It has fallen out offavor with many marketers, who view brochures as nothing more thananother piece of printed collateral. But in our experience, a welldesigned sales brochure can be a highly effective messaging tool—interms of both cost and returns—particularly in B2B marketing. Awell-designed sales brochure will help train your sales reps and guidethem in the field, will help your prospects articulate your valueproposition to internal decision makers long after your sales rep isgone, and exemplifies your professionalism in hardcopy form.
Think of a brochure as a static snapshot of a company website and you can begin to see the possibilities.
... Continue Reading >>How to Add Sales Promotions to Your Company’s Facebook Page
Since the tab structure of Facebook has recently changed, we were asked by a client to identify how to add a page on their company’s Facebook page to highlight a sales promotion. After doing a quick search, we ran across Offerpop’s “Exclusive” application, and we were sold.
After going through about a 60-second implementation, an “Exclusive” tab is placed on the left side of the company’s Facebook page, under Wall, Info, Friend Activity, Photos, Events, etc. Clicking on “Exclusive” takes you to a page where you can have a 500-pixel wide graphic of your promotion along with whatever text you have to explain it. Hyperlinks can be embedded on the graphic and in the text,
... Continue Reading >>