I was reminded of this in an article about the father of the iPod, Todd Faddell. Todd Faddell worked with Steve Jobs at Apple for nine years before going on to his own start-up. He said that experience taught him something that he has tried to put into practice at his new company, Nest:

It’s about every touchpoint where the consumer interacts with the brand … Whether that’s at learning about the product, buying the product, using it, servicing it, unboxing the product – all of those places are consumer touchpoints and you need to look at those in as much detail as you do the product-user interactions.

Apple is the master of details and the consumer experience.  The new iMac is now available and one blog I read already has a post describing taking the new iMac out of its weird shaped box. The blog recreates the consumer experience for its reader, massaging all of the details of just one aspect of this product experience…the packaging.

When was the last time you experienced your business through the eyes of a consumer? It might be worth a gander down your business lane, closely examining every touchpoint a consumer has with your business. Here are some aspects, other than the product and packaging, to check out:

Website: When was the last time your really looked at your website? Read everything on it? Clicked the links? Made sure the information, including the email address, are correct? Is the design pleasing? Readable? Mobile?

Email Address: If your email address does not include the name of your URL, your don’t appear professional. Period.

Place of business: Is the building in good repair? Is it well-lit and easy to access? Is signage clearly visible and in working order? Parking? Is the entrance inviting and welcoming?

Personnel: This can be scary. Is the person answering the phone and/or welcoming newcomers friendly, attentive, and helpful? Groomed professionally?

Customer Service: Your best people should be in customer service. If you use Twitter and email for customer support, are the replies real-time and/or timely? Do you follow up to make sure the issue has been resolved? Many will judge the entire business’ performance on their customer service experience!

Consumers are inundated with choices and offers. Competition for the consumer is fierce. The old adage is as timely now as it ever has been: you have one chance to make a great first impression. If your focus is on the consumer – wherever and whenever they interact with any aspect of your business – you’ll be successful.

Let’s face reality. No one will just “find” your website on the web. Well, that’s not entirely true. IF someone is doing an exhaustive search, they might find you. No, in reality, people must be driven to your site.

The other reality is that unless people have a reason to go to your website again, once they get the information they were looking for, they will not go back to your site. And, if you’re completely honest, do you continually update your website making it the epicenter of all things current in your business? I didn’t think so.

So what’s a busy business owner to do? How can you keep your customers abreast of all of your latest sales, specials, and events since they aren’t going to your website even if you were keeping it updated? Email!

Sending out a bulk email to all who want to to be updated on your latest info is the most cost-effective and efficient method. Yet, we know creating an email campaign is a nightmare. Email marketing tools try to make things easy, but most aren’t mobile-ready (where the majority of people read email) and it’s never just plug-and-send.

That’s why we created CloudMeToU. We know most small business owners never get an email campaign out because it’s more complicated once they finally get a chance to sit down and put it together. Another reason is not having an easy way to collect email addresses.

The holidays are the busiest time of year for most businesses. CloudMeToU bulk email service is an easy way to alert your customers of a sale, special event, or drop in for holiday cheer. It’s FREE through January 15, 2013 giving you a simple-easy way to stay in touch with your customers during this busy time of year.

Here are our top four ways to build your list to show you how easy it is to build a great customer list.

4. Put a link to your CloudMeToU sign-up form in a prominent place on your website. Most people are looking for information when searching the web. If they’re on your site, they probably are interested in hearing what you have to offer. CloudMeToU helps you keep them in the loop.

3. Have your CloudMeToU sign-up form available for people to sign up on at every event or function. This is easy when you have a registration table. Have an iPad or laptop available with your sign-up form displayed. It takes two second to fill in and you’re building your list effortlessly.

2. Send out an email with your CloudMeToU sign-up form link to everyone you know. Those that want to be in the know will sign up and you won’t have to worry about spamming any of the rest.

1. Make sure you’re always promoting your CloudMeToU sign-up form. When someone comes into your store or place of business, have the CloudMeToU sign-up form available for them to sign-up on right then and there. The saying “build it and they will come” only is true if you tell them where to go!

Happy emailing! I can’t wait to hear about your success!

Disaster will strike. It’s not a matter of IF a disaster will strike. It’s a matter of WHEN. New Jersey and New York became the target of the most devastating hurricane in a generation. Not the geographical location we usually think of when we think of hurricanes.

Anything that disrupts your business is a disaster. There is the Act of God category which includes natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, lightning, wild fires, and floods. Then there are fires, theft, and equipment failures. Pandemics, accidents, and death complete the spectrum.

The point is: Do you have a business continuity plan?

Having a plan for the things you can control can make all the difference when there are things you can’t control. Here’s what I mean:

1. Is your data available and accessible by any device and anywhere? In other words, if you have a physical server that hosts your email, website, and operations software, what is your back up should those servers be rendered inoperable? It’s not just about backing up. Using cloud-based software and having regularly used files available for access in the cloud means you can work from anywhere with whatever device can access your cloud.

Most reputable cloud-based services are replicated across many servers around the world. Your region may be affected by an earthquake, but your information is safe and accessible because it’s replicated elsewhere.

2. If your location is demolished or your employees cannot make it into your location, what is your back up plan? Once everyone is safe, can they work from another location? Do they have the equipment or information needed for temporary measures?

3. What’s outside your control and is there anything you can plan for now that will help  post-disaster transition? Many businesses in other parts of the U.S. are finding out they are impacted because of supply chain disruptions due to hurricane Sandy. What is Plan B if goods and products your business was counting on for holiday sales can’t be delivered or aren’t available?

Businesses, organizations, and individuals all must have a plan when disaster strikes. Safety and supplies are part of the equation. Communication and information is another. Operations and continuity another piece. Often it takes a disaster to make a plan. Sadly, that’s a high price to pay when some thought and planning could have helped minimize the amount of destruction or the length of disruption. Be prepared.

For more information and planning resources, check out Ready.gov.

Let’s face it. In this digital age we are all inundated with email and information. Everyone wants our eyes. Companies spend millions of dollars and employ sophisticated algorithms to get products and services targeted specifically for you on your digital radar. As with most advertising, you feel like you have virtually no control. And you’re almost correct in that assessment.

Sometimes, however, you do want to take advantage of an online offer or receive an organization’s digital newsletter or subscribe to an industry leader’s blog. You’re giving permission for that company, organization, or person to send you their information. You may choose to continue receiving their content or, maybe at some point in the future you decide you no longer want to receive their stuff. You can remove your name from their list.

Humans want choice. They also do want to hear about specials, be in the inner circle, or receive information IF they are the ones initiating and controlling that access. Smart businesses understand that. That’s why smart businesses utilize the opt in/opt out (also referred to as the double opt in process) features when inviting customers to sign up to any list.

There’s something for you, the business, in this too:

• When someone subscribes through the double opt in process, they want to hear from you.
• Double opt ins have higher engagement levels over time. That means more opens and click throughs. It also means fewer bounces and unsubscribes.
• Since no friend, family or foe can sign up someone, you’ll have fewer spam reports. Yes, there are spam laws and there are penalties for spammers.
• Since a subscriber must have a real email address, you know you have a solid list of real people receiving your information.

The double opt in process is an easy and seamless way to build, manage, and maintain your valuable customer list. Now you can focus on the delivering excellent content your subscribers want from you!

New products and apps launch after an unbelievable amount of development and testing. The process from idea to implementation is intricate, involves lots of moving parts (and code), and takes a lot of people using it to work out all of the kinks. A lot has already been said about Apples iOS6 and the maps app, but all of the feedback they get about the app will be applied for making the absolute best possible user experience in updates.

There are no short-cuts

Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts when it comes to creating a great app with great user experience. Designers and developers do their best, but it really takes the average user to find the glitches and work out the kinks. And that takes time and use.

It’s like observing an animal in the wild versus watching an animal in the zoo. Animals behave natively in their own environment. They adapt their behavior in captivity. The same is true of technology and apps. Users’ input is invaluable in understanding how an app is really used versus how it was intended to be used.

Custom development vs. off-the-shelf

Have you ever had something custom made for you? A suit, perhaps? If you have, you know the difference between a suit that has been custom styled and tailored to you and one that is off-the-rack.

Cloudtippers specialized is custom development. We create custom web apps, including websites which are really web apps, for organizations. That means you’re getting a site or app developed specifically for your needs. It’s going to fit seamlessly into your operation (because we observe how your people work) and is going to do what you want it to do from the beginning because it has been designed for that purpose. You don’t have to figure out how to get the app to do what you need for it to do.

Off-the-shelf is an outdated term from the days when you purchased software and loaded it on to your machine. Nowadays you just download from an app store or website. Theses apps are designed to do something specific for a broad, general audience. These apps are still quite useful and certainly better than having nothing at all, but you must fit your use within the bounds of the app. There will be lots of ways you can use it, maybe even have some ability to customize it a bit, but it is designed for the masses. It’s not designed to be custom.

All this to say

All this to say, Cloudtippers has designed an off-the-shelf app and we’d like more users to test it further.

CloudMeToU is a simple-easy email marketing tool.

• Create your list with an easy way for your customers to opt-in, complete with an automated double-opt-in process.
• Create your email campaign. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
  1. Fill in your subject;
  2. Write the email;
  3. Send.

CloudMeToU is now in the wild. We can’t wait to hear how you use CloudMeToU in your habitat! Your feedback and input to us are vital for us to give you a custom app experience off-the-shelf!

For all of you who know that all of the information on your website is current and correct (including links, the print function, videos, or any other action offered), that your website is viewable AND readable on a mobile device, that it works AND looks like it’s supposed to on various devices AND modern browsers, then you can stop reading this now and go clean out a closet.

For the rest of us, let’s go over a website season change checklist. Pull up your website. I’ll wait.

1. Take the visual tour of every page on your website. You’ll eventually want to do this on a mobile device (smartphone and tablet) as well as your laptop or desktop. You’ll also want to look at your website on all of the browsers, including mobile browsers (No, Safari on your computer is not the same as Safari on your iPhone).

Make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. Websites render differently depending on the device and the browser, among other things. Sometimes text gets crunched or moved slightly causing it to overlap on other text or image. You’ll know it when you see it.

I was reviewing a website for a local organization. Their website and mobile site looked and worked great. Linking websites, however, not so much. I was shocked at how many had problems, significant problems. One website had some coding errors, causing the footer to show up where you expected the main part of the homepage to be. Many sites had images that were distorted or missing, dates for last year’s events, blank pages, you get what I’m talking about.

It’s not hard for these things to happen. It certainly has happened to us and we’re in the business. That’s why it is so important to regularly test drive your website. Technology is constantly changing and there are squillions of moving parts and factors that impact websites. Something’s going to happen and it does affect your image. Some of the websites were created by professionals and many were the DIY crowd. If it is your website, it is your responsibility.

2. Is ALL of your information current and correct?

I know this is obvious, but the mere fact I am bringing it up means it is still a problem out there. IF you have dates, events, time-sensitive stuff, make sure they are current, correct, and removed once the event or date has passed. Most developers are on top of these things and can automate some of those functions (Hint: even if you will be making edits to your site, it still pays to work with a developer to get everything setup properly in the beginning).

3. Is there anything on your website that might be impacted by changing technology trends?

This may not be so easy to discern. It takes looking at your site with a critical, non-personally-invested eye to see if what’s there and how it’s used still works for the person coming to your site today. The review I mentioned above is what got me thinking about this.

One thing did stand out in the review of the local organization’s website. The map and QR Code page on the mobile site are non-readable and can’t be used as intended (the QR Codes can’t be accessed). In other words, when I touched the map tab, a map of the area appeared, but it was fuzzy and couldn’t be enlarged to be readable. I noticed the QR Codes, but the only way they could be used was if the map was printed out and I could scan the code with my phone.

What really got me thinking was the whole print thing. I can’t remember the last time we printed out anything, much less had any of our printers turned on. If I need a document to take with me, I create a PDF, upload it to iBooks and access it from there. (There are many other options as well.) I used to take printed documents when meeting with clients, but found that most had already printed out a copy of what was previously sent to them electronically. I stopped wasting paper.

The other factor is how many households will have printers in the near future? The advancement of smartphones and tablets is making the need for desktops and even laptops for general use (email, browsing, apps) by many households obsolete.

There you have it. A simple AND necessary seasonal checkup for your website. You have to admit: it is better than cleaning out your closet!

One of the hazards of being in a technology-oriented business is being the go-to resource for seemingly all things tech. We don’t mind, but we know we approach technology decisions differently than the average person. Sam can’t help it since it’s in his management information systems/developer DNA. I’m more like the masses.

So, you’re wondering if a technology is for you? Here are a few questions to help you figure out if it is for you:

1. What do I want to accomplish?

In order to figure out what you need, you must know what you’re trying to do. Let’s say you want to run a 10k race and you’ve never run one before. Great! You find a 10k race that’s in your area and put the date on your calendar.

2. What am I currently doing?

Now that you’ve committed to a 10k race, you take an inventory on what running you’re currently (or not) doing. If you’re already a disciplined runner and running on a regular schedule, you’re more apt to do the necessary training for your 10k race. If you’re not running at all, you now have to figure out when you’re going to train, motivate yourself to train, and be accountable to training. There’s a big difference between adding in a training element when you’re already training versus starting from nothing. Change is always disruptive and, therefore, difficult to implement.

3. What do I need?

The disciplined runner may not need a whole lot. Maybe it’s time for a new pair of running shoes. You’ll then think about what you need in running shoes and research (or talk to experts) the best brand and features for your running style. Maybe you already have the running gear, but having a training app on your iPod will help with creating a training schedule, tracking your progress, and keeping you personally accountable to your training program. You’re going to research training apps, looking for the features you want to accomplish your training needs.

4. Putting it to use.

We already know change is disruptive and difficult to implement. Keeping in mind what you want to accomplish (a 10k race) and the training necessary (because you want to run not walk through the finish line), it’s now time to take the shoes out of the box or load your app on to your iPod.

By taking yourself through these steps, you’re evaluating and deciding Is it for me? 

I received a sign from the tech gods for this week’s blog post. It seemed that much of the tech news and some of the business articles I was reading were about the mobile market. Even though we’ve covered this topic more than most want to think about, it should be obvious for even the most ardent detractors that the mobile discussion is not going away.  If Facebook (maybe, especially Facebook) must deal with the mobile market, what makes you think your business or organization doesn’t need to deal with the mobile market?

Here are some interesting facts:

• About half of all American adults own a smartphone. There are approximately 331 million adults in the U.S., making 50% about 165.5 million adults. That’s a b-i-g number.
• Add to that, about 28% of adults use their smartphone as their primary means of accessing the internet.

Since the internet connects us, informs us, and helps us do stuff – mostly on a mobile device – we need to make sure people can read, navigate, find, and do whatever they’re trying to do from their mobile device … IF we want their business and IF we want to be considered relevant to them.

Here’s what I’m talking about. I read almost all of my email on either my iPhone or iPad. I only read news, articles, and blog posts on my iPad. I only do anything with social media (Google+, Twitter, Facebook) on either my iPhone or iPad. I do all of my internet browsing (shopping sites, general links sent to me) on my iPad. I use my laptop for serious, more in-depth, informational internet searches.

I received my first email campaign from our local Chamber of Commerce. It was sent through one of the major email campaign engines. I opened it on my iPhone (pictured at the beginning of the blog) and knew right away I would never read it on my iPhone. Maybe I’d read it later on my iPad. I’m from the old-school of handling email only once. If I’m interested in the information I may go back and read it on my iPad, but most likely I’m not going to read it at all and I am an avid user of the delete feature.

Since I knew I was going to be writing this post, I did go back and look at the Chamber’s email campaign on my iPad. It was much more readable, but the content was not really geared for the mobile person. Not only was there no easy way to navigate the tonage of content, if you clicked on any links (not all links worked either) you were taken away from the email with no way to get back.

This email campaign did not make a good first impression with me. I probably would be a bit more forgiving and would not have unsubscribed immediately, if I had been the one to subscribe! I think I was added to the newsletter list because I am a past alumna of their Leadership program. However, you really do need to get permission prior to adding anyone to any list. The best practice is to give people an opportunity to easily subscribe themselves.

The irony of this whole scenario is there was an article in the Chamber newsletter titled Why Your Business Should Have a Mobile Website. Hmm, I wonder if the Chamber’s website is optimized for the mobile platform. I leave that investigation up to you. I was shocked. Definitely not batting 500.

Summer’s ending. School’s starting. And before you know it, the holidays will be here. No matter what business you’re in or what cause you’re promoting, the final quarter of the year is busy with lots of opportunities to communicate with customers, constituents, and donors … all those people you’ve been cultivating for your List.

Your email campaign doesn’t need to be fancy or flashy. Most people read (screen is probably more accurate) email on a mobile device so the whole thing needs to load quickly, and be simple and short. If the email isn’t easy to read, clear in its message, or brief, it’s instantly deleted. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

There are a lot of excellent email campaign services out there. That’s exactly why we developed another one! CloudMeToU is for the person who:

• doesn’t want to manage any lists
• doesn’t want to bother with layouts, templates, designs, and images
• wants an easy-it-just-works way to create and send bulk email
• wants a service and product designed for a non-tech person

We know email campaign systems. That’s why we created CloudMeToU. We do a lot of email campaigns with layouts, images, and sparkles for other people because they are so frustrated by the whole do-it-yourself experience and give up. We get called for the absolutely-necessary-email-campaigns, meaning there are plenty of others that would have been nice to have sent out IF time and resources allowed. We have yet to do an email campaign that’s purely plug in text and images, and send. Every campaign we’ve done for clients or ourselves required coding, image optimization, and several iterations to get it to look right before sending it out. That doesn’t even address the bad lists we had to work with either. The whole experience is a nightmare.

CloudMeToU provides:

a simple form for signing up people interested in your updates and information

a simple backend to create, schedule or send an email to your auto-managed list

CloudMeToU is the perfect bulk email tool for the busy professional committed to keeping in touch with their people, especially as we move into the busiest time of the year!

Check out the CloudMeToU website for all the details.