We are working quickly to remedy this situation! Feel free to check back here for updates.

So now those Calls to Action have resulted in a bunch of inbound leads.  That’s awesome.  If you’re like me, you get a kick out of knowing that the message you’re putting out there is resonating with the market.  So well, in fact, that folks are saying “hey, I just might be willing to give you my money.”  There’s something elemental and pure about that –at least in a business sense…

But remember, marketing’s not just about making noise.  That’s what Congress is for.  For Marketing to be accountable, it must be held to the standard of ROI.  Creating a basic lead scoring model is key if you want to ensure that your efforts and budget are directed at those potential customers who are most qualified to purchase.   And, as a Marketing Director, there’s no better way to stay on the good side of your Sales team than by ensuring that they are working a book of high-value, “sales-ready” leads.

Where to start?  I always like to start with good, solid basics.  The most tried and true model of lead scoring I know is called the BANT model.    Used by Sales and Marketing teams everywhere, BANT is an acronym that stands for four primary qualifying factors in determining whether a lead is likely to purchase.  They are:

Budget - do they have a dedicated budget for making the purchase?

Authority – are they authorized to make the final purchase decision?

Need – do they recognize that they need your offering?

Timing – are they planning to purchase within a reasonable time frame?

To be fair, BANT has its detractors.  Some say it doesn’t apply to a marketing environment characterized by online interaction.  True, you may not be able to gather every piece of BANT data with just a form.   Some you’ll need to acquire in follow-up, some you may need to research or infer.

Others say that BANT is incomplete and needs additional qualifiers.  That’s fair.  Here at Rezora we used a modified approach that includes consideration of the likely size of a potential account and some other factors. 

The important thing for now is that you start with a strategic model that is embraced by both Sales and Marketing.   As Marketing Director, your role will be to facilitate the process until you reach alignment.

The good news is that Lead Scoring is one of the most heavily blogged, posted and discussed topics out there.  Here are a few places where you’ll find tips on getting started.

Link(s) to Additional Resources:

https://www.act-on.com/whitepaper/best-practices-for-setting-up-a-lead-scoring-system/

http://docs.cdn.marketo.com/LeadScoring_cheatsheet11_16am.pdf?url=/library/LeadScoring_cheatsheet11_16am.pdf

https://www.act-on.com/whitepaper/introduction-to-lead-scoring/

Image(s):  

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]]>My Calls to Action Are Working, But Now I’m Drowning in DealsCultureKris Bonaguro, Customer Success DirectorMon, 09 Feb 2015 19:02:11 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/2/9/make-your-computer-your-b512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54d9002ee4b0befdd7443f88

Bookmarks

You can save tons of time by bookmarking your websites, especially into groups!

How to bookmark a site:

http://www.wikihow.com/Bookmark-a-Website

34 Free Bookmarking apps

http://www.appappeal.com/apps/bookmarking

*Kris Fave*

Pocket: You know when you’re trying to focus on a task that small distractions can slow you down! Put those distractions in “pocket” to review at a later time.

https://getpocket.com

Password Savers

Many browsers should offer to save your passwords for you, so take them up on that sweet offer. But, sometimes you want more of a personal assistant for all those pesky passwords. Or, you can write them all down on a piece of paper like I did. Shoot, where did I leave that paper?

Here’s a handy dandy list of Password Managers:

Last Pass

https://lastpass.com

Dashlane

https://www.dashlane.com

Keepass

http://keepass.info

1Password

https://agilebits.com/onepassword

RoboForm

http://www.roboform.com

Apps and sites that will change your life

Clear*

Clear the chaos with super good-looking to-do lists.

http://realmacsoftware.com/clear

Zirtual

A detail-oriented personal assistant, or ZA, that helps you manage your time! ($$$$)

https://www.zirtual.com

*Kris Fave*

IFTTT

I don’t know how to pronounce it. I think it’s like gift, but without the G. It’s amazing if you make it amazing, or just interesting if you want to try it. I set up reminders like; if there is a hot story on People.com, then I get a text message. I get a wake up call at 6am telling me how beautiful I look.  You can set up a phone call alarm clock with the weather report. Get creative!

https://ifttt.com

AroundMe

This will help you find a bank, gas station, or coffee shop around you.

http://www.aroundmeapp.com

Mint

I love and fear this money tracking app.

http://mint.com

Hopper*

This will constantly track flights costs to get you the very best price.

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id904052407

Letterspace*

Notes, organized

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/letterspace-taking-notes-made/id950145466?mt=12&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

35 Best FREE Android Apps

http://www.stuff.tv/android/25-free-apps-android/feature

100 Best iPhone Apps of 2015

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l=286659&a=286659&po=1,00.asp

*Mac only for now

Other Helpful Blogs on Tech Tips:

Practice Safe Email: Always Use a Web Safe Font

Cache and Cookies

January 2015: Amy Cox, Account Director tells the rezora team she’ll be invading their Boulder office in one month.

February 5, 2015: The moving truck arrives

February 9, 2015: rezora team patiently awaits her arrival 

The Royal Desk

I’m not sure what the rezora team is most excited for – Amy to be in the office, Amy and her family to enjoy the amazing Colorado lifestyle, or her adorable kids to visit the office!

hint: I’ve already made blueprints to have the conference room converted into a playroom

I hope you can all join us in welcoming Amy to Colorado as she makes the transition into our Boulder office. We’re thrilled she has made the move, and can’t wait for her British humor – we need some new material around here.  

Don’t they already look Colorado ready?

Amy and family hiking on New Years’ Day

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]]>Boulder's British Invasion MarketingRick Chastain, Vice President, MarketingTue, 03 Feb 2015 20:45:00 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/2/3/want-to-increase-your-influence-great-marketing-directors-do-these-3-things-every-day512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54d12076e4b02ef3bcba29c3A great Marketing Director always does three things: set and pursue specific goals, pursue a well-defined target audience and measure, measure, measure.To many, Marketing is a mysterious art, filled with Oz-like machinations which look important but lack the specificity that gives satisfaction.  As Marketing Directors, we’re often asked questions like “how successful was our last tradeshow?”, “how many sales resulted from that campaign?”, or, “what will our ROI be on this upcoming email effort?”   

Questions like these can’t be answered in just a few words.  They belie the fact that we are totally reliant upon the willing partnership of our colleagues to work the tradeshow, or close the lead, or do whatever is next in the chain of causation that leads to a sale.  It’s not like we Marketing Directors are Svengalis who, by sheer force of personality, can bend others to our will, right? 

Or, can we…?   What if increasing the Marketing Director’s influence is a matter of daily best practice?  What if improving your marketing results is directly related to the thinking and habits you bring to your job each and every day?

Great Marketing Directors embrace specificity.  They improve results and increase their influence by following these 3 key best practices.  Let’s briefly explore each one.

They Set Specific Goals

Want to forever change the dialogue about marketing in your organization?  Create and document specific goals for your program – and for every tactic you execute.  Goals can vary from increased lead generation to deeper loyalty to establishing a difference between you and your competitors.  The important point is to set specific goals and use them as a touchstone for every effort.  For help in setting marketing goals, check out this post from KISSmetrics.

They Define Their Target Market  

Not even Wal-Mart can be all things to all people.  Thank God.  But, for your marketing program to succeed, you must focus your efforts on a specific, well-defined target market.  If you don’t, you’ll spread your efforts (and budget) across multiple tactics with little to show except good intentions. For help in defining your target market, check out this post from Tell

They Measure, Measure, Measure

The topic of marketing measurement is not new to this blog, but it bears repeating and repeating again.  The #1 way a Marketing Director can increase their influence is to hold every marketing investment to a measurable standard.   With every tactic or initiative, in every post-mortem, for every budget line item, explore and document what outcomes were achieved and against what goal. 

I’ve seen it time and again, Marketing Directors who employ these habits on a regular basis are more successful than those who don’t.

Link(s) to Additional Resources:

https://www.wordnik.com/words/Svengali

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/set-achievable-marketing-goals/

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/24/wal-mart-and-targets-completely-different-approach.aspx

http://gototell.com/3-steps-define-target-audience/

Cache City

As you go from site to site online, your browser will “cache” or store data to load those sites faster in the future.  Caches are used to speed up a process, so data doesn’t have to be fetched from it’s original location and saves time.

Cookie Time

These are cute, little, baby files that websites put on your computer when you visit their site. Each cookie (or crumpet if you’re British) has an ID that is unique to you. It provides info to the site when you’ve returned. Cookies are not evil, even if you’re gluten free.  They often get a bad rap, because some do have personal data that could be exploited. 

Don’t fear cookies! Cookies can save you lots of time. Remember that time when you were ferociously hunting for black suede wedge winter boots at zappos.com?  You found 4 pairs that were all winners. You threw them in the online cart. Then suddenly, your boss walked by your computer and you closed your Zappos tab. {Insert work talk}. Finally, you’re home after a long day, and pour yourself a tall glass of Pinot Grigio. Sitting on your couch, you go back to Zappos.com and see your 4 perfect pairs of boots in the shopping cart!  Unfortunately with the clarity of a bit of wine, you realize they are not cute at all. But at least [thanks to cookies!] they were saved.

If these guys are so great – why the heck am I supposed to delete them???!!

If the site has changed (it happens a lot) then your browser has cached the old, bad version of the file. You won’t see the most recent updates!  A cache isn’t helpful if you need to load different images on the same site, or if you will never go back to that site. If you are experiencing issues on any site. Go ahead and clear your Internet history.  If you go straight to chat with a Rezora customer support person, they’ll probably tell you to try and clear your cache or try another browser.   Clearing your cookies will remove all those pesky trackers that you’ve amassed but don’t need.

It’s IMPERATIVE for your quality of work online, work speed, search privacy, and perhaps your marriage to regularly clear your browser’s cache and cookies.

Here’s how:

http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser's-Cache

You, Marketer, are a Rock Star

We've all done it. Dreamed of being a rock star. There is no other profession that is as alluring, exhilarating and SO far from reach that there's no harm in fantasizing, right? We can't ever fail because it's likely we'll never be one.

Yet, one can be like a rock star. Rock stars create music magic and spread it all around, making people deliriously happy. Anyone can make people happy. One doesn't have to be a rock star (although it's probably more interesting). Just fill a deep need, for at least what constitutes a huge crowd of people satisfactorily, and you're all set.

So, what about a marketer? You know, like, YOU? Think about it. Rock stars and marketers are not very different. You both fill needs. 

Not one yet? Need a good agent?

The probability of being a Rock Star Marketer is much higher, and definitely within your power. Of course, we've got ideas. We wouldn't be talking about it if we didn't. These ideas have also led to successful marketers who are raved about, even worshipped (or they like to believe!). Anyway, more of that later.

For now, let's take a look at the most apparent similarities, since you may not yet be convinced.

Rock Star Marketer Defined

1) Rock star Marketer audience reach: Rock stars are, by definition, influential. Their reach spans distance (Grateful Dead, "Sweet Blossom come on...") and time (Michael Jackson, "Thriller" baby). As a marketer your influence is great. Not only do you answer to your entire marketing team, you also affect the company's image by day-to-day (or minute-to-minute) choices and actions, which affects your target market (the crowd). Let's not forget about the sales team leaning on your shoulder, your back and feeding off your creative brain juices. 

2) Rock star Marketer image: Marketers are responsible for promoting a company's image (aka, brand), creating a unique story that speaks to the mind AND heart. Rock stars understand that power. Think John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, and Katy Perry  (world peace, big lips, and for now, dancing sharks at the Super Bowl, respectively). It's all about an image that reflects a unique story, tugging at the heart strings, tapping into deepest needs and desires. Oh, yes! You want your company's image or brand to have that same power. 

3) Rock star Marketer reputation: After tirelessly and passionately building your company's image to, well, rock star status, you know that life is fragile - your company's image even more so. You are determined to protect it like a fierce mama bear keeping watch over her innocent baby cub. Danger, in the form of competitors, random social media people, and even your own company-kin, is lurking everywhere, when you least expect it. Image that took months, years and buckets of sweat-equity to create, build and nurture can be shot down in an instant.

A Day in the life of a Rock Star Marketer

Now that you're just about convinced that you can be one, that you ARE one (deep down inside - it's all about believing, and "don't stop believin...", as the rock band, Journey, so aptly croons), let's come back to those ideas we mentioned.

Rezora recently wrote up and organized all its ideas to share with marketers based on years of experience working with marketing and large sales teams. There were so many ideas that we've made a 3-part series. Collaboration Marketing is the New Game in Town is the 1st of 3 in The Successful Marketer's Guide to Collaboration Marketing. You can access it here for download.

We talk about what Rock Star Marketers want to hear most about - promoting, protecting, and leveraging brand assets! Trust me, you'll get some inspiration.

Speaking of which, I'll leave you with some. Journey will keep you believing...

"Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Streetlight people
Don't stop believin'
Hold on..."

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]]>Rock Star Marketer's 3 (Hint: It Has to do With Brand)SupportKris Bonaguro, Customer Success DirectorThu, 22 Jan 2015 19:58:59 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/22/practice-safe-email-always-use-a-websafe-font512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54c14543e4b0c7e0a73a71b1

I know, I know… your email would look SO MUCH better with “Lucida Handwriting” and “Papyrus” fonts.  But, we have a short list of fonts that you can use. See below.

But whyyyy?

Browsers can use only the fonts installed in each computer, so it means that every recipient of your email needs to have all the fonts you want to use installed in his/her computer. Everyone has different fonts installed, and so we need a standard set of fonts.  Otherwise, they will not render on their computer or phone and look horrible.

Let me tell you a lil secret.

You can use any images. So, you save your fave text as a jpg or png and insert it in the marketing piece as an image, it will render well in your recipients’ inboxes.

Something else…

It’s not that bad. Using a short list of fonts keeps everything that you create looking uniform and professional.  I’m constantly tempted to use new fonts and styles (I just got this sweet One Direction font), but it’s usually best to stick with the basics.

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]]>Practice Safe Email: Always Use a Web Safe FontMarketingRick Chastain, Vice President, MarketingWed, 21 Jan 2015 19:25:18 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/21/marketing-measurement-in-2015-get-out-of-the-blocks-with-these-3-key-metrics-and-1-key-solution512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54bfe6d4e4b06d5d64c507e9

Ever hear the saying “I know that half of my marketing investments are wasted, I just don’t know which half”?   This sentiment, attributed to 1830’s merchant John Wanamaker, represents the once prevailing belief that Marketing cannot be measured.   That may have once been true, before the advent of online marketing.  At that time, decision makers largely employed a “superstition strategy” that spread marketing dollars across disciplines, being sure to cover every base, and hoped that one or two would produce desirable results. Not so anymore.

 These days, it’s rare to meet a successful Marketing Director who does not base their strategy on the analysis of numerous metrics.  Some of them can sound pretty daunting, like Channel-Specific Acquisition Cost or Competitor Reaction Elasticity.  My head spins just thinking about measuring these.

 Analyzing the effectiveness of your marketing program need not require a Wharton MBA.  For many marketers, especially those wanting to take their program to the next level, consistently measuring a few key metrics will bring a huge improvement in strategic quality and insight.  If you’ve resolved to measure your marketing program in 2015, but don’t know where to start – here are a few basic measurements (and one resource) that will get you off on the right foot.

1. Measure Your Call(s) To Action. In an earlier post, I made a big deal of ensuring that every marketing investment you make include at least one Call-To-Action (CTA).  I hope that basic best practice is now a standard part of your strategy.  But don’t forget to consistently measure the response to your CTA’s.  Doing so can be really simple, like keeping an Excel spreadsheet of inbound leads per week, or you may choose to pursue something more robust, like analyzing what CTA is most likely to help a lead progress through your sales funnel.   The point is to carry the discipline full circle – make sure you measure whatever you ask your target to do.  In this way, you’ll build a baseline for understanding which investments are most effective.  For some good examples of effective CTA’s, link to this Hubspot post.
2. Measure Growth in (Organic) Website Traffic.  As you track website traffic, segment those visitors that result from your paid efforts (advertising, paid posts, etc.) from those (organic) visitors that come from non-paid tactics like content, blogging and social means.  Why is this important?  Since organic traffic results from search activities (searches like “leading real estate agents in Rye, NY”), it is a more telling reflection of how well your brand is uniquely positioned in your market and against your competitors.  In addition, organic traffic typically comes from buyers who are further along in the sales cycle, thus being more likely to convert to a quality lead.  While more difficult to build, organic traffic is more sustainable. A great post on increasing organic traffic is provided by Positionly here.
3. Measure Cost Per Action (Lead).  Back in my agency days, I had a large corporate client with multiple business units tell me that they did not want to measure cost per lead because no division in their company kept track of this metric.  In essence, they felt that by being the only ones to establish a hard cost for each lead, they would draw attention to their budget and risk Executive scrutiny.  This “most expensive horse in the glue factory” mindset helped explain their poor performance and falling market share.  It also explains why the agency business drove me crazy.

Measuring cost per lead need not be an overwhelming task, especially if you are already tracking responses to each CTA (see #1, above).  For now, take the budget expended on each tactic and divide it by the number of actions/leads generated. When you compare this metric across tactics, you start to get an idea of which are most effective.  Sure, not all leads are created equal (an upcoming post will be about lead scoring) but we’re just getting started with our measurement program, remember? 

In closing, becoming a marketer who relies on analysis rather than superstition is one of the most important and beneficial transitions you can make.   By regularly tracking and reporting on just a few key metrics, you’ll see that your strategy becomes sharper, your results more attractive and your influence greater.

Link(s) to Additional Resources:

http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/2/2015-marketing-budget-too-small-3-keys-to-finding-more-where-you-thought-there-was-less

http://knowledge.hubspot.com/cta-user-guide/call-to-action-best-practices

http://positionly.com/blog/seo/get-more-organic-traffic-to-website

"A marketing approach whereby two (or more) groups collaborate to bring their respective strengths together for mutual benefit. The combined result is greater than the sum of the individual contributions."

Marketers are faced with an ever-growing landscape of channels to engage customers and potential buyers with their products and services. A complex sales and marketing environment can strain internal resources, leaving opportunities on the table.

Collaboration Marketing Is the New Game in Town, the 1st in a 3-part series of the eBook The Successful Marketer's Guide to Collaboration Marketing, offers a step-by-step explanation of how to create a Collaboration Marketing machine in order to efficiently scale marketing efforts.

This eBook will provide:

1) The digital framework for scaling efforts efficiently in a complex sales and marketing environment with multiple distribution channels. 

2) How to nurture potential opportunities previously inaccessible that are farther along in the customer journey, such as referrals from current customers, or strong leads from an independent sales agent’s sphere of influence. 

Download a free copy.

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]]>The Successful Marketer's Guide to Collaboration MarketingMarketingRick Chastain, Vice President, MarketingWed, 14 Jan 2015 18:50:32 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/14/the-unique-value-proposition-my-and-your-strongest-ally512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54b6a6abe4b05e8a362b4e80

Marketing Directors work hard to balance strategic direction on the one hand and short-term tactics on the other.  While this challenge is a standard part of the job description, it can be a daily dilemma which erodes confidence and stalls progress. 

One of the most powerful ways you can balance strategic momentum and daily tactics is to center your thinking on your Unique Value Proposition.   A well-developed (and documented) UVP can focus your efforts and cut through the debate.

As a review, a Unique Value Proposition is the “statement that explains what benefit you provide, for who, and how you do it uniquely well” (Forbes).  I would add that your UVP should also prepare you to answer why your offering should be chosen over your competitors.   If you’re working on writing your UVP, some great examples can be found here.

An example of a UVP in action can be found right here at Rezora.  Like every Marketing Director, I’m always balancing the strategic and the tactical. 

When I get stuck, I can focus my thinking with a mental checklist that looks something like this:

A.      Rezora is a Collaboration Marketing company (our unique position).

B.      We provide unique value by enabling Marketing and Sales (our customers) to more effectively collaborate in building customer relationships (the benefit). 

C.      We offer a digital marketing platform (our product) that fulfills this unique proposition.   

A little circular, but this short exercise keeps me moving forward when long-term strategy and daily tactics collide. It focuses my thinking on which industries we compete in, how we determine our target customers, which competitors we consider and so on.  It also clarifies day-today decisions such as which marketing investments to make and what messaging to include. 

Put a similar exercise into action using your UVP.   My guess it will help you as well.

Link(s) to Additional Resources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelskok/2013/06/14/4-steps-to-building-a-compelling-value-proposition/

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]]>The Unique Value Proposition: My, and Your, Strongest AllySupportKris Bonaguro, Customer Success DirectorWed, 14 Jan 2015 18:09:15 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/6/i-hate-technology512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54ac7e88e4b07985e382805aThe Issue

Have you ever exhibited any of the following behaviors? 

Think: Never, Sometimes, or Always

1.     Have you ever lost your patience with your frozen computer screen and typed something like this: “al;skdjfiweytoawhg;j 94uahfg;aksgjlasj flshahsdlkhaskgjhyruyfjglhuy7rdjjh”?

2.     Do you have a Mac? Does looking at this image increase your blood pressure?

3.     How often do you use Force Quit or Control Alt Delete?

4.     Has your computer, tablet, GPS, smart phone, or printer ever made you cry? This is a safe place, and you can be honest.

5.     Have you ever been more rude than usual to a person on tech support?

6.     Have you ever physically harmed or threatened to throw your computer, tablet, GPS, smart phone, or printer?

If you answered Sometimes to more than 2 of the above, then you may have intermittent technology-induced explosive disorder.  Wait! Don’t throw your computer across the room just yet – there is a cure.

The Fix

Technology can be frustrating. But, Rezora isn’t part of the issue. We are part of the fix.  We aim to offer you many, many options for education and support. Now, there is one more source of Rezora knowledge.

Customer Support, the knowledge base, and wait for it… the Quick Tour!  The Quick Tour will take new accounts through the basics of the Rezora account answering those questions like, “how do I add my Facebook link?” And “what are all of these numbers?!”.  The Quick Tour will help you through the very basics of Rezora, and for everything else there’s the knowledge base and customer support. 

Allow me the pleasure of introducing a new member of our team, Rick Chastain, Vice President of Marketing, recently embraced into the Rezora fold.

At first greeting, his unassuming, humble, and peaceful style of communication is what’s most noticeable. While these traits are consistent in every interaction, I’ve learned that there’s much more to Rick than meets the eye. It just takes time to discover them.

Of course, he’s got what it takes to tackle the onerous challenge as a Vice President of Marketing of a Software-as-a-Service company, still in its early stages. There’s much work to do, hills to climb, markets to delight and satisfy. Rick jumped right in with that peaceful, unassuming style and began strategizing a plan, collaborating with the entire team, and most importantly, executing on the plan while it was still taking shape. Cool.

He also loves books. All kinds. That cinched the deal for me. He can now do no wrong in my eyes, being more than fond of the written word myself (one time I visited the Boston Public Library, a venerable institution located at the famous Copley Square in Boston, Massachussetts. Upon entering those gorgeous hallowed halls, I was ready to give up my previous life and take up residence in a nook or cranny forever).

It made sense that Rick likes books (almost) as much as I do. Books seem to represent the many minds (over several lifetimes, even) of people that contribute their mental acuity and creative thought to advance ideas, inventions and institutions for the betterment of society. The same can be said for business ventures. Through a collaboration and meeting of minds great results can be achieved.

Rick’s got a great mind, and he’s able to collaborate with other minds to bring out their best creative thinking and work.

To say we are thrilled that Rick is at the helm of our marketing endeavors is an understatement. His background and experience speaks volumes. He’s led the charge for multiple high-value clients across several industries, strategizing and executing marketing plans in the seven-figure category. That’s impressive.

There are many other cool things we can say about Rick, like raising a lovely family, participating in 100-mile marathons in the Rocky Mountains, and…oh wait!

Did I mention that he is one of the Co-Founders of Rezora? This whole venture started because of an idea he helped bring about while consulting with a few other Rezora Co-Founders, Paul Reinarz and Hugh Morgan. You may have heard of them; our CEO and Vice President of Technology, respectively.

Yes, our Rezora halls are growing with some brilliant minds.

If you have time for more reading, check out 2015 Marketing Budget Too Small? 3 Keys to Finding More Where You Thought There Was Less, Rick's first blog post of a series on ways to enhance your marketing efforts. 

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]]>Join Us In Welcoming our New Vice President of Marketing, Rick Chastain (aka, Rickster!)Kris Bonaguro, Customer Success DirectorWed, 07 Jan 2015 16:26:34 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/6/how-to-trick-people-into-thinking-youre-really-really-tech-savvy-techy-basics-for-beginners512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54ac7dc8e4b0f02457ca0e79As our Customer Service Director, Kris is constantly on the look-out for ways to make life easier for our customers. She loves boosting a customer's confidence, as well as smoothing the way for everyone at Rezora to ensure our users get what they need.

I consider myself “tech savvy”.  I work at a tech company in customer support, so I spend all my time on a computer trouble-shooting tech-y things (or on Facebook).  Over Thanksgiving, I was looking for the Catch Phrase app on my phone for some extended family game time. I was slowly looking through the pages of Catch Phase apps to buy, when my 6-year-old cousin grabbed my cell phone and found it, downloaded it, minimized all of my open apps, and had the game up and running within 1 minute.  I’m not quite that tech-savvy.

So, I’m a Gen-Y type of techie, where I would rather text you than talk to you, but according to anyone a minute younger than me I don’t have a solid “snapchat game”.  Don’t worry – I don’t know what that means either.  In business, in life, at a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s essential to trick people into thinking you’re really, really tech-savvy… even if you can’t fool your 6-year-old cousins.   My next 4 blog posts will cover some basics, so you can start fooling people. But, let me start with some VERY basic rules.  If you struggle with these, then I can’t help you.

 Things Tech-Savvy People DON’T do:

1. Don’t use the word “the” before anything tech-y. It’s not “the” Facebook, “the” E-mail, or “the” Google. OMG. It’s not.  
2. They don’t use an external hard-drive for anything. It’s in the cloud. No, it’s not on your desktop either.
3. They don’t have sentences in subject lines of emails. “Hey, take a look at this interesting new article I just saw on the Yahoo.” is not a subject line. It’s not.
4. They DON’T take more than 10 seconds to take a photo on a smart phone.  This one time at Charles De Gaulle, I hadn’t slept in 30 hours. BUT, I saw Justin Bieber across the terminal with a coterie of bodyguards and managers.  In 4 seconds, I whipped my iPhone out of my giant Longchamp, and took 7 pictures of him and his entourage. Turns out, it was a female soccer player from Norway or something. But, the point is – I was ready.
5. They DON’T get fooled by spammy or virus-y ads or content. The more time you spend online, the better you are at filtering out important content from everything else. Rather than considering all online content innocent until proven spammy, apply the Napoleonic code to surfing the web. All content is irrelevant until proven worthwhile.
6. They don’t fax. Ew. Gag. 

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]]>How to Trick People Into Thinking You’re Really, Really Tech-SavvyRick Chastain, Vice President, MarketingWed, 07 Jan 2015 16:22:59 +0000http://blog.rezora.com/blog/2015/1/2/2015-marketing-budget-too-small-3-keys-to-finding-more-where-you-thought-there-was-less512d2983e4b0734471c10fd2:512d2ad8e4b044452fcaad34:54a752afe4b010b9ae2a99c4Find the resources you need without increasing your budget

January’s here and Marketing Directors everywhere are wishing that their 2015 Marketing budget was bigger.   More money invested in Marketing means better results… or so the thinking goes.  

There are times when increased Marketing investment is necessary, but that’s not always the case. Getting better results might not be about how much you spend, but how you think about Marketing.  

 If you’ve started 2015 with a Marketing budget you’re not excited about, focus on these three important strategy basics.  With every Marketing expense, ask yourself these questions.  As you do, you may find that your current budget already contains the additional resources you need.

Question #1 – Does It Communicate a Unique Value Proposition? When faced with a limited budget, it’s necessary to focus your thinking on the specific reasons why your target customers should choose your product or service over your competitors.  Peter Sandeen defines the Unique Value Proposition as the “believable collection of reasons your target customers should do what you’re hoping they will do.”  This is a great summary of this important concept.  With every Marketing initiative you undertake this year, ask yourself if you can clearly and consistently communicate your UVP.  If not, this may be an expenditure you could do without.

 Question #2 – Does it Focus My Target on a Call To Action? With a limited budget, every marketing investment must contribute to results.  Often, however, marketers fail to tell their target how to take the next step.  A call-to-action (CTA) could be anything from subscribing to a newsletter to calling a sales agent directly, but make sure that every communication includes at least one.  If a marketing investment does not lend itself to call-to-action, ask yourself if there’s really room for it in your budget.  Crazyegg shares some great CTA examples here.  

 Question #3 - Can it Be Measured? With limited marketing dollars, there’s no room for investments that can’t prove their value.   Yet, many tactics produce little data on how well they contribute to results.  While you may expect different results from different initiatives, make sure that you examine each to determine just how its success will be measured.  If it can’t be measured, take a hard look at its place in your budget. Looking for what to measure? Start with Question #2, above.   For more ideas on Marketing measurement, check out this blog post from McKinsey and Company

 In closing, try this important exercise.  Right now, before the New Year gets away from you, sit down with your 2015 marketing budget.  Go over every line item and ask it to answer “Yes” to each of these three questions.  For those that can’t, write its allocated budget on a sheet of paper and total the column.  How much of your total budget does that represent – five percent?  Fifteen percent?  More? How does this total compare to the budget increase you were hoping for this year?  Does this provide some insight into where you might look for those “additional” dollars you need?

As you progress through the year, keep holding your marketing investments accountable.  We at Rezora will be doing the same. 

Links to Additional Resources:

http://www.petersandeen.com/what-is-your-value-proposition/

http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/07/24/call-to-action-examples/

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/measuring_marketings_worth

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FADE IN:

REZORA OFFICE – LATE DAY

In the heart of central Boulder, the Rezora office is abuzz with fast typing and strategic marketing planning.  The electronic insect killer glows like a neon beacon in the dimly lit office.

DISSOLVE TO:

JUST OUTSIDE SIENA SQUARE – LATE DAY

Matt, early 20s developer extraordinaire, and Kris, Irish-Italian Customer Support Guru, walk up to the office as Dan the UPS man leaves the building.  He’s wearing shorts despite November’s cloudy skies. 

MATT

Hey, isn’t that Dan the man?

KRIS

Yes! I just got a text from Amazon. He delivered our coffee.

INTERCUT OFFICE

REZORA OFFICE – LATE DAY

Matt and Kris walk into the office and are warmly greeted by their colleagues.  They casually scan the room for a box of coffee K-cups. Nothing.

KRIS

Was an Amazon box delivered from UPS?

Melissa, renowned writer and content editor, turns slowly from her desk and lowers her glasses. 

MELISSA

No, there was no delivery.

Kris and Matt exchange clandestine worried glances. Not wanting to cause a scene, they continue to look around the office with furtive glances for the box of much needed dark roasted coffee K-cups.

REZORA OFFICE – MID MORNING

KRIS (VOICE OVER)

Seven long, cold days had passed since UPS confirmed the delivery of our coffee. But, there was no coffee to be seen, and no coffee to be brewed. The only clue we had to work from was the signature accepting the delivery “Andrews”. A beautiful email was sent effortlessly through the Rezora system to everyone in the building. We saw an 87% open rate within minutes, and received many replies. However, no one in Siena Square had seen the coffee.

DISSOLVE TO:

THE CORNER BAR AT THE BOULDERADO HOTEL

Matt, Kris, and Katie, girly girl but also no-nonsense Sales Manager, finish their 3 orders of French fries as Katie looks up suddenly.

KATIE

Look! It’s the UPS truck.

The three under caffeinated Rezora employees run out to the street just as the UPS truck starts to drive away.  They run after it and catch up with Dan at the red light.

DAN (eating a Twizzler)

Woah! Be careful there kids!

KATIE (out of breath)

Dan, we’re missing a package that was delivered last week and signed for by a guy named “Andrews”.

DAN

Andrews, eh? Check the law office down the hall. The woman at the front desk may know something about this.

The light turned green and Dan sped off into the sunset. Even though it was just after lunch, daylight savings time just ended.

Katie, Kris, and Matt run up to the law office on the fourth floor.

To be continued…