Imagine if you were the David and eBay was the Goliath. Now I love eBay. When my dear friend Meg Whitman, eBay’s CEO asked for my advice on taking the job to run the online auction company, I told her to jump at it. At the time, everyone thought eBay was all about Hummel Figurines and 1950’s Barbie Dolls. But we both knew there was something there. Ask ten people where to find anything collectible, such as leather pants and ten people will reply 'eBay'.
But no company is unbeatable. Yahoo had the same untouchable aura of Google before Google. Consider that when you think of this Belgian Auction House Hebbes.be. I met a Belgian couple at Torino that told me about this auction house after I told them about the company. Johan was looking for a certain motorcycle on eBay after his wife Nele finally gave him the green light. He thought he had found the perfect bike, a Yahama Bulldog in great condition (here is the screen shot of the eBay listing)
Clicking through to the details of the bike, Johan saw a picture of a blank room where a bike should have been. The picture had a sign explaining how the bike was gone, but Johan should check out eBay’s Belgian competitor, Hebbes.be for hassle free purchasing.
I almost spit my scotch all over Nele when I heard this. Hebbes.be was using the traffic draw of their biggest competitor to attract customers. I immediately recalled what my Judo Sensai Miyagi taught me as he threw me over his hip. A key teaching of Judo is to learn how to use your opponents strength to your advantage. For me, that meant tossing my hard charging body over my Sensai. For Hebbes, it meant reaching into the backyard of the enemy and setting up shop. eBay’s huge traffic advantage was impossible for Hebbes to match, but cheap to tap into.
When you are looking for ways to compete, learn from Hebbes and Mr. Miyagi: your competitor’s strength may be an excellent opportunity for your marketing.
But no company is unbeatable. Yahoo had the same untouchable aura of Google before Google. Consider that when you think of this Belgian Auction House Hebbes.be. I met a Belgian couple at Torino that told me about this auction house after I told them about the company. Johan was looking for a certain motorcycle on eBay after his wife Nele finally gave him the green light. He thought he had found the perfect bike, a Yahama Bulldog in great condition (here is the screen shot of the eBay listing)
I almost spit my scotch all over Nele when I heard this. Hebbes.be was using the traffic draw of their biggest competitor to attract customers. I immediately recalled what my Judo Sensai Miyagi taught me as he threw me over his hip. A key teaching of Judo is to learn how to use your opponents strength to your advantage. For me, that meant tossing my hard charging body over my Sensai. For Hebbes, it meant reaching into the backyard of the enemy and setting up shop. eBay’s huge traffic advantage was impossible for Hebbes to match, but cheap to tap into.
When you are looking for ways to compete, learn from Hebbes and Mr. Miyagi: your competitor’s strength may be an excellent opportunity for your marketing.
02/23/06: Should you have your own blog?
Some of you have been asking me questions, which I love answering. I can’t get to them all, but will try. This one from Ed mirrors a few others, so I thought I would share it:
“Hi Bob, I’d like to meet you. Tell me why I should have my own blog.” - Ed
My Response:
“Why should you have a blog? First, too many people have blogs who shouldn’t. I doubt many people want to hear about how many bowls of cat food Sally fed her two cats this morning. Blogs should be about sharing interesting ideas, not how much laundry detergent you needed for your sweaters.
The beauty of blogs is the quick ability to publish your thoughts, without all the structure of creating a web page. Blog software has gotten sophisticated enough to allow non-technology people the ability to produce web content. Note that I didn’t say good web content. What is written on the page is more important than ever because you can’t hide it behind flashy graphics.
A good blog focuses on something that the author can add real value. Maybe it is something you are passionate about. Maybe it is your writing style itself. Whatever it is, stick with it. A stale blog is worse than a stale beer.
Thanks for your questions and keep up the hard work. As for getting together, I’m in Torino for the rest of the week and then off to Switzerland for skiing. Any chance of you being in those areas over the next few weeks?”
Cheers from Torino!
02/19/06: But the Print goes on…and on
I just received a long awaited package (more long underwear) from my assistant back home. In it was a note that I wanted to share with my friends as an important internet lesson:
“Dear Mr Archer, Sorry for the delay with these. I picked up a Priority Mail envelope which had instructions on how to print my own postage online. One look at the queue in the post office was all it took to get me back to the office to try out the online postage.
You wouldn’t believe this- the URL printed on the envelope IN BIG BOLD LETTERS was wrong! I’m betting it was changed since this was printed, but you wouldn’t believe my frustration in trying to find where I needed to go. Again, my apologies.�
I fully understand web updates. New technologies come along which require changes to URLs. But if you are going to spend money advertising a specific web address, please support it for a reasonable amount of time. The envelope my assistant used didn’t look old, but that isn’t the point.
You don’t need to manage every old web address on your site, simply the ones that you print on something that could hang around for a while. Printed materials can hang around for a while. So here are my quick tips when printing web addresses:
- Create a simple excel sheet of published web addresses. Have people add URLS and a brief description.
- If a page needs to be changed that is on that list, implement a redirect to the new page
- If the page references something that is no longer offered, such as a retired product, create a page stating that, offering alternatives from you or other companies
- Update your standard 404 page not found error page to list top pages on the site. Start with your site map at a minimum.
All the best from Torino!
02/13/06: I like Internet Civil Service
On the back of the bill, they had a website listed. Not a simple form that I can print out, complete and mail, but a fully functional web site! The site was fabulous, retrieving my specific property record, related sales from the area and details on how they determined the value. After seeing all of this, I was able to assemble my appeal and submit it online.
No more waiting in line, rushing to the post office, or trying to find a stamp. Here in my hotel room, sipping some Banfi, I was able to file my appeal. My tax dollars appear to be going to something truly useful.
I still filed my appeal. :-)
02/12/06: Who's Building Your Website?
Within your organization, who has responsibility for creating, developing, managing and maintaining your company or brand website? Too often, when senior managers plan to implement a website, they wind up putting it under the guidance of their IT group. Strangely, it seems that anything having to do with computers comes under the IT umbrella.
Generally, websites are a means to communicate to a targeted group of people. They could be employees, consumers, existing or potential customers. In each of these cases, usually the goal of the site is to inform, promote a product or service and/or sell something.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I couldn't live without IT. We need the IT department. They create our computerized internal operating systems, such as HR, benefits, inventories and all sorts of databases and often times, even our phone systems. IT professionals are trained to build databases, make communication systems work, design and construct elaborate networking systems and take care of the help desk so when something goes south with someone like me, I have a place to turn for guidance.
So, here’s the rub. If you were creating a TV ad, would the people who installed DVD machines be called in to manage the creative development, NO. If you were going to design and print an employee handbook would you ask the people supplying the paper to write it? NO. For all these things you don't turn to the people who create and maintain the infastructure, you need the people who are knowledgable of the platform, skilled in understanding your audience and capable of creating a mesage to reach them. You should be thinking the same way when it comes to building a website. Call an expert. A good IT team makes it possible to do great things, like the builders of the Sistene Chapel made it possible for Michelangelo to create such a moving piece of art.
Generally, websites are a means to communicate to a targeted group of people. They could be employees, consumers, existing or potential customers. In each of these cases, usually the goal of the site is to inform, promote a product or service and/or sell something.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I couldn't live without IT. We need the IT department. They create our computerized internal operating systems, such as HR, benefits, inventories and all sorts of databases and often times, even our phone systems. IT professionals are trained to build databases, make communication systems work, design and construct elaborate networking systems and take care of the help desk so when something goes south with someone like me, I have a place to turn for guidance.
So, here’s the rub. If you were creating a TV ad, would the people who installed DVD machines be called in to manage the creative development, NO. If you were going to design and print an employee handbook would you ask the people supplying the paper to write it? NO. For all these things you don't turn to the people who create and maintain the infastructure, you need the people who are knowledgable of the platform, skilled in understanding your audience and capable of creating a mesage to reach them. You should be thinking the same way when it comes to building a website. Call an expert. A good IT team makes it possible to do great things, like the builders of the Sistene Chapel made it possible for Michelangelo to create such a moving piece of art.
Now every one of us would like nothing more than to appear first when typing our company into Google, gaming the system can have severe consequences. Google made its name by delivering the best search results of any search engine. When people try to trick Google into putting a site first that isn’t the most relevant, they are trying to exploit Google. It is in Google’s best interest to kick these sites out, just as they did for BMW.de.
To be at the top of Google for a specific term, your site needs to be viewed as the most relevant for that term. Not just by Google, but by other sites that Google respects. Search Engine Optimization isn’t a black art, but a dedicated effort to be viewed as the most relevant site for that search term.
When you are looking for ways to get to the top of the search rankings, be careful when these firms claim they know the tricks to put you at the top of Google. Ask BMW of Germany how their tricks worked.
I made a stop recently to my law firm to do some updating of the estate. While going through the nuances of the Trusts setup for each of the generations I have somehow become a part of, I had a side discussion with one of the new eager associates on the Robert Archer Estate Trust team. He had a knack for technology - and was anxious to show how much he knew.
He pointed out that I should really track what my employee's were writing. He pointed to an article written in 2003 by Patrick Callahan - a member of The Archer Group. It dealt with the Can-Slam law or something similar like that (see article). Apparently there is a loop hole where I could take advantage of buying millions of email addresses of those poor souls who had inadvertenly not "opted out" that Patrick had missed. The Associate stated that "affirmative consent" was something that needed further defining. He stated ... "You may get e-mail addresses from third parties provided that those e-mail addresses were acquired with a clear disclaimer indicating that their e-mail address may be passed on to other parties AND that they were not opted-out from that organization to begin with. Your article does not properly apply to channel oriented business."
Hmm. Something in my heart goes out to these poor associates. These poor chaps have the same problem a former acquainance of mine from Oxford (who went on to be President) had at one point - defining what "is..is". I think I'll stick with what my Patrick says - "be conservative". Do I really want my business associated with the others who send out millions of eMail addresses to the unsuspecting?
The poor associate - he has a few years to go. Let's keep him by the xerox...not by the send button.
He pointed out that I should really track what my employee's were writing. He pointed to an article written in 2003 by Patrick Callahan - a member of The Archer Group. It dealt with the Can-Slam law or something similar like that (see article). Apparently there is a loop hole where I could take advantage of buying millions of email addresses of those poor souls who had inadvertenly not "opted out" that Patrick had missed. The Associate stated that "affirmative consent" was something that needed further defining. He stated ... "You may get e-mail addresses from third parties provided that those e-mail addresses were acquired with a clear disclaimer indicating that their e-mail address may be passed on to other parties AND that they were not opted-out from that organization to begin with. Your article does not properly apply to channel oriented business."
Hmm. Something in my heart goes out to these poor associates. These poor chaps have the same problem a former acquainance of mine from Oxford (who went on to be President) had at one point - defining what "is..is". I think I'll stick with what my Patrick says - "be conservative". Do I really want my business associated with the others who send out millions of eMail addresses to the unsuspecting?
The poor associate - he has a few years to go. Let's keep him by the xerox...not by the send button.
02/06/06: Where's Waldo goes Big Time
Google rolled out this free product, Google Earth, which lets you view the world as if you were hanging out on the Space Station. If you haven’t seen it before, check it out!
Fiat took this great novelty and turned it into Marketing Gold! They added data to the map layer, and contestants have to use the map to cruise around Torino (Site of the Winter Olympics) and guess where Fiat has hidden 4 Sedici cars and a Ferrari 360 Pass. Guess right and you could be a proud new owner of a Sedici.
Sure they could have had people simply type in a village in Torino to guess, but what other contest gets you to spend an hour cruising a map of Italy while being exposed to the marketing message.
While you are searching for the Fiat, keep an eye out for me. I'll be at the Olympics at Torino!
02/05/06: Opening Soon....In 2003???
I am starting my trek back from the Big Island, where I was scouting a new satellite office location. The weather is certainly beautiful here! A few years back, I had my eye on a new office park that was about to break ground, so I tried to search for it online while I was here.
I found the web site for the office park in question. Across the top of the site, was a big flashing banner stating “Opening Soon in 2003!� While I realize that I am in a different time zone, I did think we were still in the year 2006. On the way back from dinner, I asked the driver to swing by and see if the offices were done. They were, but I got a bad vibe from the out of date web site.
There are likely three reasons why the people responsible for the web site let it lapse for 3+ years:
1- They didn’t care about the web site
2- The person who created the site left with all the passwords
3- They are too disorganized to have time for the site
Regardless, the web site really reflected poorly on the management company and had a real impact on a potential buyer. They probably had great sales literature and suave brokers, but my decision rested on the marketing materials I could access, the web site.
Next time you consider spring cleaning, be sure to include your web sites. Take a few minutes to go through the pages and remove incorrect or outdated information. It will be time well spent!
I found the web site for the office park in question. Across the top of the site, was a big flashing banner stating “Opening Soon in 2003!� While I realize that I am in a different time zone, I did think we were still in the year 2006. On the way back from dinner, I asked the driver to swing by and see if the offices were done. They were, but I got a bad vibe from the out of date web site.
There are likely three reasons why the people responsible for the web site let it lapse for 3+ years:
1- They didn’t care about the web site
2- The person who created the site left with all the passwords
3- They are too disorganized to have time for the site
Regardless, the web site really reflected poorly on the management company and had a real impact on a potential buyer. They probably had great sales literature and suave brokers, but my decision rested on the marketing materials I could access, the web site.
Next time you consider spring cleaning, be sure to include your web sites. Take a few minutes to go through the pages and remove incorrect or outdated information. It will be time well spent!
02/02/06: All dressed up with nothing to show
It looked like someone spent a full 20 minutes on a PowerPoint slide show. Maybe this was the best that the person in the establishment could do, but it certainly didn’t make we want to stop (except to ask them what they were thinking).
The flat panel displays are fabulous. No matter the surroundings, we are drawn to them like moths to a flame. At least until we see what is on them. Leverage the medium folks. Put something interesting and compelling on the screen. (No that’s not a spinning logo)
For full disclosure, The Archer Group has been building some sharp animation displays for plasmas and lcd displays for some time now. We rolled out a new product that we affectionately call ‘Mojito’ which really makes these displays shine.
Sidebar
