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Are Registration Forms Standing Between You & Your Prospects?
Content registration is often considered a given in the content generation and distribution process: write a white paper, eBook, etc., put up a landing page and reg form and you're off, right? The problem is that registration can create friction in the lead generation and nurturing process. Tech marketers need to strategically decide when it's appropriate to ask for contact details in exchange for content – and how much information to request.
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Don't assume prospects are willing to provide their information just because you're delivering a meaty report or white paper. IT buyers don't only base their decision to provide contact information on the value of the content you provide. (Plus vendors often associate the value of content with the time and money they put into producing the content; hardly the same gauge used by prospective buyers.) Rather, buyers are more often concerned about holding vendors at arm's length until they're far along in their buying decision process.
Consider these findings from TechTarget's report, When Worlds Converge: Similarities in Brand Reception and Media Consumption of IT and Personal Technology Buyers. Of the 3,269 IT buyers surveyed, 43% said they are somewhat willing and 42% are very willing to share their contact information when they are ready to make a purchase. However, while 53% of respondents are somewhat willing to provide those details in exchange for "expert or editorial information," only 19% are very willing to do so in the same scenario.
In fact, when IT buyers click to download your content, much like their consumer counterparts, the majority don't want the vendor to contact them as a result.
Is it any wonder that 38% of the respondents give their personal email address (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc.) when registering for vendor information? In cases where registration is required but they're not ready to talk to a vendor, IT buyers do all they can to maintain control over interactions. 71% of the IT buyers surveyed refuse to provide their business account so as not to get inundated with messages.
Keep it Short & Sweet
So how can you collect the information you need to start engaging and determining whether or not someone is truly a prospective customer? Ideally you build up the information using progressive profiling, rather than hit someone with a 10- or 15-field registration form from the get-go. (For a sample scenario — and a terrific article on why you need to change your view of lead nurturing — see this article by Ardath Albee.) Don't forget you could allow people to register using social sign-in (e.g., "register using your LinkedIn account information"), and augment the information your collect with data from third-party providers such as JigSaw or ZoomInfo.
Test Your Forms, Formulate a Strategy
Approach registration from a strategic, analytical perspective, just as you do with your landing pages and emails. Run a test of your forms with a different number of fields and see what results you yield. Marketo, a company offering marketing automation software, did just that and found that the longer the form, the lower the conversion rate and the higher the cost per lead (see the table below).
Ultimately the reg information you request should logically relate to the content that people are accessing on your site. In other words, map out the buyer's journey and how your content fits at each stage. Then determine which contact information you can reasonably request at each stage.
Demandbase and Focus hosted a webinar on this very topic. Watch the one-hour webinar Avoiding the Lead Gen Trade-Off: How to Boost Web Form Conversions without Sacrificing Lead Data Quality for insights into how to optimize your entire site for conversions.
Are Your Sales & Marketing Teams a Power Couple?
The Aberdeen Group just released a new report underscoring the importance of sales and marketing alignment in the era of the empowered buyer. Considering that IDC says B2B companies' inability to align sales and marketing teams around the right processes and technologies can cost them upwards of 10% or more of revenue per year, this issue should be top of mind.
Highlights of Aberdeen's findings include:
- 40% of the sales-forecasted pipeline among Best-in-Class companies is generated by Marketing, compared with 22% among Industry Average firms and 13% within Laggard companies
- Best-in-Class companies report a 31.6% average year-over-year growth in corporate revenue, versus 18.7% for Industry Average firms and a 6.7% decline among Laggards
To achieve best-in-class performance, Aberdeen urges organizations to:
- Tightly align marketing activities to specific sales goals and objectives
- Establish or refine the lead management process
You can download the Aberdeen report for free until January 27, 2012.
Need help aligning sales and marketing? Download this 27-page eBook (no registration required) that I wrote last year for AG Salesworks. In it, you'll find 8 steps for getting sales and marketing cranking in unison, featuring recommendations from leading experts including:
- Ardath Albee, author of eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale
- Andrew Briney, Sr VP and Group Publisher at TechTarget
- Brian Halligan, CEO and Founder of HubSpot
- David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR
- Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling
- Joe Pulizzi, co-author of Get Content. Get Customers.
Study Reveals B2B Content Preferences & Trends
Eccolo Media just published its fourth-annual report on B2B collateral trends and consumer preferences and technology marketers should take note. On behalf of Eccolo, Global Marketing Insite surveyed 501 C-level execs, vice presidents, managers, directors, developers/ programmers, and technicians involved in technology purchase decisions.
Highlights of the report:
- B2B prospects are consuming a wider variety of content types
- The influence of white papers, case studies, and product brochures/data sheets increased even as consumption decreased
- Embedding social-sharing buttons significantly boosts the perceived influence of all content types
- A growing number of respondents consume content on mobile devices
- Adding interactive elements significantly increases the perceived influence of written content
Note that because Eccolo Media saw some marked differences in responses from this year compared to last, for the first time, it conducted a follow-up survey with respondents to confirm these are true trends and not anomalies.
Prospects Turn to More Content Types
Respondents reported consuming significantly less of three major collateral types year over year:
- Brochures/data sheets: 72% compared to 83% last year
- White papers: 62% compared to 76% in 2010
- Case studies: 50% versus 67% in 2010
It appears the reason for this dramatic decline in consumption can be attributed to the fact that prospects are gathering information from a wider variety of sources, including company Web pages, eBooks, social media sites, blog posts, and presentations. That means technology marketers need to consider adding these content types/sources to their marketing mix.
Notably, respondents reported consuming more of the five "traditional" collateral types in the earlier stages of the buying cycle. And compared to 2010, respondents consume more content in the pre-sale phase, making consumption in this phase just about even with that in the initial sale stage. Marketers should take this into consideration as they're planning what types of content will address their prospects' needs throughout the buying cycle.
Growing Influence of White Papers, Case Studies, and Brochures/Datasheets
Even while consumption of key content assets declined, the perceived influence of these content types on the purchase decision has increased. Here's how respondents rated these collateral types in the categories of "very" to "extremely" influential this year compared to last:
- White papers: 65% in 2011 versus 41% in 2010
- Case studies: 68% in 2011 compared to 39% in 2010
- Brochures/datasheets: 61% in 2011 compared to 47% in 2010
The sway of podcasts and videos also rose tremendously, from 44% to 67% and from 48% to 62% respectively.
Sometimes Shorter is Better
The majority of respondents (48%) prefer 4-page case studies, as they did in 2010 (37%). They also still turn to written case studies more than to video or audio testimonials. What we're missing from this year's survey results is how these case study preferences align to the respondents' company sizes. In 2010, those in larger companies preferred longer case studies, while those in small companies gravitated to two-pagers. This could be due to larger companies needing to check off more boxes across different areas of the organization to push a purchase through. In other words, they want/need to see how a vendor's solution addressed the needs of the:
- Business user
- Finance group
- IT department
Oftentimes, that level of detail isn't found in shorter case studies.
Also just as in last year's survey, the majority of respondents chose six pages as the ideal length for a white paper. This year, Eccolo doesn't provide insight into how the overall preferences have changed. Between 2009's survey and 2010's, Eccolo found that respondents were slightly shifting their preference from shorter to longer papers. It would be interesting to see if that trend is holding true. (For a summary of last year's Eccolo Media survey, see my post on the Savvy B2B Marketing blog.)
Looks Matter
For the first time, Eccolo surveyed about the importance of charts, illustrations, and tables in white papers. 77% of respondents find it extremely to moderately important that white papers include these types of visuals. This reinforces the importance of design in making it easier to consume and remember content. (For more on this topic, read my post on the Savvy B2B Marketing blog.)
Mobile Takes Off – But Still Lags Far Behind
While 37% of respondents say they've consumed content on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, the vast majority are still viewing white papers, case studies, and brochures/datasheets on their desktops or are downloading and printing them. This finding comes as no surprise since it's usually not enjoyable to read a lengthy content asset on a mobile device, especially a smartphone.
Getting More Out of Your Content
Making content easier to share and more multimedia in nature can go a long way in impacting how prospects regard content. Of the 52% of respondents that recalled seeing a social-sharing button in content, 77% said they perceived the collateral as "much more" or "somewhat more" influential. At the same time, written content that was enhanced with audio elements was viewed by 83% of respondents as more influential, and content with embedded video positively influenced the perceptions of 92% of respondents.
While it can take some effort to add interactive elements to white papers, eBooks, or other content, it appears to be well worth the investment. And considering how simple it is to add social-sharing buttons to content, technology marketers would be remiss not to embed these into all their content templates. Do a search on "how to add social sharing buttons to PDF" for instructions from a variety of sources.
For more on the findings from this year's survey, download the 17-page report from Eccolo Media's site (after registering).
TechTarget Empowers Sales Reps to Better Connect with Prospects
In August, TechTarget announced a major upgrade to its Activity Intelligence platform. I spoke to Jeff Ramminger, SVP of products for TechTarget, to find out more.
Q. Give an overview of Activity Intelligence.
First you need to understand that TechTarget goes to market in a very topically segmented way. We offer lots of editorial coverage around these topics, along with content from a thousand or so clients. Lots of registered users access the editorial and vendor content, while also engaging with each other via our social communities. Moreover, we see about 10 million searches per month across our 100+ Web properties. By analyzing content search and consumption patterns and trends, we distill valuable facts about a huge community of IT professionals.
We developed Activity Intelligence for two reasons: 1) to develop better mechanisms for targeting content to our users, which improves their experience with our sites and content and 2) to track and report on users' journeys throughout their online research process on TechTarget sites in ways that are useful to our clients. In the first generation of Activity Intelligence, we added data to our lead reports to start sharing these insights with our clients. However, our clients found it was time-consuming and difficult to modify their systems to pull in the raw data and do anything meaningful with it. Plus, marketers want more guidance and counsel on the meaning and implications of this data.
We interviewed over 40 clients to better understand IT vendors' pain points around managing lead data. While it seems simple, the latest generation of Activity Intelligence is very powerful. Rather than simply sending raw data to our clients, we display the data in a series of dashboards that our clients access securely via the web.
Q. What are the highlights of the announcement?
First is that we deliver intelligence about each individual lead. Each lead is associated with a unique link that provides details on that person's interactions with your campaigns, meaningful activities across our network, and the content that has and has not been consumed. This helps marketers and sales reps understand the prospect's mind-set and what content to offer to advance the conversation. In short, we're making it much easier for marketing and sales to enable a meaningful follow-up with each lead.
Second is that we deliver enhanced data where possible for each lead. We do that by partnering with iProfile to append a variety of additional data points about each contact, such as their corporate phone number and email address, a link to their LinkedIn profile, and additional demographics where available.
The third, and most transformative, change is that we now roll up all information about an account to provide our clients with a comprehensive view. For example, oftentimes large numbers of employees from a single company will be registered users with us. Perhaps only one or a few have downloaded content about a certain topic from your campaign, however, others from that company may be also be researching on the topic related to your campaign – they just haven't downloaded your content. We can show our clients what these other registered users – or undiscovered contacts – from that same company are doing on our sites. This overall volume of activity on a topic is typically a good indicator of an active project.
In addition to giving sales another piece of data as they determine the priority for a lead, this aligns better with how sales works – they're assigned to accounts — not individuals — and this information gives them more of an account-oriented view.
Q. Why should tech marketers care?
Amazon.com has done a great job of personalizing the experience so it's robust and rich for consumers. You can argue that a similar paradigm should exist when it comes to content online. By understanding interests and topics that are top of mind, TechTarget can create a richer experience for IT professionals while also paying dividends to the technology vendors trying to reach them.
Many IT professionals work on a variety of projects in a year and consume a tremendous amount of content as part of that. The basis for Activity Intelligence is that TechTarget has a "handshake" with its site visitors. In other words, when they register for content, site visitors understand their information will be passed along to the vendor as a lead. From the user side of the equation, Activity Intelligence allows us to create a more rich and robust experience by presenting relevant content. On the client (marketer) side, we provide more understanding about a prospect, helping vendors with follow up and nurturing. When we talk to our registered users, one thing that greatly frustrates them is when they receive a generic follow-up phone call from a vendor. If the technology marketer uses Activity Intelligence to enable a more robust and contextually relevant discussion, it's good for both the user and the marketer.
Q. Does this tie into your research on hyperactive IT researchers and if so, how?
Conceptually, those taking more actions online have a much higher propensity to be in an active project and looking for a solution to a problem. In other words, they make better prospects.
Understanding their online activities is critical to better engaging these prospective buyers. But the reality of a salesperson's day is that they get leads from a variety of sources. Salespeople need to get as much information and context about a prospect as quickly and simply as possible, as that helps them understand which leads to prioritize.
With Activity Intelligence, they get easy access to a rich display of information about prospects in one place. What they see are the various activities – such as how much of the company's content the prospect consumed versus how much of the company's competitors' content the prospect consumed – so they get context. They also see how many activities have taken place during a certain time frame, which helps to create a sense of priority.
Q. How is this an improvement?
For years, quantity trumped quality in the online demand generation space. Over time, quality became more important, but many marketers don't know how to make sense of the information at their disposal, especially when it means tracking different activities associated with a single name in the database. For example, many disregard the value of someone downloading a white paper and viewing a webcast a few days later. For marketers without a systematic way to track and score these activities, the activities just become a duplicate record in the database.
With the Activity Intelligence Dashboard, our clients can see all the activities and content downloaded by our registered users. When it comes to pre-sales, it's just as important to know what a prospect hasn't looked at as what he or she has looked at. This insight makes the follow-up more compelling and productive, allowing the pre-sales or sales rep to leave a more useful and contextual message and send an email with pointers to other content.
Q. How should marketers expect to benefit from the new-and-improved Activity Intelligence?
We've gotten lots of positive feedback from clients during our beta. We expect clients to see better ROI because fewer leads will fall through the gaps. According to our analysis, only 15% of leads turn into a productive sales conversation. Even if we help move that to 30%, it's a tremendous boost to the marketers' ROI.
Q. How do you envision your platform further evolving?
Tech marketers will be excited to see what else is on our roadmap. For example, a marketer might want to see interactions with different assets in a campaign by volume, such as which asset is doing best by industry. We also see lots of opportunities to marry activity data on the brand side with activity data on the demand side to give sales and marketing a more comprehensive view of what's going on. For example, a marketer might want to understand which companies have seen and/or clicked on one of their online ads. It may then want to determine whether anyone from that company has clicked on or downloaded any of the content assets being used to generate leads. The bottom line is that Activity Intelligence sheds more light on IT professionals' online activity – giving our clients a much higher potential for meaningful engagement and program ROI.
6 Social Media Stats that Tech Marketers Can't Afford to Ignore
If your company sells a high-priced product or service, it can't afford to stand on the sidelines when it comes to social media. After all, Sirius Decisions and others have found that empowered B2B buyers are moving through as much as 70% of the sales funnel before connecting with sales.
The companies not answering the call are missing out on tremendous opportunities to engage with prospective customers, shape the online conversation, and influence purchases. Need proof? Consider this:
1) TechTarget has found that more than 93% of IT buyers visit social communities and more than half contribute content.
2) DemandGen Report's second annual research study, Inside The Mind of the BtoB Buyer found that, in the early stages of the buying process, 78% of respondents said they start by gathering information around a business problem. And it turns out that they're increasingly doing so via social channels. 59% of respondents indicate that they engaged with peers who had addressed the challenge, and another 48% followed industry conversations/coverage of their topics on blogs and social media. And get this – more than 20% connected directly with potential solution vendors via social networking channels.
3) According to Forrester, "80% of business technology buyers engage in some form of social activity for work purposes."
4) In its research titled "When to Socialize Online with B2B Buyers," Forrester also found that forums and discussion groups ranked highest for the information sources B2B buyers said they would use to inform and validate their purchase decisions.
5) More than half (57%) of B2B companies have acquired a customer through their company blog, according to recent research. (Source: Demand Creation Specialists email)
6) The 2011 Arketi Web Watch Survey: Inside BtoB Media Usage of Social Media reveals B2B journalists are increasingly using social media tools to ferret out story ideas and connect with sources. This year's survey found that 92% of journalists have a LinkedIn account, 85% are on Facebook, and 84% use Twitter. Moreover, nearly 50% blog or read blogs regularly.
The TechTarget Media Consumption Benchmark Report "Closing the Gap between IT Buyers and IT Marketers" uncovered that IT buyers find information from unbiased sources (like blogs, online communities, and social networks) is more useful during the awareness and consideration stages of the buying process. So if you're going to jump on the bandwagon, consider starting here.
Content Marketing in Action: Paving the Way to Win Business
These days, it's hard for marketers to avoid the term "content marketing." The practice is being discussed at conferences, in online groups and forums, and at networking events. But what does content marketing mean and why should your organization adopt it?
In a nutshell, content marketing is delivering the right information at the right time to prospects and customers. It's what can set your company apart. Let's walk through a fictitious scenario that helps illustrate the value of content marketing. (Note: this post is quite long but worth your time if you're trying to understand how your content can play a strategic role in engaging and converting prospects.)
A typical scenario…
Susan is a 45-year old working in a small but growing law firm. As is common for employees in a 50-person company, she wears many hats, serving as both the accountant and HR manager. These days she's feeling overwhelmed trying to keep billings straight in her spreadsheet – and it's cutting into the time she needs to spend developing an employee training program. She assumes there's a better way to manage billings and asks the firm's owner, Margaret, if she can look into it.
Margaret gives her the okay but says she only has three weeks to figure it out – she can't afford to have Susan distracted by this task for long. She also tells Susan that she doesn't want to spend much money on this and that it needs to be easy to install and use. After all, Margaret's nephew, Mark, provides IT support for the firm on the side and his availability is never certain. This last comment leaves Susan feeling a bit stressed – she's not technically savvy and Mark is on vacation for the next two weeks so she won't be able to ask him questions. She hopes it won't be hard to figure out everything needed to make a decision.
The research process begins
As a first step, Susan jumps online and conducts a Google search on "law firm billing problems." The top results are a story in a major newspaper about a well-known law firm that was found guilty of double billing its clients and a description of a conference session that will cover typical billing problems in law firms and how to resolve them. Susan wishes she could go, but the conference is two months away. Plus, it costs $695 to attend! The third search results catches Susan's eye. The link reads "How Law Firms Can Save Time and Money Managing Billings". She makes a note to check it out, but first clicks on the link below that pointing to an online forum for legal firms.
Reaching out to peers
Once on the forum, Susan takes a quick look at the discussion categories and is pleased to see one on "accounting." She starts exploring the discussion threads and soon finds one about billing issues. Many people are talking about the firm caught double billing its clients. Susan jumps in and asks if anyone can recommend a better way to manage the billings in her firm. A few people chime in about their own daily pains in accounting, and one mentions that he's heard about a software product. He thinks the company offering it is called Abacus but can't tell Susan much more.
Running into a dead end
Susan does a quick search on the company's name and finds its website. At first she wonders if this is the same company mentioned in the forum. She sees nothing about billing software for law firms. In fact, it's not clear what this company does. The home page says the company provides "cutting-edge, integrated solutions that help companies leverage their assets for maximum ROI." She clicks on the Products tab and sees a long list of meaningless product names. She's about ready to give up when she notices a link to something called a white paper titled "Abacus: The Leading Billing Software." She clicks on the title and is taken to a registration form asking for her contact info, including company name, her name, her title, phone number, email address, and when she expects to make a purchase. She can't believe she has to fill all that out just to read this! In fact, she's not positive she wants to read it since she knows nothing about it except the title.
Finding what she needs
Frustrated, Susan goes back to the search results on Google and clicks on "How Law Firms Can Save Time and Money Managing Billings". Susan is taken to the website for a company called Make Your Case with a link to the full article. The article describes just the types of issues that Susan is dealing with, and points to research conducted by a reputable law school that highlights the potential problems associated with billing issues. The article even references the recent story about the law firm that got into trouble over double billings. Clearly this company understands what Susan is dealing with and is on top of the latest happenings. At the end of the article, she's invited to sign up for a 30-minute webinar exploring these issues in more depth. Because she's feeling pressed for time and doesn't need more convincing about these issues, Susan doesn't click on this link.
But she's interested in the other links: to case studies showing how other law firms have benefited by using this company's billing solution, and to a one-pager explaining how the solution helps solve the most pressing billing issues. Susan clicks on the link to the case studies and is brought to a page showing the stories categorized by law firm size and different billing issues. She chooses one that most closely matches her situation and sees a one-paragraph overview explaining the law firm's scenario and a bulleted list of how it benefited from the vendor's solution. She decides to download the case study for further reading. At the bottom of this page, she sees the same link to the one-pager about the solution and clicks on that. Again, she's taken to a page that summarizes what's in the one-pager and decides to download that too. At the bottom of this page, she sees a link to a 5-minute demo and clicks through. The page explains that the demo explains how easy it is to use the software for billings and what's required to get up and running with it.
Happily exchanging contact info for access to a demo
Susan is asked to provide her name and email address in exchange for access. Because she's been impressed so far with what she's read – and because she's only asked for minimal information – Susan fills out the form and watches the demo. She learns that this company offers the solution as both software and something called software-as-as-service (SaaS). She's never heard of SaaS, but the demo made it clear it will make it much easier for her law firm to take advantage of the solution. In fact, it appears Mark will have to do very little to help Susan get started with this – or to keep it updated with the latest functionality.
Digging into ROI
Having spent a couple of hours on this search, Susan decides it's time to see if she's missed any critical messages. She checks her voice mail and then her email. She sees a personalized email from Make Your Case, thanking her for spending the time to watch the demo and inviting her to submit any questions she may have. The email includes a link to something called an ROI calculator, saying this can help Susan prove the value of the solution to her boss. That looks interesting but first Susan needs an idea of how much this solution costs. She replies to the email, asking for pricing for a 45-person law firm. Within 30 minutes, Susan receives a response, laying out pricing for both the software and SaaS options. The sales rep, Dan, invites Susan to call him if she has any questions and also encourages her to check out the ROI calculator. He also offers to help her fill out the calculator.
Pleasantly surprised to see that the solution is pretty reasonably priced, Susan decides to check out the calculator. After all, the better armed she is, the easier it will be to convince Margaret that the money will be well spent. She clicks on the link and is taken to a page where she has to fill in details about the number of people managing billing, average salary for these employees, average number of billings per month, billing terms, and a few other details. She knows the answers to most of these questions but doesn't know average number of billings off the top of her head and doesn't have the time to figure it out.
Susan calls Dan, the sales rep, for assistance. Dan says he can give Susan a number based on the average that his company has seen for law firms of her size. He then asks Susan if she's already started to fill out the calculator. She actually hadn't because she realized she didn't have all needed information. He offers to send her a link that will allow her to watch him fill in the numbers online for her. She accepts and he walks her through the calculations. Once the final number is displayed, Dan asks Susan if the value is what she expected. She says she honestly didn't know what to expect but believes her boss will be happy with it. Dan asks if he can answer any additional questions for her. She says she may need him to talk to Mark at some point about the technical aspects of the solution but that she's all set otherwise.
Feeling tension with a vendor who doesn't get it
Susan hangs up, feeling excited about this solution. But she knows Margaret will want to compare this to at least one other solution to make sure they're getting the best deal. As much as she dreads the thought, Susan revisits the Abacus site. She enters "ROI calculator" into the search field and sees a long list of results, some of which don't seem related to her search. Finally she spots what appears to be the right thing and clicks the link. Again, she's shown a registration form asking for a long list of information. She takes a deep sigh and fills out the form, realizing she has no choice since she needs this information. After she clicks the submit button, she's surprised to see a message saying her request has been received. She wonders why she isn't seeing the ROI calculator.
Hearing that an email message just arrived, Susan checks and sees a message from Abacus. It says a sales rep will be calling her soon about her request. Annoyed, Susan goes back to work. Near the end of the day, Susan gets a phone call from the sales rep. He jumps right in with a pitch about his company's solutions and asks how he can help. Susan reminds him that she wanted to use the ROI calculator. Though the rep seems caught off guard, he says he can walk Susan through this. She agrees, but asks him to confirm that his company offers both software and SaaS and asks for the price of each. He assures her that it does, but insists that she should see the ROI calculations first. Aggravated, Susan demands that he share pricing first. He grumbles but relents. Susan's actually relieved to hear that the solutions cost more than the other company's. After her unpleasant experience on the vendor's site and with this sales rep, she has no desire to do business with the company. She tells the sales rep she doesn't need to see the ROI calculator and hangs up.
The decision is clear
Can you guess what happens next? Susan recommends the Make the Case solution to Margaret because her research process has been painless and the vendor provided all the information she needed – and made it easy to access. The vendor was able to provide the needed information because it had a solid understanding of its typical customers and the information they seek when researching possible solutions. It also made a point of providing value without being pushy about the sale.
Though this is a fictitious – and greatly simplified – scenario, it's a reasonable model for how your company can set itself up to be the vendor of choice.
Good Things Come in Small Boxes: What Tech Marketers Can Learn from MINI
I recently bought a MINI Cooper, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a "Mini Adventure Field Kit" in the mail. The box was filled with lots of MINI goodness, including a:
- Personalized welcome from the Head of MINI USA
- Guide to the 101 Fundamentals of Good Motoring
- Booklet about financial services
- Travel journal and pen
- Mousepad with a collage of MINI images
- Foam antenna topper
- Set of "trading" cards to hand out, featuring different MINI models
- Pair of 3D glasses that allow me to decode messages in the MINI Owner's Lounge
You can see the items laid out in this photo on Flickr, posted by another MINI owner.
Not only are these items fun, the kit left me feeling as though I was being welcomed into an exclusive club…and that I wasn't forgotten now that the sale had been made. And the company gets plenty of mileage from its marketing. Do a search on Mini Adventure Field Kit and you'll see plenty of MINI owners talking about their kits.
So what's stopping technology marketers from sending out something similar? Imagine welcoming your new customers with a well-designed kit containing a range of items that are both fun and useful. Playing off the list above, I can imagine such a kit containing a:
- Personalized welcome from the company's president or CEO, perhaps with an invitation to meet at an upcoming event in the customer's area
- Guide to 101 ways to get the most from your product or service
- Booklet showing all available products and services, perhaps with mini case studies showing how others have benefited
- Card showing all the ways your customers can contact you and stay in touch (including via social media channels)
- Exclusive invitation – with log-in details – to your online community and/or customer portal
- Cool notepad and pen (or something similar) for the recipient's personal use
Let's face it. Most people are thrilled to get a package in the mail. Imagine what fans your customers will become if you take this extra step to welcome them. It certainly beats an email that points them to all the resources that everyone can access on your site.
Do you welcome your new customers and make them feel like they've joined an exclusive club? Please share your ideas and experiences.
How Fiberlink Uses Content Marketing to Connect with Prospects and Customers
Last year Fiberlink's main focus was on traditional management of laptops and desktops. In late 2010, it shifted its focus to mobile device management (MDM) and its bi-weekly, educational-focused webinar attendance skyrocketed. Here Jonathan Dale, Product Marketing Manager, and Joe Pappano, Director of Customer Platform Services, of Fiberlink share insights into how this 200-person strong company uses content marketing to connect with prospects and customers.
1. Who is responsible for Fiberlink's content strategy?
Two teams within Fiberlink share ideas and develop content. The first is a combined product and product marketing team focused on understanding market needs and setting product direction. The second team, under Joe, is a combination of technical support experts and customer platform services (those who onboard new customers).
On any given day, the product-focused team is on prospect calls with sales, hearing directly the "voice of the customer." And Joe's team works directly with sales and customers. We also hold a weekly call between sales, product, and product marketing and always talk about what we need to do to better enable sales. The answer is usually developing new content to better help prospects understand a certain topic. The side benefit is you get validation of your product map!
Plus, our product, product marketing, and customer platform services groups are constantly talking to sales to find out what questions or objections they're hearing, and how we help prospects better evaluate their options. We also conduct post-mortems on sales wins and losses. This consistent stream of interaction helps us understand trends and these voice-of-the-customer insights feed heavily into the content we develop. There is absolutely no substitute for this type of interaction. It takes a very dedicated, team effort.
2. Explain your content strategy and approach.
We spend lots of time identifying keywords, creating resources, and tracking the performance of our content.
Because MDM is a new and rapidly changing space, people need to be educated so they feel comfortable making a buying decision. Our content is focused on lead nurturing through education, which helps prepare prospects for talking with us.
Our educational approach eliminates the need to identify a lead, and make a cold call to try to set up an evaluation. Prospects will typically attend a webinar, download some content, and then try our software evaluation. Then when sales follows up, they know what content the prospect has consumed and where to start the conversation.
As another example: we exhibited at the Technology Managers Forum in New York and gave product demos. The audience included numerous folks from major companies who said they had attended our webinars. After sitting through our 3-minute demo, they asked for a meeting. If they hadn't already been educated through our regular webinar series on how we solve industry problems, they likely wouldn't have made that request. It's nice to be known as a valuable resource, not just a company that wants to sell you something.
3. Fiberlink offers a wealth of content on its MaaS360 site, including trials/demos, the MaaSters Center featuring a forum, training videos, video and audio webcasts, white papers, case studies, and a blog. How did you determine which content would be best to offer?
We conduct research to understand information and content preferences mapped to the buying cycle. While we've nailed this down for prospective customers of our desktop management solutions, we're still refining this for our MDM market.
From a theme and format perspective, we evaluated what leading companies are doing to attract and nurture prospects and build loyal customers. These best-in-breed companies have a content strategy featuring multiple dimensions and offer a variety of content that is quick, easy to digest. We talked to some of these companies and came up with a best-of-all approach that we thought we could realistically handle.
4. What was the process for developing all of this content?
We now have a roadmap for content. But early on, we had to get employees into the habit of sharing knowledge and asked them to describe how they solve problems, what information they share with customers, etc.
Using WordPress, we launched the MaaSters Center at the beginning of 2010 in stealth mode. We brainstormed the content we thought would be valuable and recruited employees to write it. We focused on simplicity by being loose with guidelines and aligning with people's expertise. For a few months, we held weekly meetings to review content assignments. We quickly generated a few hundred pieces of content of 1-3 paragraphs each that we posted in the center. We knew we were successful when we saw that people were posting our content on other sites.
We also transformed some of the resources we had used internally or to help our customers into free tools we offered on our site. One of our most popular pieces of content is an MDM glossary that we had originally developed for employees. We came up with a consistent framework for how to market through these resources, such as by pointing users to our trial landing pages, and asking them submit questions and suggestions.
When we started our bi-weekly webinar program, we made a conscious decision to make it different than most other programs by
1) limiting each webinar to 30 minutes at most, and
2) focusing on education instead of sales pitches.
By keeping the webinars to 30 minutes, they're more appealing for both our subject matter experts and attendees. And because we stay away from a sales pitch, we find that prospects are more likely to sign up for an evaluation. In fact, within two hours of giving a recent webinar, we had 250 of our 800 attendees sign up for an evaluation of our products. After each webinar, we email attendees with links to a PDF of the slides, the webinar via YouTube, and to the Q&A and polling results in our MaaSters Center.
5. How many participate in/visit your online forum?
Virtually all our customers have consumed MaaSters Center content in one form or another. On average, we get tens of thousands of visits per month. In fact, the number of visits grew tenfold from Q4 2010 to Q1 2011.
Part of that momentum is a result of interest in the mobile device management space. But we're also offering the type of relevant, timely content that people are hungry for.
We also take a journalistic approach to creating our content and respond quickly to significant events. By being opportunistic, we drive more traffic to the site. This opportunistic approach is harder to pull off since you can't always plan for it. That said, there are some industry events you can plan for, such as when Apple is going to make a major announcement.
6. While your webinars and case studies are free to view, you point folks to a registration form for your white papers. How do you decide which content to gate?
We're still trying to figure out the right mix. If the content is about Fiberlink and our products, we don't gate it. If we've spent lots of time creating valuable content for lead generation or if we sponsor a third-party analyst report, for example, we gate it.
Recently we've implemented progressive profiling via our marketing automation solution. We still need to trim our registration page, but we now can do progressive profiling, which will further impact how we handle registration.
7. Describe your lead generation and nurturing programs.
To ensure that content is relevant to prospective buyers, we map the first three touches of a lead nurture campaign to the source of the lead, whether from a marketing event, outbound rented list, inbound lead from the MaaSter Center or our free tools, or via a Google keyword search or LinkedIn ad. After these initial touches, depending on a variety of factors – including how much information we have about a lead, lead score, and purchase intent – we enter these contacts into 30-, 60- or 90-day campaigns aligned with our core products.
While our ultimate goal is to get leads to sign up for a free evaluation or trial, we don't push those as our primary offer. But we always include those options as a secondary offer.
We are continually engaged in an internal debate about this, wondering if we're missing out with this soft-touch approach. That's why we balance an educational offer with a secondary offer, so prospects know how to reach us when they're ready to talk.
8. You maintain a presence on Twitter, facebook , and LinkedIn and you maintain a blog. When did you get involved in social media and how did you determine the best strategy for doing so?
We've had a presence on Twitter and facebook for the past 12 months and are still trying to figure those channels out from a B2B angle. We mainly use them to spread the word about our free tools and press releases, and industry news not directly related to us. In one instance, we tweeted about a tool and someone reviewed it and it was accessed by thousands within a couple of days, so the promise is there.
We post relevant, educational information on LinkedIn groups. For example, we recently launched a new free tool targeted to those who administer Microsoft Exchange. We posted about it on Exchange-related groups on LinkedIn and it ended up being the most popular post on a few groups for the week.
9. You conduct polling on your site and blog. How do you make use of the data you collect?
We're stunned by how much reuse we get from our polling data. We carefully think through the questions, asking Fiberlink employees what's important to find out or what we think others will want to know about.
We blog about results from the polls we run in our webinars, on our site, and in the MaaSters Center. We also share the results with analysts and reporters. Here you can see we share the results in a blog post. After making certain editors aware of the post, we were invited to submit a byline article to one trade publication.
10. How do you measure the effectiveness of your content?
Ultimately, we want to determine how our content contributes to revenues.
We review weekly stats for site visits, page views, and average time on site. We use heatmaps of our site to see what people find interesting and when we change our site, we monitor these heatmaps to see how site visitors respond.
We also track how many times each piece of content is accessed, the registration rate, how much time people spend with our content, and the exit rate after consuming our content. If we see significant interest in certain content, we try to figure out why. Similarly, if certain content isn't popular, we'll remove or alter it.
And if we're running PPC ads, we measure click-through rates.
We capture open rates on email invitations and the sign-up rate for webinars. Based on webinar attendance, we can project how many people will sign up for an evaluation.
It's challenging to piece all of these measurements together but that's what we try do.


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Illuminate, Massage, Moisturize - TROPICAL PUNCH
Illuminate, Massage, Moisturize Soy Cocktail Candle! Sweet almond oil, MissShe's exclusive Beurre Mousse and Tropical Punch fragrance infused in 100% natural soy to make the perfect hand poured, clean burning candle in a 4 oz. travel tin
Our hand poured soy cocktail candles are not only fun but also functional! Each tin is filled with 100% natural soy wax infused with sweet almond oil and MissShe's exclusive Beurre Mousse and cocktail "flavas". If you love the scent of your favorite MissShe Body Cocktail on your skin, you will love the same intoxicating scent in your home. Burn time over 40 hours.

subset: commoncrawl


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Boulder Wind Power expands generator and power conversion portfolio for geared and direct drive wind turbines
27 Mar, 2014, 12:00 GMT
-- The industry's first 'Ultra Low Speed' generator, for increasing swept area at low wind speed sites, utilizes BWP's ability to generate an exceptionally low cost of torque
LOUISVILLE, Colorado, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Boulder Wind Power (BWP), a developer of advanced permanent magnet generators and full power converter technology for utility-scale wind turbines, announced an expansion of its product portfolio for onshore and offshore applications. Originally focused on developing and testing the core technology in direct drive applications, BWP now offers solutions for geared turbines while expanding its offering for direct drive wind turbines.
"Our new portfolio focuses on making generators that cost less and produce more energy for both onshore and offshore designs," said Andy Cukurs, BWP Chief Executive Officer. "Our technology portfolio enables an air core generator architecture that has significant advantages as generator torque ratings grow. Instead of limiting this to direct drive applications, we're expanding the product configurations to meet the complex needs of many wind turbine manufacturers."
Among the new offerings, and a first for the wind industry, is the "Ultra Low Speed" generator category designed for onshore, low-wind speed sites where noise constraints limit aerodynamic rotor tip speed and, ultimately, the aerodynamic rotor diameter. This new category applies the benefits of BWP's Low Speed generator, but with the industry's lowest speed ratings and cost-effective higher torque. BWP's Ultra Low Speed generators and their reduced RPM can help wind turbine manufacturers expand the swept area at these sites, and increase energy production by 5-15 percent – all while staying within noise constraints.
The expanded portfolio details the product variants within each generator line for Medium Speed (1.6 MW – 7.7 MW), Low Speed (1.0 MW – 7.5 MW) and Ultra Low Speed (1.0 MW – 5.3 MW). Recognizing the need for increased turbine ratings for offshore markets, BWP is also developing geared and direct-drive generators for 12 MW turbines, which will be released later in 2014. All BWP products can be customized to meet the needs of individual customers.
The product portfolio also features BWP's power conversion systems that deliver efficient power conversion at low system cost. The 500kW modular back-to-back power converter has exceptional power quality and was developed with grid compliance and high efficiency in mind. Further optimization can take place by integrating the converter and generator, something unique to BWP's use of a printed circuit board stator.
"Coupling our generators and power conversion technology can help wind turbine OEMs differentiate themselves with unique products that produce more energy at lower costs – a key technological advantage for improving an OEM's competitiveness in a crowded global wind market," said Cukurs. "In order to compete in the wind industry, new technologies have to be able to make more energy at lower costs, which is what we've been able to achieve at BWP."
For more information about BWP, please visit www.boulderwindpower.com.
Byron Boone, +1-303-630-1400
About Boulder Wind Power
Boulder Wind Power is a private company based in Louisville, Colorado that has developed advanced permanent magnet generator and power conversion technology for utility scale wind turbines. The Company's next generation technology is simpler, more efficient and less costly to maintain than alternative wind turbine drivetrain technologies. Boulder Wind Power's products enable the production of electricity at a cost dramatically lower than existing offerings and competitive with fossil fuel energy production costs. The Company provides technology to wind turbine manufacturers and supplies its patented generator and power electronics for incorporation into their products.
SOURCE Boulder Wind Power


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(Munich, Kabul, February 2nd, 2012). GAF has established in Kabul a training centre and an attached demonstration mine to support the training of mines inspectors of the Ministry of Mines in Afghanistan. The newly constructed mock-underground mine sets the realistic stage to train and exercise international best practice. A 1-year curriculum for mining inspectors has been developed covering theoretical and practical training for a full suite of topics including underground and open pit mining, ventilation, drilling, explosives, energy techniques, transportation, mining health & safety and environmental protection. Two groups of trainees from the Ministry currently receive training.
The inspectors training is part of the capacity building and know-how transfer project ongoing since 2008 where GAF is supporting the set-up and implementation of 2 departments in the Ministry of Mines – the mines inspectorate and the mining cadastre. A dedicated team consisting of senior mining, environmental and mechanical engineers as well as GIS- and IT-experts is on-site to transfer know-how and to consult.
Afghanistan has a huge potential of mineral and energy resources which is still to a large extent unexploited. The development of the extractive industries sector has been identified as the single most important lever to develop the economy, create employment and raise government revenues. As major national and international investments and operations are about to start the capacity of the government to promote and regulate the natural resources sector becomes paramount. By improving governance the mines inspectorate and cadastre will play a crucial role for Afghanistan on its way to development, towards attracting investors and fighting poverty.
The GAF performed capacity building project with regards to cadastre, inspectorate, audit and licensing functions within the Ministry of Mines, Afghanistan is funded by the World Bank – International Development Association under the "Sustainable Development of Natural Resources (SDNRP) Programme".
About GAF AG – Germany
GAF AG, an e-GEOS, Telespazio Company, is globally active and has an international reputation as a competent provider of project design and implementation services in the fields of geo-information, satellite remote sensing, capacity building and management consultancy to private and public clients. Within the past 27 years, GAF has been active in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, Africa, South-America and Asia. More on GAF: www.gaf.de
To obtain more information, please contact:
Arnulfstr. 197
80634 München
Tel. +49 (0) 89 12 15 28 0 | www.gaf.de | email@example.com


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Frost & Sullivan Award Highlights Baumer Group's Exceptional Product Innovation
06 Dec, 2012, 08:00 GMT
- Unique design of SmartReflect light barriers significantly improves the reliability of object detection
LONDON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the light barriers market, Frost & Sullivan recognises Baumer Group with the 2012 Europe New Product Innovation Award for its SmartReflect light barriers. This novel product brings numerous benefits for industrial customers and is a proof of how technological innovations can significantly improve productivity in manufacturing.
A unique design, high precision, and robustness, combined with rapid ROI, make Baumer Group's SmartReflect light barrier solutions extremely attractive to a broad spectrum of end-users and markets. This innovative solution overcomes challenges associated with conventional light barriers, such as high-installation costs and complicated maintenance processes.
"With SmartReflect, Baumer Group has succeeded in creating a solution that is more reliable than competing offerings, and which can be placed in machinery used in large-scale production environments," noted Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Emil Lazarski. "It facilitates the process of installation and integration of the sensor in the machine, while also being suitable for use in systems with limited space availability."
SmartReflect is the perfect solution for detecting objects independent of their shape, colour or surface in a cost-effective and reliable manner. It is unique in that it does not need the reflector, a part which is typically used in light barriers, and which is one of the constituents of competing solutions. Another key distinguishing factor is that there is no blind region in front of the system's optics - a typical disadvantage of retro-reflective sensors.
"SmartReflect significantly improves the reliability of object detection," remarked Lazarski. "In the case of conventional retro-reflective solutions, function impairment can occur due to dirt accumulation. This is in odds with one of the major requirements in many end-user industries, including the food and beverage production industry – high standards of system hygiene."
SmartReflect light barriers have a special hygienic design that effectively meets the requirements of various industries. They are one of the industry's first European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) certified photoelectric sensors. Moreover, proTect+ is an impermeability solution used by Baumer Group in their sensors that ensures high product durability, even in the most demanding environmental conditions.
"The sensors are produced with the utmost precision and with high quality heat and chemical resistant materials," said Lazarski. "The use of such materials facilitates superior reliability and resistance to difficult environmental conditions, including high temperatures and the presence of cleaning agents."
SmartReflect light barriers are available in various versions, which have a sensing distance ranging from 45 mm up to 2 m. For the detection of transparent objects, Baumer Group engineers have specifically designed two versions of SmartReflect, which are capable of detecting transparent objects with a sensing range of up to 800 mm. While one of these versions can detect standard objects, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles or glass containers, the other version can be used for highly transparent objects.
"This product is capable of enabling a very high ROI (return of investment) due to savings in maintenance costs," stated Lazarski. "As there is no need to replace reflectors, downtime is reduced and productivity is improved. SmartReflect not only ensures substantial reduction in operating costs, but also cost savings due to easier installation, commissioning, and alignment."
Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in developing a product with innovative elements that leverages leading edge technologies, that offers valued added features and benefits, supports increased customer ROI and has the potential for enhanced customer acquisition/penetration.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About Baumer Group
The Baumer Group is an international leading manufacturer and developer of sensors, encoders, measuring instruments and components for automated image-processing. Baumer combines innovative technology and customer-oriented service into intelligent solutions for factory and process automation and offers a uniquely wide range of related products and technologies. With more than 2,500 employees and production plants, sales branches and agencies in 36 subsidiaries and 18 countries, the family-owned company is always close to the customer. Industrial clients in many sectors gain vital advantages and measurable added value from the worldwide consistency of Baumer's high quality standards and its enormous innovative potential. For further information, visit www.baumer.com on the internet.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.
Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.
- The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
- The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.
For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?
Contact Us: Start the discussion
Subscribe: Newsletter on "the next big thing"
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Emily Bailey
Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan
SOURCE Frost & Sullivan


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Reviews you can trust.
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My project I plan to start in 9 months so I have time to think about it. Shaun was very good… Full review
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The initial presentation was both impressive and informative. Frank did a thorough job establishing the integrity of his company's product. … Full review
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Harper Construction Company, headquartered in San Diego, brings over 42 years of local and national construction experience; with a reputation for… More
Fast reliable service. Family owned and operated. Licensed and insured. best warranties available. Offering high-quality craftsmanship at affordable price. More
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Design Windows and Doors Inc. is a family-owned window and door contractor serving Greater Ontario. We were started in 2005 and… More
We are a well qualified and recommended local window installer. Our guys pay close attention to detail and we always share… More
Renewal by Andersen's process begins with a free in-home consultation to listen to your needs. We then custom-make beautiful, energy-efficient composite… More
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Our founders have decades of experience in the home improvement industry. They founded a company that provided over 130,000 CA homeowners… More
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Yomega Power Brain Wing Yo-Yo: A winged version of the Power Brain, this powerful, super spinning, auto-return yo-yo has one extra benefit - trick ease! With its unique wide shape and four-way synchronized clutch, the Power Brain allows players to easily master the more difficult string tricks. Instructions included. For ages 8+ This product comes in three colors: green, orange and blue. Pick at random, each sold separately.


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This simple zucchini bread recipe is a great way to use up your summer bumper crop of zucchini. Try it with toasted walnuts or raisins, or add chocolate chips for a more dessertlike bread. Freeze 2-cup portions of shredded zucchini so you can make zucchini bread all year long.
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How to Live Frugally: Tips for Reducing Utility Bills
You don't have to take cold showers or drop the long-distance plan to cut back on your utility bills. If you want to become a frugal utility user combine a number of these ideas to save money:
Check your utilities' billing statements for extra services (such as call forwarding or voice messaging on your phone bill) and cancel the services you don't need or use.
Order basic cable rather than the full cable service with high-priced premium channels.
Recycle your glass, paper, and cardboard trash to reduce the amount of garbage you need to pay to have hauled away each week.
Don't use operator assistance for placing long-distance calls unless absolutely necessary.
Keep curtains closed on south-facing windows during the heat of the day for a cooler house.
Cook with small appliances (toaster, microwave, slow cooker, electric skillet) in the summer instead of heating up the stove or oven and heating up your house unnecessarily.
Use a draft stopper at the bottom of all outside doors during the winter to keep the warm air inside and the chilling cold air outside.
Reach for a blanket or sweater when you're feeling cold, instead of immediately turning up the thermostat.
Fill your freezer completely for maximum efficiency. Fill empty milk jugs with water to take up empty space, if need be.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when you have full loads.
Fix leaky faucets and running toilets as soon as you detect a problem.


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Mid-Rail-Gantry Waterjet System
The mid-rail gantry is ballscrew-driven for higher accuracy. Its sturdy heavy-wall tubular steel construction reportedly eliminates vibration and increases longevity. It also features direct-couple AC brushless digital servo motors and single or double carriages. Critical bearing components are protected with heavy metal covers with brush seals.
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See also: Jet Edge Waterjet Systems
Related Enterprise Zones: Fabrication
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According to reports from Moveplayer.net, Samsung's rumored 12.2-inch slate has been dubbed as the Galaxy Note Pro. Previously we have seen reports that have highlighted the unveilment of a huge slate which is in the works; and at present comes into sight a purported image of this extra-large slate. It is difficult to reproduce the exactness and accurateness of Google's translated text, however it is reckoned that this 12.2-inch tablet will carry the same specs as the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition.
The device will feature in a 2,560×1,600 LCD display and will constitute 3GB of RAM. The tablet will run on the Android's latest version, Android 4.4 KitKat and will pack in a larger battery of (9,500 mAh). Continue reading


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ScratchWizard's high-quality touch up paint is perfect for repairing small automotive paint scuffs and scratches. Our touch up paint is formulated to match Original Equipment Manufacturer's (OEM) finish and ideal for exterior automotive spot, scratch or touchup repairs. ScratchWizard's touch up paint is high-gloss so clearcoat is not required for your small automotive paint repairs.
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New Topic: Big Breasted Heroines
Friday, December 3, 2010
A Day In The Life Of The Amazon Romance Boards
New Topic: Big Breasted Heroines
51 comments:
- Julia Rachel Barrett said...
ROTFLMAO! Are you serious? Or are you paraphrasing? Hilarious!
- December 3, 2010 at 1:12 PM
- Penelope said...
Hey Julia...actually, the scary thing is....this is pretty damned close to the insanity of those message boards! Not kidding!
- December 3, 2010 at 1:16 PM
omfg...soo funny! having been on the boards that is soo close to how it is...but you need to mix some more self-promoters in...
- December 3, 2010 at 1:22 PM
- Rachel said...
I think I love you :D
- December 3, 2010 at 1:23 PM
- Heather in FL said...
OMG that is hilarious!!! And sadly looks pretty accurate.
- December 3, 2010 at 2:19 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi Dee! It's been especially bad over there lately. Needed to let off some steam here...hee hee!
- December 3, 2010 at 3:24 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi Rachel and Heather....Thanks for stopping by!
- December 3, 2010 at 3:25 PM
- Patti (Book Addict) said...
Hahaha - love it! I never get around to the boards, I guess this is why :)
- December 3, 2010 at 3:28 PM
- Penelope said...
Patti...visit at your own risk!
- December 3, 2010 at 7:33 PM
- mftracy said...
Funniest bit I've read in a long, long time! I had to show it to my husband; he screams with laughter as I write this post!
And yes, this is a very accurate depiction of the amazon boards!!!!
- December 4, 2010 at 12:51 PM
- Penelope said...
mftracy....thanks for stopping by! Glad you liked the post!
- December 5, 2010 at 9:41 AM
- Barb said...
I think I need to have a look. I need a good laugh! Thanks for sharing....
- December 5, 2010 at 2:08 PM
Too funny! Makes me scared to venture over there.
- December 5, 2010 at 8:48 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi Barb and Lydia! Thanks for stopping by!! :)
- December 5, 2010 at 8:58 PM
- JenM said...
Hilarious and absolutely spot on. I used to read the boards for entertainment value while I was bored at work. Thanks for starting my day off with a laugh.
- December 6, 2010 at 9:02 AM
- KB/KT Grant said...
Bobby has big boobs! LOL
Funny thing is, I felt as if I was really reading the message boards at Amazon from this.
Kudos! Give us more!
- December 6, 2010 at 9:18 AM
- Bells said...
This post is absolutely hilarious! I'm re-reading it just in case I missed something! LMAO!!
- December 6, 2010 at 9:32 AM
- A Buckeye Girl Reads said...
This totally made my morning!
- December 6, 2010 at 9:33 AM
- Kwana said...
Ok you have killed me from laugher this morning. I'm dying but first I gotta go and read The History Of Bosnia.
- December 6, 2010 at 9:34 AM
- Penelope said...
Hi JenM...glad you liked it! :)
- December 6, 2010 at 12:42 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi KB...my favorite thing is the totally random stuff people throw out there.
- December 6, 2010 at 12:43 PM
- Penelope said...
Bells and A Buckeye Girl....thanks!
Kwana...my husband actually reads books like that for real. On the beach. No kidding. It's super embarrassing.
- December 6, 2010 at 12:44 PM
- KMont said...
This is one of the best things I've read the entire year, and I'm including my fictional reading! OMG, I'm LMAO! Trying to eat at the same time, too. Someone please get the paramedics on standby in case this lettuce goes down the wrong pipe.
- December 6, 2010 at 1:11 PM
- Mandi said...
I LOVE this..LOVE! OMG...this is so freaking spot on.
- December 6, 2010 at 1:15 PM
- Pamela {Spaz} said...
This made my Monday, thank you!!
- December 6, 2010 at 1:23 PM
- Eva / TXBookjunkie said...
OMG. So funny. And the sad thing is it's true!! *tears in eyes*
- December 6, 2010 at 2:45 PM
- Marq said...
HILARIOUS! I'm at work trying to hold in my laughter and failing miserably! Thanks for the great post.
- December 6, 2010 at 3:20 PM
- Penelope said...
Thanks, everyone! Glad I amused you today. :)
- December 6, 2010 at 4:16 PM
- Carolyn Crane said...
This is so funny! ROTFL. You rule!
- December 6, 2010 at 6:30 PM
- Laura said...
My degrees are in the physical sciences, but I might as well change my name to "Kitti". ;)
- December 6, 2010 at 11:34 PM
- Blodeuedd said...
Lol, omg I have to check out those boards! I can just see them being as crazy as this
- December 7, 2010 at 2:39 AM
- Penelope said...
Hey chickies! Thanks for stopping by....it's good to have a nickname if you're posting on the Ami boards!
- December 7, 2010 at 6:52 AM
- Nina Pierce said...
I've never been to the Amazon boards ... it looks like I've been missing some fine entertainment.
- December 7, 2010 at 9:58 AM
Too funny!! And too true..
- December 7, 2010 at 11:33 AM
- Kristie Leigh Maguire said...
You made my day with this! Reading the Amazon Boards are better than reading books! LOVE IT! Spot on!
Oh, BTW, I am an Indie Author and I wrote a book where the h had small boobs but I rewrote it after finding out about all those readers out there who preferred the h to have BIG BOOBS. In my revision, the h had breast implants and now she sports some really really HUGE knockers. Check it out!
- December 7, 2010 at 11:56 AM
- Carolyn said...
Oh my gosh, this was funny! Thanks for the laugh.
- December 7, 2010 at 1:33 PM
- pensees said...
This is hilarious! Where was the link to the History of Bosnia book? *grin* Oh, and BTW, Outlander rocks. Hee-hee!
- December 7, 2010 at 3:06 PM
- Kiersten said...
I always suspected The History of Bosnia had big breasts.
Hysterical post!
- December 7, 2010 at 3:53 PM
- Misfit said...
Very well done and I too felt like I was *there*.
- December 7, 2010 at 7:58 PM
- Marg said...
LOL! Very clever and funny!
- December 7, 2010 at 8:27 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by...glad you like the post!!!! :)
- December 7, 2010 at 8:41 PM
This was brilliant!!! Only someone who frequents the Amazon boards would be able to do this so well. :) Kudos to you!
- December 8, 2010 at 12:38 AM
- MiaMarlowe said...
Wickedly funny, my dear.
- December 8, 2010 at 5:43 AM
- Kaetrin said...
I've never even been to the Amazon message boards but I was laughing my ass off at this! thank you! :)
- December 8, 2010 at 10:58 PM
- Christina said...
I have never visited the Amazon Romance Boards but now will have to. Brilliant post! I loved it and now love you (in a non-stalking kind of way....unless of course you continue to post like this and then maybe just a little stalky).
- December 8, 2010 at 11:03 PM
- Penelope said...
Hey ladies, thanks for stopping by.
Mia...you know I am a little bit wicked. hee hee
Hi Kaetrin....it's a whole other (scary) world over there.
Hi Christine....thanks! :)
- December 9, 2010 at 6:50 AM
- GABY said...
Hahaha! I just have to go and check the romance boards on amazon ;)
- December 11, 2010 at 8:15 AM
That was hilarious!!
- December 12, 2010 at 12:59 PM
- Sondrae Bennett said...
This is hillarious! Rolling on the floor hillarious. The only thing you missed is the person who thinks everyone is the author of the book they recommend...even if it's like a Nora Roberts book or some other popular author. Great post!
- January 24, 2011 at 8:46 PM
- Penelope said...
Hi Sondrae...I'm glad you found my post! Yep, I know what you mean. Everyone is so freakin' suspicious over there!
- January 25, 2011 at 10:50 AM
- Tammys said...
Thank you for making my morning a little easier to wake up to!!:D
- March 18, 2011 at 8:37 AM


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text:
Peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, "The Bachelor" and "Big Brother." Two great tastes that taste great together.
ABC has ordered a spinoff of "The Bachelor" titled "Bachelor Pad." The show takes 20 of your favorite former "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" contestants, shoves them into a house and has them compete in challenges, many inspired by incidents from past seasons of the show, to find out what happens when people stop being polite at rose ceremonies and start getting real.
Each episode, like on "Big Brother," ends with an eviction. We can't wait to hear what the catchphrase for that is going it be. How about "Every rose has its thorns and this one just pricked you. Please pack your board shorts and go cry in the limo"?
U.S. & World
Executive producer Martin Hilton said the concept, which is the first "all-stars" reunion series for the franchise, was inspired by the real-life relationships that have continued among former "Bachelor" casts.
"All these people have been friends, been enemies, they date each other and bring all this great backstory to the show," Hilton said. "It seemed like there was an opportunity to combine that world with a new competitive reality show." Each episode will conclude with evictions from the residence.
Seven episodes, which Chris Harrison will host, are tentatively expected to premiere in the late summer coming out of the "Bachelorette" finale.
Names of the cast have not yet been released, but Hilton said that top players, including former winners, are on board. We've got our fingers crossed for the return of Graham Bunn (who we liked to call "Bunns of Funn") and Jeremy Anderson from DeAnna's season of the "Bachelorette."


text:
BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
- FeatureBy the Numbers: Compliance, FRCP and ediscovery issues
- FeatureStorage feels heat from FRCP rules
- FeatureBest Storage Products of 2007
- FeatureStorage staffing shortage looms
- FeatureSurvey Says: Deduplication, VTL top wish list
- FeatureHot Storage Skills
- FeatureSync Up Virtual Servers and Storage
- FeatureSun gambles on open source for storage
- FeatureAsk the Expert: Concurrent write access
- FeatureUsers still wary about LTO-4 encryption
- FeatureSnapshot: Data protection SLAs on the upswing
- FeatureMore Than Just Backup
- FeatureProtecting virtual machines
- FeatureStorage services options grow
- FeatureHot Spots: A new level of backup reporting
- FeatureBest Practices: The year ahead: Green power, weak dollars and more apps
- FeatureStorage Bin 2.0: Time for RAID to die
- FeatureEditorial: Whaddaya mean you can't find it?
iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Best Practices: The year ahead: Green power, weak dollars and more apps
Tighter budgets could mean some belt-tightening in your storage shop. To save money, you might have to spend a little to take advantage of some of the key trends for 2008: virtualization, green storage and storage as a service.
- Ashish Nadkarni, IDC
| In 2008, are you willing to spend money to save money?
I see two categories of IT departments this year: those who will sign up for a technology refresh and those who feel their last upgrades were extensive enough to let them sit tight in 2008. For IT departments that have marked 2008 as the year to upgrade, it could be a mixed bag. New technology is like the latest toy--it offers a fresh set of features to utilize. However, being an early adopter has risks such as compatibility issues and/or unavailability of the features you currently have on the existing platform. Many vendors announce a refresh with fine print stating delayed availability for certain new or improved features. Whatever the reason for the upgrade, make sure you'll benefit from it.
Also expect accelerated adoption of updated speeds and feeds for IP and Fibre Channel (FC) SANs. Vendors now offer cards and ports that work at (faster) full line speeds, so selective updates may allow you to update only those components that provide benefits to servers that can push the real-life maximum of a storage port or host bus adapter (HBA). The rule of two (i.e., two HBAs per server) used to work well because most servers could hardly push anywhere close to 200MB/sec. With the advent of faster CPUs, backplanes and buses, that rule needs to be revisited. When systems are refreshed, ensure there's adequate bandwidth between the servers and storage.
Virtual everything
Systems virtualization will also bring with it speedier adoption of iSCSI. iSCSI has been quietly making inroads into the FC space and will continue to do so while keeping a clear demarcation between its functions vs. those of FC. It's only a matter of time before storage teams will need to deal with both technologies concurrently, if not already.
But storage virtualization seems to have reached a bit of a plateau. Most big vendors have released roadmaps for their products. We know the virtualization strategy that vendors like EMC, HDS, Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM and Network Appliance are pursuing. So unless someone announces a major change in direction, this space will remain relatively calm. Adoption will rise, but not at a surprising rate.
If you implement storage virtualization this year, do it for the right reasons: not because it's cool, but because it offers the ability to create homogeneous storage pools, seamless data mobility and, more importantly, storage tiers that can be tied to the business value of the data they store.
The open-source movement will also play a bigger role in the storage world. Several firms, such as IBM and Sun, are contributing significantly to open-source software. The Aperi project, for example, is aimed at creating an open-source suite of storage management apps.
Another technology to watch is ATA over Ethernet (AoE). The rise of Linux and the need for low-cost storage has resulted in AoE getting high praise. The technology brings with it open-source AoE tools, and storage from vendors such as Coraid that's relatively cheap and easier to deploy than FC or iSCSI. Coraid claims the deployment cost of AoE is less than $0.64/GB.
If you're upgrading your systems, power and heat consumption should make it to the top of your list of important criteria. I believe environmental issues will bubble to the top of most vendors' marketing messages and will eventually force them to improve their products. Disk vendors will also be forced to introduce drives that consume less power and generate less heat. It shouldn't be that difficult to take a cue from CPU manufacturers!
I'm not saying everyone will jump into storage as a service, but this could very well be the year that redefines the market. It will likely start with consumer products and services, and eventually make its way to small- to medium-sized businesses and then perhaps to the enterprise. There are plenty of things to be resolved--chief among them being security--but nothing is impossible. If the cost of managing storage in-house is a big burden to your organization, this may become an attractive option as the offerings mature.
So that's what to expect this year. The industry could have a surprise in store for 2008 that would make for a fantastic splash. But if history is any indication, storage professionals will take measured steps in adopting newer technologies, waiting until they're tried and tested, especially when some economic indicators have people watching their wallets. If it's any consolation, at least we have the Olympics to watch for excitement.


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Obama skeptical over Ukraine deal
President Obama expressed skepticism Thursday over a possible diplomatic deal over Ukraine and indicated that he remains ready to impose new sanctions on Russia if necessary.
"My hope is that we actually do see follow-through over the next several days, but I don't think -- given past performance -- that we can count on that," Obama said during a White House news conference.
As for possible consequences, Obama said that "we have to be prepared to potentially respond to what continues to be, you know, efforts of interference by the Russians in eastern and southern Ukraine."
The president also said: "I think I've been very clear that military options are not on the table in Ukraine, because this is not a situation that would be amenable to a clear military solution."
Obama said he spoke Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and planned to speak with British Prime Minister David Cameron about options regarding Russia and Ukraine.
The president's statement came just a few hours after Secretary of State John Kerry announced that diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States had agreed to a series of steps aimed at de-escalating the violence in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Obama, Kerry and their aides have said they will move to put more economic sanctions on Russia if they do not stop fomenting violence in neighboring Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the U.S. allegations of interference and protested what he calls the poor treatment of ethnic Russians by the Ukraine government.
During his news conference, Obama said it is up to Putin to reduce tensions in the region:
"Our strong preference would be for Mr. Putin to follow through on what is a glimmer of hope coming out of these Geneva talks, but we're not going to count on it until we see it," Obama said. "And in the meantime, we're going to prepare what our other options are."