I typically don’t like reading anything classified as a “business book”.  Sometimes these books are how-tos, and by page 10 I realize that I can’t possibly implement the “system” that the author is pushing.  Sometimes these books are success stories or autobiographies, and while I like a good story as much as the next guy, I simply get bored reading 400 pages about one person’s life.  Sometimes these books are thought leadership or educational pieces, and while I am certainly in constant pursuit of knowledge, I find that most of these books contain repackaged content from someone or somewhere else. 

I received Outliers as a Christmas gift, and picked it up yesterday around 6 PM.  Knocked out 100 pages when I was supposed to be doing a variety of other things on a Sunday night.  I obviously haven’t finished the book yet, but I am excited enough about what I’ve read that I had to write about it. 

Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point and Blink, simply does what he always does – he makes you think about the world in a way that you likely haven’t thought about it.  And he never does it in an “I’m a genius, so I have to write about extremely complex, hard-to-understand subjects” type of way.  He takes simple success stories - Bill Gates and The Beatles for example – and he exposes you to reasons for their success that you likely never would have dreamt up.   

I am already feeling like it’s a bit unfair to write about this until I finish the book, so I’ll stop there and come back with a full review later.  In the meantime, if you’re a stats geek who also enjoys stories that dig below the surface, pick it up.  If nothing else, I promise you’ll be entertained. 

Had a discussion with a professional services firm today regarding a problem they’re experiencing.  The problem revolves around a very simple yet often overlooked page on the typical company website – the contact form.  This company recently redesigned their website, and while site traffic has been rising, their lead volume from these site contact forms has been declining.  As a matter of fact, the numbers from their web analytics package were pretty staggering – in the last month alone, 476 page views of the contact page, and only 3 form submissions.

While we looked under a bunch of rocks to rule out other problems, one look at the contact page told me everything I needed to know.  Here are the problems, and the prescribed medication:

Problem #1: The page is waaaay too crowded.  Lots of links, lots of imagery, lots of reasons to leave.

Solution #1: Treat someone sitting on your contact page like someone sitting at your cash register ready to make a purchase, except in this case remove the Snickers bars, the US Weekly and the Chapstick display.  Remove all clutter other than the essentials.

Read the rest of this entry »

Color me surprised by the following stats released by comScore:

I am not all that surprised that search, as an e-commerce sales driver, is a bit down in 2008.  The search space is getting more and more cluttered, cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition prices are rising, and at the same time many companies are cutting budgets.

The surprise is in the email marketing category.  We all complain that we’re getting more and more email, and most of it remains boring, irrelevant and impersonal.  While these figures may simply reflect a heavier use of email by etailers, perhaps what we’re seeing is marketers getting smarter about email.  Maybe marketers are finally embracing the one-to-one customer relationships that email can nurture if the audience is chosen carefully, the content is relevant and timely, and the overall communication personalized for each recipient.

Wishful thinking on my part?

MediaPost ran a quick column today that summarizes some thoughts from Michael Roth, Chairman/CEO of the Interpublic Group of Companies.  In case you’re not aware, Interpublic is one of the big four advertising agency holding companies, claiming agencies like Deutsch, Hill Holliday and McCann Erickson under its massive umbrella.  Amongst other things, Roth discusses media becoming a commodity, and notes that the winners in the media business (and thus the winners of client media dollars) will be those marketers and agencies who can command the lowest cost for that media.  Here is a link to the full article:

Interpublic Chief Paints Media as a ‘Commodity’

Now, while I tend to agree with the premise that media is fast becoming a commodity, I disagree with a few of Roth’s statements, such as:

“I think that’s what you are seeing right now is clients are demanding to see where their dollars are being spent,” Roth said during a presentation at Tuesday’s session of UBS’ “Media Week” conference in New York.

OK, so while this is true, I find it a bit odd that the demand to see where dollars are being spent is a “new” request.  Were the Fortune 500 type clients of Interpublic NOT asking to see where their dollars were being spent prior to this financial crisis we’re in?  Yikes.

Read the rest of this entry »