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Outlook 2007 Issues

I know I am a little behind here, but wanted to make sure you all are aware of the recent changes in the way email is displayed in Outlook2007 as opposed to Outlook 2003. A more in depth synopsis is available through the DM News, but here are the main concerns:

Outlook 2003 used word to create messages and internet explorer to display HTML, 2007 on the other hand use Word to create and display HTML.
This means -
No background image support
No flash or other plug ins
No up to date CSS support

That being said, your email messages may look nothing like what you originally sent, to an Outlook 2007 reader.

Steps you can take to avoid an indecipherable method: Take the time (I know, no one has any) to use very simple HTML when designing your templates. Not only will this have a shot at being displayed properly, spam filters LOVE clean HTML. The cleaner, the better chance of your email being delivered in the first place. Send a test to a friend that has 2007 and have her take a screenshot for you and make changes accordingly. Test, test, test until you achieve the results you are happy with. Also, always include a link to “view as a webpage” Swiftpage automatically adds this link to every email template that is sent through our system.

Small Business Marketing Quote for the Week

“The last thing we want is to build the Tic-Tac-Toe equivalent of software, when the user ultimately wants to play Chess.” by Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users on the ease of use factor in building software.

Built for the long run

Is your product/service built for the long run?  Are you willing to alienate potential clients in order to further your story?  I’m not saying you should, just saying you should think about your story and if you are doing anything that may be compromising it.

Brand Heirarchy

David Armano is putting together a presentation on the differences between influential power of A list, B list, and C list bloggers and I felt like it was a nice metaphor for your brand as well.

“The bigger point that I want to make is that bloggers at each level command a “sphere of influence”.  The higher the “level”, the more people are exposed to a blogger’s influence.”

Isn’t this true for your brand and your competition?  How large is your sphere of influence and who is feeding it?

Sales Tip

Now that you’ve purchased a contact management solution like ACT!, productivity is going to increase, you will know exactly where a lead is in the sales cycle, sales associates will have distinct plans laid out for each day, etc.  Right?  Right?

Not unless you have taken the time -

Taken the time to set up the proper process to manage these scenarios.  Define your process, your customers, you cycle and ask yourself questions along the way.  Take the time…it’s well worth it.

One Man Band

In small business it is likely that members of your team are playing more than one role.  It is also likely that you need to be incredibly smart and strategic when thinking about what department you need to beef up.

Where do you pool your resources?

Sales - do you hire an outbound team, make inbound stronger?
Marketing - do you hire an analyst and pour money into search?
Development - How would another engineer affect new product?

Where do you beef up?

Business Landscape

As you are growing your business this year, It’s important to learn about how business is done around the world.  If you have a website, you can guarantee that you are recieving international traffic.  After all, it is the world wide web.

Here is an entertaining recap of Doing business in 2006 by Guy kawasaki.

Segment before they are recorded

What trackable marketing channels are you using to drive customers to your site - Search (PPC), performance based programs (affiliates), traditional online media buys (CPM advertising) etc…

Do you have different landing pages for each campaign?  As you capture names for further marketing, why don’t you tag each customer before they are entered into your ACT! database.  Why?

Qualification

The customer that comes in through search channels is certainly different than the customer reading a newsletter and clicking on a banner ad.  Wouldn’t you like to seperate the customer that is actively seeking a solution you provide with the customer that is attracted to a flashy banner?  Not to say the customer that clicks on your banner is not qualified…but they are different.

Target them differently.