The Juggling Entrepreneurs

If you rely on your newsletter for a significant amount of traffic to your website or product purchase, you need to focus more time on your subscribers’ reading habits than the actual content in the newsletter.

According to MarketingSherpa, Travelocity is an innovator when it comes mass emails. They constantly tweak their email campaigns, Low Fare Alert and Farewatchers, so that subscribers get the right mix of emails.

Here is an overview of Travelocity’s strategy.

• Identify what subject line gets the highest open rate.
• Determine how much of a price drop is significant to a subscriber.  For a domestic flight, $20 is significant, but it isn’t for an international flight.
• Limit the number emails to the subscriber so they don’t get annoyed and stop opening them.
• Capturing the subscriber’s IP address (geocoding) and their activities so they can target the right flights for Fare Watcher.
• Strategic placement of price offer in the email for maximum impact.

Source: “Email 2.0: Travelocity Takes It Up a Notch - Improvements & Results,” MarketingSherpa, March 27, 2007.

Every year Business 2.0 releases what they interpret as the 101 dumbest moments in business.    It is a good time to freshen up your own business.

By reading some of these stories, you don’t just get a laugh, but a reality check.  Many of them could have been prevented.

• Hire an outside consultant to review the security of your servers and computers annually.   Think of it as insurance - it costs much less to do routine checks than to pay for the consequences of a security breech.
• Ask your friends and relatives for feedback on your marketing campaigns.
• Review how you handle customer or prospect calls.  Are you responding to them in a timely manner?
• Brainstorm the possible outcomes of a project - including the negative ones.
• Always remember the phrase:  “Bad news travels faster.”

Take a look.  Browse the worst moments in customer service or the top 10 dumbest moments.

Feel free to comment on other techniques to prevent bloopers such as the ones noted by Business 2.0.

Startup Nation release a tip sheet last week for smart, effective office designs for those of us who have clients visit their offices.

Some important tips include:

• Staying within your budget.
• Limit personal items.  It is a professional business, not your home.
• Purchase modular furniture.  This type of furniture can be moved to new facilities as your business grows.
• Add a touch of your favorite color. After all it is your space.
• Try out the furniture your clients sit in.  Make sure they don’t get a glare from windows or lamps.
• Check out Wi-Fi.  It is impressive if your clients can fire up their computers easily.
• Make sure your floor plan works.  It is a hassle to get to the printer you use often?
• Pay attention to details.  Does you client feel intimidated?  Are you giving them a feeling of privacy?

The tip sheet article also has links to some online office design sources.