Built consumer awareness by optimizing high advertising spend across multiple channels

HotJobs had great success using banner advertising in 1997, but significantly decreased their spending in this channel for a few years when advertising prices began to skyrocket in 1998. A year later, they had great success advertising in the Super Bowl. Their ad cost $400K to produce and $1.6M to air – in a year where the company generated $2.5M in revenue. The ad drew a huge number of visitors to the site even during the game, which came as a surprise to the executive team. HotJobs also achieved great press after the Super Bowl as they were the only advertiser to make their creative available to the press, who used it in news stories reviewing Super Bowl advertising.

via » HotJobs Case Study: Vertical market entry strategy the key – Startup Review Blog.

This is a great example of how effective advertising can be when done in the right way and at the right time.  The important thing to remember from this example is also how much risk the company was taking.  They invested over half of their annual revenue to what was most likely only a 30 second spot.  You’ve got to plan things out extremely well and then take the risk.

In order to ensure a sufficiently large supply of listings, HotJobs gave the product away for free to the first 100 corporate customers.  Many corporate recruiters would then refer consumers to HotJobs.

What’s the lesson to be learned here?  You MUST find ways to incentivize  your clients.  That’s a good principle all around.  Building trust and creating incentive is the foundation for a successful business.

• Talk with employees to verify daily tasks. Go through normal operations with them at their desks and verify where data is stored (mapped drive letters, local, etc.)
• Get all existing documentation on usernames, passwords, accounts (e-mail, software vendors, etc.)

Deliverables:

• Updated (or newly created) documentation of usernames, passwords, accounts, etc.
  • Server username/password
    
  • Host/ISP login information for managing domain, hosting, etc.
  • e-mail account information
    • Mail server dns info. Ie: mail.domain.com
    • Any special settings needed to configure e-mail account.
    • All e-mail account usernames and corresponding passwords.

   

   

• Uses Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express.
• Departments in ESC = Classes in QuickBooks.  Add in departments in ESC with the EXACT SAME NAMES as your classes in quickbooks and it will work as expected.  No further setup required.
  

  Departments in ESC link with Classes in QuickBooks

• Don’t change the account #’s for the setup of ESC.
• For synchronizing customers choose the last option -> “Import jobs entered in QuickBooks as address locations AND jobs in ESC”  That way everything is imported and if you don’t use address locations or jobs it won’t hurt anything.  They’ll just sit as unused accounts in ESC.
• Non-Inventory stock items in QuickBooks are treated as “Billing Codes”.  Can create as many Billing Codes as you want, but they won’t import over.  The inventory stock items will all import over.
• After they’re linked if you add a customer in ESC it automatically gets added into QuickBooks.  Does not go in reverse automatically though.  You’d have to import again.
• Under the Customer Information screen click on “New Loc” to add another location for service.  You will have just the one billing location that is put into QuickBooks and the additional locations for service will only be kept in ESC.  QuickBooks won’t know about them cause it doesn’t matter for billing (the other locations).
• Under “Customer Info”, “Setup Jobs” you can set up those special cases where you actually want to track the cost associated with other locations even though they are billed to someone else.  This will create an indentation in QuickBooks under the location for billing.  (In the case below as an example Susie Smith would be the person to bill, and Bill Smith would be another location where work is performed but that we want to track for costing, etc. for his location even though he isn’t being billed.  Just for job costing purposes.  So, in ESC there are two options.  You can either set it up as a “New Location” using the “New Loc” button under the Customer Information screen if you don’t care to track it as a job in QuickBooks.  Or, you can set it up as a job under “Customer Info”, “Setup Jobs” if you do want to track it in QuickBooks as a job under the billable customer. (the job could be for the billable customer or someone else that they are paying for)
• Susie Smith
  • Bill smith
• Can import inventory costs from QuickBooks only by using the import/export ASCII option.  More involved.  Have to match fields, etc.  (There’s another tutorial somewhere that was mentioned in the webcast. -> “Data Conversion Guide”)
• I need to look into the “Caller ID Feature” to auto screen-pop the customer qualification information when the customer calls.
• 
  

Not sure if I should spend the time to evaluate at this point… -> Evaluate ParaScale

Alfresco Community Edition 3.2 Podcast

July 9th, 2009 by Ian Howells

Alfresco Community Edition 3.2 has major new functionality in the areas of:

• Enhanced Records Management
• Mobile Access
• Email Client Access and Archiving via IMAP support
• Enhanced CMIS Support
• Extranet Collaboration
• WCM Parallel Deployment with significant performance improvements

and is what we recommend for all new and existing community members.

It is immediately available for download at:

http://www.alfresco.com/32

via Open Source Talk.

I listened to the podcast and I really want to have this solution be a part of what I offer from BrinTech.  Need to do the Microsoft SBS first, then this is the second priority.

Implementation of an ERP System

Implementing an ERP system is not an easy task to achieve, in fact it takes lots of planning, consulting and in most cases 3 months to 1 year +. ERP systems are extraordinary wide in scope and for many larger organizations can be extremely complex. Implementing an ERP system will ultimately require significant changes on staff and work practices. While it may seem reasonable for an in house IT staff to head the project, it is widely advised that ERP implementation consultants be used, due to the fact that consultants are usually more cost effective and are specifically trained in implementing these types of systems.

One of the most important traits that an organization should have when implementing an ERP system is ownership of the project. Because so many changes take place and its broad effect on almost every individual in the organization, it is important to make sure that everyone is on board and will help make the project and using the new ERP system a success.

Usually organizations use ERP vendors or consulting companies to implement their customized ERP system. There are three types of professional services that are provided when implementing an ERP system, they are Consulting, Customization and Support.

Consulting Services – usually consulting services are responsible for the initial stages of ERP implementation, they help an organization go live with their new system, with product training, workflow, improve ERP’s use in the specific organization, etc.

Customization Services – Customization services work by extending the use of the new ERP system or changing its use by creating customized interfaces and/or underlying application code. While ERP systems are made for many core routines, there are still some needs that need to be built or customized for an organization.

Support Services- Support services include both support and maintenance of ERP systems. For instance, trouble shooting and assistance with ERP issues.

via http://www.tech-faq.com/erp.shtml

Some ERP Systems:

OpenDNS and content filtering Filtering adult content and other unwanted sites on a network is one of the greatest advantages to using OpenDNS. With a free account, you can manage your networks in the Dashboard, setting custom preferences all the way down to the individual public IP address.

via OpenDNS > Use OpenDNS > Best Practices.

Regarding our responsibility to our employers, President Hinckley said: “You have an obligation. Be honest with your employer. Do not do Church work on his time.”7

via Priesthood Responsibilities.

Two of my favorite verses of scripture are in the twenty-fourth Psalm:

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.” (Ps. 24:3–4; see also Alma 5:19.)

If we refrain from evil acts, we have clean hands. If we refrain from forbidden thoughts, we have pure hearts. Those who would ascend and stand in the ultimate holy place must have both.  What do these teachings about feelings and desires mean for each of us?

Are we sure to be guiltless under the law of God if we merely refrain from evil acts? What if we entertain evil thoughts and desires?

Will hateful feelings go unnoticed in the day of judgment? Will envy? Will covetousness?

Are we guiltless if we engage in business practices that are intended to deceive, even if they involve no act that is punishable by law?

Are we guiltless under the law of God just because the law of man provides no compensation for our victim?

Are we eligible for blessings if we seem to seek the things of God, such as by preaching or publishing the message of the gospel, but do so to obtain riches or honor rather than with an eye single to his glory?

Our answers to such questions illustrate what we might call the bad news, that we can sin without overt acts, merely by our feelings and the desires of our hearts.

There is also good news. Under the law of God, we can be rewarded for righteousness even where we are unable to perform the acts that are usually associated with such blessings.

The desires of our hearts will be an important consideration in the final judgment. Alma taught that God “granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; … according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction. Yea, … he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires.” (Alma 29:4–5.)

That is a sobering teaching, but it is also a gratifying one. It means that when we have done all that we can, our desires will carry us the rest of the way. It also means that if our desires are right, we can be forgiven for the mistakes we will inevitably make as we try to carry those desires into effect. What a comfort for our feelings of inadequacy! As Alma said:

“It is requisite with the justice of God that … if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good. …

“If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness.” (Alma 41:3, 5–6.)

via lds.org -> “The Desires of Our Hearts” Dallin H. Oaks  June, 1986