The Gilman Company Blog

Technology in Your 2010 Strategic Plan: Quick Tip

It's that time again folks. If you're not already immersed in your 2010 strategic plan, it's still not too late to get started or to integrate a few overlooked elements.

Incidentally, The Gilman Company is offering a unique complimentary 2010 strategic plan to a limited number of companies who qualify. If you would like to learn more about a complimentary 2010 strategic plan for your company, please feel free to contact me.

If your fundamental approach to technology isn't in the strategic plan mix, well, it's just not done yet. Whether your a small service company or a large developer, technology in your strategic plan is a great way to sort out substantial cost savings, open new market segments or expand marketing in a cost effective way. Here, you can build on current technology resources or enhance them, close the doors on outdated and inefficient resources or earmark some budget dollars to develop a new approach.

Staff is a critical element of an effective technology plan. It could be training or talent acquisition. When you're looking at staff in terms of technology, a good balance of non-human technology resources and human resources is important if you want to leverage technology in the most effect way for your organization. There's little point in hiring a hot shot programmer if your software or hardware properties aren't up to par.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Why I Like Apple, Even if Begrudgingly

Apple experience 1: The second generation iPod, my first Apple, changed the way I relate to music on a fundamental level. Back then, the iPod was a brick and the user interface wasn't color. But it gave me an experience with music that, up to that point, I didn't think possible. Since then, the iPod and iTunes haven't improved much beyond more storage software whistles and bells. Either way, I still can't imagine another device playing a larger role in the way I relate to music.

Apple experience 2: After several generations of iPods, yep, the second generation iPhone. This mobile device changed the way I relate to mobile communication from the ground up and, honestly, the telephonic abilities of this device is the least interesting thing about it.

Yet, I, like legions of other computer users, am faced with the need of a new computer from time to time, a desktop or a laptop. The problem for Apple: I'm good at keeping a PC in good shape, I'm fine with point and shoot images that are 90% there and I'm not in the recording business. Here, an Apple computer will not change my life anymore than switching to a Zoon would.

A little bit "first in time" or a little unparalleled innovation can last a lifetime.

Get a Gilman consultation.

How to Make it Better vs. How to Make it

Rethinking an existing system, product or process from the ground up can be especially enlightening if this product or system has been in place for some time. Rather than trying to to discover a way or ways to make something better, complete an exercise in developing that same thing from the ground up based on current technology or the latest innovations.

What's the point? Technology and innovation move quickly. Chances are, an "old faithful" system or product could have been drastically improved upon a long time ago. By letting a product or system go without innovation, you could be dealing with a substantial amount of easily achieved and unrealized value. Also, a commitment to innovation will mean your transition to improving systems, products or processes will be less disruptive to your enterprise.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Recharacterizing the PC

Dell is taking a hit and the culprit is likely a greater demand for low-end PCs from non-commercial buyers. Of course, the economic downturn is a player, but even more so, could it be that a fundamental change is taking place in the minds of PC buyers?

Coming full circle, the PC is about getting basic things done. Really, the high end bells and whistles come up short more often than not for home users and the the advent and flood, or perhaps more importantly the idea of netbooks has effected a change in the way people think about personal computing. Dell's problem here may not be so much about the machines, but more about the machine users.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and write that most non-commercial users don't know how to leverage the power of a high end machine. Here, high end machines aren't realizing actual value. Microsoft's cumbersome operating systems play a part in this problem. Selling the machine to vendors before it's sold to the user is probably another one. Trying to generate revenues outside of core products typically presents a challenge.

PC users are making especially practical buying decisions and most have been there and done that. Welcome to the new, re-characterized PC.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Google Adopts "Innovation Reviews"

Flipping through the print edition of the Wall Street Journal, it's interesting to see that Google is reorganizing its effort to leverage the ideas its employees come up with. The fact that Google encourages its staff to take one work day a week to work on projects that are not related to their jobs has led to some interesting innovations. But how do you harness the value of those ideas? After all, Twitter was developed by former Google employees. If your Google, you harness those ideas by managing your innovation resources. Here, the company has drawn more dotted lines to senior management and executives and a process is developed that lets innovation easily trickle up for review by executives.

This process certainly puts more responsibility on senior management and executives, but when your competitors are biting at your heels and you've invested a lot on employing the best of the best, you want to make sure that very little or none of the innovation you're paying for slips away. This issue of managing innovation, also marks a unique problem for rapidly growing companies and intellectual property.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Minimum Pricing Deals on the Block: Manufacturers Tame the Internet

That's right. Consumers have gone to the Internet in search of better deals and online retailers are giving it to them. Now, since some who use the Internet to sell products have found ways to increase efficiencies, reduce supply chain costs and make a profit by selling for way less, the U.S. Senate, responding to manufacturer complaints, is considering a bill related to fixed pricing.

The problem, if you're a big name manufacturer, is that some online sellers have innovated to the extent that they can offer a pricing model that turns MSRPs upside down. If you sell enough Gucci handbags at 40% off, this starts to change the retail value of Gucci handbags in the minds of consumers. Retail forums like eBay are a perfect example of this. As manufacturers attempt to control pricing and manage consumer values, some merchants are going so low that pricing alone is causing accusations of counterfeiting.

Of course, there is a line separating manufacturer pricing policies and Antitrust, but it's nearly impossible, especially for smaller retailers, to show that certain agreed upon manufacturer minimum pricing policies are illegal.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Image File Names as SEO Strategy

This blogger has worked with a number of companies who are interested in optimizing search engine results. Who isn't, right? You've put a lot of effort into making your site look great and getting it to do everything you want it to. Great, but one of the most common SEO issues I regularly see has to do with image file names.

Guess how many image searches on Google happen in comparison to basic "Web" searches? Yep, a lot of them. Now guess how many images on professional websites, e-commerce sites and catalogs still have file names like ".../images/DSCN465872.jpg." Yes, a lot of those too. When Google image queries happen, they look to the file name. Here, the problem is that no one searches for "DSCN46587" or "image_457" or "7856941".

People do search for things like "triton bicycle" and a file name that includes "triton_bicycle" will give this image a fighting chance.

Get a Gilman consultation.

SEO: Things that Matter

Here, a few search engine optimization considerations that matter when it comes to your site. These are some of the considerations that web site owners often overlook.

1. Size Matters: most advanced search engines take font size into consideration.

2. Placement Matters: generally, the content that you have toward the top of the page is given more importance. However, this blogger has seen cases where content from the very bottom of the page is grabbed by Google as a site description (the words just under the link in Google search results).

3. Bold Matters: Search engines recognize bold text as text that is more important than text that is not bold.

4. Page Titles Matter: Look in the title bar of the web browser when you visit your web page. Whatever content you have there will show up as the link text in your Google search results. Example: Visit The Gilman Company website. In the title bar it says, "Welcome to the Gilman Company" Now search Google for "Gilman Company." On the first page of results, you'll see "Welcome to the Gilman Company".

5. Sentences Matter: The days of simple keyword use on your site are over. Google and other search engines wised up and now look for actual writing, actual sentences.

Note: Search engine technology is very smart. Trying to beat the system with overdoing any specific technique typically doesn't work. Also, don't forget that your visitors still have to consume the information on your site and going overkill with one or more technique can turn your visitors off.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Your Technology: Who Benefits?

Nine times out of ten, corporate technology based solutions are designed to improve processes internally, to make thing easier, more efficient and productive. The next time you're sitting across the table from your IT director, ask about applying your technology in a way that directly benefits your customers, not just your company internally. The knee jerk technology based solution is what makes you're life easier, what makes you look good. An alternative analysis for a technology based solution is what might benefit your customers.

Get a Gilman consultation.

Marketing Profile: The Unsuccessful Database Pimp

You’ve been pimping the same database for a years. Yes, you. You bounce thousands of messages every time. You’re not ICANN compliant and a good number of the messages you happen to get through never meet an eyeball, but go directly to one of the many black holes of marketing, this one called “Junk Mail.” You are an unsuccessful database pimp.

Although you may not technically be a “spammer,” you apply the same success ratio mentality as spammers. Every time you get a few thousand messages through, it does create a successful lead or two. When the successes get far and few between, as they always do, you dump more mildly relevant data into your database and keep on truckin’.

Fret not! There is hope. Here’s what you do. Establish a “permission marketing” approach. Commit to a more targeted approach to marketing. Segment your marketing campaign. More data is always better, but better data is always best.

Get a Gilman consultation.