Are you using Mailchimp for outreach to your various target audiences ?
If so…you need to contact us.
The integration between MergedAnalytics and Mailchimp will help you close more business.
MailChimp integrates with MergedAnaytics
Take a Breath With Joe and Thom Episode 1
For the past 20 years I begin my day having what usually turns into a deep conversation with my business partner Thom Stallings.
Our conversations cover everything from business ideas, trends , concerns , spirituality, meditation , what we do for leisure , motivation techniques, what is going on with our families and how we try to stay in the best physical as well as mental shape possible.
Our first episode of “Take a Breath with Thom and Joe” is centered around how the Covid-19 has affected our lives both at home and professionally.
What are some of the ways you have “taken a breath” during this time?
When the Sun Rises Again
I understand that this NOT the time to sell anyone on how great a product/service is for your sales and marketing efforts.
If I was selling ventilators and masks…I would be donating them right now however that is not the business I am in. My contribution at the moment is keeping my family and myself home.
I would also argue that even in good times….your sales approach should never comprise of an in your face aggressive proposition. I dislike it when I am referred to as a “sales guy”. I also hate the feeling of being a victim of a “hard sell”no matter what it is…even if I need whatever was being sold to me.
To me when someone is referred to as a “sales guy” I automatically think of someone who I would never want to buy anything from whatever it is they sell.
The best sales people allow their customer to feel like you discovered for yourself that you need whatever it is they are selling. Forgive me for the cliche…but it needs to be a “win/win” for both parties. Everyone should feel they won.
If you are in sales and marketing as I am ….I understand we are in a stressful existential crisis. We are trying to push through this time any way possible and continue to do our jobs which is to still produce albeit from home.
PRE Crisis….if you were NOT yet understanding the Company Names and in some cases Email Addresses of the people who click the links you post to social media and place in your emails as well as the pages they clicked on your website…now really may be the time to think about setting this up.
Additionally…if you are getting that type of intelligence but you are paying thousands of dollars per month for it…now could be the time to explore less expensive but equally effective options.
I was proactively contacted by a resort yesterday who voluntarily shut their doors because of the corona virus. They are already looking into the future for when they reopen.
During this down time….they have begun to market their resort to businesses in hopes companies will become aware of their resort when they start to book conferences once again.
In taking the long term approach…I have provided consulting at no charge as well as an extension for our free trial version so they can use MergedAnalytics at no charge for the time being until they are back on their feet.
It is always darkest before the dawn. Even at the lowest of the low points….there is always hope and the sun will rise once again.
In 1918 the Spanish Flu was a devastating pandemic that also presented an existential crisis.
At some point the sun rose and gave birth to the roaring 20’s.
Use this time to prepare yourself so that when we do return to normalcy…you hit the ground running.
I would be happy to provide multiple free consultations about how you can make the most of your website and the urls you post to social media sites and place in your emails.
MergedAnalytics – What about EMAIL ADDRESSES?
MergedAnalytics is a tool that delivers sales and marketing Intelligence.
Specifically….we deliver the COMPANY NAMES of the people who click the URLs you post to Social Media Sites as well as in your Emails plus the pages they click through on your website.
We deliver this intelligence using our own proprietary technology that is based off of the IP addresses of the people clicking through your posted URLs and website pages.
But what about the EMAIL ADDRESSES of the people doing all that clicking.
Especially right now with the world working from their homes where unless they are using their company’s VPN (Virtual Private Network)….in most cases people do NOT own their home IP Addresses .
First let’s answer the following question…Is it possible to get to the email address level of the people who click your posted URLs as well as your website pages if even though people are working from home?
That answer is YES.
By using MergedAnalytics Short URLs…. We can uncover email addresses by using Dynamic Parameter values as part of the Short URL creation process.
MORE GOOD NEWS – Even if a person clicks a MergedAnalytics Short URL on their mobile device….we can STILL get you the email addresses of those people.
But wait there’s more…
When that person goes back to your website for another visit(s) in the near future….MergedAnalytics will remember that IP address and send you notifications when that person clicks through you website.
This is achieved by using Dynamic Parameter Values which help marketers capture even more information about the people who click on the links you post.
Dynamic Parameter Values are set at the time you create your MergedAnalytics Short URL.
The values for the Parameters are custom and can be anything including…
- The specific contact’s email address – this can be done for Mass Mailings from your CRM or ESP software packages as well.
- Campaign name
- Name of the social media site where you will you post your link
- or anything else that will help you gain as much information about the people who are clicking the URLs you post.
NOTE – If you need to create Google UTMs (urchin tag modules) we got you covered there as well.
You now can create UTMs in the MergedAnalytics Portal upon setting up Short URLS. This alleviates the need to go into Google to create your UTMs.
In the example below I created a MergedAnalytics Short URL with only ONE Dynamic Parameter Value….my email address…[email protected]
Note….you can set up to 5 custom Parameter Values when creating your SHORT URLs.
Here is the Short URL that I created from above…
I took the MergedAnalytics SHORT URL …. https://vzit.co/vig—O-EM and emailed it to myself.
FROM MY MOBILE PHONE….I opened the email and clicked the Short URL…..again…I did this from my phone.
Note: I use ATT for my phone service and I do NOT own my ip address.
Because I clicked a MergedAnalytics Short URL…..I received the notification in my inbox below…
You can clearly see that [email protected] clicked…
Lastly….when I go to my website again through my cell phone….I will still receive MergedAnalytics alerts telling me mergedanalytics.com visited my website …why you ask?….
Because MergedAnalytics will remember me for a period of five days from that initial short url click as seen in the screenshot below…
Remember : This can be done for MASS EMAILS as well using your CRM and/or ESP software packages.
Contact us for a free consultation.
So you need to conduct screen share webmeetings
So you need to conduct web meetings using something like Zoom or Gotomeeting.
I have been relying on using this type of screensharing technology for 20 years to run my business.
We use webmeetings for almost everything from sales presentations, training session to our internal management meetings. Everyone in my company works virtually so webmeeting software is essential to our existance.
I can honestly say I have made every mistake you can possibly make throughout the last 20 years with webmeetings.
Here are some things to consider before conducting a screensharing webmeeting…
Dial in early – There will be always issues with your PC that you cannot plan for that happen often. Recommend all attendees dial in a minimum of 10 minutes earlier preferably 15 minutes.
Reboot your PC– For optimal performance it is best to reboot your PC before an important webmeeting. If things are slow on your PC….your audience could think it is your software slowing up the PC….do not let this happen.
Prepare your presentation materials ahead ….have your Powerpoint, Word, Excel, files, software tool and/or Website…. whatever it is you will be presenting…have it launched ahead of time. You do not want to launch a large file while you are in a webmeeting. The 10 seconds it takes to open may not seem long….but when you have 20 eyeballs staring at your screen…even 10 seconds can feel like an eternity.
Resist moving your mouse all over the screen – when you are nervous we tend to do things subconsciously. Moving your mouse and/or clicking a lot during a presentation can be distracting for your audience.
Software Demos – If you are demonstrating how software works….test the features ahead of time as well. Make sure what you want to present works as expected.
Talking over people – Be mindful of talking over people – Especially when there are many on a speaker phone and depending on what kind of phone is being used….it is very easy to innocently talk over people. Learn to talk slower, take small pauses to make sure someone is not trying to say something.
Have a plan and stick to it – If someone has a question…if you can not answer immediately without diverting from your plan …table it for later or a subsequent conversation.
Record you session – If possible it is a best practice to record your session . It is nice to be able to send the recorded session to the attendees of your meeting. You can point out specific times to listen etc. It is also useful in case it was a requirement gathering session.
BONUS – OIL YOUR CHAIR – you do not want everyone to hear your squeaky chair every time you adjust your seat.
Go forth and prosper.
Our Yoga Theme Explained
There is a good reason why there is a yoga theme throughout the MergedAnalytics website.
We know that even in the best of times…business life is stressful.
The actionable intelligence we deliver contains the COMPANY NAMES and in some cases EMAIL ADDRESSES of the people clicking on the links you post to social media sites and in your emails as well as the pages they click on your website.
These real, quality, actionable B2B leads are automatically emailed to your inbox for action.
We believe that the intelligence we deliver is bringing a bit of Zen to your Sales and Marketing efforts.
Takes 3-5 minutes to set up – mergedanalytics.com
Namaste
Tips for working from home
I have worked from home for the last 20 years.
Both of my companies never had offices. Everyone who works for/with me does so remotely. Here are some tips for working from home…
Do’s
1. Go to bed early
2. Get up early as if you needed to commute.
3. Get dressed….every day!
4. Make your bed….every day!
5. Create a space to work that feels like an office
6. Eat breakfast
7. Eat lunch
8. Take walks outside no matter what the weather is like
9. Pretend you are at your real office
10. Make time to have physical interactions with people
11. Do not allow distractions like….house chores etc. You are at work!!
12. Create routines and stick to them
13. Leave work at the end of the day….STOP working at normal time.
Don’ts
1. Treat working from home as a vacation or day off
2. Allow yourself to get distracted with house stuff..chores etc.
3. Eat more
4. Exercise less
5. Work more hours
You can feel guilt working from home. This can cause overworking. Because you do not need to commute…you may feel you need to work longer hours to justify working from home. This is nonsense.
Be mindful of overworking.
Use excess time to catch up on your life….not work.
MergedAnalytics for when you work from home
Whether forced or by choice… more people than ever will be telecommuting and working from home. In person meetings, lunches, conferences, trade shows will continue to decrease until the dust settles….but business will continue.
With the absence of the “face to face” meeting…content creation and distribution of videos, podcasts, blogs etc will become even more prominent. More eyeballs on your posted videos, articles, website pages etc….presents opportunity if you are prepared.
Buying excess amounts of Toilet Paper will not help you with understanding the COMPANY NAMES and in some cases EMAIL ADDRESSES of the people clicking on the links you post to social media sites and in your emails as well as the website pages they clicked .
MergedAnalytics however was made for this type of environment!
Set up takes literally 3-5 minutes. Get started…. mergedanalytics.com
The only Cookies we like are the kind you eat!
Third Party Cookies are going away.
Cookies are little software programs that follow users around the internet collecting data so marketers can target ads with precision. They know what you want to buy sometimes before you do.
Cookies Work.
If I search for sneakers….I may then see ads not only for sneakers but for workout gear and other sporting equipment.
Many large organizations who rely on collecting data from tracking cookies are scrambling. They are experiencing or will be soon ….an existential crisis.
Programs like the E.U’s GDPR are already gaining steam in Canada as well as here in the U.S.
Google has already announced they will not support 3rd party cookies in Chrome .
The main issue here is privacy.
MergedAnalytics does NOT use and never has used Tracking Cookies and the intelligence we deliver is GDPR Compliant.
Luck – Where Preparation and Opportunity Intersect
Luck is where Opportunity and Preparation intersect. Is it luck when you receive an automated MergedAnalytics Alert via email that results in won business?
Preparation 1. – Your company had the brilliant foresight to put the MergedAnalytics pixel on your website.
Preparation 2 – Your marketing team drove your target audience traffic to your website.
Opportunity – MergedAnalytics uncovered the COMPANY NAME or maybe even the EMAIL ADDRESS of the person who clicked through your website.
Luck 1. – You receive a MergedAnalytics alert via email telling you the Company Name, how they found your website and which pages they spent time on and more.
Luck 2. – You proactively make contact with that company and win business.