MergedAnalytics encourage our employees to telecommute 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.
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.
MergedAnalytics Custom Trackable Short URLs show the entire journey from initial click to your other website pages
The Journey is the gift.
By utilizing MergedAnalytics Trackable Custom Short URLs you achieve the following…
– You understand where your audience is interacting most with your online brand. ie. Does your audience mostly click on the links you post to LinkedIn or FB . By knowing that answer…you will be able to modify your efforts (marketing dollars) accordingly.
– You understand the full Journey of the people who landed on and then click through your website. You will see if a URL you posted on Linkedin… was the starting point for the people who eventually landed on and clicked through your website
– You can shorten, brand, and then uncover the COMPANY NAMES and in some cases EMAIL Addresses of the people who click the links you post to social media sites as well as in the body of your emails.
One of my favorite songs is “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash. In that song…Cash answers the question he was asked most of all….”why do you wear black all the time? “ So he wrote his answer into one of his most iconic songs.
So ….Why did we change our name from Visit Intel….to MergedAnalytics? And while we are at it….what is the significance of those three dots in our logo!!!
Glad you asked.
First the name change…
Visit Intel was a great name for what our product was when we started our company.
We were focused solely on reporting the COMPANY NAMES of the people who click on your website pages. That information is priceless. We still provide that intelligence via our proprietary IP Address technology but we have also gone through a natural evolution.
Visit Intel evolved into something more than just website visits.
We added the ability for our users to create Custom Trackable
SHORT URLs. These short urls made our
product very powerful and separated us from our peers.
Many of our customers believe the Short URLs are the key to the entire platform. I would agree!
Now when someone wants to post a link either to social media or in their emails…when those links are clicked….our users know the COMPANY NAMES of the people who CLICKED them and WHERE they clicked that link. The addition of SHORT URLs was the deciding factor for the name change in terms of making our platform more powerful and more useful to a larger audience.
A “CLICK” on a link is not always a “VISIT”. There are times when our users post links that have no relation to their website. An example could be a posted link of an article or a press release.
So…we felt that the name “Visit Intel” narrowly implies….”VISITS “to a website but NOT “CLICKS” on a posted URL.
We wrestled with many names before we settled on MERGEDANALYTICS.
Some names were descriptive of what do
and some had no meaning at all.
We finally decided on one name. Say goodbye to “Visit Intel”….Long Live “MergedAnalytics
LLC”.
How
MergedAnalytics Connects the Dots?
Connecting the DOTS
People ask us all the time…what is the significance
of the three DOTS.
Each of the 3 dots represent the three main sources of data that our users use to analyze and gain a clear picture as to how people from Companies interact with their brand online.
Each one of those dots represent intelligence that when merged together allows for analysis to be performed helping you understand how people are interacted with your digital brand .
The COMPANY NAME(s) of the person who
clicked through your website
How they found your site
The pages they visited
How many times they returned
And more
Dot 2 represents the intelligence delivered regarding the people who clicked on Custom Trackable SHORT URLs you posted separated by Campaign to various social media sites.
Let’s imagine you want to drive people to a specific
landing page. Could be anything….an
article, Press Release, a page on your website etc.
You would create a SHORT URL for that landing page
for each social media site where you think your audience engages with your
digital brand.
You create Short URLs for that landing page for each
social media site where you plan to post it.
Ie. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram . When people click that SHORT URL….the
intelligence that is delivered will allow you to analyze not only the COMPANY
NAMES of the people who clicked it but ….you will understand which social media
sites those clicks came from.
You will understand if LinkedIn is a better place
for your marketing efforts vs. Instagram or Twitter as an example.
Dot 3 is related to Dot 2 except we are
focusing on posting SHORT URLs to the emails you send out. You could place a Short URL in the body of an
email and/or in your signature block.
When the people you are emailing click on your SHORT URLs in your
emails…you will understand from which email (and/or campaign) that click came
from.
Integration
with ESPs( email service providers) and CRMs (Contact Relationship Management
) can be set up as well to get down to
the actual CONTACT information of the person who clicked that SHORT URL in your
emails.
The value comes from MERGING ALL of those
dots (data points) together so ANALYSIS can be performed. Meaning….a person clicks a link from either
an email or a social media post and then from there….click through pages on
your website.
Connecting the DOTS
MergedAnalytics captures that entire journey from
that initial click.
So those three DOTS are the foundation of our
company.
MergedAnalytics connects the DOTs and creates the elusive bridge between your marketing efforts and your sales team!
While we are at it….the YOGA WOMAN on our website represents the Zen feeling our sales and marketing users experience when they use MergedAnalytics!!!
B2B Businesses large and small are using various Digital Marketing tools to understand the behaviors of the people at companies interacting with their brand online. The online interaction between a person from a company with your company could originate from various places including…
Visiting your website following a live conversation
Clicking links posted on Social media
Clicking links posted in emails
Online keyword searches
Clicking on online ads
The interaction does not always end with just one
click. People will often click through
multiple pages on your website and of course….return to your website various
times after that initial visit. 98
percent of all website visitors click through websites anonymously never
letting you know they were ever there.
MergedAnalytics delivers the COMPANY NAMES of the people who click on your posted links to social media and/or in your emails as well as the website pages clicked on your website. We then MERGE this information into one location for analysis so that you can understand the entire journey of the people at companies interested in your company. You can also understand what their specific interests were while on your site.
For many companies, the information we provide is a game changer….however we recognize this tool may not be useful for all B2B companies.
Below are 10 reasons why a B2B company would NOT want to use MergedAnalytics….
Your business does not need new leads – If your business produces too many leads and you do not need anymore…Please stop reading now and take the rest of the day off. The intelligence MergedAnalytics delivers is another resource you may have never had before that helps you not only understand the specific needs and interests of the people interacting with your company….but also the Company Names of those people clicking on your website and posted links. If your business does NOT need new leads….take the rest of the week off and your company does NOT need MergedAnalytics.
Your business does not care if your existing customers are on your website – Do I really have to tell you that your existing customers are your best prospects? By knowing the behavior of your existing customers who are clicking through your website pages will not only allow for you to provide better support but you will also put yourself in a better position to up-sell them as well. If you do not want to support and up-sell your existing customers… MergedAnalytics is not for you.
Your business does not care to understand if the person you met at a networking event took the time to check out your website after you met them – You are at a networking event and had a great conversation with someone you met there. You exchange cards and walk away from each other. You are feeling good because that person seemed very interested in what your company has to offer. You think you found a new prospect. Wouldn’t it be nice to see if that person visited your website after that interaction? If not… MergedAnalytics is not for you.
Your business does not have a social media presence – Understanding the entire journey of the people who interact with your brand from initial point of contact on to their final destination is no longer a nice to have. Is your audience interacting with your company on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter? By using Visit Intel Short URLs for the links you post to social media that is exactly the intelligence you will have. You can also shrink and customize links you post to increase the chances of them getting clicked and shared. If you have no social media presence…MergedAnalytics is not for you. Learn more about MergedAnalytics Short URLs …https://mergedanalytics.com/vzit-co
Your business does not care if the company you are in the process of closing a deal with is on your website looking at specific information that could help you close that deal – You present to a prospect and send them a proposal. Then….silence. Nothing. No communication for days. You have no idea what their thoughts or concerns are about moving forward. BUT…since you have MergedAnalytics, you start receiving MergedAnalytics Alerts via email showing you that the company is in fact still interested. You can tell from the reports that they are focused on a specific service you provide on a specific page on your website. This information allows you to proactively check in with them via email and send along reinforcing information about the topic they were spending time while on your website. The intelligence delivered by MergedAnalytics will put you in a better position to win deals and shorten your sales cycle. If understanding prospects concerns that could ultimately help you close a deal is not important….MergedAnalytics is not for you.
Your business does not want to use tools that the big companies use to win more business – The big companies are ALL using tools that identify the Companies interacting with their brands and spend millions of dollars annually doing so. MergedAnalytics levels the playing field for the smaller company that does not have the type of budgets like their bigger counterparts. That is why MergedAnalytics is so compelling….for a small monthly fee of $59 paid annually , you are getting the same intelligence (in some cases better) than the big companies. If using tools that they big companies use is not important…MergedAnalytics is not for you.
Your business does not care about the content being viewed on your website – Are you making sure the content your audience is reading on your website is still relevant? By understanding where your audience is spending time on your website you will make sure the content they are reading is still relevant and up to date. There may be pages on your website your audience is clicking on that may not have been updated or should be taken down altogether. If having a tool that will remind you to update or even remove information from you website is not important…MergedAnalytics is not for you.
Your business does not care if your marketing and advertising dollars are being spent wisely – You may think the money spent on specific advertising and marketing campaigns are producing results as you predicted they would. MergedAnalytics reports what is actually going on….not what you think or want to happen. We tell you where your traffic is coming from and how they got there. You may think your ads on LinkedIn will drive the most social media traffic but Visit Intel may tell you it is Twitter or your Email campaigns producing the best results. Understanding the effectiveness and success of your ad campaigns is just good money management. If you do not care to really understand where your money is best spent in terms of your ad and marketing strategies then MergedAnalytics is not for you.
You believe Google Analytics (GA) gives you ALL the intelligence you need – GA does NOT give you the COMPANY NAMES of the people who click on your website. GA also does NOT filter out the bots, crawlers and server clicks which jack up the total numbers of clicks you think you are getting. What good is only having the number of clicks without knowing which COMPANY NAMES are doing the clicking….MergedAnalytics DOES filter out clicks from bots, crawlers and servers and we provide the COMPANY NAMES of the people doing the clicking. If not knowing the COMPANY NAMES of the people who clicked through your website and if unfiltered click counts are not important to you…then you do not need MergedAnalytics.
Your business does not want to bid on projects earlier than they normally would – If a company has a need and is doing their due diligence by clicking through your website…MergedAnalytics provides you with the ability to contact that company earlier than you normal would. This early contact gives you an advantage over your competition. This early information MergedAnalytics provides will also speed up your sales cycle and the cost of that sale. If bidding on projects earlier than normal is not important….MergedAnalytics is not for you.
If you are a reader of this blog you know how I love finding and then sharing the different ways companies benefit from MergedAnalytics. Many times the benefits are something I would never have imagined.
“MergedAnalytics” is a digital marketing tool used by B2B Companies to uncover the Company Names of the people who click on their Posted URL Links to social media and/or emails as well as the Pages on their Company Website.
Detailed notifications containing the Company Name and activity of the people who clicked your posted URLs and/or website pages are automatically emailed to the right people within your organization so the proper action can be taken.
It was built for businesses who sell their products and services to OTHER businesses….aka B2B (business to business)
For example…there was the Commercial Construction Company that sends cupcakes to their prospects when they receive MergedAnalytics website activity alerts from companies they can tell have construction needs. Read more… https://mergedanalytics.com/visit-intel-cupcakes-revenue/
I came across another business case that yet again surprised me. This time the company who is using MergedAnalyticsis a B2C (Business to Consumer) Company.
A Managing Director of a SAT and College Preparation Tutoring Company contacted me because they came across MergedAnalytics and wanted to give it a try.
Initially I tried to talk this person out of using MergedAnalytics because his business is B2C, but he was still curious and wanted to give it a try.
He understood that MergedAnalytics is a B2B tool…not meant for B2C companies….but he was smart enough to have a vision where MergedAnalytics could be useful to his business in spite of the fact it was built for B2B Companies.
Here’s how…
He sells his services to the parents of the kids that ultimately will get tutored and/or advised. Many of the parents he deals with work and have jobs at established companies.
So here is how MergedAnalytics helps this B2C business in a real life scenario….
– The owner of this tutoring company pitches his services
to a parent
– The parent says they will get back to him with a
decision as to whether they will move forward.
– That parent goes to work and while there…. looks at the
Tutoring Company’s website
– The Managing Director of the tutoring company starts getting MergedAnalytics alerts from the company where that parent works and sees not only that they were on his website but which exact pages they were focused on.
– The Managing Director knows where most of the parents he pitches to work and so he is able to proactively email that parent information that reinforces what they were interested in per the received MergedAnalytics notifications.
And the result is… by leveraging the MergedAnalyticsalerts…he is putting himself in a position to shorten his normal sales cycle and win more deals with information he has not had before now all because of the MergedAnalytics Alerts.
One other aspect of MergedAnalytics he envisioned on his own…..He can also see if there are companies like his out there who may look to partner or even purchase his company. For example…If he starts getting alerts that Princeton Review was on his website …he can react to that information and put his company in a better position to be purchased.
Type in “TOP OF MIND PRESENCE” in a Google search and you will receive
the following … “In marketing, top-of-mind awareness (TOMA)
refers to a brand or specific product being first in customers’ minds when thinking
of a particular industry or category.”
For organizations using MergedAnalytics…Each time someone from a company clicks on one of their posted URLs to social media or in an email(s) and/or clicks on their website pages….MergedAnalytics generates an automatic emailed report detailing the COMPANY NAME, how they found your link/website, what pages were viewed etc. Learn more… https://mergedanalytics.com/ Marketing/Advertising/Software Provider companies are happy to recommend “MergedAnalytics” to their customers because they understand the intelligence that “MergedAnalytics” delivers is an incredibly affordable and valuable lead generator with an instant ROI.
The MergedAnalytics alerts come in to your inbox various times a day with “MergedAnalytics” branding, marketing and contact information all over them.
Marketing Agencies for example…also understand that these “MergedAnalytics” alerts represent a rare opportunity to stay in front of their customers multiple times every single day. The “MergedAnalytics” alerts give them that elusive “TOP OF MIND PRESENCE” they work so hard to create, nurture and cultivate.
So our marketing partners choose to provide a “WHITE LABELED” version of Visit Intel. This means our marketing partners remove all mention of “MergedAnalytics” on the emailed alerts as well as the “MergedAnalytics“ Nurture Portal and replace our branding with THEIR branding, logo and marketing information.
Marketing agencies want THEIR customers to see THEIR branding,
THEIR domain and want THEIR customers to keep them “TOP OF MIND” when a need
presents itself.
But…TOP OF MIND PRESENCE works on the “MergedAnalytics” end user level as well.
We all have the ability to create reminders to contact our
customers, prospects etc. through our CRM apps. This is what sales and marketing folks basically
do for a living.
But… for one reason or another, there are times when some business
relationships fall from your consciousness or you may think a relationship has
run it’s course.
“Visit Intel” can be great memory trigger for this scenario.
Aside from being the CMO here at “MergedAnalytics”…I am also a user! I rely heavily on the intelligence I receive from “MergedAnalytics”. I cannot tell you how many times I receive a “MergedAnalytics” alert that reminds me to contact someone that I have not contacted in a while.
I often see a company that was a prospect, current customer or
even a customer no longer using our services that I have not checked in with in
a while but should have.
The MergedAnalyticsalerts tell me …
The COMPANY NAME of the people who clicked on my
website
What website pages they were spending time on
If they clicked on a POSTED URL LINK from social media
and/or an email I had sent them.
More
This tactic of “innocently” checking in after I receive a “MergedAnalytics” alert has put me in a position to win deals I may not have won or even aware of the opportunity if not for the intelligence “MergedAnalytics” delivers.
Graphic designers, web developers , social media and SEO experts and content creators work so that your company website is as good as it could be as well as available to the general public. Campaigns are initiated to drive your target audience to your website. You curate your website because it as an important part of your organization’s identity. Your website acts as a self-service extension of your brand.
You post URL links like articles, invitations to events, blogs, new offerings, announcements, Press Releases etc to various social media sites and/or emails with the hope that your message is seen and is enough to drive your audience to your website.
Here is the problem – Statistically…Only 2% of ALL website
visitors ever identify themselves to the website owner. That means you are
completely unaware of the other 98% of the people who are clicking through your
website anonymously never announcing themselves that they were there in the
first place.
There are many reasons people leave a website ranging from…
They got there accidentally
They are not interested anymore
The website is confusing and not easy to navigate
They may interpret your offerings in the wrong way
They may think your company is not the right fit
They get called away and forget to return later
Connectivity disruptions
And so on
You are able to figure out the amount of clicks your website
is getting, but if you have no idea about
the actual Company Names of the people clicking through your site…what
value is your website really providing?
If someone is interested in buying something from your
company…visits your website, fills out a form but has to abruptly leave for one
of the reasons listed above…wouldn’t you want the opportunity to contact that
company to make sure they found the information they were looking for?
Your website is an untapped
gold mine. There could be golden nuggets
(opportunity) that can be capitalized on RIGHT NOW! It is amazing how many organizations have no
idea which companies are clicking through their website.
Visit Intel mines your posted URLs and website pages for golden nuggets that will result in opportunity
Luckily …there are tools that mine the endless gems your
website can produce.
This is where MergedAnalytics fits into the story.
Visit Intel is the tool that will tell you…
The COMPANY NAMES of the people clicking through
your website and posted URLs to social media/emails
How they found your website
What pages they went to and spent time on
And much more
MergedAnalytics will give you the entire journey of the people at companies who are interested in your company.
The journey starts with that initial click from a short url….and goes on to other pages on your website that they visited.
You will have insight as to…
How people are interacting with your brand
What COMPANIES they are from
How many times they return to your website
Time spent on each page and how many times they returned
The kind of people visiting your website ie. Prospects, Customers, Competitors, People you are trying to close deals with, people interested in working for your company.
So much more
Just like how one golden nugget can create a fortune…One good MergedAnalytics website visitor notification received can make all the difference in the world to an organization. It could save an account, close a sale, get a great new hire , bid earlier on a deal. The applications are endless.
One good MergedAnalyticsnotification can pay for the use of Visit Intel for the entire year.
I often speak/write about why Commercial Construction Companies in particular have found a strong love for MergedAnalytics.
The reason for their love is simple… they are winning more business using MergedAnalytics.
Having the ability to see which companies are clicking through their website pages and what those company’s specific construction needs are is everything to them. MergedAnalytics provides a Commercial Construction Company who is using MergedAnalytics the opportunity to proactively bid earlier on projects than they normally would historically. Normally before they were able to bid on projects….they would have to wait and learn about opportunities through referral networks and/or be contacted directly by companies in need of their services.
Bidding early or in many cases first on projects is everything for Commercial Construction Companies. Statistically…The proposals sent earlier than the competition more often than not….have an advantage and win more often.
MergedAnalytics sends actionable alerts via email to the right people in an organization detailing the Company Names of the people clicking on their website, how they found their website, how long they spent on those site pages, what specific pages were clicked and more.
Today I had a discussion with the V.P of Sales from a Commercial Construction Company who has been using MergedAnalytics for a few months now.
He told me….They have recognized a significant uptick in deals won recently and point their success to the information MergedAnalytics is providing them. Look for a testimonial on our website in the next couple of weeks from this company. www.visitintel.us
The MergedAnalytics alerts give them the ability to recognize when there is a real opportunity early on while that company with a need is still in the research stage as from which companies they will select and request a proposal.
Here is what the V.P of Sales told me they do when they discover a “hot” lead…
They send that interested company a Big Box of Cupcakes. In that box along with the cupcakes there is an informational marketing packet geared to their specific needs. They include contact information, testimonials from customers that had similar needs, similar past projects they have completed , awards they have won etc….All having to do with what those specific needs were based on the information gleaned and analyzed from the MergedAnalytics site alerts received only days earlier.
They are getting warm actionable leads
They are making contact earlier than the competition
They are able to bid proactively rather than reactively
They understand the exact need(s) and seriousness of a prospect before making initial contact
Do you ever think twice before clicking long URL links with too many weird looking parameters?
Have you ever wanted to share a 30-character URL but could not remember the URL address?
Have you ever wanted to brand your URLs in such a way before you post them to social media that would make people more apt to click them?
How about…have you ever wanted to know the Company Names of the people who click on those URLs you post to social media or emails?
Some URL shorteners simply turn long links into shorter URLs and that is it… while others let you customize/brand the text of the new URLs created with a Short URL generator to track clicks and inform you about who’s clicking your links.
Why should you use Short URLs at all?
#1 Clean and short links appear more trustworthy and get clicked more often than longer links.
Let’s be honest, which of these links would you feel more comfortable clicking? Keep in mind they will both take you to the same destination…
The second URL is obviously cleaner, at first glance seems trustworthy and provides a concise description of what you can expect if you click it. People tend to prefer clicking on visually appealing links, especially when the links are Customized and/or Branded. AND…Because it is a “MergedAnalytics” SHORT URL…you will know the COMPANY Name as well as other valuable data about the clicker.
#2 Customize your Short URLs
Short URLs do not have to look “spammy”, with random combinations of numbers and letters. By adding branding and/or information about they can expect when they click the URL…will ensure more clicks.
#3 Go beyond number of clicks
Tracking clicks is one thing, but measuring the quality of the traffic coming to your website is another. AND…add in the information that you will receive with the MergedAnalytics Short URLs like…the COMPANY NAMES of the people who clicked your URL links, where they found your website or posted URLs and what their specific interests were.
#4 Understand the complete journey of the people who click your URLs
MergedAnalytics has two main components…
Short URLs
Website Visitor Intelligence
Assuming you have the MergedAnalytics website visitor intelligence pixel on your site….By utilizing the SHORT URLs…you are able to see the entire journey of the people who are interested in your company. You can see the initial click on a Short URL you posted to LinkedIn for example and then have insight as to where that person went on your website after that initial click. This creates an understanding of not only the behavior of your prospects but what their specific interests are in your company.
