A Blog-Worthy, Rule Breaking, Auto Reply

Posted on December 14, 2009
Filed Under Ecommerce Strategy | Leave a Comment

Pasted below is an auto reply from our FastPivot.com president, Matthew Ledford that breaks all the rules. At nearly five hundred words, some might instinctively respond to this lengthy update with the letters, T.M.I., but in all seriousness this witty wound-up packs an innovative message: FastPivot professionals are diligent in communicating with each other and their many clients effectively and thoroughly.

With many of the FastPivot.com staff working around the clock and under tight deadlines, no one can afford to drop the ball. Custom Yahoo Store Development, one of our specialty areas, demands an utmost attention to detail and a talented team of virtual office professionals primed for action. Those professionals should be able to generate, transfer, process, and in general communicate information dozens of times faster than workers hammering around in the brick and mortar world.

Although there is no perfect communication model to which one must adhere when the boss is away, the following, however unorthodox it may be, is pretty darn close:

THE AUTO REPLY:

Dear Friends, Clients, Colleagues,

I’m out of the office from essentially 12/4/09-12/14/09 in Nicaragua with limited cell phone and internet access doing work with two great organizations http://www.codn.org/ and http://www.visionnicaragua.org

(We do expect to have power, indoor toilets and running water occasionally-just in case you wondered.)

First to our Valued FastPivot Clients, I have designated the following really cool FastPivot Team Members and their unique talents to cater to your every whim while I’m out of North American airspace:

New Accounts, (Positivity and Very good alternating Texas and Yiddish accents): Leta Kreiger leta@fastpivot.com 888-770-8883 x327

Business Affairs, HR, Payables, Receivables, My Appointment Calendar, (AshevilleTriClub Business and Tireless Encouragement, etc): Daphne Weimer dweimer@fastpivot.com 888-770-8883 x326

Press Inquiries, Fan Club Applications, Marketing or Advertising Opportunities (and any mechanical issues with your bicycle): Jen Boos jen@fastpivot.com 888-770-8883 x312

All things FastPivot Software, (holding down the West Coast Office while simultaneously keeping the Golden Gate Bridge Golden and California from slipping into the ocean,): Ken Lubeck ken@fastpivot.com 888-770-8883 x315

Current Accounts, Vice President for Operations and Project Oversight and (General Pooper Scooper, Sweeper & Clean Up Batter where all the above leave off-): Keith Enloe kenloe@fastpivot.com 888-770-8883 x302

Given that incredible matrix of coverage and masterpiece of delegation, I hereby declare December 14-15th (depending upon your time zone Aussie and Kiwi Friends) as EMAIL AMNESTY DAY!

On this day, I’ll archive all my email for the year to date and will start with a fresh in box and new ideas. If I owed you an email or otherwise had a ball on my side of the court before Delta removes me from North America, please accept my apology. I will take up with current opportunities and work in process as soon as I return!

If you have something that needs specifically my attention and doesn’t fit any of the above categories, please contact Daphne or tag me again 12/15/09 or after and I will read it from my squeaky clean in box.

To My Friends (and interested client-friends), As does most of America now, I’ll be checking and posting on Facebook first while traveling and when I return first. If you haven’t heard me say it yet: “Facebook is the New Top Drawer of the Email In box. “There, I’ve said it and this is the proof. This is also where I’ll blog and post links to our trip photos and videos as power and time allow.

Sincerely,
Matthew Ledford
President, FastPivot LLC and FastPivotSoftware.com
If email is inadequate, you could also reach me in the office sometime
after 12/15 828-225-8883 x301

If you would like to schedule an appointment, please call or contact
Daphne (dweimer@fastpivot.com ) at 828-225-8883 x326 and she can help
you!

ps.
If you think Facebook and Twitter are irrelevant/unprofessional for business and branding, check out these links and feel free to discuss the value of social media (or lack thereof) with your Project Manager/Ebusiness Consultant:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34275623
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34150506/ns/business-the_big_money/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/26/AR2009112602618.html

END

Twitter: Another Growing Asset for Business Owners

Posted on December 12, 2009
Filed Under Ecommerce | Leave a Comment

In our last blog, Facebook: A Growing Asset for Business Owners, we discussed Facebook’s increasing value to business owners. Naturally, this is especially true for ecommerce users, such as our Yahoo storefront clients. While we noted that Facebook has over 350 million active users, it is important to add that other social media programs are quickly gaining traction as well.

Business owners who are already using or considering using Facebook to interact with and grow their online clientele should also think about using Twitter.

According to Wikipedia, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide.”

It’s difficult to say exactly how popular Twitter is or how many active users are using the service because Twitter hasn’t been diligent in releasing those figures. However, TwitDir, is a user directory that as of December 12, 2009 points to over 5.3 million users, compared to the 1 million plus mentioned back in the March, 2008 reports.

What can be said for certain is that business owners are attracting significant attention from their twitter followers, especially when “tweets” are newsworthy and well managed. This obviously means better conversion rates.

While Twitter might only be Facebook’s loquacious little sister right now, Facebook has not made an attempt to quiet her down. In fact, Facebook is holding her hand during what seems to be a prolonged and steadily increasing growth spurt: Facebook users can now sync their accounts with Twitter, which means Facebook posts will automatically be posted as tweets as well.

Now Facebook fans can more conveniently become Twitter followers and vice versa. That’s smart synergy every business owner should be thinking about.

Twitter, like Facebook, is free. But as we have mentioned before, social media management takes serious strategic planning and constant legwork to be successful. For businesses owners who simply don’t have the time or skill set available, contact FastPivot.com to discuss your social media goals.

Facebook: A Growing Asset for Business Owners

Posted on December 9, 2009
Filed Under Ecommerce | Leave a Comment

According to a Facebook press release, the social media giant now boasts 350 million plus active users. 50% of active Facebook users log on everyday. A quick breakdown on what that means: 35 million users are updating their status everyday, 55 million status updates are posted, 2.5 billion photos are uploaded, 3.5 billion web links, blogs, news posts etc. are being shared, 3.5 million events are posted monthly, and “more than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages on Facebook.” Those Pages “have created more than 5.3 billion fans.”

With so many users already active on Facebook and many more arriving every minute, business owners are doing everything in their power to attract and engage customers, or in Facebook lingo, “fans.”

The normal routes for building a fan base include: holding product give-away contests, posting company relevant updates (product innovations, product developments, relevant local and national news, sales and discount notices, etc.), answering/responding to fan questions and posts, etc.

The key is getting fans involved and excited about what’s being posted and what’s happening with the business. Once that happens, the chatter begins. A loyal customer base of just a few dedicated contributors can quickly synergize to expand a fan page at an amazing rate or even salvage a low-pressure one before it goes completely flat.

Ecommerce design and development experts at Fast Pivot, have seen their Yahoo Store clients ascend to dizzying heights. Take WorldSoccerShop.com for example, which now has 100,362 fans on their Facebook Fan Page! Upon brief inspection of their fan page, it’s easy to see that dedicated fans have created a very special dynamic: Activity is stirred from within the fan pool, not from a heavy administrative hand chopping desperately into calm waters to make a splash. No, World Soccer Shop authorities need only drop in finger size chunks of news to start fan feeding frenzies.

Although it costs no money, per se, to roll out a fan rich arena like this, it does require a constant watch and a carefully planned growth strategy to make it successful. This can gobble up loads of valuable time, so many companies are now turning to third parties, like Fast Pivot, to develop, manage, and grow their social media presence.

Creative Services Department Takes Design Beyond Yahoo! Stores

Posted on December 7, 2009
Filed Under Yahoo! Small Business Upgrades | Leave a Comment

FastPivot’s Creative Services has announced a Print Package Insert Promotion now through December 15th to help store owners take advantage of the holiday sales cycle. Many online store owners see an increase in their sales this time of year. It’s also the perfect time to use sales to deliver messages and generate more repeat purchases. The use of package inserts can be an effective, affordable tool.

Store owners must have a print-ready (psd, ai or eps file format) of their store logo and a product to showcase. FastPivot designers will personalize the layout to match the existing store colors and feel. Store owners will receive a layout that is print-ready for producing a 4 x 6 inch one-sided insert.

Contact FastPivot today to design your Print Package Insert.

Evolutions of the Eight Second Rule Only Make it More Relevant to Yahoo Store Designers

Posted on December 5, 2009
Filed Under Ecommerce | Leave a Comment

Although first sightings of the eight second rule surfaced back in a 2001 Zona Research Report , which “found that the average web user will wait about eight seconds for a page to download,” developers are ever more conscious of that omnipresent eight second rule today.

The rule itself has undergone an evolution of sorts and has become even more relevant over the years, especially to the Yahoo store builder considering the use of custom application development, dynamic images, interactive building application etc.

When the concept emerged, the eight seconds referred to the amount of time people would wait until the website loaded, but modern technophiles scoff at the idea of sitting dormant for more than one or two seconds. We are not only talking about load times now, but the touchstone of e-commerce design and development: conversion. Seconds lost in consumer confusion is a recipe for conversion disaster.

In today’s cutting edge e-commerce environment, the Yahoo store developer and editor must set their prowess on creating fast loading pages with a landing matrix fine tuned to fully engage and quickly convert the customer. Yes, it must interface and anticipate the user’s needs and frustrations.

To ensure success, the customer must be able to attain that object of their desires without obstacle. That means no broken hot links, applications, misfiring pages, incomplete information, slow rolling or overly involved check-out carts, unnecessary graphic distractions, irrelevant and wordy text, etc. And, no, you cannot slick the site down to an oily chute to spit customers out behind the bars of the check out cart either.

A fine balance, or harmony, must be struck. Strategic product placement and user navigation must be smart and without clutter; all in less than eight seconds.

Yahoo Store Design specialists, like Fast Pivot, have mastered the Eight Second equilibrium that makes smart design look easy. But don’t take this blog as the final word on the subject, check out the portfolio for yourself.

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