Blaine on Business

Outsourcing - Right or Wrong?

It's been said that business functions that are not unique value added activities by your organization would best be outsourced.  One of the best examples of this is Email. Depending on the size of the company you may be using:

• Personal Email
• Email through your web hosting provider
• Email through your company server
• Outsourced Professional Email

Each of these has their associated pros and cons, however at the root of the decision comes a very basic question:

Does this activity help differentiate your company and provides a strategic advantage?

If the answer is yes then you should continue doing the activity yourself.  If on the other hand it does not then it is a prime outsourcing candidate.

Back to our example with email.  For the vast majorities of companies it makes sense to outsource this and not worry about it.  If however your business model depends at least in part of having the best email solution on the planet then it would make sense for you to keep it.  The best example of this would be Gmail from Google.  Even The Planet, one of the world's largest and most respected hosting company recently blogged about this issue. They said that the majority of their support requests were email related.

The same issue applies in our business. Our core competency is providing world class web presences that help our clients increase their revenue and market share.  We provide web hosting because when we do it ourselves it is much easier for us to manage the entire process, and thus make it easier for both ourselves and our clients.  Once a site is launched for a client though it is amazing as how instead of receiving requests to make improvements to the site the only issues we ever seem to hear about are email related.

So as The Planet suggests, we too are now going to be suggesting that our own clients, both present and future, consider using Gmail for their email.  We will still host your web site and provide all of the setup and configuration for you, but the nuts and bolts will be handled by Google.  Including one of the best anti-spam systems on this side of the galaxy.

Beyond email though you can use this same thought process for any business function.  Take book keeping. Does it really make sense to have your own bookkeeping person on staff?  How about application development.  If you need a piece of custom software should you hire people and build it internally?  How about legal assistance?

The answer to these of course is outsourcing usually makes more sense.

Lastly, if anyone can tell me where that post is please let me know and I'll link to it, but I can't find it currently.

Educating verses Selling

Lead generation programs that I see are typically centered around sales literature. These may be brochures or data sheets that list out features and explain why the company is better then their competitors, but it is focused on sales.

There's an interesting axiom about sales that says people hate being sold to, but enjoy buying.

This is why our company newsletters are educational and informative verses an outright advertisement. The idea of the piece is to engage the reader and draw them into the content. So that by the end of reading the piece they start to realize that we may actually know something about what we do. Namely creating web sites that provide our clients with a defined impact to their business.

Next time you are thinking about how to market your company why don't you give some thought to if an informative piece would yield better results then a simple sales handout.

Of course this isn't the best for all industries. A piece like this works best in knowledge based industries where what is being sold is not a commodity, but rather a finely honed skill set. For example consultants, lawyers, doctors, architects, software companies would be well served by such a piece of marketing collateral. On the other hand companies such as the dollar store, fast food restaurant or grocery store probably would not.

In some circumstances though a well crafted piece could help a company who competes in a market full of price wars and commoditization by devising a piece that positions the company as a strategic supplier verses the hot dog stand vendor. Take for example a local home town grocery store that has been in the neighborhood for years until a large conglomerate tears down the strip mall across the street and builds a Super-You-Want-It-We-Gots-It super-duper-mega-mart. They sell many of the same products you do, but they sell it 30% cheaper then what you do.

What if you produced marketing collateral that explained that shopping is not based solely on price, but on the overall value. Perhaps you have the best bakery department with highly skilled bakery artisans. Perhaps you have a garden center with the largest blooms, or a produce section that is fresher then fresh. If you turn the tables and explain to people why they should eat produce that is better tasting, and better for them? So what if that carrot might cost them another 10 cents then?

Practice Makes Perfect

It's been awhile since I've written here.  However I'm going to give it a try once again.  The writing may not be perfect, but it should become better with each posting.

In our business one of our key marketing methods has been creating and distributing a print newsletter.  We call it the Connections Newsletter and we have published approximately twenty of these over the last two years.  Our first edition was in October of 2006, titled Invasion of the Logo Snatchers.  While that first one looks good and has good content, they kept getting better and better.

The point I'm trying to make is that over the months it seems like each one continues to improve.  This year we decided to change the format of the newsletter.  Our team decided to switch the frequency from monthly to quarterly, this change allows us more time to think of articles, and to write them, then rewrite them.  On a monthly publication there just isn't the time for a small business like ours to effectively edit everything and distribute it on time.

In addition to switching to a quarterly publication scheduled we doubled the size of the newsletter.  This allows us to write more in depth articles that give the reader more details.  It also allows us to have larger eye catching graphics.  We wanted to engage the reader first with a visually impressive piece to attract them to start reading it, and then we wanted to further engage them by making the content easily readable, and pertinent to small business owners.

Perfect doesn't always happen on the first time.  As a company we could have made the decision to wait and keep working on our writing and editing it, fixing the graphics making them look just a tad bit better, or playing with other mundane details.  However in the business world, having a perfect document really doesn't matter as much as getting to market.

While I'm not saying that it is valid to send out poor material, what I am saying is that if you have something that is quote unquote good, but with room for improvement then you need to issue it.  This applies not only to a newsletter, but to any marketing piece be it a blog entry, a logo, brochure, or just a single email.

Unique Selling Proposition

A question that comes around every so often for us is how do you promote a company who has a product or service that is the same as everyone else in the marketplace?  The answer is you really can't.  Sure you can spend money on advertising to keep leads coming in and you will be able to close some of those.

The issue though is if your product can not be differentiated from the competition you are going to have to fight that much harder for the sales.  Additionally many time you will spend quite a bit of time with a potential client only to have them go window shopping and buy from a competitor at something that seemed so trivial.

You must realize that people generally love shopping and buying things.  When you buy anything big such as a vehicle, a house, or a large screen television you are happy about it.  You tell everyone you know about it and you tell them with a smile on your face.  However when you flip it around and instead of buying, if you are in a situation when someone is trying to sell you on something you can't stand it.  People don't like being sold to, but they like to buy.

So, what you need to do is give that potential buyer all the reasons to buy from you instead of the next guy.  Figuring this out seems harder then it really is though.  The easiest way to determine what is unique about your offering is to ask your existing client base why they chose to go with you.  What they say may be quite enlightening because you didn't even think of it before hand.  If you are at the preventure stage of your business and do not have any customers yet you can still research this by doing the same basic survey, but instead of asking existing customers go out and ask the people who you think will be buying your offering.

Once you have determined your unique selling proposition, or even better you have determined multiple ones, your work is not done yet.  Now you must make sure that you use this in your marketing material and shout it from the roof!  If you are the only one to know what makes your service better then the guy down the street then it will still not do you any good.

One last thing to keep in mind too is that what makes your offering better may not always be true.  When your competitors realize why you are better then them you can bet they are going to be quite aggressive in duplicating your advantage and working to one-up you.  The only way to keep up is to keep improving and fighting back by one-upping them.  As the adage goes much like an escalator if you are not moving up, then you are moving down.

Domain Name Control Issues

Lately we have had many people asking us about domain names.  A potential client will typically contact us and tell us that they have a website and domain name currently, however they want to have their site redone or move their hosting and related email to another provider.  These callers usually assume that this is a very simple thing to do.

The problem though is that in the majority of these cases the domain name was registered for them by their last provider.  Depending on the previous provider and how they register the domain names, along with their willingness to work with the client and us determines how hard the transition may be.

 

The issues that you must look at include:

1. Do you have user name(s) and password(s) ?
2. WHOIS Information
3. Who is the registrant?
4. Can you access the administrative email address?
5. Is the domain name locked?
6. Where the domain name is registered at?

1) Username and Password

If you have a username and password for your domain name through a register such as GoDaddy or Network Solutions then you are in great shape.  You are able to easily use your credential to log into your domain name account and make any changes you would like.

If you don't have the username and password all is not lost though.  Read on...

2) WHOIS Information

Domain name information is stored in a system known as WHOIS (who is), which as its  name says tells you who is the domain name owner.  You can view this information by going to www.domaintools.com and entering the domain name you want to check there.

The WHOIS system will give you quite a bit of information on the domain name.  It will tell you when it was registered, when it is set to expire, contact information, as well as who the domain name is registered with and who is hosting the site for the domain.

This information will serve as a basis as you check the areas below.

 

3) Registrant

When you check the domain name you want to first of all check the section for the registrant. The registrant is going to be the legal owner of the domain itself. If the domain name is for a business or other official entity such as a non-profit, that name should be listed here.  This is important especially if you have a change of staff and the person listed may leave, your organization would still be listed there.

In the event that you do not have control of the domain name you must have the correct registrant information if you are going to need to fight to get control back.  The address isn't so critical as the actual name.

 

4) Administrative E-Mail Address

It is important that you have access to this email address as this is where all domain related transfer requests would go.  If you need to regain control of your domain a typical process would include you putting a transfer request in at a registrar and they will then send that request through and you will have to approve it by clicking on an email sent to your admin email address.

If you do not have access to this email address such as if your previous web designer registered it in their own email account then you have two options. You can contact them and explain that you want control of the domain name and that you want them to change the admin address to yours. Many times this works like a charm.  If my company were to receive such a request then we would gladly change it for you.  Sometimes though it doesn't work.  Perhaps you are not on the best terms with the previous person or that person is simply gone and unresponsive.

If you can not have it changed that way then you can contact the register (see below) and they usually have a process that requires you to fax in some forms and a letter of explanation on company letterhead and a copy of your drivers license.

 

5) Is the domain name locked?

For a domain name transfer to go through properly the domain name must be unlocked.  This is a problem because if you do not have access to the domain name account you will not be able to unlock the domain.  If this is the case you are going to need to get in contact with the current registrar and explain the situation.  Hopefully they will be able to unlock it for you.  This may take awhile though, so you want to make sure you leave plenty of time before your domain name is set to expire.

 

6) Where is the domain name registered?

This information is going to be found in the WHOIS information.  If you are going to need to contact the registrar in the even you need your email address changed or a domain name unlocked then you will need to look in the WHOIS to determine who to contact.

Conclusion

The bottom line though is if you have an issue with a domain name you need to look into it sooner rather then later.  As always we are here to help too.  We would be glad to help you out with your domain name issues, just give us a call at 877-525-2463.

Resolutions - Revisited

Back on January 1st I talked about my resolution to blog daily.  I have to say that I did indeed post daily, however that only worked for 9 days.

I'm not going to give up yet though, today is February 1st, and I'm going to try it again.  So stay tuned, there is much to come.

POP3 or IMAP or Webmail for Email?

When you host your web site with us that also means we are going to handle your email accounts as well.  So when you have have an email address we need to make sure that you receive those emails properly.  As with everything else there with email you have many options.

The first option is called POP3.  POP3 standard for Post Office Protocol version three.  Using the POP3 method you would use a email client on your computer such as Microsoft Outlook or Eudora.  When you check your mail the client will contact the server and download all of the messages from the server to your client.  In most configurations the client will delete the email on the server once it is delivered to your computer.

Many people like this option because you have full control of your email.  You can easily change your service provider because all of your mail is stored on your own computer.  Additionally you have much less restrictions on your mail.  Many providers limit the size of the emails you can keep and/or the time you can keep them.  With POP3 though once the email has been retrieved down to your own computer system it doesn't take up any space on the server itself.

One of the concerns though is since the email is stored only on your computer you must make sure that it is being backed up properly.  If something were to happen to your computer then all of your email would be lost forever.

Since POP3 will remove the email from the server if you were to check your email using the webmail interface then you would not see the emails that have already been downloaded to the client.  This applies to other devices that access your email too such as all of the smart phones out there.

IMAP or Internet Message Access Protocol is another method that an email client can connect to the server and check your email.  IMAP though keeps the email stored on the server instead of downloading it to your computer.  IMAP is great for people who need to be able to check their email from multiple devices, or use multiple computers.  However you do need to have a consistent connection to the Internet so this is not a good solution if you have only a dial-up connection.

Since IMAP stores email on the server you will run into problems if you try to keep all of your emails online.  There are workarounds though depending on your situation.  For example if you have a desktop computer you can use client software that allows you to move emails off of the IMAP connection and into your folder structure on your own system.  This would enabled you to keep your incoming email on your smart phone, while allowing you to archive gigabytes of email at the same time, being the best of both worlds.

The last option is webmail.  Webmail is the option where you do not even use any type of client software.  There is nothing to install on your computer.  All you do is go to the correct web site location and enter your user name and password.  This is a great option if you use public computers such as at a library or school, where you can't really download and install software.  Webmail use to be very basic, but today they have many features and some people even prefer them over using the client based software.

Phishing is nothing new

Everybody seems to be talking about phishing now.  The thing is though, phishing has been around for ages, even before the Internet.  People have been tricking others through postal mail for ages.  I was reminded of this when I was talking with a client about receiving an official looking government notice saying that you must buy a poster set that has all of the federally mandated posting requirements or face high penalties.  The issue though is most businesses can obtain these posters from the agenciies themselves for free or through organizations such as the Indiana Chamber for a low price.

Anytime you receive any type of request for payment you really have to think through what it is.  We see this same type of postal mail phishing with companies trying to get you to switch over your domain name.  They monitor the WHOIS database (which is where contact information for domain name owners is kept) and send out notices before a domain name expires.  Again these companies focus on the fear factor and try to scare you into paying them.  You think you are doing the right thing, because it seems like if you don't you will lose your domain name, however you are really switching providers and are going to probably pay a much higher rate.

There is a way to stop all of this nonsense though, and its quite simple.  You need to simply not buy from these companies, and tell everyone else not to buy too.  People send these notices out because people actually do pay them and they find it to be profitable.  If more people were aware of the real reasons for these notices then that equation will change, and as soon as it loses it profitability then
the mailings will stop.

Flood Insurance, or why business continuity shouldn't be a bad phrase

Our office and my home are here in the Midwest, namely the Northwest Indiana region and it just about hit 60 degrees here yesterday in January!  This then lead to some major thunderstorms in the area and tornadoes a bit more North West on the Illinois/Wisconsin border.  Many roads were closed today and even more had a couple inches deep or water that made for a very time consuming commute.

 

The reason I mention this though, is who would have predicted major rain storms or tornadoes in the mid of winter?  With all of the odd weather it seems like such oddities as this are becoming the norm.  This means that we need to be prepared both personally and for our businesses.

 

What if your office flooded?  Would you lose precious paper files?  Would your computers and server survive? If you did have a loss, would you be able to open up again?  Do you have backups in place?  If you do have backups, do you keep them in your office too?

 

Even worse then just having water damage is having a fire in your facility.  Not only will you have the obvious fire damage, which would completely gut everything, but even a minor fire can lead to smoke and water damage.

 

Now is as good a time as any to prepare for the worst with a business continuity plan.  Notice I do not say disaster recovery, because you want to plan for more then just disasters.

 

I like to engage clients by asking a couple of questions:

 

• What would happen to your business if you died tomorrow? (Nothing like hitting close to home)
• Do you have backups of your important electronic files?  If so have you verified that you can recover data from the backups?  Do you keep a backup off site?
• What would happen if there was no loss, but you couldn't go to your office because of a snow storm or major flu outbreak?
• What if a thief breaks in and steals all of your computer equipment?  Do you have sensitive information that belongs to your customers and/or employees?

 

 

I will be writing in more depth about these topics in upcoming writings, however until then please be sure to check out the official US Government web site at www.ready.gov.

Web Hosting Provider Selection

My company provides web site hosting services, so you may want to take what I have to say here with a grain or two of salt, but it also puts us in a position to better explain hosting terms.  So hear goes...

 

Free or Paid Hosting

Everyone loves free stuff.  Free hosting sounds great, you sign up with just an email address, no credit card required and you are given tools to make your own site and launch it live pretty much immediately.  That though is about the extant of the pros to free hosting.

 

Downsides include:

1. You do not have your own domain name, but a name that is part of your provider's domain name. Your name also is going to probably be long.  So instead of having www.yourcompany.com you might have www.freeprovider.com/users/~yourcompany/. This makes it hard to promote it on your other marketing material or advertising.

2. The majority of the free services are free because they are supported by advertisements.  These ads automatically appear on your pages, and may include popup ads.

3. No email.  You must use your email provided by your ISP, or a free service such as Hot Mail or other such provider.  This again makes corporate branding about impossible.

4. No E-Commerce.  Most free providers do not allow any form of e-commerce, and some do not allow any type of business web site.

 

The alternative to the free web hosting services of course are the paid services.  In this category there are more choices to consider.  The first is the level of hosting you need.  You can have at the most basic level shared or dedicated hosting.  Shared hosting means that you are going to share a server with other people.  Depending on the company and the server you may be sharing with ten other people, or you may be sharing with 1,000 others.

 

This may sound bad, but usually it isn't.  The key is to find a reputable hosting company that has been in business awhile.  Most companies do not need much in way of web hosting, just enough to provide a presence for them on the Internet and allow them to have a professional looking email address.  If the hosting company carefully monitors their systems and ensures that the proper security measures are in place then shared hosting allows you to have a low cost, but highly reliable hosting account.  Basic hosting usually costs between $2-$100 a month.

 

For web sites that have a great amount of traffic or has specialized requirements a dedicated hosting account may be required.  A dedicated account on the other hand means that you are renting a whole server yourself.  It is important if you are going to have a dedicated account to know if the price you are quoted includes management.  Typically you do not want to be responsible for server management unless you have a full time IT person (or department) as maintaining a server properly is an ongoing commitment that really doesn't offer you any business value, except for when you don't and your web site gets hacked because you forgot to install that patch from two years ago.

 

Having a dedicated server though typically will offer you lower prices when looking at large disk space and bandwidth requirements when looking at a megabyte by megabyte comparison, but you also need to be aware of other possible charges.  Some companies charge a flat rate, others may have a really low price, but you may soon find that there are lots of extras that you really need that drive that low price way up. Dedicated Server prices typically run from $200 to $500 a month.

Another varient of dedicated hosting is cluster hosting.  This level of hosting can become very complex quite fast though.  If you have a site that must be on-line and server pages to visitors up to 100% of the time a cluster setup is what you need to be looking at.  These you typically won't find unless you go through a company that can configure it for you.  Pricing for this level has so many variables, but is usually pretty steep.  However if you are a company that can put a price tag on being down for 20 minutes at 2 am once every other week, then this may be what you need.

Some other things to be aware of:

• Uptime Guarantee
• Long Term Contracts
• Domain Name Registration Ownership
• Server type – Linux or Microsoft?
• Database support
• Programming language support
• SSH Access
• Control Panel Functionality
• Statistical analysis capabilities
• Backup policies
• Overselling
• Email Accounts

I'll talk about these points in an upcoming posting.