Sometimes I’m utterly amazed at how some large businesses are unable to fix bad customer experiences. I’m sharing this story, not to browbeat my cell phone company, but to talk about the root problem. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight I’ll be speaking with the Poughkeepsie Chapter of the Association For Computing Machinery.  I’ve spoken at one of their meetings before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. You probably won’t find a room full of more powerful brains in the Hudson Valley. I’m taking the opportunity to discuss one of my favorite topics, the history of engineering and marketing.  Here in the Hudson Valley, we’re in the historic stomping grounds – or at least the vicinity of a great deal of the history of the American Industrial Revolution. Read the rest of this entry »

Trying to Second-Guess the Color of the Google Logo from Existing Data

One of the favorite games of SEO’s is to figure out what Google is thinking based on the data available.  We create tests, analyze patterns, and even carefully review Matt Cutts’ videos backwards, seeking hidden messages.  In that tradition, DragonSearch has embarked on a study of the colors in the Google logo to determine what color would come next if there was another letter in the Google name.

As we are moving into the world of plus one with everything, and in the spirit of helping the graphic designers at Google, we think this question should be answered. Read the rest of this entry »

The AIDA Model & Elias St. Elmo Lewis

While writing Social Marketology, my new book on social media marketing, I get fixated on a particular fact and spend countless hours researching.  One fact that has consumed more of my time than any other is the idea that a guy named Elias St. Elmo Lewis invented an oft-cited marketing concept of AIDA (acronym for “attention, interest, desire, action”). AIDA is often part and parcel of something called the customer funnel, sales funnel, and marketing funnel. Derrick White, in his 2000 book “Close More Sales,” wrote “AIDA is probably the oldest acronym in marketing. It is the best and will never change.” Read the rest of this entry »

When visitors enter the front door to my house, they have to come through a second door through a room that is covered on all four walls by books. Another few stacks, each at least a couple of feet tall stand next to the bed, and likewise, my son’s room is filled to capacity. Some people are carrying their libraries around in a device called a Kindle or a Nook: I’ve got a lot of books in one of those, too. I love books, and if you call my mother, she’ll tell you that I always have. Read the rest of this entry »