So just this last week, I was contacted by a client who requested a budget proposal for a potential point of sale (POS) installation.  This particular POS install is fairly simple, straight forward, as the level of difficulty to complete the task would be considered to many people as easy.  In order to give a quote, I need to know all the details such as the specific vendor, # of locations, addresses, how and what is being installed in each store, materials and tools required, timeline and deadline date.  One critical element that makes my job easier is being able to upload a store list on a web based program and identify their location on Google Maps.  This gives me an accurate perspective on the number of locations in a designated market area, how much time and man power it will take to complete the project and allows me to calculate mileage between routes.  The bottom line here is that in 2003, a project consisting of 100 locations would eat my lunch.  Everything was done manually; the mapping was a Border’s map that I physically wrote on, the staffing was organized by phone calls, assigning locations were organized on a Word document, projecting mileage was estimated via Mapquest, receipts, recaps and cd’s for proof of performance were usually snail mailed from the Post Office.  7 years later, the technologies have vastly improved these processes and NOW there’s not much of a difference in executing 100 grocery stores or 2,200 convenience stores.  However, my set of challenges have changed and we continue to adjust with the times.   

Today, technology is very much the backbone of most work environments, whether it’s internet, computer programs, conference calls, travel or paperwork.  Here at M2W, these high tech components continue to play a critical role during the pre and post phases of most of my execution processes.  I’ve seen our company jump leaps and bounds, crediting many of our talented co-workers and their incredible vision.  As I run through a few examples, keep in mind that everyone in our company works from an in-home virtual office.  If I need to have a 5 person meeting, we use GoToMeeting and have a real-time webinar.  If I have a quick question, I can ping you via Blackberry text or instant message you with a quick note.  Skype is our “electronic” in and out box.  This is how we screen-share our weekly status calls or use a live video conference to review any budgets or proposals.  M2W uses resources such as ProjectPath, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Jigsaw, Yousendit, LinkedIn, ACT, Hotspot, Woot, Vonage, Hot Jobs, Craigslist, Hoovers, Point Blanc IT Support, M2W Event System featuring an on-line paperwork portal and many other.  Over all, I work with as many as 60 work related accounts with user names and passwords, URLS, websites, conference call numbers and codes.  So much technology, so much to learn.  So many ways that help us succeed. 

There is one driving force that I have not mentioned yet and it’s our nationwide staffing capability.  It’s called “being connected".  With our M2W nationwide staff anything and everything is possible.  If M2W wins this bid, we'll be looking at 12 states, 16 markets and 2,200 location.  It may seem difficult to manage, but not impossible.  In a nut shell, the recruiting process will take place by sending a detailed mass email to our nationwide staff.  Once staff is confirmed, brand ambassadors will be “dropped” into a web base program that shows me each of their location on a geo-map (longitude / latitude) and allows me to assign surrounding stores in their area.  All locations will be assigned by a click of a button enabled by converting these mapped out locations into a CSV store lists.  All staff will be able to fill out or update their paperwork on-line in a matter of minutes.  All paperwork such as recaps, receipts, mileage and proof of performance pictures will be uploaded on-line for real time viewing.  Top line regional and nationwide reports are simulated on a micro web site for the client at their request.  It's no doubt that 5 years ago we practically lived in a different world.  As technology changes so will our challenges.  The one constant will be our desire to aim high and succeed.  Below is a picture of my office space displaying a Blackberry, scanner, two calculators, lap top, two extra monitors, one printer, one digital camera, wireless ear phones and a wireless mouse.  I'm just a little connected these days.          

M2W recently undertook a national bilingual sweepstakes and download program for one of our top clients. The program required a website with sweepstakes details and an area for entering a code to download a new video for an up and coming artist. To carry out said task, we reached out to three different web design companies. One of them, HIT WEB DESIGN (formerly Heritage Web Solutions) promised the moon for the cost of a pebble. Their sales team was enthusiastic and won us over by promising a website in a week at a fraction of the cost of other companies. So, I know you will ask...did we get the moon we were promised?

Well, we got "mooned" in once sense of the word. The initial contact was impressive for sure, and they seemed able to do anything and everything we would need, but when I called it took an average of three days for someone to return my calls (seriously!). I emailed and called on numerous occasions, asking questions that would not get answered and sending files that would soon be lost. I even designed the look of the site in Photoshop and send them the file to copy! After weeks of going back and forth with several staff members while they were "checking into things", I started to get nervous. Meanwhile, we began printing the in-store materials and developing other elements of the program for the Friday, June 25th launch.

On Wednesday, June 23rd (that's right, 2 days before program launch), after countless failed attempts to contact the Hit Web Design developer, writer, translator, tech support and customer service, not to mention a pleading email from Clare Wynne, M2W CEO, I broke out in a cold sweat when I realized that this website was not going to be done. Meanwhile they had charged our credit card on two separate occasions. I was going to have to figure out another plan of action or lose our biggest client.

Luckily, on that balmy Wednesday evening, a couple of superhero website ninjas (Marc Castillo and James Barnett) came to my rescue! We worked around the clock, bought a new domain, designed and developed the site in the nick of time. What a team! The world didn't come to an end and we delivered (big sigh).

A week later, I received a call from Sean at HIT WEB DESIGN, responding to a message (from over a week prior!) I left on the tech support voicemail. He began the call by asking, "Have you been trying to call HIT WEB DESIGN?" (pause for eye rolling). "Yes," I replied, "I have been trying to call for sometime now" (breathing deeply and trying not to cry or scream at this person) "however, nobody responded to me in time and not only did I have to move forward with the website on my own and get it done without your help, I had to buy a new domain. I'm trying to finish the site up now since it's past deadline." To which he replied, "well sorry about that. you should probably get back to your website then."

HIT or MISS? "Hit" web design is definitely a "miss" in my opinion.

Oh, and here's the kicker...check out the image below. I called and emailed during the dates shown and obviously several people checked on our account, yet none of them have responded to me to this day. Beware of HIT WEB DESIGN!

How do you measure the success of an event in the world of event marketing? Is it based on the number of banners you have up? Or the number of people who stopped by your booth? Or the amount of swag you give away? Or is it more than that? If you polled a group of 10 people who work in the field you will probably get a different answer from each of them.

Every day I am faced with dealing with clients who all have a different view on how to measure the success of an event. The words that come up the most are impressions, ROI and branding. With street teams and guerilla events sometimes it’s hard to measure what is good and what isn’t.  So with this in mind a set out at the recent Event Marketing Summit to find an answer that could appease all of my clients and their ideas.

The EMS conference was great. The main themes focused on social media, technology, emerging trends and hyper targeting in the field. A lot of talk was based on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets intertwined within the events and how if you aren’t part of this social media you are out of the loop. But through the talks about Socialnomics, impact of these groups and how to hyper target your consumer I still wasn’t getting the answer to how to measure the success of an event to give back to my clients.

Finally on the last day we had a fabulous ROI Breakfast Roundtable. I had found what I was looking for. I sat down at a table on how to measure the ROI at your events and within the first few minutes I had validity for what I had known all along.  

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE IMPRESSION, BUT THE COMPRESSION OF ACCELERATING THE SALES PROCESS.

It’s not about how many banners you had up or how many spins of the prize wheel or really how many people you talked to. At the end of the event if you can answer the following question then the event was a success: Did your interaction with these people through whatever aspects accelerate the process of that consumer wanting and needing to buy your product? It may not be today or tomorrow, but when it’s time to make the decision about the type of product have you given them the knowledge and know how to pick your product over someone else?

If you can answer yes to this question then you’ve succeed in branding, educating and making an impression on the consumer and in the end you will see the ROI that you want - Sales. Of course more people make more impressions and interactions and more branding makes more conversation but it’s more than that. I know this does not apply to all products, promotions and events but in the end when it’s time for me to buy what you are promoting will I consider your product. If so then your event was a success. So next time don't look at the numbers, but the impact you how you can acclerate the sale. 

If you look up the word "work" in Webster’s dictionary it has over 11 definitions. How can a simple four letter word mean so much and at times drive you so crazy? We all complain about work and how hard it is, but have we ever stopped to see what was so hard about it? I decided to take a look at this word and how those definitions WORK in my life.  

Definition 1: the labor, task, or duty that is one’s accustomed means of livelihood.

 This is what I do from 8a-6p Monday through Friday and on most weekends. It’s something I put my heart and soul and a lot of hours into. I’ve had a lot of bad work experiences and I’ve done a lot of different work. But now I’m in a place where work stresses me out like no tomorrow, but I still enjoy getting up and going to on most days. This is the place I get to use my creative skills and ideas to come up with some off the wall ideas and concepts and they work. It is also the reason I get a paycheck to pay my bills each month.

Definition2: activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something.

AKA...the workout. Workouts can be grueling. From swimming a mile, to doing a p90x workout to running its all work that is both mental and physical. It takes a lot of work to train to run a half marathon and I’m working on it as I can. (When the other work doesn’t get in the way). This kind of work is the goals you set and achieve when you work on excelling and pushing your boundaries to achieve those milestones. It’s the pain, the sweat and the tears that all lead to meeting and exceeding those physical and mental goals. In the end this work has payoff that is not only physical, but mental as well. This work is my stress reliever and it always works to bring me back to a better place.

Definition 3: something produced or accomplished by effort, exertion or exercise of skill.

I believe that this is the greatest definition of all for work. I’ve got a lot of great works in process right now. They range from the book I’ve been working on for five years to the T-Ball team I coach to the Outdoor Women’s group I helped to found and now run. But I have to say the greatest work of all in my life is my son. I brought this incredible piece of work into this world and every day I help to mold him into what he will be in the future. It takes a lot of hard work to be a parent, but nothing is more rewarding in the end.

Today I was on Facebook and there seems to be at least 10-15 of my friends complaining about work. At times I am guilty of this as well, but sometimes we have to understand what work really is. We all know it is hard and stressful at times. And it can be a lot of sweat, tears and pain at times. But sometimes at the end of this day it is the joy in your life. We all have to work for things, but sometimes your greatest work of all is right in front of you.

As someone who spends a lot of time traveling for work I am no stranger to the world of airports and airlines. We all know that the airline industry has taken some big hits in the last few years. They’ve downsized their fleet, staff and crew and upsized the charges for luggage and even seat selection. But no matter what it’s still the main mode of transportation for me. Just ask the TSA agents and airline folks at my home base airport, they know me by name.

We all have our favorite airlines. I know I do. And it’s not because my home airport has only three choices, but more because of where they go, the flexibility of the airline, what their prices are and what I can expect as a frequent flyer member. If I had to rank the ones I enjoy flying the most are Southwest, Air-Tran, Continental and American. They all offer great things from in-flight internet, to first class upgrades, to short TSA lines to free flights and beverages.

I am proud to say I am a SWA A-List member. I love no lines, early boarding and most of all I can check in an hour before a flight and still get a good boarding number. Many of you will say SWA is a cattle call, but I like picking my seat even if I booked last minute. I’m usually one of the first 30 people on the plane and I never get stuck with a middle seat. Within the next few months I will have acquired the prestigious Companion Pass. Yes my husband will be able to go with me anywhere I plan on going (if he can get off work). And of course there is the bags fly free. Who doesn’t love that? I don’t usually check luggage, but it’s a perk I’ll take anyways.

There are other things I love about SWA, but most of all I live for their customer service. No matter how bad the weather, how irate the other customers get or how crazy my travel gets I always have the best people taking care of me. They reach out to me via text, phone calls, email and even on Facebook to let me know what the travel issues are. I never feel out of the loop.

In the world of marketing today you can promote any product, service or event but what really matters in the end is the customer service that surrounds it. My goal in 2010 for M2W and all the Market Managers and team members I work with is to instill the highest level of customer service with every person they engage with. It’s amazing how much of a company’s reputation is based on their customer service.

I can’t do toilet paper roll races or sing a cute jingle song or rap like SWA crew members do on their flights. I can however ensure you that no matter how much turbulence we have or how late the flight is or what mechanical delays we may encounter in this journey of 2010 will all our clients and events I will be there along with my crew to ensure that we make your journey and travels as smooth as possible. And to make sure you are never out of the loop.

So please return your tray tables and seat backs to the full most upright position. Sit back, relax and prepare for takeoff into 2010.