Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.23.11

FDTs for 5.23.11:

1. E-Book v. Printed Book - HubSpot posted this on their blog. Very interesting to see Amazon's eBook sales exceed their printed book sales. We've seen it with music, dvd rentals and books. The digital world has completely disrupted these industries. Misc thoughts/observations.

• Music and DVD rental stores are almost impossible to find now, but bookstores, although less than before, are still around. 
• Big Box bookstores have kind of figured this out, but they need a lecture from Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz on "The Experience". In my humble opinion, big box bookstores have to create a one of a kind "experience" or their life will be short-lived. Experience Hint #1 - Quit putting your locations in strip malls with fluorescent lights. Reduce inventory and give me something a little more quaint.
• Personal preference - I am a hard copy kind of guy. I like the touch and feel and there is something satisfying about looking at my bookshelf at home and seeing all the books that I have read.
• Overall Marketing Takeaway - Does your business have a digital disaster plan? I'm speaking specifically to service industries that rely heavily on market information or field expertise. Finance, Real Estate, Law, Accounting...be prepared!
• Thoughts on eBook v. Printed book and the next industry to be hit?

2.  Lance Armstrong - I really hope that all the accusations against him are false, but it is certainly hard to believe they are after the Tyler Hamilton interview on 60 Minutes. I have him in the MJ, Jerry Rice, Gretzky, Old Tiger category. You tune in for the athlete and not the game/sporting event.

3. Name the location - Stopped by here on the way back from Albany, GA. 1st person to respond gets to sit on the jury for Harvey Updyke's case.

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.16.11

FDTs for 5.16.11:

1. Time Management - Tried a new thing today that I read in Entrepreneur Magazine. Pretty simple, but very effective. Took 20 minutes at the start of the day to plan my day. Allowed myself 3 check-in times on social media/email accounts and had them turned off the rest of the day. Extremely productive day and I don't feel like I missed any of the latest buzz on Twitter and Facebook. Also, had plenty of time to read emails and provided replies to all that needed attention. Anybody got some more productivity tips? Please share.

2. Social Media Posting Frequency - I've seen some stats on the optimal amount and times of daily posts via social media outlets, but can't put my finger on it. Obviously optimal will be different for personal v. business accounts and who is following or a friend. Depth of content and general demographics will certainly play a role in this determination. Just curious...in your opinion what is the optimal amounts and times of social media posts for the following networks (Personal and Business): Facebook, Twitter, Blog and why? 

3. Obama in Memphis - Congrats to Booker T. Washington High in Memphis. The President spoke at their graduation today. I'm always amazed at the amount of planning and prep work it takes for a Presidential visit. I'm not sure what I would say to the President if I had a one on one conversation with him. Do you talk golf, basketball, upcoming campaign strategy, ask him to follow you on Twitter, congratulate him on Bin Laden? Also, handshake only, handshake with arm slap, handshake and one arm bro hug? What would you say and how would you act? Here is some footage thanks to Memphis station WMC-TV.

4. Big ATL Weekend - That's right 4 thoughts today...See #1.Had a great weekend in ATL for our friend's wedding. Big highlight of the weekend was eating at Wisteria. If you are in the Inman Park area, you have to stop in to eat here. You can't go wrong with the pork or beef tenderloin. Here is the menu. I'm hungry now! Are you?

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.11.11

FDTs for 5.11.11:

1. Sports & Entertainment Tickets - Been hearing a lot lately about demand-based/dynamic pricing for tickets. Here are two Fast Company articles that are worth reading. Article #1 / Article #2 . Interesting read on Groupon/Live Nation deal. I'm very interested to see what StubHub's response will be. A little surprised that this type of pricing didn't come sooner.  Will this be a win for the ticketmasters of the world or the crowds that will be attending the events? Or both?

2. Memphis Productivity - Thanks to Alan Sweet a co-worker of mine who brought this up yesterday. He was wondering if there was a way to measure the dip in work productivity in Memphis yesterday due to the Grizzlies triple overtime game on Monday night. He could be on to something here. Is it better to do business with people the day after a non-game night instead of after a game night? If you know how to measure this, send me a message. Surely someone could make some money off this.

3. Go Grizz! #stillbelieve 

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.10.11

FDTs for 5.10.11:

1. Mobile Marketing Strategy - Attended Mobile Camp Memphis this past weekend, enjoyed hearing about trends in mobile application development and marketing. Shared this stat on Saturday, but thought it was worth it to share again (if you want more from this deck go here).

Morgan Stanley conducted research that shows that Mobile (tablet devices included) Internet Users will surpass Desktop Internet Users by the year 2014. 

How does this affect your marketing strategies and tactics?  What are you currently doing to engage the mobile user? How are you integrating messaging (chat/text) functions? Is the PC dead?

2. Memphis Flooding - Al Roker in town today = FLOOD! Here is a picture of Beale Street (Disclaimer: Beale Street is only flooded below the bluff. No need to cancel your next outing to the  "Entertainment District" portion)

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.5.11

Pensamientos diarios Fiser para 5.5.11

1. Recently had some in-depth discussions with professionals in the real estate (commercial/residential) business about the use of QR codes and social media in their marketing efforts. I found that the residential sector is really leading the way in these mktg. efforts. Mostly b/c buying a house is much more personal than leasing office space. I still think there are tactics for both sectors, but they are strikingly different. If you were buying a house or looking for office space would you prefer to get your information about a property from a QR code before contacting an agent? What would you like to see that QR code direct you to? Floor plans, amenities, virtual tours, etc.? If a real estate agent used QR codes and SM would you be more inclined to engage with them? I know...lots of questions.


2. MobileCamp Memphis here I come! If you are in the Memphis area this weekend and have interest in mobile applications or programming then this is the event for you. You can sign up here.


3. That's right! Cinco de Mayo! Get your margarita on! Wish I could, but got things to do tonight. At least spring finals in my MBA program ended last night! ECON and MIS you're next in the cross hairs. Here is my 8.5 x 11 cheat sheet I was allowed to bring in last night. Yes...I got a headache from the 5pt. font.

   

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 5.2.11

FDTs for 5.2.11:

1. Osama Reaction - Checked Twitter on my phone b/f going to bed last night and got the news that OBL was dead. Immediately turned on the TV to watch coverage. Throughout the day, I have been very interested in how this news would affect the market. Here's a recap of the day and an interesting article about how markets might be affected long-term. What's your prediction on how this will affect the markets in the near future? Are you bullish or bearish on this?

2. Interesting QR Code Stat - Stat from survey conducted by MediaPost:

• Demographics of US Smartphone Users Who Have Used a QR Code (Age)
• 18-34 - 39%
• 35-54 - 48%
• 55+ - 13%

Definitely thought that 18-34 would be the leader. So...the question is how do you use this stat to get more business? I would think there are a lot of 35-54 y/o QR code users out there that make very important decisions for the companies that they work for. How can you integrate QRs into your business? If you are already doing it, share it. I would love to hear about it.

3. Memphis Grizzlies...Wow! Went to the game on Friday night and the FedEx Forum was electric. Pic is a little blurry, but you get the point.

     

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.28.11

FDTs for 4.28.11:

Apologies for missing a few days. Had a couple of road trips and my power has been down for 2 days with all the storms in Memphis.

1. Twitter in the Rain - Speaking of bad weather. With three consecutive days of inclement weather in MEM, I have found that Twitter is by far the best way to get weather updates. The last thing I want in any storm is DirecTV!

2. Pay It Forward - Okay on to more exciting things... @SteveCase tweeted this website out today.  It's 20 blogs that every entrepreneur should read. I'm a big believer of spending 30 min. each day to cruise through articles, blogs, tweets from forward thinking business people. Don't stop there. Pay it forward and send it to your current customers and prospects. It might be the spark for more business. Let me know if it works...

3. Got a big open house tonight at the office. Not even sure I need to mingle with customers/prospects since we have Ghost River/@boscossquared beer! Got a keg of Golden Ale and Witbier and that should do all the talking!

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.21.11

FDTs for 4.21.11:

1. Company Website = The New Office Lobby - Ran across this stat today via @fastcompany article.

"Roughly 97% of consumers make their purchasing decisions via the web but decide to buy the products instead at physical retail locations."

Although this figure is for e-commerce, I would think this trend extends to other business sectors, but maybe not at such a high rate. Regardless, what does this mean for your business? I think it is a good indicator that your website has now become the lobby to your office. If your website is the first thing a prospect saw, would they explore further, email, even call? Or move on to the next company? Consider a facelift, monitoring analytics, and connecting to your website with social media activities.What are you doing to drive and keep web traffic?

2. No #2 today. I'm going to have to blame it on #3. See you on Monday!

3. No work tomorrow! And this means heading to the Madison Rooftop Party. If you are in downtown Memphis, stop by after work. $7 cover. Cocktails, Food, Music. It all last until 10pm.

   

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.20.11

FDTs for 4.20.11:

My apologies for missing yesterday. I was away for most of the day. Back at it today...

1. Attention Upcoming Graduates - I really enjoyed this article from Brad Feld. Read it over lunch and being an MBA student instantly connected. How did you choose where to go after college/grad school? Decision based on a job or based on a city or something else? My first jump out of college was based on a job and not where I wanted to make a life. Don't get me wrong...I'm glad I did it this way b/c ultimately I made a life and met my wife. Article reminds me of a quote from Twain,

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream.  Discover."

Hope all the upcoming graduates will get a little inspiration from this article.

2. Internal Brand Ambassadors - Is your team ambassadors for your brand 24/7 or just during working hours? I'm certainly not advocating that everyone drink the company Kool-Aid 24/7, but I do think that employees can capitalize on great opportunities outside of work. Might be at a church, a child's school function, a bar, etc. Do you have your team prepared to be an ambassador for your brand? If I run across any literature on this, I will post to the blog.

3. Grizz Nation! Rise Up! 7:30pm CT TNT. Let's do this!

     

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.18.11

FDTs for 4.18.11:

Hope the weekend went well for everyone. Got to make it quick today. There is a 12-page corporate governance/ethics paper waiting on me to pay some attention to it.

1. In the spirit of corporate governance and ethics...When investing, do you ever review the credentials of the company's board of directors. In the past I don't think I would have done this, but after taking this corporate governance/ethics class I probably will. Next time you think about investing in a company's stock, take a quick look at their board. I think you will be glad you did.

2. Okay...I admit that #1 was boring. On to augmented reality apps. I've already blogged about this subject, but wanted to touch on it again. How about augmented reality app for real estate? Think it would be great for condo hunting, office space leasing, etc. Hold your mobile device up to a building and check out what's inside. What do you think? Does it exist?

3. Wife was out of town this weekend. Here was her replacement. Somebody played too hard!

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.15.11

FDTs for 4.15.11:

Weekend Edition!

1. Cold Calls. Just hearing these words can make people shiver. Is a true cold call becoming extinct due to social media? I've often used LinkedIn and Twitter to warm a lead up before calling a prospect. I'm mixed on whether to begin with a strict cold call or the social media warm-up. Both have pros/cons and seem to be largely dependent upon factors such as the age, industry, personality of your prospect.  Regardless, I believe a mix of both optimizes your chances of turning a prospect into a client. What's your choice and why?
 
2. If you haven't already, check these guys out. SeatGeek (@SeatGeek). I first read about this company in Fast Company (@fastcompany) a while back. Some of the perks of using them: Aggregate tickets from several online ticket providers, pricing forecast and a peek of your seat view before you buy.  

3. Haven't had these guys in a while. So delicious...

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.14.11

FDTs for 4.14.11:

1. Been following OpenView Venture Partners (@OpenViewVenture) for a couple of weeks on twitter. They push out great content via OpenView Labs (@OpenView_Labs) that is worth 10 min. of your time. Not to mention, great business model for VC Firm.

2. While I'm touting OpenView, this was a great article that they pushed out today about driving email based subscriptions... http://labs.openviewpartners.com/what-should-an-incentive-to-subscribe-look-like/

3. Day baseball is the greatest! Wish I could have made the Redbirds game today.

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.13.11

FDTs for 4.13.11:

1. Virtual Dressing Rooms - Does this mean that brick and mortar clothing stores are a thing of the past? Especially with free shipping becoming the norm? Still think people like the shopping "experience" and touch and feel of the clothing. Next question is how to get a virtual shopping assistant involved. Here is a YouTube clip:

2.  Social Media Single Sign-On Technology - Calling on someone much more sophisticated than me to build or enlighten me if it already exists... Can we get one site that will consolidate all our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) with SSO tech? Something like HootSuite or TweetDeck does for Twitter.

3. 72 degrees, no clouds in sight, perfect day on the workplace rooftop!

 

Fiser's Daily Thoughts - 4.12.11

Like a bad habit, I'm back to my blog. This time, I'm taking a little bit of a different approach...

Instead of long narratives that may or may not captivate you, I am going to throw two to three of my daily thoughts out. My hope is that some of these will promote in-depth conversations that could produce even greater ideas.

FDT's for 4.12.11

1. QR Codes in Commercial Real Estate - I've seen a lot of QR codes utilized in residential real estate, but not many in commercial real estate. Easy way to show off listings. Maybe take it a step further and engage the prospect with a chat/text function? Couple of links to check out:

http://www.slideshare.net/Stutts/20-interesting-things-qr-codes
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2010/10/11/tidbits1.html

2. Charter School Administrative Support - Currently, there is not a good solution for back office support in Tennessee charter schools. Accountants/Development Directors/Etc. are needed like any other school, but the funds aren't there to pay a competitive salary. Could pooling charter school's back office duties together be the solution? California has done it...

http://www.exed.net/

3. My killer shoes that arrived last night via Zappos (yet another plug for them)