Over the course of the most recent Solid Cactus Boot Camp we enjoyed many activities, from the presentations to the nightlife. Boot Campers went home with plenty of fresh e-commerce knowledge and funny stories to hold them over until our next Boot Camp.
As Solid Cactus team members, we don’t have as many opportunities as we’d like to hear what the attendees liked best about Boot Camp. We find ourselves happily and busily rushing about, fielding questions, and getting to know our clients on a more personal level.
I decided to take one of the opportunities I did have to talk to one attendee who attended our most recent Boot Camp. After a week of trying to find a free moment in the busy calendar of Peter Massey, owner of TheAfternoon.com, I was able to gain some insight into what he thought of his experience.
Peter said he enjoyed all aspects of Boot Camp from meeting the team of people who work hard every day on his store, to the infamous Karaoke Night, presentations, and Magic Show at the closing of the Boot Camp Festivities. There was no time wasted in making face-to-face introductions. Peter said that “face time is important”, and having the chance to meet and “get into each other’s heads” really is beneficial when moving forward with either Store Development or Marketing projects on the horizon.
This was true with the 2 hour strategy session where Shana Cavuto, George Sisco, Kevin Baranowski and I hammered out future plans for TheAfternoon.com, as well as the aside that Kurt Illian and Peter got to have. Kurt was one of Peter’s first contacts here at Solid Cactus, and Peter said it was nice to see that Kurt “still takes interest in my site” after all this time.
When it came to presentations, Peter found most of the presentations very helpful and is using the design, marketing, and optimization tips he picked to make improvements to TheAfternoon.com. He says his favorite part of the presentations is Site Deconstruction because it allows “Solid Cactus to be Solid Cactus,” really breaking everything down to “show what works best and being constructive in their advice.”
When it came to the social events, Peter thought the food was delicious and the restaurants picked for the events were “wonderful.” He also noted that there wasn’t a shortage of entertainment either. He was happy to be able to catch the magic show at the end of the festivities, but the moment that will be forever stuck in his head is when “the Emperor had no clothes.” I’ll let you ask him about that one.
Posted by Nick Matthews on Apr 7, 2009
As you all know from my Esteemed Colleague’s recent post on our PPC Blog, our afternoon activities include throwing our Frisbee, catching our Frisbee, and (if there is a mishap in the execution of either of the last two processes) running down the steep hill to retrieve our Frisbee. This is our little way of [...]
Posted by John Dawe on Mar 9, 2009
Thanks to hosted e-mail marketing provider Vertial Response (that Solid Cactus partners with) nonprofit organizations can now e-mail their constituents and help with their fundraising and awareness building efforts for free. The company is giving 10,000 e-mails per month while using the analytics and optimization tools available from Vertical Response.
Qualifying nonprofit organizations holding the charitable [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Jan 30, 2009
The recession is putting increased emphasis on ROI in marketing campaigns. So, email stands out as a key tactic for marketers this year.
According to a new survey by Marketing Sherpa (http://www.marketingsherpa.com/) the recession and budget constraints are forcing marketers to concentrate on tactics that deliver the best return on investment. So it’s not surprising that [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Jan 22, 2009
Welcome to 2009! Now that you’ve hopefully had time to recuperate from the holiday rush, restocked the shelves and taken a nice, deep breath (dare I say, maybe even a day or two off), now’s the perfect time to look ahead and plan out your marketing efforts for the new year.
I understand many of you [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Dec 12, 2008
Like other adult Internet users, boomers prefer to talk face-to-face about products, brands or services. Some 93% of baby boomers were very or somewhat likely to share product information with friends, according to a ThirdAge/JWT BOOM survey.
The digital channels they use to communicate their news follow a familiar pattern: E-mail and the telephone were more [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Dec 11, 2008
I hope you’ve had a prosperous Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Green Mondays to boost the economic slump you’ve been feeling. With 14 days left until Christmas, now is not the time to slack on your e-mail efforts.
Running dry on creative marketing juices? Here are some blast ideas that you can start pushing today:
* Last [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Nov 7, 2008
E-mail marketing continues to lead the pack in ROI! Here are some tips to make the most of your e-mail renewal efforts to continue to increase that ROI.
Sender Address
The sender address is critical to getting your e-mail opened. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed cited “knowing and trusting the sender” as a reason to open an [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Nov 7, 2008
The Direct Marketing Association’s annual ROI figures are in and the winner is (no surprise) e-mail!
Yes, once again e-mail leads all other direct response channels in ROI. The DMA estimates that companies using e-mail marketing in 2008 generated an average $45.06 in revenue for each dollar they spent.
E-mail is a relationship medium, meaning it helps [...]
Posted by Michelle Johnson on Nov 4, 2008
E-mail a friend, colleague, customer list or business contacts - but utilize the ease and convenience to encourage everyone to vote - no matter whom your voting for! Today is an historic day, no matter the outcome.