As a sales professional, I’ve long been told about the importance of listening.  There is a seemingly endless list of cliches that are overused to instill this mantra.  I get it and do my best every day to practice it.  With out listening to the prospect/client needs, you can not possibly provide them with the right solution.  It makes sense.

I bring this up, because Beacon is a relationship based business whose success is critically dependent upon client interaction and listening.  We are lucky to have many successful client relationships, but I wanted to use this blog post to highlight Dusty Staub of Staub Leadership International.

Staub Leadership is a long time Beacon client who has worked with us across all of our service offerings, including: web development, managed hosting and web marketing.  They provide leadership coaching to  individuals, teams and organizations in the form of workshops, keynote speeches, webinars, books and other published works.   When Dusty and his team speak – people listen.

So when Dusty came in last week for a regular strategy meeting to discuss how his business can benefit by sharing his nuggets of wisdom with the masses via Twitter, there was a lot of listening going on.  Dusty spoke about his strategic plan for his business and we offered a web marketing road map for getting there.  When Dusty speaks, he can’t help but talk ‘shop’ and as he does it is impossible not to be inspired.

As we interact, great ideas are shared and the energy builds.  By the end of the meeting @Staubleadership had already begun tweeting from his newly installed Twitter for iPhone App and has great plans for keeping you in the know about his regular strokes of genius, trips, books, articles, events, etc.

This level of client interaction and face to face collaboration is why I joined Beacon.  Staub is a great example of how a client relationship can be mutually beneficial.  So thank you Staub for the years of patronage and inspiration.  We enjoy working with you and there is no doubt that not only you, but the entire ‘Twittersphere’ will benefit from your new presence.

If you are interested in learning more about how Beacon’s approach to social media can help grow your business, please give a call – we are here to help.

The Cascade Server User Conference is something that Beacon has been attending since 2006.  (I personally have been to four of the 5, missing 2007′s conference to move into our new house…believe me, I would have rather been at the conference.)  It’s a great conference put on by Hannon Hill in Atlanta, where we get to mingle with Hannon Hill employees (and make absurd product development suggestions to them in-person), some of Beacon’s clients, and collaborate with other users.  And we get to see how others are using Cascade for their university or business, which is very interesting.

The conference began in 2006, and was small enough to fit in Hannon Hill’s very nice offices in Buckhead.  Given the ever-increasing popularity of Cascade, the conference has since moved to hotels, and this year will be at Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center and Hotel & Conference Center.  Besides being a top-notch facility, they have a pool table, where I can demonstrate why I only play pool once a year.  Hannon Hill also hosts a reception on the first night, full of food, drinks, and mingling.  Overall, it’s a jam-packed, but awesome, two-day experience.

At the first conference in 2006, I was asked (10 minutes beforehand, I might add) to be a participant in a round table discussion, where Cascade users fired questions at my two fellow participants and me about how we use Cascade in our business.  (Little did I know that one of the participants would become a client of ours one day!)  I’ll never forget it because as part of the introductions, we had to say name our alma mater, and when I said “Virginia Tech”, I got booed by someone.  It turns out they were a bitter Clemson fan/employee, still upset about VT thumping them in the 2001 Gator Bowl.

Hannon Hill asked me to speak (by myself this time) at the 2007 conference, but I had to decline for reasons already mentioned.  However, I did speak in 2008 and 2009 on “Tips & Tricks for End Users”, where I gave some insider information on how we effectively use Cascade for a variety of clients.  For last year’s conference, I took the year off, and while I still attended the conference, I gladly let Brad Henry and Mark Dirks speak, titled “Web Marketing w/ Cascade Server CMS + Live SEO Reviews“.  This talk emphasized how Web Marketing is so vital to your business, and how Cascade aids in that effort.  It was a fantastic talk.

This year, I am speaking at the conference again, though the exact topic is TBD.  Why do I want to speak at these conferences?  Because I enjoy standing in front of a bunch of people at a lectern?  Hardly.  It’s a great way for me to share with others the innovative way we use Cascade to meet our clients’ content management needs.  Any CMS can let you edit your content.  But what else can it do for you?  That’s where we step in:  to push the envelope and make Cascade do what you need and want it to do.

If you’re a Cascade Server client of ours, come on down to Atlanta, September 19-20, 2011 for the 2011 Cascade Server User Conference.  We would love to see you there!

This week has been a little bit of a “more-of-the-same” situation for me.  I spent a good amount of my 20 hours this week looking over the tools I was learning last week.  The twist in the story was that I looked at the information in relation to specific companies rather than just in general.  Throughout the week, I sifted through historical data and current data to determine what type of information I needed to be observing and how that information relates to the goals at hand.

One of the more interesting things I did this week was to learn more about Google AdWords and the way it works.  Adwords, much like GA, provides a depth of insight that is very useful for companies running Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ad campaigns.  AdWords allows users to set up PPC campaigns and provides those users with a plethora of options.  Also like in GA, AdWords can be as simple or complex as you desire.  You can set basic campaigns and ads with very general guidelines for when they appear.  However, if a user really takes the time to set it up, they can create groups of ads to target specific keywords, run during set hours of the day, target certain geographical areas, and so on and so forth.

Another task I spent time on this week was researching social media (SM) and how various companies use SM to reach potential customers.  SM is an area in which I feel very confident.  Having spent the better part of the past seven years or so as a member of Facebook, I have seen the growth of SM and the impact it has made on how businesses reach customers.  One particular area I focused my research on is in the education sector.  Universities are beginning to increase their use of SM in order to attract potential students.  Some universities have embraced SM more openly than others.  I have noticed that the more successful ones are using multiple SM tools such as Facebook fan pages, Twitter accounts, and Blogs.  My overall conclusion of this is that SM, if maintained and used properly, seems to be a great way of reaching today’s youth.

On a side note, one thing I learned this week that I think is pretty cool is that I apparently am learning from a bunch of ninjas.  I for one am stoked by this fact.  Ninjas are pretty much awesome!  To get a better understanding of what I mean you should read my coworker’s recent post on how Beacon Has Ninjas.

I had the opportunity to attend a Google Business webinar last week hosted by Avinash Kaushik. The topic was outcome driven digital marketing. Avinash divided web marketing skill sets into three stages.

Cute Toddler: When web marketers are in this stage they are focused on cost; tracking things like clicks and impressions to figure out the cost per conversion/acquisition. At this level, tracking is implemented like Google Analytics but is only used to see the basics like traffic volume, most visited pages, bounce rates, and conversions.

Rockin’ Teenager: As your web marketing skills grow and develop, you start to focus on revenue instead of just cost. If your site has e-Commerce, this is especially important. At this stage you’re also probably using Pay-Per-Click advertising. Creating advanced segments in Google Analytics will start painting a clearer picture of how your visitors interact with the conversion path. Also, linking your analytics with you Adwords (or other PPC) account allows you to start looking at not only cost-per-click, but revenue-per-click. You can now factor in cost of goods sold to find net profit.

Ninja: After mastering the skills above, you are now in the ninja stage. You understand analytics and know how to calculate revenue but now you’re onto something much bigger…value. Ninjas hunt for what’s beyond the basics and try to unite web marketing with total marketing efforts. In addition to major conversion points like purchases, ninjas track customer value by tracking minor conversions like email submissions, catalog requests, loyalty programs, and social media. Using data gathered from the web and from traditional marketing, ninjas can estimate not only cost and revenue per acquisition/conversion but total value to the company.

______________________________________________________

My Thoughts: I was extremely pleased to learn that our Web Marketing team here at Beacon is packed with skilled ninjas. We become partners with each and every client in order to reach the most sophisticated level of understanding and achieve powerful results. If you want the best in Web Marketing, hire the ninjas! 

Caleb Pruitt joined the Beacon team in April 2011 as a Desktop Administrator. He graduated from ECPI in February 2011 with an A.S. in Computer Science and Technology and also has an A.S. from GTCC in Architectural Technology. When not working he enjoys golfing, fishing, and working on his truck.

Kemp Allen is currently interning with Beacon and has a BS from UNCG in International Business Studies and Marketing. He is completing an MBA at UNCG. Prior to the MBA program he lived in Seoul, South Korea where he taught English as a Second Language. He also has lived and studied in Aarhus, Denmark as part of his BS degree.

Coming into this first week, I was not very familiar with web marketing or search engine optimization (SEO).  I had heard of both terms and I could describe what they were on a very basic level.  Basically, if I were asked what they meant, I would have simply defined them as the following:

*Web Marketing – Marketing online through use of websites and social media sites

*SEO – Making your website appear higher in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other searches

Over the past two and a half days, I have spent the better part of my 20 hours a week here at Beacon Technologies (Beacon) reading blog after blog on what SEO really is and how it is done.  I had heard of Google Analytics (GA) through a friend of mine, but I had never had any exposure to it nor a reason to research it further than the few discussions we shared.  All I can say about GA is that I am amazed at the simplistic complexity of it.  On the surface, it seems very intuitive.  You can track information regarding visitors to your websites such as if it was their first time visiting or if they were a return visitor.  At the same time, GA allows you to dive much deeper into statistics.  The complexity of GA comes from designing filters and goals to determine exactly what information you are after.  From what I can tell, almost anything you wish to know about visits to your websites is obtainable in GA.  All you have to do is think it and visualize how to find it.

This week, I have also been able to sit in on meetings and brainstorming sessions.  I feel like this is the best part of the week so far.  Coming in with little knowledge of the services Beacon provides is a little unnerving.  However, all the people here have really made an effort to take time to explain things to me as well as treat me as an equal part of the web marketing team.  It’s a comforting feeling to go into something new and know that the people there are ready and willing to help you and guide you along the way.  Also, before I even started, Beacon had already set up everything I needed to integrate with the team.  There was a cube with a computer, phone, and the other essentials already in place for me.  In addition to that, Beacon had already set up all of my internal accounts such as email, network access, and etcetera.

As I am wrapping up week one, I feel confident in what is expected of me as well as how to accomplish the tasks at hand.  Thanks to the large amount of reading and videos I’ve watched on GA, Google AdWords and other resources, I am ready to hit the ground running next week.  It doesn’t hurt that I know that I have several people that I can go to for advice if I get stumped either.

Beacon Technologies is excited to be a Hole Sponsor for the North Carolina Technology Association’s (NCTA) Annual Golf Tournament.  We have sponsored and participated in this tournament for years and we’ve been extremely satisfied with the tournament activities, prizes, networking opportunities, and the overall quality experience each player enjoys.  I have found that NCTA provides Beacon with a great channel to connect with the rest of North Carolina, particularly the Raleigh/Durham/RTP and Charlotte areas, where they have a strong membership following.  NCTA is making a concerted effort to engage the Triad more with events at Grandover and Furnitureland South and in Winston-Salem.  The Triad has a lot to offer this organization and in my opinion, it’s important for all of us to stay connected with the businesses (and potential opportunities) across the state.

So get your foursome together ASAP and grab your spot in the tournament lineup!  The event will take place at the beautiful Grandover Resort & Spa in Greensboro on Thursday, June 16.  NCTA always pulls out all the stops to make sure you have a great day and all registrations include breakfast, complimentary beverages, lunch, and a networking reception at “The 19th Hole”.

Lastly, I highly recommend that you take part of your day on Friday, June 17th to attend the NCTA Leadership Conference (also at Grandover).  It’s one of the few conferences that I make a point NOT to miss!  You can get more information at http://www.nctechnology.org/ or call Rachel Kennedy at 919.890.0772.

State of Technology Conference: Technologies for a Smarter Business Gold Sponsor – Tuesday, April 26, 2011 NCTA’s Spring Conference will explore how the effective use of technology drives smart decisions that enhance performance and the bottom line. This event is relevant to companies of all types and sizes with content that is applicable to leaders across functional roles. This conference features business-relevant speakers, exhibit opportunities and networking for North Carolina’s technology executives.

Here are a few photos from the event:

Account Executive, Rick Boccard manning the Beacon booth.

Check out our brand new Beacon displays!

Beacon Technologies, Inc. has an immediate opening for an experienced Web Marketing Specialist / Consultant. Since Beacon Technologies partners with Google as a Google Analytics Certified Partner, experience with Google Analytics & Google Adwords is a big plus. This is an excellent opportunity to join a strong, growing team of web marketing professionals. The ideal candidate will have the analytical skills, technical experience, business acumen and people skills to successfully manage client accounts and contribute to the growth and knowledge of our Internet Marketing Team.

The Web Marketing Specialist will perform the following:
Collaborate with customers to develop effective internet marketing strategies.
Setup, monitor and tune organic placement (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), and social media campaigns.
Utilize Google Analytics to shape SEM strategies and maximize ROI.
Provide regular written reports for custom-defined performance metrics for each customer account.
Provide Google Analytics consultation to customers
Assist Sales & Marketing by providing high-level analyses for prospective customers
Attend and participate in search engine marketing trade shows and seminars.
Full Job Details on CareerBuilder.com

The SBTDC announced that Beacon Technologies has been selected to participate in the 2011 MBA Summer Consulting Program. Since the program commenced in 2001, over 90 interns have provided over 36,000 hours of service to firms that are in the process of commercializing their technologies. Beacon will be working the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.