Technology, Marketing & Bird

Shout Out for Doug's Tuned In Calculator

2008-08-15T22:21:00.005-04:00

I work with Doug Karr, who has so much enthusiasm and creativity, it spills out of his office and every now and then I'm fortunate enough to soak up a little. Admittedly, Doug likes to plan, model, ponder and create and has a great number of ideas 90% completed and he can't remember them all! In a flurry of genius, Doug recently created (and finished) the Tuned In Calculator which has garnered a bit of interest. To help him celebrate this achievement, I invite you to check it out. Here's the result on this blog:

Start up impressions - working for a young technology company

2008-07-29T20:30:00.003-04:00

I'm going to try to keep more content coming in to this space on a more regular basis, some topics may just be about "me" while others may take on a more work - life - hobbies tone.

I've been with my new employer for three months now, well into my initiation period. I now see my contributions making a difference (in a small company most everything makes a difference in some way!). Our management team had a good conversation today about the future of the company (we get together every two weeks for financial and strategy sessions) and I truly appreciate the amount of involvement I have with these decisions. There are moments when I want things to happen much more quickly, though. That's my impatient side coming through and I tend to ignore the guy on my other shoulder whispering "you better watch what you ask for!"

Safe landing at Patronpath

2008-04-17T20:40:00.003-04:00

So I did it! I'm now director of marketing for Patronpath, provider of marketing and e-commerce solutions for the restaurant industry. (Actually I stared about a month ago, I've just been late in posting about it!) I happen to be working with Douglas Karr, a great marketing and technology wizard who is active in the Indianapolis blogging scene. My days are spent developing and implementing marketing strategies to help this small, young company build a strong, sustainable and growing customer base.

Currently seeking job opportunities

2008-03-05T12:11:00.002-05:00

What a great experience at Compendium! Now I'm on to other exciting opportunities and would love to share my experience and know-how with your company. Please see my profile by clicking on the image below, or contact me directly.

This topic now on hiatus; new adventure begins.

2007-07-22T06:33:00.000-04:00

So I enjoy the idea of blogging so much I have now turned my profession towards helping corporations use blogs to most effectively communicate with their customers. I'll still be blogging, though it'll be a Compendium blog, and hopefully at some point I'll dedicate this space to another topic. I'm very happy to be starting this new adventure, wish me luck! Cheers.

Eight Random Facts

2007-07-13T16:45:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Nancy of The Zen Birdfeeder share my Eight Random Facts.

Here are the rules for Eight Random Facts:

Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

And here are the eight random facts:

My last name is "Bird" and I work for Wild "Birds" Unlimited. (How many times have I been reminded of that?)
In high school, I played varsity baseball. In college, I just played.
I was born in Yokosuka, Japan while my dad was in the Navy, moved all over the west coast and attended three different schools during my 3rd grade. One in California, one in West Virginia, and one in Indiana.
I was a 4-H Junior Leader.
In 9th grade biology class, I once said "circumcised" by mistake while reading aloud from the textbook.
I rode a moped in high school.
I once passed out in an airplane (while waiting on the tarmac) and had to be hauled out, loaded in an ambulance and taken to the hospital. (It's a long story.)
I love to drive my car really fast (in a safe and closed environment, of course).

Tagging these bloggers: (I'm supposed to do eight, whatever.)
Bo over at resourceful.
Dad at Lakeview Golf Course.

Ensuring your customers find you . . .

2007-07-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

It's well known that the number one customer acquisition tool for traditional retailers is drive-by, that is, customers find you by driving by your location. But what happens if they're on the internet and want to find you? One way is to provide a map, with the goal of driving traffic to your retail location. This is very common as well and today I learned the power of the Google Map API. Without some intermediate level of programming expertise, you'll want to outsource this function. Today I was in a team meeting speaking to such a programmer who opened my eyes to the power of Google Maps. What a great tool for retailers! To make it even easier to "find a location near you" we talked about a way the interface can automatically display the closest locations based on the users originating IP address. Wow! So now when asked "how did you find us?" the answer more and more will be "I was just surfing by!"

Chipmunk invited to lunch

2007-07-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

I'm lucky enough to have an office with a large window out of which distractions often prevent me from focusing on my work. Like Cedar Waxwings feasting on service berries, Canada Geese wandering the parking lot and small families of chipmunks darting in and out of the under brush, one look outside can provide a day's worth of entertainment. ("Focus!" I keep demanding of myself.) Today's entertainment turned very quickly into a horror movie I won't soon forget.

A Cooper's Hawk had seen enough of the playful chipmunks and I assume since it was about time for lunch anyway, decided to invite one of them over for a meal. It was not a pretty sight, that hawk up in the tree feasting on it's prey. I understand this happens every day but come on, right outside my window? Do me a favor and keep this graphic behavior where it belongs, on TV. ;-)

Digital photos to the rescue - another happy customer.

2007-07-05T06:42:00.000-04:00

Over the fourth of July holiday my uncle emailed me with a problem. You see, he knows I work for a bird feeding company and can help him find the product he needs. He is trying to find an alternate way to mount his bird feeding setup on his deck. He scoured the internet but just did not find the part he needed right away. What did he do? He email some digital photographs to me, I consulted with one of our in-house product managers and with the help of one of our local stores, the parts were identified, ordered and drop-shipped directly from the supplier. My uncle will have his parts in 5-7 days. And he's a very happy customer. Mind you, he is about 70 years young and lives 2,000 miles from me.

Lesson? Don't think your customer base is not using the internet or is not current with the latest technology. My uncle may not be an technology expert, though he has a digital camera and uses the internet regularly to research and shop. Don't underestimate your customers.

Birdwalks - Don't go into the woods unarmed

2007-07-02T05:37:00.000-04:00

Sure, a walk in the woods armed with your binoculars and field guide is standard equipment and is plenty rewarding when you spot a bird or two to add to your life list. What's that you hear? It's a bird chirping, singing a happy song, one that you're not familiar with. You focus your optics in the direction of this wonderful melody. What's that bird? You simply cannot spot it so you continue on. Then there it is again - another bird call you're certain you should know - but you're not armed with on of the latest gadgets to help you identify birds by their song. Available for your iPod, check out birdJam, "A Revolution in Bird Song Identification" or Thayer Birding Software, which includes a feature to export bird songs to your iPod. These tools give you an edge by enabling you to associate birds with their specific call.

I was first exposed to this technology on a recent birdwalk, when the birding expert who was leading us prepared the group by playing several bird songs from his iPod nano slipped into a portable speaker. He knew we were more likely to hear some spring migrants well before we could spot them, and he was right. These bird call identification tools enable even the casual birder to hone their expertise and become more accomplished at identifying birds by sound. So don't go into the woods again without making sure you're properly armed!

Books I've Read: Just finished Blogwild!

2007-06-28T15:05:00.000-04:00

Blogwild!: A Guide for Small Business Blogging
A very basic starter book on the basics of blogging. Andy Wibbels shows us the way with many how-to references using TypePad, though this book is a quick read relevant for any beginner using any blogging platform.

links for June 28, 2007

2007-06-28T14:36:00.000-04:00

Sanders Says: Ask someone how their weekend was
Good reminder to slow down and get to know your employees

Product Management: Silence is Success that often goes Unrewarded
Douglass Karr breaks down the silence

Customers: Tech Toys They're Using

2007-06-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

The bird feeding and bird watching customer is no longer the stereotypical older woman hunched over a spotting scope with a paper based life list and a old Peterson's Field Guide tucked in a pocket. Customers of all demographics are using electronic field guides, iPod based bird call identifiers and global positioning system devices to find and log bird sightings (just to name a few). Research at home can begin at a site like Mitch Waite's WhatBird.com. As a service to our customers and as a tool for Wild Birds Unlimited's store owners to use, we re-branded WhatBird.com as rightbird.com and launched it as part of our web site. (WhatBird is available for others to use on their site, contact Mitch here.) This has proven very valuable, we use it to reference the birds that are most popular at feeders, those that might be seen migrating through a certain area, or to find out more about a bird seen during a recent walk or one visiting a backyard feeding station. This certainly does not eliminate the need for the paper-based field guides, rightbird.com provides further detail and benefits from the instant and constant updating from its authors. Yes, we can definitely attract a broader demographic by using the electronic goodies available in this industry!

Finding a niche

2007-06-27T18:14:00.000-04:00

So what do I know? One option was to blog about my daily personal life (boring!). Another was to simply provide reviews of sites I visit and books I read, mostly about technology and business. Then I thought, well what do I know? I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can thrive doing what I love, using technology to help business owners market their customer experience, products and services. How do I do that? Let's find out together. I do a lot of research on current trends that I'll share and I'll also relate to you what's currently working and not working, where I've been and where I'm going along the tech trail.

I happen to apply my knowledge professionally at the company headquarters of the retail franchise Wild Birds Unlimited, therefore many posts will pertain to the franchise business, bird feeding and bird watching. You'd be amazed at how technology has transformed our business of supporting our independent business owners, how they can market their business using technology and how their customers use tech in bird feeding and bird watching.

What kind of readers am I looking for? Small business owners looking to improve using technology with a focus on franchise businesses, franchised and independent bird feeding and bird watching specialty store owners, and customers or fans of this business that might take an interest in how technology ultimately affects their shopping experience. Let's go!

Disclaimer

2007-06-27T18:03:00.001-04:00

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. Additionally, my thoughts change from time to time, therefore opinions I expressed at some time in the past may not represent my opinions today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. This blog makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site & will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.

New Blog Begins

2007-06-27T18:02:00.000-04:00

I'm normally faster to the punch with newer technology, eager to be among the first on the block. Honestly, I did experiment with a few blogging platforms, though couldn't come to publish them live. WordPress is one that is very attractive for it's ability to conform to your tech tweaks - but for those without time to spare you might find yourself into tomorrow as you experiment endlessly. I'm sure I'll find plenty under the hood to tinker with here on the Google offering and soon find a niche in the blogosphere.