Casey Cheshire

Once you’re aware of the thought process that goes into every element of Online Marketing, you begin take notice of other company’s implementations.  Everything from SPAM to the checkout process within an e-commerce store, there is logic (or should be) behind what you see.

I noticed a brilliant error today on a signup form for a webinar, that is ironically for E-commerce Trends & Strategies.  I’ve included a screen shot of the form below:

The challenge has been issued! Do you see it yet?  If it doesn’t hit you right away, you may want to attempt to sign up for the webinar. (Assuming it hasn’t been fixed yet.)

Post your answer as a comment below!

U p d a t e – Guesses have come in via just about every method other than as comments- haha.  Thanks Rob, you followed directions.

The answer to Quiz Question #1 is that there are no asterisks * or symbols identifying a Required Field.  If you filled it out like a QA tester, or a thorough fellow, you would not have caught this one.  But let’s say you’re a busy manager and have filled out one too many webinar registrations.  Naturally you want to register with as few fields filled out as possible.  You’d never know from this form, but the following fields are *actually* required: first name, last name, email, phone, and vertical.

I originally entered my name and email address.  It was not until after I hit the Submit button that I was told which additional elements were required. Now I won’t go off on a tirade about why they had so many required fields- vertical? Are you kidding me?  This form required me to hit submit twice- which demonstrates the friction you want to avoid in Online Marketing and E-commerce.  Shopping Cart Checkouts and Lead Gen forms need to be so slick you’d think you sat on a waterslide.  Every excuse you give someone to get frustrated and leave results in leakage from your sales funnel.

The insurmountable irony to the whole thing? It’s an e-commerce strategy & trends webinar!  But let’s end on a positive note:

Let’s give props to BoldChat for using GotoWebinar. They want your name and email- and they tell you that. Easy, smooth registration.  I’m a fan of BoldChat for it’s live web chat solution and GotoMeeting is my favorite web meeting solution.  Both solutions impress the hell out of me.

This weekend the Cheshire Family, minus puppy Charlie, was in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.  We were happily surprised to find out that our weekend get-away was the same weekend as Quebec City’s Winter Carnival.  It’s like Carnival in Brazil, just with snow pants, ice sculptures, and a dancing snow man named Bonhomme.

It’s during this festival on a windy, snowy, cold afternoon that my wife and I entered a footwear store.  We were looking for hiking boots for her.

A quick (customer) background on this boot search: We’ve searched “everywhere” for Tina’s hiking boots.  She’s tried on practically every boot at both Eastern Mountain Sports & LL Bean- none have fit properly.  Hiking boots are one of those kinds of footwear that you need to spend a little time (and money) on getting it right.  Five miles into a trek, you don’t want your foot to fall off from killer blisters and sprains.

In summary, if we actually (and finally) found the right boot, we’d pay almost any price.  My Asolo boots were $199 and are the best boots I’ve ever had.  After all this frustration in searching for boots, we were ready to buy!

Tina had yet to try on a North Face boot, and gave one in this store a shot.  Unlike all of the other boots, she had no immediate pressure or pain points on her foot.  Soon both boots were on and she was walking around the store fighting a smile. The boots were $139 and had a 20% discount.

With the sale basically in the bag there was only one step left.  Naturally, you want to try the boots on wearing the thicker hiking socks you’ll likely be wearing.  We went over to the socks rack.  Would you believe it? They were out of Smart Wool size small hiking socks.  I’m a big fan of Smart Wool, but they were also out of the rest of the size small socks.

“Do you have kids sizes?”

Sorry no.  The mediums would be way too big, and there was nothing smaller available in the store.  With a purchase price of over $100, there was simply no way we’d just guess-timate how the boots would feel.

The sale went from “Go to No” in the 2 minutes it took looking for socks. The lack of a $20 product blocked the sale of a $140 product. Amazing!

It’s a beautiful example of friction points in the sales process.  Every product and service has it’s own unique elements of difficulty.  Physical retail stores would do well to examine how long lines, dressing rooms, and yes- supporting products generate friction and potentially prevent sales.

Found this project through AnalyticsPros blog Analytics Prose and it pointed me to this blog post on Yoast.

It’s a quick little Google Analytics project that shows you what page your site was on when someone clicked to your site from the natural search results.

Image via CrunchBase

So someone searching for “Casey Cheshire” would find CaseyCheshire.com on the first page and in the first position.  Google Analytics won’t be able to tell you position, but with this filter setup, it’ll show you what page you were on.  Testing on your own will give you different results because Google has personalized search.

Step 1: Create a new profile. (Always do this so you don’t screw up your main profile. Once data is filtered, it cannot be reversed.)

Step 2: Create a filter that Includes only Organic traffic. (Instructions here.)

Step 3: Create a filter that Includes only Google traffic. (There are fixes to include Yahoo and MSN, but you’ll need to already be properly tagging this traffic with custom utm data.  It get’s more complicated, but is doable. ) (Instructions here.)

Step 4: Create a filter that does the Magic (…grabs the page result from the url).

Click here for a photo of what the filter should look like.

An important fact about what you’ll see in the results.  If you don’t see a result it means it was on the first page, 20 means it was on the third page.  Below is the page number & what result will show up in results.

1. no result
2. 10
3. 20
4. 30
5. 40
6. 50

Not perfect or Apple iPhone user friendly, but provides a glimpse into the SEO effect on your organic search.

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In a previous post, I introduced my two Twitter lists which identified the superstars and blooper-stars of Corporate Social Media.  These follow on posts detail how a company has earned it’s place on either lists.

A recent Domino’s Pizza television commercial really impressed me.  The staff of the mega-chain acknowledged the complaints about their pizza.  After coming clean, they introduced a little wow-factor into their new pies.  Extra love on the crust, legit fresh ingredients, and more.

Great job on the campaign and great job with social media.

We ordered pizza the other night and wanted to give Domino’s a shot at it since their “makeover.” It turned out great!  Today, I sent them a message about their great job:

@CaseyChesh: @Dominos Good job with the Pizza Upgrades!

Six minutes later I received a response:

@dominos: @CaseyChesh Thanks so much!

Excellent use of Social Media and it’s more than a quick response to a compliment.    It shows that they’re actually listening.  I feel confident that if I had issues they would have easily been cleared up.  Literally, Social Media, done right, is as simple as this.

In the highly competitive pizza world, Papa John’s started making waves with taste and freshness.  It became trendy to order that over the “old expensive standard.”  Domino’s is quickly regaining the trend points with excellent use of technology (Pizza Tracker) and now, a Social Media win.

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The entire world is abuzz with videos and commentary about the new Apple iPad.  There was quite a bit of speculation before it came out, much of it surrounding the name.  I’m not usually one for following the crowd, but I’ve decided that not writing about it just because the entire world just doesn’t work.  So I’ve decided to allow myself 5 minutes to inspect, think, and ponder about the Apple iPad.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Name

A lot of people are disappointed with the name.  iPad? Lots of jokes go towards that.  And there’s a hilarious video of Hitler Responding to the iPad Release.  Long story short, he didn’t like the name either.  I think a lot of the let down with the name is that most people, myself

included, expected the name to reveal the future of computing.  Like watching monkies use bones to fight in the movie 2001 Space Odyssey, we all wanted the (iPad) to land on Earth like a gigantic monolith of futurism.

iPad makes too much sense and was probably way too obvious looking back on the situation.  Everyone called it ‘the tablet‘ during the speculation phase.  A part of me wants Apple to respond to that and call it the Apple Tablet.  Some thought “slate” but that’s too stark/dark.

iPad is a big iPod. Okay I get it.

The $499 iPad

I don’t think I need one.  It’s that simple at face value.  My iPhone totally rocks, and I’ll take AT&T’s weirdo network if that’s what I have to do to use it.  My home laptop is a PC I got a few years ago from Circuit City (Best Buy had bait & switched me.)  I haven’t transitioned to any larger Apple products (yet?).

So it can be an e-reader/book/magazine.  I can’t see it saving the print industry, but it’s still early.

A clever friend of mine in Boston brought up the point that releasing the technology will allow users to come up with new ways of using the iPad.  Cool way of looking at it- time will tell!

5 Minute Conclusion

In short, I don’t need an iPad right now.  Either that or Apple/My Influencers haven’t convinced me of this need.  I won’t be buying it today, but I don’t think I’d be opposed to receiving a free one.

It’s a large iPod and won’t fit in my pocket.  It’s also bringing us one step closer to the 3 screen idea: small, medium and big screen.  I’ll write about that next.

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In a previous post, I introduced my two Twitter lists which identified the superstars and blooper-stars of Corporate Social Media.  I also invited everyone to send me suggestions- and send you did!  This report, however, is of my own personal experience with Panera Bread (@PaneraBread).

This was a tough one!  I am a huge fan of Panera’s “Pick Two.”  I always get the Grilled Chicken Caesar and the bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup.  It’s quite literally my quintessential lunch, and I’m the Mayor (on FourSquare) of my local Panera. For those not on FourSquare, it means I go there too much!

So what happened Casey? Nothing major, nothing dirty or disgusting.  I called in on my way and got lunch to go.  Did the Pick 2- of course!  And while the soup was tasty, this is what my salad looked like:

Click here to see a larger image.  From my CSI photo with pen for measurement, you can see that the Chicken Ceasar Salad should have a small “c” for chicken as there is barely any there!  This is not routine for dining at Panera Bread.  When eating there, my salad bowl is full of goodness and yes, Chicken (capital C!).  I have however noticed that the take out salad is usually a bad value.

Normally I just put up with the salad’s issues, but this particular day the chicken was so spare (and thinly sliced) that I decided this is it! Rather than call up and complain, I had previously found & followed Panera on Twitter and decided to use Social Media to inform them.

I took a photo with my iPhone, uploaded it to TwitPic, and Tweeted:

@panerabread my chik cea salad frm Nashua makes me sad. And I’m the mayor! http://twitpic.com/x2mbs

Would you like to see the response I got?

Their response was:

What was that? You can’t read it?  I didn’t type it?  Oh, so sorry!  Here’s a graphical version:

No, they didn’t send me a t-shirt.  They didn’t respond at all.  Crickets! Chirp chirp.

I wasn’t mean, didn’t demand a refund, and actually took the time to take a PHOTO of something they should probably fix.

For their lack of response, Panera Bread earns a Social Media Fail.

Let that be a lesson to all of those responsible in Corporate Social Media.  Twitter is all about a 2 way conversation.  If you don’t want to hear from your customers- and respond back, stick to your print mailers and avoid Social Media.  Because it’s not about what you say back as much as it is about you responding at all.

This blog is a second test of Panera’s Social Media program.

Nothing would please me more to hear from them because they saw this article- which means they’re out there, and listening.  I’d be happy to take them off the fail list and post an update.  But until that time, until you see an update below these words, Panera Bread will remain in the list of companies who have failed at Corporate Social Media.

If you work with Google Analytics on a daily basis, I highly recommend you review the suite of training presentations at Google’s Conversion University.  Depending on how familiar you are with Google Analytics, you might find most of the information a review, but I’ll bet you money that you’ll learn something new.

The presentations are succinct, clear, and organized.  They’re an excellent free resource for online metrics.  Remember, you can’t improve your online analytics’ ability to drive smart decisions if you don’t fully understand the capabilities available to you.

Some super techie things I learned more about in Google Analytics:

• Advanced Segments are AWESOME! They’re designed to be a quick & easy solution to isolating segment reports.  You can do this same thing with additional Profiles but you’ll be creating tons of filters, waiting for new data, and permanently filtering raw data.  And we know that…
• Once you filter data, it’s filtered baby! No turning back.  It’s like enlisting with the Marine Corps or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
• Sub-domains? Multiple domains? Bring it!  There’s nothing to be afraid of with modifying Google Analytics code.  It’s very intuitive and the references for changes are thorough .
• There are reports you haven’t even dreamed of… Yes I had not even imagined they existed, but they do!  One of the best parts about going through the Conversion University presentations for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification is that it get’s you out of your daily usage ”comfort’ zone.  My advice? Follow along! You’ll be having “ahah!” moments just like I did with filter, segment, and custom report ideas.

Don’t just casually go through the presentations.  That’ll invite relaxed learning, and yes… MULTITASKING.  Try your best not to check your email (or Twitter) when watching the presentations.  I’d suggest simply following along and your best zone-in music on iTunes.

This certificate is the bonus to your goal of gaining a stronger background with Google Analytics.

The online test to qualify can be taken at the Google Testing Center and costs $50.  Happy Google Analyticaling!

A company that executes a brilliant Social Media plan and generates 2-way conversion with its customers is a beautiful thing.  These companies are riding the Awesome Wave of the Future.  Done right they’ll convert a little bit of effort into a supersaturated sales & branding brew.

Done wrong, Corporate Social Media makes you, at best, look like a 3rd grader with crayons drawing building plans for a new bridge and at worst look like you’re out of business.

Recognizing these victories and defeats out in the Social Internet, I have created 2 Twitter lists:

• http://twitter.com/caseychesh/social-media-win
• http://twitter.com/caseychesh/social-media-fail

That’s right, in my subtle labeling, you either win or lose.  Even though there are varying degrees of each, let’s seek simplicity and go with pass/fail.

In business you’re either doing it right, or you’re costing someone money.

Over the next several weeks I will be highlighting the elements that earned each listed company it’s place in fame/shame.

If you have any companies you’d like to see added to the lists please let me know by either commenting on this post or @ Reply me on Twitter.

On Saturday night I did everything right.  I bought 2 tickets to the new movie Avatar online and assumed there would be a sizable crowd for the IMAX 3D showing, so I arrived 30 minutes early.  Close but no cigar!

When walking into the theater, I was greeted by a FULL HOUSE.  Oh there was room, in the first 3 rows- which you know were never meant to be used because there’s an aisle separating them from the rest of the seats.  I wonder why they do this and don’t put more seats there?

It’s like “Hey we know the first 3 rows are going to be horrible so let’s just push them down even more so there’s room for a walk-way.”

And it’s even worse if you’re at the IMAX version.  You can SEE the pixels on the screen! They are the size of coconuts!

Long story short we left. AMC was clever and got us into the non-IMAX (but still 3D) showing 10 minutes later.  They even gave me a cash refund of the differences in ticket prices. (Good job guys!)

So the movie was awesome. I could write for eons about it, but the topic of this post is not the movie itself but the technology: 3D.

The emerging trend was slapping me in the face, literally. A preview for Alice in Wonderland was our appetizer prior to the movie.  From the way text floated at different levels to the depth observed in even the simplest of scenes, 3D added a quality my eyes enjoyed.

But 3D is not new.  It’s been around since 1890, but the high production costs and lack of standardization kept it a fun niche.

Times are changing- and to be quite honest, with Avatar already out, the trend is well on it’s way.  I’m not one of the first to smell the smoke, rather, I just happened to wake up to the trend fire alarm.  From Google Goggles to super gaming environments, projects are underway.  Technology has caught up.

My (future) grandchildren will be shocked that I actually watched movies in 2D.

So knowing where we are with 3D development gives us a firm foundation to look into the future.  The first consumer 3D camcorder will be out soon and at $22,000.  This is the modern equivalent of the first desktop computer.  For a while, those with surplus will own it and rapidly soon there after, it will be a VCR.

Why stop/start with camcorder, there’s also:

• Digital Cameras
• Picture frames
• Company logo signs
• Maps / Museum guide spheres
• TV
• iphones / mobile
• Pop-up digital books.
• More more more more!

I predict a stage of infancy- much like the Palm Pilot. A clever idea with usability and fundamental flaws.  There will be skepticism, resistance, acceptance, financial analysis, and bubbles.

The end result will be a cultural change brought about by a technical revolution.

As 2009 draws to a close, the social web is abuzz with predictions and reflections.  I had a fun conversation with Doug Haslam about 2020 predictions.  Rather than go with the flow of 2010 foresight, I challenge him to predict 2020.  His great response was: “Flying cars! Automated homes! Robot maids!”

To me it seems over-done to predict 2010 as it was a big trend on Twitter and Blogs recently.  There is, however, a set of predictions publicized by Fred Wilson on the importance of three elements in the future called the Golden Triangle:

The three current big megatrends in the web/tech sector are mobile, social, and real-time.

There is an excellent post by Brian Solis on how these 3 areas intersect.

This brings me to the subject of this post, family.  I’m writing from my folk’s place in Washington state, just south east of Seattle.  It’s a little overcast today, but I was able to catch a glimpse of my old friend Mt Rainier yesterday.

Without a doubt, 2009 has been one of the most instructional years of my life.  I’ve refined my broad interests into a wildly progressing career in Online Marketing, adopted and utilized social media to connect and share information at a rapidly new pace, and I’ve grown in my own type of Golden Triangle: spiritually, personally, and professionally.

It wasn’t until I was nestled away in WA, surrounded by the love and warmth of family, that I’ve been reminded the importance of family.  The speed of life increases and we’re more likely to forget to call on our family than to tweet what we had for dinner.  Sure 140 characters is easier than a phone call, but far less rewarding.

In the World of Social Media, it’s far too easy to forget and neglect those who haven’t fully adopted the tools we use daily.

My parents are on Facebook and it has helped keep us in touch- or at least informed.  There’s a marked difference between those concepts too.  Knowing the latest highlights in someone’s life is great, but it’s like reading their personal newspaper.  Without a conversation, you might as well be reading about the latest happenings at the White House.

My grandmother doesn’t use Twitter, so I don’t follow or @ reply her.  Social Media empowers adopters to converse, but I’ve been reminded to not let this be an excuse to not connect with everyone I care about.

I lot of the tools and concepts I blog about on Waterski The Web revolve around the concept of keeping you informed about what you care about.  I should expand this to “who” you care about too!

In conclusion, my thought going forward for 2010, is to remember that family, whether they are on Twitter or not, are important.  Even as Social Media becomes the ‘norm’ we must not forget to reach out and have a conversation, on or offline, with those that we care about.