Archive for September, 2009
Streamlining the Quoting Process: Marion’s Custom Programming Services
Posted by admin in Programming on September 18, 2009
New business can be hard to come by now-a-days, and getting your proposals in front of the prospective client quickly can go along way when bidding for their business. In order to streamline our internal quoting process, The Marion Group decided to utilize the same custom programming services that we offer our clients and build a “Quoting Machine” for ourselves.
This “Quoting Machine” allows our Account Representatives to login to our web-based application, fill out the prospect’s information, choose the services to quote from a list and the program auto-populates the proposal into a Word document that can be edited for personalization.
This “Quoting Machine” does all the work for you. It creates standardized estimations and increased accuracy and reduces time spent on writing the quote – all while personalizing it for the customer. You can also get your proposals onto the desk of the prospective client sooner, which reflects positively on your company in regards to how quickly you can respond to your clients.
For more information on our Custom Programming Services or to find new ways to streamline your business, contact The Marion Group at 713-623-6444.
YouTube Ads Make $$$ for Amateur Viral Videos
Posted by admin in Advertising, Internet Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Viral Video on September 11, 2009
YouTube has been a tremendous success for all who wish to post their videos at no cost, and the site has been an overwhelming success for its owner, Google. It generates the 4th largest amount traffic on the Internet. However, how to monetize this traffic bonanza has always been an issue for Google.
Here is one way that Google is trying to monetize it for both advertisers and amateur videographers whose video postings go viral. [Note: A viral video is one that achieves widespread popularity through a process of Internet sharing, such as through email, IM (Instant Messaging), blogs and other media sharing websites.]
Read or listen to this NPR interview to learn how Google does it and how a dad made $25,000 from advertisers with a video of his son, David, after a visit to the dentist.
Look at the video of David after his visit to the dentist and see why it went viral.
Let Marion Optimize your Site to Attract both Content Skimmers and Deep Readers
Posted by admin in Web Design on September 11, 2009
Here at Marion, there is an on-going discussion on how create web content that is most attractive to a variety of visitors, and what we have concluded is that there are two types of readers on the web: the “Skimmers” and the “Deep Readers.”
Dealing with and Ocean of Content
The “Skimmers” spend minimal time on a web page, “skimming” for “hot spots” of key information; they tend to linger mostly on the top part of the page.
The “Deep Readers” demand good quality supporting content and tend to read the entire page from top to bottom.
While the “Skimmers” and the “Deep Readers” have different ways of viewing sites, we at Marion are able to create websites which appeal to both groups.
For “Skimmers,” we use:
- Pictures
- Picture captions
- Bulleted lists
- Paragraph headers
- Alt tags
- A “Call to Action” at the top of the page
For “Deep Readers,” we provide all of the above plus:
- Great supporting content
- A “Call to Action” at the bottom of the page
At Marion, we provide the design and the writing talent to create web content most friendly to Skimmers and Deep Readers. Our web designers work to create eye-catching content for the quick skim, while our writers provide the quality supporting content for the deep read.
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