eCommerce and

I stare at a spreadsheets most every hour at work, so there are a lot of spread sheet manipulations that take place on a daily basis. Here are five formulas that I find useful and I think you will too.

VLOOKUP()
Microsoft Office: VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_index_num,range_lookup)
Open Office: VLOOKUP(lookupvalue; datatable; columnindex; mode)
VLOOKUP() is used to find the “lookup value” in a given table of values and returns the column identified by the “column index.” This formula I find invaluable, it is used any time I there is multiple data sources and I need to match up data.

CONCATENATE()
Microsoft Office: CONCATENATE (text1,text2,...)
Open Office: CONCATENATE(text1; text2; ... text30)
CONCATENATE() combines the values of the given cells. I use this often to combine data to create product names according to our format. As a hint, to concatenate a space, put the space in quotes (“ “).

LEFT()/RIGHT()
Microsoft Office: LEFT(text,num_chars)
Open Office: RIGHT(text; number)
RIGHT() and LEFT() work similar to a sub string function in programming. The formulas start at the right or left side of a cell and then grab the number of characters specified in the formula, which can adjust the data to your specifications.

SEARCH()
Microsoft Office: SEARCH(find_text,within_text,start_num)
Open Office: SEARCH(findtext; texttosearch; startposition)
SEARCH() locate one text string within a second text string, and return the number of the starting position of the first text string from the first character of the second text string. SEARCH() can be very helpful when used in conjunction with LEFT() or RIGHT() when you want to get the contents of a cell to a certain character.

Text to Columns
Ok this one is not really a formula but it is a very useful tool. It allows you to break one column in to multiple columns by a common delimiter that you choose. Also you can choose “Fixed Width” and break up the column by width.

Differences between Open Office and Microsoft Office
For the most part the way that formulas work in Open Office and Microsoft Office work the same. There is a syntax difference in Open Office, instead of using commas (,) Open Office uses a semi-colon (;) to separate the parts of the formula.

For additional information see the Open Office Formula Reference, and the Microsoft Office Formula Reference.

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• By now most of us have heard the news of Michael Jackson’s death, what really surprised me was the way in which many of us found out about it…. Twitter.  Twitter may be having a far greater impact than we may even know.


• This title speaks for itself: Amazon: “A Search Engine With A Warehouse”.


• We know that load times affect user behavior, but would you say that fractions of a second could have a billion dollar price tag?


• Are you ignoring important landing pages?


• Apparently there is controversy over personalized ads, but are we really surprised that people don’t want to share their social security numbers?

Kohler is arguably one of the most innovative brands in the home improvement industry. The new Karbon faucet has completely transformed the kitchen and more specifically revolutionized the kitchen faucet. Meanwhile Kohler seems to effortlessly create bathroom fixtures that are not only sleek but save water, like the Escale toilet.

I recently read Jason Calcanis’ newsletter regarding the current hiring environment entitled, "How to Hire – and Get Hired – in a Recession".  This newsletter spoke mostly of how important it is to be a hard worker and how important it is to hire someone who is willing to work hard. He admitted that it sounded a little obvious, but still had many legitimate and important suggestions regarding the subject. I would like to advise readers of Jason’s newsletter that our economic position can cause a lax attitude when it comes to the subject of hiring and reply with a few things to consider before making any drastic changes.

1. Understand what the unemployment numbers are really saying:  Yes, the overall unemployment rate might be 10%, but that doesn’t mean the employee you are looking for necessarily comes out of that unemployment pool. High school grads have the highest unemployment rate at (10-15%), while college grads are in the middle (7-9%), and graduate degree earners have little unemployment problems at all (2-3%).  Jason said he received 200 resumes for one $10/hr job posting. That would make sense considering that the $10/hr job would most likely (not always) be picking from the high school graduate pool with the highest unemployment rate.  So the next time you’re thinking, “I know the pickins are good and I can just replace that person”, think of what group that person comes from and how hard it might really be to replace someone. This leads to my next warning…


2. Don’t let your attitude turn into “my employees are dispensable”.  Remember that your employees are the people that you have entrusted to run the day to day functions of your business and these responsibilities shouldn’t be taken lightly. They can mean the difference between profits and losses. If you treat your employees as if they are dispensable, they will treat your business as if it was dispensable. This leads to my next point…


3. Pay the Price: Jason talks a lot about hiring someone who is obsessed with work and who is willing to work late, extra hours etc.  Remember that type of employee comes with a price and you better be willing to pay that price for that type of commitment.  This doesn’t mean that you have to pay more money necessarily. Really, paying the price can be as simple as recognizing that your employees are working hard.  I’m not sure any staff member would appreciate being told that they are replaceable let alone the “work-a-holic”.  Rarely being recognized for the hard work that they do can be a larger detriment than monetary compensation to some.  Individuals that are that dedicated to their work, who spend their personal hours to improve your business, look for recognition.  A little encouragement goes a long way.

Jason is right; I agree that hiring the hard worker will be the best for your business.  Please remember however, not to take advantage of these people or let the unemployment rate change your appreciation of your employees.  Your employees are the ones running your business. Treat them with respect and they will keep making your company a profitable one.

Little Giant has been hard at work engineering pumps that their most loyal customers have been waiting for. PlumberSurplus.com is your destination for the new Little Giant TSW Sump Pump System and their NXTGen Condensate Pumps.

Over at GigaOm, Stacey Higginbotham digested some data showing that the Gordian Project is in the minority.  Apparently, "the demographic with the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity consists of those between the ages of 55 and 64, according to a study released today by the The Kauffman Foundation. The study found that folks in the 20-34 age range were the least likely to start companies."  As a majority of our founders, including myself, represent the latter class, we're glad to carry the torch for the "tweens" of entrepreneurs.  Nonetheless, as we age, given our unquenchable desire to build creative solutions, I predict that we'll climb into the ranks of majority, venture after venture.  True entrepreneurs are built to build, over and over again, regardless of demographic.

The author of the study, Dane Stangler, also a senior analyst at the Kauffman Foundation, posits that “Recent economic trends—away from lifetime jobs and toward more and more new companies—will thus gain even greater cultural traction".  Considering Stangler's predictions moving forward, Stacey fears that we're headed toward an era of forced entrepreneurship and wonders how much of this entrepreneurial activity is voluntary versus carried out by those who have headed out on their own after buyouts or layoffs.

If a healthy percentage of this activity is being orchestrated by those who had no other options, for the sole reason that they had no other options, it will, no doubt, be interesting to watch the outcome.  Although successful startups have emanated from founders who were forced into entrepreneurship when the absence of opportunities eliminated other avenues, I doubt it's the norm.  Moreover, for the "plan b" entrepreneurs who are successful, a strong argument could be presented that they were likely entrepreneurs at heart who had yet to realize their passion or been given the opportunity to do so.  By and large, entrepreneurship is difficult, daunting and daring, and successful entrepreneurship requires founders with brains, brawn, and bellies with an iron stomach (as well as the ability to integrate clever, albeit unnecessary, alliteration, at will).  Building a successful enterprise, although not impossible with a bunch of luck, isn't likely if the only motivating force is the fact that there isn't anything else to do.

Although I don't discourage these "plan b" entrepreneurs from joining our ranks, regardless of what demographic they fall in, I warn that entrepreneurship is incredibly challenging and admonish that if success is to be given a fighting chance, it will be in the wake of promoting "plan b" to "plan a".  Those who remain "plan b" entrepreneurs should have a "plan c" at the ready ...

For the best prices, on the largest selection of faucets, from your favorite brands like Kohler, Danze, and, American Standard shop PlumberSurplus.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I finally get to say it, “The Lakers are NBA Champions!”  I did so much smack talking last year that I ended up losing my bet and the Lakers lost in the finals, so this year I decided to not say anything until it was all over.  So, Father’s Day is this weekend, and other than that it’s time to move on to the week in eCommerce.

• Google changes public stance on PageRank Sculpting with nofollow, Matt Cutts gives a detailed analysis here and Marketing Pilgrim gives a synopsis here.  Changes to be aware of: Distribution of link juice is either passed on or it vanishes, SEO’s no longer have the ability to allocate PageRank value using nofollow.


• Has Bing raised public interest?  Yes.  Does Google fear Bing, like the New York Post reports?  I doubt it.  I tend to lean more towards Clint Boulton’s opinion that Google’s respect for Bing was revealed when they launched “Explore Search”, a page that features many of Google’s functions in an easy to read format.



• Online shoppers plan to spend more on dear old Dad this Father’s Day than offline shoppers.


• Social media can be used by marketers to engage and acquire focus groups. 


• Writing headlines sounds so simple, but getting started can be the difficult part for the writer; Copyblogger offers nine proven formulas for these troublesome times.
  

The possibilities are endless with a bathroom remodel. Discover your classic side with a clawfoot tub, experiment with fresh bathroom vanities and coordinate it all with matching faucets. Shop PlumberSurplus.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all of your bathroom needs.

After being given an excellent bill of health post Q1 2009, especially given the poor economy, rough news came from the world's largest internet retailer.

Last Friday, Amazon.com announced that it would pay $51 million to settle a breach of contract lawsuit filed against the online retailer by Toys R Us in May of 2004.  In a regulatory document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commision, Amazon stated that the payment must be delivered in quarter three of 2009, but will be accounted for in the retailer's second quarter earnings.  According to Amazon, in response, Toys R Us has agreed to dismiss all claims.

After unsuccessfully attempting to develop its own online presence, Toys R Us teamed up with Amazon by agreeing to pay $200 million for exclusive rights to sell certain products on Amazon.com.

The lawsuit, which ended the relationship between the two retailers, accused Amazon of selling products online in which the companies had agreed Toys R Us would have exclusive rights.  More specifically, Toys R Us claimed that Amazon violated the terms of their partnership, which began in 2000, by allowing other merchants to sell certain toys on Amazon.com.

In response to the suit by Toys R Us, Amazon filed a counterclaim, and a request to prematurely end the agreement.  Amazon alleged that Toys R Us failed to fulfill contractual obligations due to the inability to supply demand for top selling products and solicited $750 million in damages.  In March of 2006, a New Jersey Superior Court sided with Toys R Us which lead to the partnership being extinguished.

According to Imran Khan, a J.P. Morgan analyst, the payment reduces Amazon's Q2 and full-year EPS by $0.08, to $0.20 and $1.45 respectively.

Kohler is arguably one of the most innovative brands in the home improvement industry. The new Karbon faucet has completely transformed the kitchen and more specifically revolutionized the kitchen faucet. Meanwhile Kohler seems to effortlessly create bathroom fixtures that are not only sleek but save water, like the Escale toilet.

We were recently able to upgrade our phone system. We had spent time, energy and effort to build a better system under the assumption that it would improve a number of important metrics. More importantly, the new phone system made it easier for us to see those metrics. Consequently, I was able to get better reporting on phone utilization, especially as it related to customer service. One of the first things that struck me was our maximum load. We had gone from 8 lines available to 23 lines available. With 8 lines, extra calls would roll over in to voice mail, creating havoc later in the day as we scrambled to try to call people back. Many times, people would call two, sometimes three or more, times to try to reach us. Also, with eight lines, it made it very difficult for us to make outgoing calls during peak periods. With 23 lines, surely we would handle the load. Not so fast! Over the first few weeks I checked our maximum load on all 23 lines and, on several occasions, we had exceeded our maximum load during peak calling periods! We nearly tripled our call capacity and still had overflow. Thankfully, the overflow is not frequent enough, at this point, to justify another 23 lines.

Alrighty then, what about our connect rate? Given all the customers that try to reach us, to what percentage do we actually connect? I was more struck by this metric than our load. Let's just say it was less than half of what we would want it to be. It turns out, we were literally turning away hundreds of calls a week, probably mostly due to long hold time. Even more striking, our average hold time for a connected customer was approaching 30 minutes! 30 minutes?! Dreadful! Sales customers simply will not hold for 30 minutes to buy something. What made this even scarier was the fact that our mix of callers (known by the queue that they select when calling) was more than two-thirds sales calls. We were turning away hundreds of sales a week. This means we were turning away customers who wanted to buy something (and were probably at the end of the buying cycle) in order to provide support to customers we had already acquired.

OK. Now we know. What do we do? We could hire 10 more reps. Nope. Don't have the budget. OK. We don't have an unlimited budget. What else can we do? We could slow down marketing and sabotage our own SEO to get fewer sales calls. Nope. That's dumb. So what do we do then?! How can I get more work out of existing resources? How can we add hours to the day to get more done?... wait... Eureka! We needed more hours in the day! It was ultra-clear that our call and chat volume was much higher earlier in the day than late in the day. Once the clock gets to about 3:45 pm, things tend to slow down. With reps struggling during our rush periods to perform administrative and follow up tasks, it would be near impossible to be more efficient during regular 8:00 am to 5:00 pm business hours. So, why don't we have some reps come in at 7:00 am, instead of 8:00 am, to finish any lingering issues from the previous day and get a head start on the new day before we start taking calls and chats? We could even perform some proactive functions that prevent customers from calling for support reasons in the first place! Why didn't we think of this sooner?! Oh yeah, we didn't think of it sooner because we didn't have great data to stare at.

The effect of having half of our customer service team come in one hour before business hours has been exponential in its positivity. We still have load issues, two or three times a week, during peak times we exceed our capacity. However, our connect rate has doubled! Our hold time has gone from nearly 30 minutes on average to less than 10 minutes! Interestingly, sales are up, but we have reduced our volume of calls and chats by about 10%. Fewer calls and fewer chats, coupled with increased sales, is a strong indicator to me that we are servicing customers more efficiently. We still have a great deal of growth opportunity, but one simple scheduling decision has drastically improved our ability to service customers and, as a positive consequence, also greatly improved morale in the customer service department. Go team!

Little Giant has been hard at work engineering pumps that their most loyal customers have been waiting for. PlumberSurplus.com is your destination for the new Little Giant TSW Sump Pump System and their NXTGen Condensate Pumps.

As I waited patiently – well for the most part, for a response to an email I sent a supplier a few hours ago I began thinking about the email I had sent, and about the response time I was expecting.  Dealing with suppliers, potential providers, consumers, upper management, industry partners, etc. we need to realize that an email says a lot about a person and the company. There are also rules that need to be followed when communicating as a representative of your company, whether your organization has chosen to publicize them or not.

As I continued to wait for the supplier’s response, I began realizing that I demanded more of those receiving my emails, then what I provided to those who sent me emails. So what is the rule, if any, for how fast or how slow we can or should be responding to emails? Should our first response should be as soon as possible?  Or does it depend on the circumstances?  The reality is that we only have so much time in a day, and some emails are more important than others. We have to keep in mind that the sender knows that their email is in our inbox waiting to be read, if we disregard the email with no follow up of “Let me work on this and I will reply shortly” the sender may assume that we are just ignoring them. This is how I feel when I don’t receive a timely response, but I also realize that there are some people in our organization that literally can’t get to every email they receive in a given day so that’s not a realistic thought either. After looking for a specific time frame on what an appropriate email response time would be, and not finding it, I decided to suggest my own. I believe that 48 hours from the time an email is received is a suitable time frame for best practice.  Keeping someone else held up any longer on a given project and the perception of being dependable and communicative goes straight out the door.  

We have to remember that an email is not just about us and how busy we are; it is also about the sender who is expecting a response to their issue or question. Showing the courtesy of responding with our status will portray efficiency and someone who is dependable with correspondence. Often times a simple “I will get back to you as soon as I can”, response will avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Business partners will not only appreciate our timely responses, but in return will feel a sense of delight when they see our email in their inbox.

So next time we skip over that email that has been in our inbox for over two days, we need to remember the golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.

In the infancy of eCommerce the environment could be described as, laid back, which helped lead to a miscalculation of the importance of email, and even the use of email as an informal business tool.  There are many reasons why people need to be careful with what they say in an email.

Keeping three basic rules in mind should alleviate email communication faux pas:

Communicate with Clarity
Make sure that the information provided in an email is communicated with clarity. Many times we respond to emails with one-line replies. Not only can we not provide enough information in a one-line reply but we can also come off as rude and demanding. Communicating with clarity can be simple when an email is broken down. For example if there is a question to be answered and the answer has multiple parts number them or utilize bullets.  Also remember, that when replying to an email always try thank the sender for the information they provided in their previous email, it’s just good manners.

If you wouldn’t Say it to their Face…..then DON’T Write It.
Because an email helps avoid face to face confrontation people tend to be daring when emailing. When you are upset in an email, this first thing to remember is to take deep breaths and re-read the email to make sure that you understood it correctly. Speed reading is one of the main pitfalls that lead to miscommunication.

You are your Email
Think of the email you are sending as a description of you. If you are rude in your email, then you probably look like a rude person; but if you are helpful and understanding in your email then that IS probably who YOU are. Politeness in an email shows that you are professional, courteous, tactful, and educated – all attributes that a Business person should encompass.

It seems that the younger generations are getting closer and closer to utilizing email in the same ways they are using texts and instant messages. Please remember that grammar is still an essential part of an email; they are nothing like IM conversations or texts. Emails need introductions, a body, and a conclusion. Though these guidelines may be forgotten one day, let’s try to keep emails as professional as possible. 

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You too can be just like me with my 12 week program!

The possibilities are endless with a bathroom remodel. Discover your classic side with a clawfoot tub, experiment with fresh bathroom vanities and coordinate it all with matching faucets. Shop PlumberSurplus.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all of your bathroom needs.

• Tim Berry and his wife Vange collaborated on what they have learned over the last 22 years as small business owners and came up with a list of ten lessons they learned.  They point out that these lessons may not work for every business but in my opinion Tim and Vange may be too humble about their list.  Businesses are still failing today because they either don’t know about the topics discussed in this article or they choose to ignore them.  I chose three points to reiterate for our audience:
  • 2. We built it around ourselves
    Our business was and is a reflection of us, what we like to do, what we do well. It didn’t come off of a list of hot businesses.
  • 5. We spent our own money. We never spent money we didn’t have.
    We hate debt. We never got into debt on purpose, and we didn’t go looking for other people’s money until we didn’t need it (in 2000 we took in a minority investment from Silicon Valley venture capitalists; we bought them out again in 2002). We never purposely spent money we didn’t have to make money. (And in this one I have to admit: that was the theory, at least, but not always the practice. We did have three mortgages at one point, and $65,000 in credit card debt at another. Do as we say, not as we did.)
  • 7. We minded cash flow first, before growth.
    This was critical, and we always understood it, and we were always on the same page. See lesson number 5, above. We rejected ways we might have spurred growth by spending first to generate sales later.
    
    

• The Palm Pre comes out this weekend, and I am quite excited about it!  Search Engine Land reports on Google’s excitement for the release of this smartphone that has Google Search, Maps and YouTube already built into the device.  What’s important about this article is the trend toward mobile apps and how advertisers will choose to plan for future PPC campaigns.


• Bing seems to be the word of the week and (#badabing) the tweet of the week.  Bing even managed to become the number two search engine for a day, which isn’t all that surprising considering the dollars that Microsoft is tossing at their ad campaign, but will it last?  Some think not, and I tend to agree.  I tried to use Bing for a day, but I couldn’t even make it that long.


• Adobe BrowserLab is making it easier for developers to test cross browser compatibility.
  


• We pride ourselves on being problem solvers, in fact that is how Gordian Project came to be our name.  We go about discovering problems and implementing solutions in various ways, but I enjoyed this simple outline for those in their infancy of tackling issues.
  

Kohler is arguably one of the most innovative brands in the home improvement industry. The new Karbon faucet has completely transformed the kitchen and more specifically revolutionized the kitchen faucet. Meanwhile Kohler seems to effortlessly create bathroom fixtures that are not only sleek but save water, like the Escale toilet.