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Articles

Bye, Bye E-mail
2007-10-02 17:05:00
A while back Eric Martineau, our Director of Software Architecture forwarded me the following article saying that the new generation of Internet users will probably not look to email as their medium of choice for messaging: http://www.news.com/Kids-say-e-mail-is,-l ike,-soooo-dead/ This article made me think of another PC Magazine article from about a year ago regarding how the rest of the world interfaces with the Internet. In North America we use a PC to access our information, especially the internet. The rest of the world primarily accesses the Internet through their cell phone. This is especially true in Eastern Europe, Asia. This article that Eric forwarded basically says that teens even in North America are trending away from using a PC and using their cell phone for data access. I wonder how hand-helds, like the iPhone, Treo and BlackBerries with better computing power and graphic interfaces will impact this technology shift. The articles points out that email will still...
More About: Mail , E-Mail

I love Apple? almost
2007-10-02 17:03:00
The members of the Infusion Development Department are true geeks ? me included. I say that as a compliment! We love gadgets and the latest technologies. Well, the latest ?toy? that has my team enamored is the Apple iPhone. It really is a thing of beauty. The iPhone interface is ...
More About: Technology , Love

I love Apple… almost
2007-10-02 17:03:00
The members of the Infusion Development Department are true geeks – me included. I say that as a compliment! We love gadgets and the latest technologies. Well, the latest “toy” that has my team enamored is the Apple iPhone. It really is a thing of beauty. The iPhone interface is genuinely enjoyable to use as you navigate the device. When was the last time you thought a user interface was “enjoyable”? Yeah, made ya think, huh? While using the iPhone the idea of “Elegant Simplicity” comes to mind; the nirvana of user experience that we are striving for with Infusion CRM (more on this topic in another blog posting). Anyway, the iPhone is a great device and I applaud Apple for their design and innovation. Heck, even our resident Linux disciple, Jeremy Gurr wants one! Jeremy and Ryan Peterson (Ryan is our true all-things-Apple devotee) have even made a systems monitoring and alerting web application dashboard that runs on the iPhone. Also, Eric Martineau, our Ch...
More About: Love

Simplicity - Part 1
2007-10-02 16:52:00
What does ?Elegant Simplicity ? really mean with respect to software design? I have been talking and thinking about making our software ?simple? for a long time. One thing that I have figured out for sure is that it is HARD to make things SIMPLE! Consider the following stream-o-consciousness brainstorming exercise I did ...
More About: Technology , Product , Part

Simplicity – Part 1
2007-10-02 16:52:00
What does “Elegant Simplicity ” really mean with respect to software design? I have been talking and thinking about making our software “simple” for a long time. One thing that I have figured out for sure is that it is HARD to make things SIMPLE! Consider the following stream-o-consciousness brainstorming exercise I did on the concept of “Elegant Simplicity”: Usability Consistent user experience Clean look Google easy Wizards Satisfying Enjoyable Interviews Ease of use Self help Infusion look and feel Implementation tools Outlook integration/sync Centralized QuickBooks integration/sync Import directly from anyone Friendly Fun Export to anything Lots of white space Knowledge base Basic mode/view Advanced mode/view Logical flow Simple It looks so easy - who would have known it is so feature rich Some more thoughts: Ease of Learning I learned to use it quickly. I easily remember how to use it. It is easy to learn to use it. I quickly became skillful with it. Usefulness...
More About: Part

The Ultimate Sales Letter: The Declaration of Independence?
2007-09-14 17:22:00
In a few weeks the town where I live is having their annual ‘Constitution Week’ filled with activities & learning around our great US heritage. I’ve gotta admit I’ve never participated, but some of their advertising caused me to start thinking about the Founding Fathers and the amazing documents they wrote. I ...
More About: Declaration , Sales , Letter , Independence , Ultimate

Follow The Money
2007-09-12 00:29:00
I recently read this article on B to B online. Being the VP of Customer Loyalty at a Software company made me really sit up and listen. What is this, someone questioning the NPS (net promoter score), isn?t that just a fancy way of saying customer loyalty. The NPS has long been ...
More About: Money

Riding the Trains
2007-09-05 17:12:00
At Infusion we have a strong desire to remember our original roots, our original passion, and our reason for existing- caring for our small business customers, and to put this focus in the front of everyone?s face- every day, we launched a new company wide customer loyalty building program- called Riding the Trains . Some history?..For those ...
More About: TRAI

SaaS Platform and Target Market
2007-08-26 00:05:00
I came to the realization this morning that committing to a SaaS platform not only binds you to the technology, but also binds you to the business strategy and target market of the platform provider. This is a HUGE deal! Case Study: In 2005, I wrote an integration piece for SomePlatform Provider.com that would help small teams ...
More About: Technology , Market , Target , Target market

Chinese Menu: Good, Fast, or Cheap
2007-08-25 23:21:00
When I was getting my feet wet in software development, I remember a recurring debate that happened between myself and my mentor. At the time, we were in the business of custom software for small businesses (for those reading - you couldn?t see it, but my neck just twitched and my eyes rolled into ...
More About: Technology , Chinese , Fast , Good , Cheap

RIA hates Linux
2007-08-25 02:21:00
We are in the process of working on a groovy new interface to our already sweet small business CRM product, InfusionCRM. Our product is web-based, written in Java - and I was thinking that we should definitely check out the latest craze in the Web 2.0 world - RIA. After some googling, I found that ...
More About: Linux , Technology

How To Unleash An Ideavirus
2007-08-08 15:13:00
I liked “The Dip” enough to want to read more of Seth Godin’s stuff. So, I went out and bought a couple more of his books. I recently finished “Unleashing The Ideavirus” and took a few notes along the way. Here are some of my favorite lines/quotes from the book as well ...

Sullivan and Gerber
2007-08-08 01:31:00
For the past five years, my team at Infusion Software has been driving hard to become the leader of CRM software for small business. We are motivated by a desire to liberate and empower small business owners and their employees so that they can enjoy doing business again, delight their customers and better serve ...
More About: Sullivan , Ivan , Gerb

Apple Customer Loyalty
2007-08-08 00:38:00
I’m in the process of moving to the Phoenix area from the LA area. On Sunday night I rushed out of my house in California with my iMac G5 under my arm. In my hurry, I forgot the power cord. CRAP!!! I’m a tech geek. I need to be connected at all times. So, last night, ...
More About: Apple , Customer , Loyalty

Does CEM Replace CRM?
2007-07-23 22:54:00
In response to this article: Does CEM Replace CRM? Interesting- but more acronym speak for “forcing customers” to use the web… Do you know anybody who says- Hey, Joe, I really love it when I call my bank and they make me press 4 options before I can talk to someone? Or, over dinner conversation, someone says, you know Mary I called my local pizza joint last week, and placed my order without ever speaking to someone- it was awesome! I have been in the contact center, and CRM space for over 15 years, and have never personally used an automated system I liked via the phone. So, now, we are to assume that CEM is IVR for the web- Use the word IVR, and most people first say- huh? You respond with “You know those automated press 1, press 2 systems you use at your bank- that.” The customers first response is, “Ooohhh those, I hate those!” Now tell them, “Hey, how about if we put this on the web for you, wouldn’t that make it cool?” What we all...
More About: Lace

Airborne Passion
2007-07-20 18:43:00
by Scott Martineau It has been interesting for me to watch the faces of the visitors as they come to the Infusion office. The second they walk through the Infusion doors, they get hit with one of two things. If they somehow avoid being pelted by one of the many Nerf basketballs or darts that seem to always be in flight, then they will likely be “hit” with a feeling of energy and excitement and passion that permeates the entire atmosphere. We call this the process of “getting infused”. In fact, this process of “getting infused” (coming to Infusion and catching on fire) is now a regular part of Infusion vocabulary. We jump at every opportunity we get to invite customers, prospects and vendors to come to Infusion. I have heard so many prospects, customers and employees comment about this energy and passion, that for a period of time I almost became desensitized to it. One day, Clate had to make a visit to some kind of government office for so...
More About: Passion , Airborne , Passi

Airborne Passion
2007-07-20 18:43:00
It has been interesting for me to watch the faces of the visitors as they come to the Infusion office. The second they walk through the Infusion doors, they get hit with one of two things. If they somehow avoid being pelted by one of the many Nerf basketballs or darts that seem to always ...
More About: Entrepreneur , Passion , Airborne , Passi

"The Dip" Highlights
2007-07-12 16:23:00
Dave Lee I recently read Seth Godin’s mini-book called “The D ip”. It’s a book about knowing when to quit, “strategic quitting”. Similar to Moore’s “Crossing The Chasm”, the ‘dip’ appears to be the chasm that we often get stuck in when trying to make a new venture happen. It’s that period of time (often fairly long) where the product or service just doesn’t seem to take off. It’s the really tough time. The time when you think you should just bag the whole thing… or continue to push through the darkness. Fortunately, those that survive the dip benefit from the length and severity of the darkeness they experienced because it #1) makes them stronger & #2) creates barriers to entry & success for competitors. Here are a handful of phrases and key points I pulled out of the book: “In a free market, we reward the exceptional.” “Strategic quitting is the secret of succes...
More About: Highlights

Real Faces, Not Just An Interface
2007-06-29 22:36:00
In preparation for our last momentum conference, we spent 1/2 hour in a VP meeting debating whether we could pull off a field trip to the Infusion offices as part of the event. Why on earth would we care so much about that? During the Marketing Excellence event last year, we loved having our customers here, with us. Our customers appreciated it too. I think everyone likes to know that the people they are doing business with are REAL people. For many of our customers, catching a glimpse of the Infusion team let’s them put a “real face” on Infusion. Otherwise, the only thing they think about is the “interface” that they see when they log in to the software every day. What do your customers think about when they think of your company? Do they see a “real face” or do they see a box, or a website, or a product? In my experience, one of the most effective tools in keeping a customer loyal is a personal relationship. I have seen countless of ex...
More About: Faces , Real , Interface

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