Month: August 2009

So, what is Gist?

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

Arguably, we have been perfectly vague publicly about what Gist is, what it is used for, and how it fits into your daily life.  This is due in large part to being in a limited release where we continue to add features, refine the product, and incorporate feedback from a phenomenal set of beta users. 

So the question remains, what is Gist?  Is it a contact manager, better contact management system, new way to think about CRM software, a new type of sales or business intelligence software?  I guess the answer is that it embraces a bit of all of these things focusing on blending how your contacts, connections, and all the associated content you share and they generate comes together for your use.  Kind of a whole new approach to personal relationship management that combines elements of all of the above.

I use it daily because a) I work there and b) because it fits with what I do – contact people, respond to people, follow up with people, look for a reason to reach out, etc.  Ultimately, Gist takes the broad set of people that you communicate with or desire to communicate with, aggregates information about them, and serves it up to you in rank order with you having to do pretty much nothing. Oh, and it really shines when you use it inside MS Outlook or Salesforce.com (supported in our most recent beta release).

Sound cool?  Watch this video for a more detailed product tour by yours truly and drop a comment or email to me – robertcpease at gmail dot com if you want to try the beta.

Declaring my Frequent Flyer free agency

/ Robert Pease / 1 Comment

After one of the worst flying experiences I have ever had on Delta Air Lines, I have decided to declare my frequent flyer free agency.  I won't bore you with the details but the experience which included my entire family demonstrates the indifference and what seemed like outright disdain for its passengers by this airline giant.  I use to live in Atlanta, my wife use to work in Delta's flight operations group, and my brand loyalty was always to Delta above all others.  That has now changed and the only reason I will even think about flying them again is due to the efforts of a single flight attendant on our flight back to Seattle from Atlanta.

So, I am up for grabs and interested in looking at new teams to join.  Here are my stats:

  • Well over 1 million miles logged with 80+% of those on Delta Air Lines over the years.
  • Extensive travel in North America, a concentrated period to the UK a few years back, and a few flights to Asia over the years
  • Cheap but not real cheap – I'll buy the discount ticket but have been
    known to pay for wifi, club room access, and the occasional upgrade
    (when it is reasonable)

  • Pretty low maintenance as long as there is a spot for my highly
    optimized and very small carry on bag and the frequency of center seat
    assignments is kept at a minimum. 
  • I do not expect or feel entitled to
    an upgrade but rarely turn it down when offered    .
  • I am very experienced and efficient at getting on and off the plane quickly without disrupting other passengers or delaying departure.

I have spent trial periods with United, Alaska Airlines, US Airways, and American but have never signed on due to bad experience, lack of status, or routing.  Current favorite is Virgin America but they do not meet all my destination criteria.  I have also spent some time with ANA, British Airways, Southwest and Frontier (although the latter two may be the same team here shortly) over the years and have had generally good experiences.

Interested in having me try out for your team?  Leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Marketing Mayhem

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Over the past year plus, I have been working with a whole new set of tools to understand and reach customers/prospects/users.  This includes Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, blogs, blog comments and the associated technology to access and analyze what is being said and who is saying it.

Unlike mainstream marketing thinking, what I have been doing has cost very little money and utilizes new tools to reach people in the new places they are spending their time.  More importantly, the leverage in selling resides disproportionately with the buyer these days.  They have instant access to information about you, your competitors, and even the ability to connect with your current and former customers all without your help or involvement.  Understand this is reality and embrace it.

So, what should you do if you are trying to sell something, launch something new, or just expand market share within existing target market?  Set up and make use of a Listening & Engagement Framework.  Check out my previous posts on it to understand what the heck I am talking about.

I have been making extensive use of this type of framework at Gist and put together the presentation embedded here to highlight both what we have been doing as well as the thinking and assumptions behind it all.  Check it out and let me know thoughts and feedback.  One thing I have learned is that the rules are still being written and best practices emerge daily on the best way to use all this stuff as a business.

Marketing Mayhem – Can You Hear Me Now?http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=marketingmayhemnewrulesv1-090822185333-phpapp02&stripped_title=marketing-mayhem-can-you-hear-me-now

View more presentations from robertcpease.

Are corporate IT departments obstacles to innovation?

/ Robert Pease / 2 Comments

As I look back at the various start ups I have been a part of, none of them has had an easy time getting their first big enterprise customer.  The minefield of meetings, requirements, obstacles, outright "no" & "no way" responses is enough to kill the spirit of even the most optimistic and entrepreneurial among us.

Now on-demand software that can be accessed via a browser without consultation or authorization by corporate IT departments often meets a similar fate once unauthorized downloads are detected or the volume of data exchange with an unauthorized website appears on the radar screen.  This sometimes occurs regardless of the passion, need, or protest of the business end-user.

So, why is this?  Are corporate CIOs and their teams enemies of innovation?

Not at all.  They are, however, risk managers and anything new, untried, and early stage is met with suspicion and concern. 

If you are building something for the enterprise, you will at some point meet the risk mitigation wave…even if all the business folks are using what you sell and loving it dearly.  It must meet certain requirements related to management, oversight, audit, compliance, and governance.  You don't have to have it nailed out of the gate, but be aware that it will come…with your success.

So, companies like Gist that are innovating in areas like contact management, sales software, CRM software, etc. and experiencing success in the marketplace will soon come face to face with the risk mitigation wave.  We know this, are prepared for it, and can't wait to have that discussion.

Just remember, your IT department doesn't want to deprive you of the best tools and newest technologies.  They just want to make sure the shop runs smoothly and that those new tools, programs, and technologies don't compromise the network, raid the financial system, or otherwise wreak havoc on the company.

Building an engagement framework

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Apologies again for the slow posting recently.  Life and work got in the way a bit…

As promised some time ago, here is the second post about building a listening and engagement framework.  In my previous post on the listening framework, I detailed out my approach and several of the tools and applications I use to get pretty good coverage.  But, listening is only part of the equation.  When and how you engage based on what you hear is more important but also more complex.  I place these activities into the "Four Zones of Engagement" which are primarily defined by how much time it takes you to act on what you have heard.

ZonesofEngagement  

How do you stay in the Zones of Amazement & Affection?  Apply dedicated resources and make use of tools like TweetDeck, BackType, CoTweet, Gist, Twitter, & Google Reader. 

Want to languish in the Zone of Indifference?  Set up a few Google Alerts and you'll be sure to stay there.

Does the Zone of Disdain sound appealing?  If so, do nothing and watch your competitors and new entrants eat your lunch by engaging your customers and prospects in a direct and meaningful way.