Monday Morning Marketeer, Creating Customer Loyalty Suspects to Prospects

This is me in the Whitehouse East Wing at National Small Business Week 40 pounds ago!  The White House by the way does a great job of Marketing, the party they threw for us was outstanding.   It was truly a unique experience being honored as the National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year.  Upward and onward just like Ellen Degeneres, I have goals, this year the Webby Awards for http://pplmag.com/


Creating Customer Loyalty, Turning Suspects into Prospects

There are about six recognized stages to creating Customer loyalty.


These are: Suspect, prospect, first-time customer, repeat customer, client and advocate.

Today I am only talking about two: creating suspects and prospects.



Here is one major way to create suspects: Give them information, after all this is the information age. You can do this with Talkcasts or Podcasts, or Free Webinars, done properly they are all really the same thing.

This is how I use them to educate my suspects, fans, listeners, followers, whatever you want to call them. They are people just like you and they are important to me. Do they make me money? No not directly, but what they, you do is increase my credibility in my field and you, they who are not reading this, spread the information I provide by word of mouth, which, “hello” is hard to get but “FREE.”



So on my Techno Granny Show, I operate as a Talkcast similar to a Talk Show and I find someone who uses the technology that I want people to be more conversant with. My guest gets to advertise their business at the end of the show by giving out their contact information. Here are two people who have used helpful information to get the word out about their business—Techno Granny, me and also my guest for the day.



Now the second type of show or training is a webinar, which is also a community call. That’s what Monday Morning Marketeer is. I talk for fifteen minutes about inexpensive ways to market your business, I try to keep the tips either free to implement or under $100.00. Now when I advertise, “Big Business Marketing for Small Businesses.” Do you think people listen? Of course, by showing that I care about the little things that you can do to market your business all by yourself, I have increased my visibility and created a platform for selling marketing that costs a little more than a hundred dollars. I have given away marketing tips but I have gained two things: visibility and an on-line audio portfolio. If you want to know what I know or think about a particular topic, it is probably on my Monday Morning Marketeer, hosed at www.Talk Shoe.com.



By the way, did I mention that you can do this to, and to record, advertise and host your webinar or talkcast at www.talkshoe.com , it is free, but hurry because I fear that someday soon, it will become so popular that they might start to charge. I have increased my listeners to my shows to 1,000 per week in live and downloaded format because all of my shows are archived at www.talkshoe.com and you can listen to them—whenever, possibly forever, at least as long as the internet lasts.



Now let’s talk about blogs, let’s talk about you and me sharing information and getting reactions. How cool is this. Blog about what you know is of importance to your target audience, blog regularly and post your blog to sites like Technorati and Digg and other blogposting and hosting sites and guess what if you use E-Blogger, which is owned by Google, it really “Gets Your Google On!”

Post tips of the week, post other bloggers that blog on the same subject but please educate your suspects, prospects, friends, fans and followers with useful and entertaining information. Sometimes a little levity goes a long way.



One of my protégé’s on TalkShoe has a show called Gourmet Eater; his business is Smells Like French Fries. Gregg Matthis recycles restaurant cooking oil. His idea was to introduce Pittsburgh Restaurants to the public and he likes to eat. Each week he interviews one of his current customers or finds new restaurants to hi-light. Everyone wants extra exposure, especially on the internet where Talkcasts and podcast are hosted. Now which call as a busy restaurant owner would you rather get a call to be interviewed on the Gourmet Eater or a call to be prospected by Mr. Greg Matthis of Smells Like French Fries? And I know from his results that it is easier for him to get that appointment after he has interviewed them on his show.



Now let’s talk about You-Tube.



You-Tube



Remember that when you are attracting suspects, fans, friends and followers to drive ideas in this information highway world with a microwave mentality, to create “Buzz,” it must be simple, word of mouth friendly and supported by tools to facilitate customer conversation.

Well Talkcasts, Webinars, podcasts, blogs, they all do that easily and so does U-Tube.





This three-step success formula worked exceptionally well for Blendtec, a small, Utah-based maker of high-end home and commercial blenders.

The fledging company needed more business, so executives brainstormed: How do we earn more market awareness on a shoe-string budget? Their answer? Online videos with a simple, word-of-mouth friendly premise: CEO Tom Dickson, dressed in white lab coat and goggles, blending up a host of everyday objects (baseballs, a Tiki Torch, Transformers, an iPod, a video camera) in a light-hearted, don't-try-this-at home presentation schtick.

‘By Week 3, the company had dropped all other search engines from its budget.’

How did Blendtec facilitate online awareness and conversation? By posting the video on YouTube! Within a week, the Will It Blend? Videos became a YouTube hit. Uploads followed on such other sites as Revver.com and Digg.com. At the end of the first seven days, the Will It Blend? Video campaign had six million views. But that's not all. Other product makers, anxious to leverage the campaign's popularity, began paying Blendtec on average $5,000 to film promotions for their firms using the Will It Blend? format. Bottom line, the videos became a revenue producer in their own right. Awareness went way up, along with sales. Blendtec reported a 43 percent sales increase for 2006.



Listen to the archived version of Monday Morning Marketeer at:

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/33960



Also listen to:  - How Important is Your Web Logo Style

Listen Live or listen Later.



This blog post can be reproduced in its entirety with the following information:

© Joanne Quinn-Smith, Monday Morning Marketeer 412-628-5048

Listen at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/33960

Blog: www.marketingmondaymorning.blogspot.com

TechnoGranny Show 2-8-10 E-Books and Social Media, Building a Platform

 This show was recorded live and can be heard archived on TechnoGranny's syndicated Pittsburgh Internet Radio Channel on PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com at http://pplmag.com or at:  http://tinyurl.com/TechnoGrannyShow

Publishing an e-book 3 areas to consider:

• Content
• Marketing
• Technology

 

Only thing to say about content is make sure it is interesting to readers Feel passion for the topic

 

How to e-books should be 35-75 pages.

 

Marketing: hardest Part

 

Can choose to go it alone and work very hard or place with an agent and work very hard

 

Social media is driving marketing of e-books. This includes posting comments in forums and discussion pages, creating a fan page on Facebook, developing an e-mail marketing campaign, an affiliate program and services such as Squidoo who marry a web store with charitable causes. May also host webinars, attend networking events, speaking engagements.

 

Technology:

 

1st choose format:

 

e-book, audio or video podcast (Vook by Viddler is now out and I love it but these publishers are only looking at hot sellers right now. Crush It has been published in audio, Vook and e book as well as print)

 

For e-book need to decide service first. Can choose to go with a publishing site such as (list a couple of them here) or set up your own store front.

 

I use JEM by JROX. This works well for both digital media and promotional items as well.

 

If you decide to do this on your own be aware that you will have to have access to technical support or be able to learn quickly. As with any site, you need time to familiarize yourself with the platform. this needs to be weighed against the need for immediacy in making the sales.

 

 

You will also need to set up a pay system for handling the sales. Ditto with the affiliate program. Paypal is by far the easiest to set up but you may have an existing arrangement with a merchant account.

 

If you decide to let a service market your book, check out the formats for the book. Each service recognizes certain services.

 

Amazon, who markets the Kindle recognizes certain formats. Apple just announced the Ipad. As part of this they announced the Apple e-book store. They will ensure that all of the ebooks marketed through their site is in E pub standard.

 

A great fallback for almost all readers is a pdf.

 

You can choose to use your standard word processing software but be aware that formating for different readers is time consuming if you go this route.

 

To keep from limiting buyers you need to be flexible.

 

there are some platforms for authoring your book.

 

 

Author It is a platform geared to composing the multitude of documentation needed by large corporations. Although it is the gold standard it is also pricey and quite frankly overkill.

 

Desktop Author is my preference. At $150+ for the software, you may decide to use your word processing software for your first book.

 

Distribution is highy controversial.

 

You need to weigh the ease of use for the buyer with your own concerns of piracy. DNL and DRM are 2 concerns. Desktop Author handles this one way. You may decide that another approach is best for you.



Talking Points on

 

Building Relationships: The Social Rose Book One

 

Published by Gemma Event Marketing Associates, 2009

 

 

1. SociaL Media Consultants have been encouraging people to build numbers of connections. This quest for numbers without considering the usefulness of the connection is not the best ROI on your time in building your business.

 

2. Social media reached critical mass in 2009.

 

3. LinkedIn is the number one social platform for business and is not expected to reach capacity until 2013 with an expected I billion users.

 

4. Social Media and social networking are tow typs of social interactions which must be considered as part of a corporate strategy in reaching golas and objectives for your business.

 

5. A report on trends from 2009 shows that more professionals will become consultants, and consequently, small business owners thereby needing to establish their personal branding within the next decade.

 

6. Personal branding requires an understanding of how social interaxctions will impact the bottom line.

 

7. Social interactions recognize the immediacy of living in a mobile and global world.

 

 

Brenda Greathouse

 

Gemma Event Marketing Associates

 

Brenda@ohgemma.com

 

www.ohgemma.com

 

TechnoGrannyShow 12-01-10 Windows 7, Are You Ready, Willing and Able

 

Title: Techno Granny, Windows 7, Are You Ready, Willing and Able

Time: 12/07/2009 Listen at:  http://tinyurl.com/TechnoGrannyShow   or on TechnoGranny's syndicated Pittsburgh internet radio channel at:  http://pplmag.com Episode Notes: Sue Tresatti of Taylored Solutions, Computer Specialist reviews Window 7 and what you need to upgrade, the benefits and pitfalls according to what system you may have. What you need to know before you upgrade. Get the facts on what to expect from Windows 7. EPISODE132

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Find out if your PC can run Windows 7

To see if your PC is ready for Windows 7, download the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. It scans your PC for potential issues with your hardware, devices, and installed programs, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor checks for compatibility issues.

If your PC can run Windows Vista, it can probably run Windows 7, but it's still a good idea to use the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.
Note: Information about your PC will be sent to Microsoft, but no information will be used to identify or contact you.

Before you begin

Before scanning your PC with the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, be sure to plug in and power on any USB devices or other devices, such as printers, external hard disks, and scanners, that you regularly use with the PC you're checking.

Microsoft had dug itself a cool, deep, dark hole with Windows Vista. Users demanding that Redmond extend the life of Windows XP wasn't exactly something they could be proud of, either. Bombarded by complaints and negative press even after the first service pack was released, the bar had been set high for Vista's successor: Windows 7. This review is based on an official copy of the Windows 7 RTM that Microsoft provided to CNET on July 30, 2009.

Luckily for Microsoft, Windows 7 is more than just spin. It's stable, smooth, and highly polished, introducing new graphical features, a new taskbar that can compete handily with the Mac OS X dock, and device management and security enhancements that make it both easier to use and safer. Importantly, it won't require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded, partially because the hardware has caught up, and partially because Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible.
It's important to note that the public testing process for Windows 7 involved one limited-availability beta and one release candidate, and constituted what some have called the largest shareware trial period ever. As buggy and irritating as Vista was, Windows 7 isn't. Instead, it's the successor to Windows XP that Microsoft wishes Vista had been, and finally places it on competitive footing with other major operating systems like OS X and Linux.

Features: Taskbar and Aero Peek
Although the look of Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, make no mistake: This is a full replacement operating system, and more than just "Vista done right." From driver support to multitouch groundwork for the future, from better battery management to the most easy-to-use interface Microsoft has ever had, Windows 7 is hardly half-baked.
The first thing that should stand out is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements Microsoft has made--third-party program dock makers are going to have to do some serious innovation when Windows 7 goes public. Besides incorporating the translucent style of Aero, the new taskbar is arguably even better than the Mac OS X dock. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons. Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview. Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front. Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use.
Jump lists are another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you've recently used in that program. In Internet Explorer, this will show recently visited Web sites, although it doesn't yet seem to work in Firefox.
If you've noticed the missing Show Desktop icon, that's because it's been baked into the taskbar itself. Mouse over to the right corner. Hovering over the Show Desktop box reveals the desktop, and then hides it when you mouse away. Click on the box to minimize all your programs.

Aero Peek shows the desktop when you hover over the right edge of the toolbar, and is also an option in the program-switching hot key Alt+Tab. (This image was taken from the Windows 7 Release Candidate, but looks and functions the same in the official version of Windows 7./Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Resizing programs has been simplified and improved by the capability to drag a window's title bar. Drag a program window to the top of your monitor to expand it to full screen. If you want to work in two windows simultaneously, drag one to the left edge and one to the right edge of your screen, and they'll automatically resize to half the width of your monitor. Dragging a program away from the top or sides will return it to its original size. This is an entirely new feature in Windows 7, but it should prove easy to adopt because it mimics and expands on the maximize/restore button that people have been resizing windows with since Windows 95.
Theme packages also make it much faster to change the look of Windows 7. From the Control Panel, you can change the theme under Appearance and Personalization. Microsoft has created several theme packages to give people a taste for what the feature can do. Click on one to download it, and it instantly changes the color scheme and background--no need to reboot. Users can create their own themes, as well.
Windows Media Player and Device Stage
One of the biggest new features makes Windows Media Player useful again: you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple.
When you open Windows Media Player, there's a new Stream option on the toolbar. Click it, and you're presented with two choices. Both require you to associate your computer with your free Windows Live ID. When you've associated a second Windows 7's WMP with that same ID, you can remotely access the media on the host computer. Windows Media Player's mini mode looks much slicker, emphasizing the album art--sometimes at the expense of clearly seeing the controls, but it's a definite improvement.

Microsoft reinvigorates the Windows Media Player by allowing users to stream their media files to themselves. All it takes is two Windows 7 computers, an Internet connection, and a free Windows Live ID. (This image was taken from the Windows 7 Release Candidate, but looks and functions the same in the official version of Windows 7./Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

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System Requirements:
The recommended requirements for Windows 7 have more or less remained the same as those for Windows Vista:
* A 1GHz processor.
* 1GB of RAM.
* A 20GB hard drive with 16GB free space.
* A graphics card that supports DirectX 9 with a WDDM driver.
* 128MB dedicated memory for the graphics card.

However, Windows 7 has been tweaked to maximize system performance, meaning Windows 7 will perform better on a computer than Windows Vista and, in some tests, even Windows XP. This enables users of netbooks and older computers to run Windows 7 where it may have been difficult or impossible with Windows Vista. It also means that you can run Windows 7 on a system with lower specifications than above, although it is not recommended in order to take full advantage of the operating system.



Windows 7 Compatibility:
Any application and any peripheral which worked with Windows Vista should work with Windows 7 as Microsoft strove to prevent another compatibility disaster like the one associated with Windows Vista. In addition, some applications and devices which did not work with Windows Vista may work with Windows 7 due to expanded compatibility.

1.) Use Compatibility Mode. Windows 7 is designed to enter Compatibility Mode automatically for programs it detects are designed for a previous version of Windows, but, like in Windows XP and Vista, it can be enabled manually. To manually enable Compatibility Mode, right-click the program, select Properties, and select the Compatibility tab. You can then enable Compatibility Mode for that program and select a previous version of Windows from the drop-down menu, among other options.

2.) Make sure you check back to the author's website for updated versions, patches, and drivers that enable Windows 7 compatibility. Not all software will be made compatible, but in the months after Windows 7's release you should see a dramatic increase in support by third-party vendors.

If you have a specific question about hardware or software compatibility feel free to start a new thread, but please check the above lists first.



1.) Physical RAM: It's the sticks of memory you insert into your computer.

2.) Virtual Memory: Also known as a swap file or paging file, it's a file on your computer's hard drive that acts like RAM. It can pick up the slack when there is a lack of RAM, usually holding data that is accessed less often. The downside is that it's incredibly slow compared to RAM, resulting in a drop in performance the more it must be used. In addition, Windows and various software may refuse to install or run if you do not have enough physical RAM.

Now, with the new ReadyBoost technology in Windows Vista and Windows 7 you have a third option...flash memory. (Including USB 2.0 flash drives and memory cards such as SD, CF, etc.) It's considered the middle of the road option because it is still slower than physical RAM but at the same time usually much faster than reading from and writing to the hard drive. It cannot be used as a complete substitute to physical RAM, but it can be used to give you a boost in speed over relying heavily on the paging file alone.

NOTES:
1.) Regardless of whether you use ReadyBoost or not, you still need at least 512MB RAM to run Windows 7 decently.
2.) ReadyBoost is an option on the AutoPlay menu whenever you insert a compatible device.
3.) ReadyBoost requires a freshly-formatted device with between 256MB and 4GB of space available.
4.) If ReadyBoost returns an error message stating that you cannot use it on that drive it typically means that either the drive or your computer does not support the transfer rates required by ReadyBoost.

Susan Tresatti
Taylored Solutions Inc.
 (724) 234-2669
sales@taylored-solutions.com
http://taylored-solutions.com

TechnoGranny Snow Show Requesting Your Ideas

This winter it has snowed in 49 of 50 states in the U.S.  And it looks like Pittsburgh where TechnoGranny broadcasts from is getting more of the same tomorrow.  So TechnoGranny has decided to have a snow show.  Topic, you business, family, school, parenting, homeowner tips for how to survive the snow.
Tomorrow morning, Februay 22, 2010, Techno Granny will be soliciting your snow survival tactics.

Please respond here with your tips and I will give you credit for them as long as you provide your e-mail info and Business name.  Or you may call in live or chat live to the show, find call in information at: 
http://tinyurl.com/TechnoGrannyShow

TG Show 1-25-2010, Alternative Phone Service for Business

Talking Points...




1). Since 1996 due to litigation...You have the ability to choose a

Vendor for your Local Phone, Long Distance, and Internet Service.



2). Ilec is the incumbent local carrier....CLEC is Competitive Local

Exchange Carrier...



3). CLEC usually less expensive, and offer the latest

technologies...as technology improves cost come down..allowing

consumers to save money and get bigger better faster services.



4). Voice services can be anywhere from a basic phone line (POTS)

plain old telephone service. To a PRI (Primary Rate Interface) 24

channel voice T-1. And beyond.



5). Internet Services can range from DSL Service (Data transport over

copper pairs) best effort technology..to Data T-1's to Bonded T-1's to

Ethernet Circuits to Fiber Technology.



6). The technology is out there to serve the two line Pizza shop or a

Modern Hospital facility sending massive files over a data circuit.



7). The key is you should always shop around and look for a solution

that fits your business and your budget.



T.R. Freiling

412-960-5947 Office

412-960-5980 Fax

412-5922565 Cell

trfreiling@cavtel.com



CAVALIER BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

Official Voice and Data Provider of

The PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

TechnoGrannyShow 8-31-09, LIPLO, LiveInPersonLiveOnline

LIPLO™

Welcome to the first professional "live and in person

and live and online" theatrical performance portal.

Performances are streamed live at the date and time

advertised with the LIPLO™ insignia

Bio:

Stephanie Riso is lead developer of the LIPLO™ live entertainment portal and founder of two organizations: Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (PICT) which she began in 1996 with business partner Andrew S. Paul, and Cabaret Pittsburgh which recently dissolved due to the economic crisis. Stephanie holds a degree in vocal performance from Carnegie Mellon University, has performed professionally in the Pittsburgh and surrounding area, and recently participated in the prestigious BMI Lehman-Engel Musical Theatre Writing workshop in NYC as a composer/lyricist. She currently serves as operations director of PICT and is attempting to become the first to live stream professional theatrical performances over the internet. Stephanie is originally from Buffalo, NY and currently resides in Pittsburgh with her husband.



Synopsis:

A new live entertainment performance portal trademarked LIPLO™ is in its final phase of testing before it is expected to hit the commercial market sometime in 2010. The portal was expected to have started its first trial theatrical performance with PICT’s production of The History Boys by Alan Bennett on Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 8:00pm, however, the Actors Equity Association national office refused to allow the live streaming to proceed despite the fact that proper permissions were acquired from the authors, designers and actors through work with AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). AFTRA and AEA are sister unions, so when AEA decided not to allow the performance to proceed AFTRA was unwilling to proceed as well. At this time, we are seeking other performances that can inaugurate the live performance portal and hope to finalize testing by the end of the year so it can be available for purchase next year.



Talking Points:

LIPLO™ was tested in the cabaret genre in 2007 and 2008 and successfully streamed 15 performances live over the internet. This was an underground trial and was not highly publicized. The work was done in collaboration with CMU graduate Alex Geis of 21 Productions which continues today.



When it was decided to test LIPLO™ for the theatre genre it was clear that the biggest obstacles would be the unions, so when Stephanie received positive responses from Actors Equity to continue discussions with AFTRA the day when professional live theatre could be streamed seemed reachable/possible.



The goal is to test the live streaming so that the best possible online product can be made available. Questions arise such as – do we need a multi-camera, live edit feed, or does one camera with zoom and panning capability suffice? What does it feel like as the audience and what other things might be needed to make the live online viewing experience worthwhile (worth the money)? Is there great potential for audience and sponsorship? Does this present a realistic new revenue stream for companies and those who create live theatre? What is the realistic potential and how do we make this new activity equitable for all parties involved? These are the questions we sought to answer with this trial period. And, if a small company can succeed in answer these questions than a larger company shouldn’t have any problems at all making this work…



A request to AEA was made as long ago as 2004 to webcast and was denied – a colleague in Chicago told Stephanie…so that has been five years and no progress on this matter has been made. It has also been stated by the AEA rep, Larry Lorczak, that many other companies have submitted proposals for live streaming, but all have been denied? Why? They won’t answer that… You have to wonder where AEA’s priorities are on this matter and which interests they are looking out for…The challenge is that it is unclear who holds the authority on live streaming – that is what the unions are fighting over.



The benefits of having live performances stream through one portal allows for clear branding of the concept of watching a show “live and in person and live and online” – whether you are in the room or sitting at your computer it is live and unedited just as if you were at the theatre – of course with a different view. This allows handicapped and elderly the option to enjoy live performance, schools who may not have funding to bus students to the theatre, those who are new parents that can’t get away to the theatre, theatre-junkies who can’t get to the city where the performance is located, and those who have lost their jobs or simply can’t afford the cost to attend the performance at the theatre.



I encourage you to visit http://www.technologyinthearts.org/?p=1078 as this article gives a good bit of the story of how it all started.



As for the technology, I would have to defer to the multi-media engineer to explain everything that goes into the ultimate product entitled LIPLO™. In short, however, it is a website portal which you can enter by submitting a valid email. Right now, when you enter it, there is a video explaining why the first live performance didn’t happen – so you can see the beginnings of how the portal is intended to work. The video currently streaming has been recorded, but on a live performance night, the performance would live stream as it happens. This has already been done successfully in the cabaret genre, so it is completely feasible and possible for theatre. Other elements include the camera and the cameraman, and a Quicktime viewer (which can be downloaded for free). Behind the website façade and camera work is the magic of Alex Geis programming supported by Carnegie Mellon University and his affiliation at CMU. So, beyond that explanation, we would need him to discuss anything more technical than that…



As for applications, any live performance for which the rights have been acquired can be included in the entertainment portal. However, the goal is to make sure that the quality of the performances – both in the producing of the performance and the streaming – are of the highest quality. We expect this to be a subscription service or pay-per-view service so the product needs to be worth paying for…Although, it is completely possible to live stream other live performances such as high school musicals, live interviews, etc. and the cost is not prohibitive, so it would just be a matter of making sure the organization has the proper permissions.



Enclosed is the LIPLO™ logo. As lead developer – this means that I came up with the concept, the acronym, meaning “Live and In Person and Live and Online” (aka LIPLO™), trademarked it, and began to develop what it means, how it works, and how it would be implemented or used. For example, my goal is to start a trend by which the concept of viewing a live event, live and online as it happens while an audience sits in the same venue, but a person sits in front of a computer would mean that the online viewer is experiencing LIPLO™. The performance has people watching live and in person BUT ALSO live and online so it is a shared experience, albeit a slightly different experience and vantage point perhaps.



The idea to create LIPLO™ was out of a necessity to reach more than 42 people in a small café with cabaret entertainment. The ongoing challenge for small entertainment companies or venues, which are either small by choice or by necessity, is how to compete for audiences and support when there are thousands attending events at football stadiums or theatres, which in turn provides critical advertising dollars and opportunities. Yet, sitting among 50,000 other people versus being 1 of 60 people feels different – and even watching online will feel different too. So, I sought out how to potentially increase my audience size without having to change the venue or the intimacy of cabaret. When I returned back to Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, a company I co-founded in 1996 (I returned in 2008 to help in a recovery effort to eliminate roughly $200,000 of debt on a million dollar organization), I started thinking about how the LIPLO™ concept might work for theatre and open up new revenue streams and audiences beyond the limits of greater Pittsburgh. That is how this all came about with some testing in between and, of course, finding Alex Geis and maintaining my long-time relationship with videographer Randy Griffith.



However, let me be clear that this is still a work in progress – especially for theatre. The technology is there and the quality is there, but I am one person with an idea and a catchy, trademarked concept. I don’t have the power to convince a huge union to give LIPLO™ its proper development, I don’t have the money to meet their unreasonable financial demands, and I don’t have money to simply bombard the market with the idea and the product…so all I can do is keep reaching for the stars, I may never get there by I’ll get higher than if I never tried at all. And, who knows, maybe – finally – a little luck with come my way and we will indeed have LIPLO™ signature performances for people to enjoy from their homes.



Please also visit www.LIPLO.com.

More info at www.LIPLO.com

Stephanie

Stephanie Riso

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre

P.O. Box 23607

Pittsburgh 15222

(412) 561-6000

sriso@picttheatre.or

TechnoGrannyShow, 2-1-2010, Pricing Tactics for Technology and Internet Businesses

Jo Ann Forrester accepting one of her many awards from Steeler Mike Wagner at Make the Connection Awards 2006

Pricing for Technology

1. The pricing of a technology product service/ product still has all the basic components that any other business has to consider in paying attention to establishing a fair price including a return on the investment

2. Some of the factors involved in the start up and early stage development may be much more labor intensive and less on major equipment. Intellectual property is often long on development and short on time before for someone else comes up with a better product.

3. The value of the business is often hard to establish due to the lack of tangible assets. You have a new software product, but it is an unknown and it is unknown whether there is a market or not;

4. The over head of a technology company requires the same as others, advertising, insurance, employee costs, communication expenses, rent etc. Whether it is software, website, social networking, linked in, google they all have soft and hard costs that have to be accounted for.

5. Investors look for a very healthy return on their money and in a relatively short time.



JoAnn R. Forrester

"Empress of Biz" TalkCast Host

S. I. Business Associates

Price it Perfect

Celebrate & Share Women of Achievement

NAWBO Board member & Past President

SBA PA Woman Business Champion 2000/1989

PA Best 50 Women in Business 1999

Office: 412-440-6969

Cell: 412-670-4322

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