Randy Carson
Cheapest Surgeon Available
"God, I really wish I had spent more time at work!" Who said that when lying on their deathbed - NO ONE?! Here is another one for you. "Find me the cheapest surgeon available." Sounds demented does it not? In my humble opinion, we hear folks voice statements akin to this every day. Believe it or not. Now on to the show.
Where Did All My Friends Go?
For those of you responsible for looking after your company social media accounts, this thought may or may not have crossed your mind in the last couple weeks. It did mine. I follow (like) all our customers company Facebook pages to keep myself current on all the "goings on" at the company. Last week one of our great customers asked me if I saw a recent post to her company page and I had not, so I "hot-footed" it over to my Facebook tab looking for the post. I was nowhere to be found in my news feed. My initial thought was just maybe something had run amuck in the world of Facebook, and I had somehow my like of this page had gone unnoticed or worse deleted. I discovered after much diligent searching that neither was the case. According to my account settings, not only did I still like the page I loved it.
Which Gang Do I Join?
I admit it! I tried to ignore everything social media for a long time. I decided if I ignored it long enough it would likely go away - NOT SO. Not only did the big two not disappear like a bad dream, they are more prevalent factors than ever in deciding what a company's online marketing strategy should be to make the most effective impact on their target audience. Being from the Midwest, 18 to 24 months ago, I viewed a company online presence as a three-legged stool - Facebook, Twitter, as well as a drop-dead gorgeous website. Now, depending on the business you are in, the stool begins to closely resemble a poly-legged monster. With the advent of the up-and-coming social media sites, "How can you make an effective choice?" Where does a small business spend its limited budget and time to get the biggest bang for its buck? Also, to add another factor into your strategy decision process is answering the question, "How to I address smartphone and tablets?" Here at C2C over the last 12 - 18 months we have seen the traffic take a dramatic shift to the mobile side of the formula.
Triple R Horse Rescue
After a short absense, one of our favorite and "oldest" clients is back in the stable at C2C, Triple R Horse Rescue in Cave Creek, Arizona. During their time away, Triple R underwent a name change and many other things, but one thing did not change and that is their absolute 24/7 dedication to their horses and their mission. The three R's in their name have a special meaning. The first R stands for "Rescue." The second R stands for "Re-home", and the third "Re-habilitate." That is no small feat, as anyone in the horse business knows.
Someone I once knew was always fond of saying, "Put a horse in a rubber room, they will find a way to get hurt." Triple R has taken nearly 100 horses through that process during the last year. It costs hundreds to thousands of dollars for each, and Triple R continues to get the job done; no matter how difficult.
So; stop by their new site, and say, "Howdy." You'll be glad you did. Learning about the great work Ken Bacher and his all volunteer staff do day in and day out will at a minimum put a smile on your face.
Natural Solutions
C2C Consulting is VERY proud to welcome Wes Clouse to our stable of fine customers. Wes is a 360 sort of guy. He trains, provides ferrier services, and on top of that sells some of the best custom saddles in the valley. I could say more, but I think Wes say to best.
"I was a city boy completely clueless when it came to horses, but I got a horse anyway. I had a friend suggest I check out a gentleman by the name of Pat Parelli. This was my first blessing and completely changed my mindset. I was then able to meet and ride with many incredible horsemen. There is no way I can name them all, but the two who have made the greatest impact on my life are Ray Hunt and Lee Smith. I was honored to be able to ride in a Ray Hunt clinic out at Mark and Lee Smith's ranch just prior to Ray passing on. It was an experience I will never forget. Lee Smith has been a friend and has inspired me for twenty years-scary to think it has been that long. If you ever get the chance to see or ride with Lee Smith, do not hesitate."
Wes might be a city boy by heritage, but don't kid yourself. He's all country. Check out his great offering of services and products. Stop by and say, "Howdy."
The Way-back Machine?
For those of you too young to remember, back in the 1950's there was a cartoon on Saturday morning TV that let you dial up a date and then travel back to that time. It was great fun, but in reality, it was just a thinly disguised way to encourage kids to become interested in history. I must admit at least in my case, it did not work. I had a huge dislike for history in school, and the "Way Back" machine did little to improve my opinion. That said, I got over it; eventually. Now out of the 453 cable channels I have available to view, I spend 99.8% of my viewing pleasure on the History Channel, Food Channel, and SyFi. However, that is a whole other story we won't go into here. My reason for writing this post is to describe how laughable it is to me when I see the current news that states a certain company is eliminating the ability for staff members to work from home. Seriously!!!
644 Million and Counting
Sounds like the take on the latest lottery pot, right? Nope; it is the number of active websites on the Internet as we close in on the end of 2012. As I'm sure with many of you, the end of each year, and the anticipation of the next, causes me to reflect. This morning I began to ponder the question, "Were there any common threads in our web development business this year, and if there were, what were they?" And perhaps more important, "What learnings should we take away?" The answer is there were!!!
David Letterman Would Be Proud
C2C Consulting has not spent a penny on advertising since its inception. All of our business comes through referrals, and we ARE proud of that fact. The breakdown between website rebuilds, and new websites is heavily slanted to the rebuild side of the ledger. Over the years we hear it all, as to the reason folks are coming to us to rebuild and manage their site. Now, a bit of background information you need to keep in mind is, these are company sites. I'm not referring to a site that an individual(s) develop and publish to communicate along the lines of some hobby they are passionate about, or a family site used to publish pictures and news from the various holidays. These are commercial sites, on to the horror stories. These are actual quotes from some of our clients, although I changed the names to protect the innocent.
Websites Need Facelifts Too!
Recently, one of our large multi-site customers went live with a totally updated and revamped site. The thought occurred to me that this is a topic that "anyone" responsible for the regular care and feeding of a website needs to have at top of mind. To the point of sounding like a broken record I'm sure, I remind my clients regularly that websites are very much like real-estate. The main difference is instead of the mantra being, "Location, location, location. It is content, content, content." To be honest, content is only part of a successful formula for creating a site that continually draws traffic and continues to grow your business. A website is made up of three primary parts: content, technology, and visual (look and feel), at its simplest level. All of these foundation bits and pieces needs to be kept current and not looking stale. Why else do you occasionally put a fresh coat of paint on the old homestead?
Desert Wind at Lone Mountain
C2C Consulting continues to grow its list of clients and the industries they represent. The fresh, new website serving the many needs of the HOA, Desert Wind at Lone Mountain went on the air earlier this morning.
The Desert Wind at Lone Mountain community is located amidst the beautiful Sonoran Desert in the Northeast part of Phoenix, Arizona. Entrance into the community is at 52nd Street and Lone Mountain Road. Homeowners enjoy the natural area landscape and wildlife habitat that surrounds us, and appreciate the close proximity to local shopping facilities, restaurants, schools and churches. If we choose to enjoy the "city life" it is just 20-25 minutes away.
So, if your a resident or not, check out the site. It represents a new breed of HOA website with all the social media and informational ties that folks would expect. To the residents, "Congratulations!"
Affiliates
What We Do
Let us help to improve your:
• SEO
• Website
• Technology
• Processes