Posts Tagged ‘Matrix Group’

10 days ago, the Matrix Group Facebook fan page had 280 fans.  As of tonight, we have 576 fans, more than double our starting number. How did we do it?  We launched a campaign and created an incentive for people to “Like” us.

The Background

Matrix Group has had a Facebook fan page for a couple of years now and we had been slowly building up our fan base. We did all the usual things to generate new fans: we let our customers know about our Facebook page, we linked to it from our Web site and blog, we asked staff to invite their friends to “like” us, we included the link in staff e-mail signatures, and we asked our Twitter followers to fan us.

I had recently read an article about how the Weekly World News got to 40,310 fans in 4 days (up from 3,244 fans!) and got inspired to launch our own campaign.  Weekly World News offered an exclusive video, they changed their ad daily, they did A/B testing on their ads and they leveraged their huge user base.  But what kind of incentive could we offer?  Unlike Snapfish, the photo printing site, which recently offered a coupon for a free 8 x 10 photo collage for “liking” its fan page, Matrix Group doesn’t have products to offer.  And we don’t have a customer base of tens or hundreds of thousands of people.

The Campaign

We decided to use good, old-fashioned corporate philanthropy to incentivize people to “like” us.  The campaign was incredibly simple:  we would donate $10 to a specific charity for every new fan we got between June 21 and June 30.  We selected the National Park Foundation’s (NPF) Disaster Recovery Fund in the Gulf to be recipient of our campaign.  NPF is a Matrix Group client and the entire Matrix Group staff, like the rest of the country, is upset about the Gulf oil spill.  Selecting this fund only made sense for us.  BTW, we put a time limit on the campaign because we know that people are more likely to act when they have a deadline; hence the June 30 end date for the campaign.
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• Tags: Facebook, marketing, Matrix Group, strategy

With all the hiring we’re doing right now, my team decided that we better revisit all of our orientation guides. Orientations work like this at Matrix Group:  we ask staff members from all teams to help with the orientation; we give them an outline and they do the session.  Spreading the orientation schedule around means we cover more in a short period of time and new staff get introduced to all teams in a more meaningful way.

When we started reviewing our existing guides, we found that the majority of them were too sparse. If you were lucky enough to do orientation with an earnest old-timer, you got lucky; otherwise, lots of things were missed.

So a bunch of sat down, revisited topics, and came up with 2-4 page guides for each topic.  Each topic has a sub-topic and talking points + specific things to cover.  The guides are working out very, very well.

One new thing we decided to create is a “Matrix Underground” guide, or the things you should know but nobody every tells you. We realized that it’s things on this guide that tend to trip people up or leave people bewildered.  For example, there are expressions that we expect people to know, acronyms,  and Joanna-isms that a person could take years to figure out.

Most things on the guide are funny, but some are dead serious.  Some examples:

• Sumner is the part-timer on the MatrixMaxx team who works in the afternoons (recent hires said they spent six months trying to figure out who the heck Sumner is).
• When Joanna says “can you do me a favor?” or “I need something from you,” it means “she needs something done NOW, not tomorrow, not next week, now.”
• When someone says “the cheese has moved,” it refers to the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” that we read as a company several years ago and it means “dude, the situation has changed, let’s move along and get over it.”

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• Tags: corporate culture, Matrix Group

I’m watching the Women’s Downhill competition during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics this evening.   I saw several women crash on the course, their Olympics dreams and year of preparation, go up in smoke.  Business books are full of sports analogies, but for my part, I’m glad that the world of business is not really like the Olympics.  Here’s how:

The Olympics are for the Young

Although there are a few 30-something and 40-something athletes, the Olympics are dominated by elite competitors in their teens and 20s. After a dozen years of competing, their careers are over. I’m grateful that after 18 years in the online business, I still have many years ahead of me. Perhaps I’m a late bloomer, but I feel like it’s really only in the last five years that I’ve really hit my stride and seen Matrix Group really thrive and expand.

In Business, Teams Rule!

Although there are a few relay races, the Olympics are dominated by the talents and achievements of individuals. In business, you can’t complete projects of any significant size and scope without a team effort. Take any redesign project at Matrix Group; these projects involve a project manager, an information architect, multiple designers, at least one front-end developer, at least one developer, and at least one tester. The work of one person affects every other team member and if one team members screws up, the whole project is threatened.

In Business, You Want a Lot of Winners

It’s easy to compare the world of sales with the Olympics: lots of competitors, one winner. But I would argue that the true race or competition begins once the sale has been made and implementation begins. Paradoxically, at this stage, you don’t want any losers. You want the client, the vendor, the third party partners, and the customers to all win with whatever widget, Web site or product you are building. Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: corporate culture, Matrix Group, software development

Last Thursday, when the National Weather Service was calling for a blizzard in the DC area, I had a choice to make:  open on Friday but probably close early, close the office OR keep the office open but let everyone work from home.  On Sunday night, with roads still largely impassable, federal and local governments announcing closures and public transportation down for the count, I faced a similar choice: declare the office closed on Monday and give everyone a snow day OR keep the office open and let everyone work from home.

While I’m sure most of my staff would have loved a snow day or two, as a small business owner, I know that when my staff isn’t working, we’re not generating billable time, which means a bad month in revenues, or worse.  So, since Friday, I’ve kept the Matrix Group office officially open but let everyone work from home. Here’s why:

• Most staff appreciated not having to battle the bad roads to keep working and avoid taking vacation days.
• Although most of our clients are in the DC area, we have clients all over the country; the latter expect us to be open.
• It’s precisely when our clients are not able to serve their customers and members physically that they rely on their Web sites to be open for business virtually.
• Letting staff work from home let us put our pandemic/DR plans to the test.

The results have been mostly good. With the exception of staff who lost power at home, everyone scheduled to work has been able to work.  Here’s what helped: Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: Matrix Group, Productivity, project management

I was arranging lunch with a vendor and suggested Kora, the hip, new Italian restaurant in Crystal City.  I wanted to e-mail my contact Kora’s address, phone number and a link to a Google map.  Alas, the entire Kora site is in Flash, which is beautiful, but it’s not very user-friendly.  The biggest problem?  I can’t copy and paste the contact info to include in an e-mail and  paste into Google Maps.  I know, I know, it’ s not a big deal to retype the address, but I’m a picky consumer.  I want to be able to copy and paste easily.  Even better, I’d love a way to share the address page or just click on a map.

This got me to thinking.  What are all the ways, big and little, that we make it difficult for our customers and potential customers to do business with us? Consider these examples.

• A few years ago, my husband and I were shopping around for a mortgage.  I called three bankers.  One was only available between 7am and 3pm.  Another sent me 20 pages to fill out about our assets.  The third asked me when it would be convenient to call (7pm), asked me to send bank and 401(k) statements so that he could fill out all the paperwork.  Guess who got the business?  At that point, I knew each banker would give us a competitive rate, but Craig Miller from BF Saul made it easy for us to work with him.
• During the planning for our office move, I called several vendors about office furniture systems.  One never called back.  One asked me to send her the architect’s drawings and information on what we wanted (I didn’t yet know what we wanted so I didn’t call back.)  The third, Michelle Ferrari from Office Images, offered to come by with catalogs, look at the architect’s drawings with me and discuss our needs.  There was no contest.
• I called a company to get a reference for someone applying for a job at Matrix Group.  It took me 3 tries before I could figure out how to leave a message in the general mailbox.  I couldn’t even imagine calling as a prospective customer.
• I’ve had a relationship with Insurance Designers for a very long time.  Every time I have a question, I call or e-mail Neal or Wendy Cohen and they get back to me promptly.  One time, Matrix Group was applying for some new type of insurance and Neal’s office sent over a very long questionnaire, which I couldnot figure out.  I called Neal and he said, “don’t worry about it, let’s fill it out over the phone.”  I love the guy.

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• Tags: corporate culture, customer service, marketing, Matrix Group, Sales

I went for my annual physical yesterday. I love the practice I go to, but I hate feeling like I’m a nameless, faceless patient, even though I’ve been a patient for a decade. I also hate that I have to fill out the same infernal forms over and over again and write my name, address and insurance information multiple times. My check-in went something like this:

Me: Hello, Joanna Pineda, here for a 3:15 appointment.
Receptionist: Hello, please sign in. Has any of your information changed since your list visit?
Me: No.
Receptionist: Okay. Wait, you need to fill out new forms. (Hands me blank forms)

I sit down and sigh as I realize that I am giving my doctor all the information she already has.  Not one thing in my profile has changed.  I also have to agree to a 4-page HIPAA privacy statement, which infuriates me because I have about three minutes to review the document.  C’mon doctor, can’t you:

• Print out my information and let me confirm that nothing has changed or let me tell you just what has changed?
• Send me the HIPAA privacy statement ahead of time so that I can really study it?

Thankfully, because of my work, I’m familiar with HIPAA privacy statements and my rights, but what normal person takes the time to read and understand the document and his/her rights?

This doctor visit makes me think of how Matrix Group clients want and expect that we will know them, their organization, their contact information, their projects. It’s a joke around the office that many clients have achieved one-name status around here, kind of like Madonna or Cher.  All the receptionist needs to say is, “Rajani (Rick, Pat, Sue, Merla, or Adrianne) is on the line” and pretty much every staff member knows who she’s talking about.  Of course, more common names like Dan or Tim need a client name, but if you’re a frequent caller, our First Impressions Officer will probably know you by voice.
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• Tags: customer service, Matrix Group

For the past ten years, it’s been a Matrix Group tradition to send out holiday cards to clients, partners and friends and have staff sign the cards personally.  This year was different.  For the first time ever, we didn’t send out snail mail holiday cards and instead sent a holiday e-card.

You’d think that sending out an e-mail over paper would be an easy choice.  But the holiday cards were a big deal.  Each staff member signed the cards for all the clients they supported and partners they worked with.  The new biz, net admin and administration teams signed every single card.  I am famous for signing every card and writing notes on many of them — yep, nearly 900 of them last year!  Clients and friends have told us that they love the Matrix Group holiday card precisely because they are signed by the staff who support them.

So what happened this year that we abandoned a decade-old tradition? I was meeting with Jaime, my Director of Administration, to pick the card design and go over numbers.  It hit me that we were about to spend close to $2,500 on cards.  It seemed like a lot of money.  I also thought about how many of our charities and non-profit clients struggle to raise every dollar and consider gifts of $250, $500 or $1,000 major gifts.
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• Tags: Economy, Matrix Group

On my way to work this morning, I heard a story on NPR about how immigrants to this country have adopted the Thanksgiving tradition and made it their own.  A Greek chef talked about how his mother made a Thanksgiving turkey but every other dish during the meal was Greek.  The story reminded me of the importance of traditions.

We tend to think of traditions as part of our personal and family lives.  But if we look closely, most companies have traditions as well and they bind staff to the company and to each other. Here at Matrix Group, over the past ten years, we’ve amassed a set of traditions.  These traditions include: a pumpkin carving contest during Halloween, funny awards and a white elephant exchange during our holiday party, pie during the June birthday celebration, naming each server after a Star Wars character, and creating a special glass after an especially important launch. Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: corporate culture, Matrix Group

I haven’t watched a Miss Universe pageant in a long time, but a part of the program will stay with me forever:  the part where Bob Barker says to the 1st runner up something along the lines of:  In the event that Miss Universe is unable to serve, you will take the crown.

What on earth does the Miss Universe pageant have to do with running a business?

Well, it turns out that if you run a business long enough, no matter how successful you, there are times when you don’t take home the prize.  I can remember deals where we came soooo close to winning the account, but ultimately, we came in second place, or 1st runner up.

But unlike a Miss Universe pageant, the 1st runner up in business often has a good chance of taking the prize when:  the first choice can’t deliver, the client’s needs outpace the capabilities of the selected vendor, or a change in staffing triggers a review of the account and the contracts.

When Matrix Group comes in second, yes, it totally sucks, but here’s what we try and do: Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: marketing, Matrix Group, Sales

A few years ago, Matrix Group was looking for a Network Administrator. We had been looking for 18 months with no success.  The situation was bleak. The candidates coming in were awful, my team was overworked and desperate to make a hire, and recruiters were failing us miserably.

Then I attended a presentation by Barry Deutsch, CEO of Impact Hiring Solutions, an executive search firm.  Barry’s presentation had such an impact on me and my company that Barry Deutsch is now a verb at Matrix Group.

When a job announcement is not pulling in the candidates we need, I tell my staff to “Barry Deutsch” the description.

Barry says that the top hiring mistakes companies make are:

• Failing to define the job properly, i.e., not defining what will represent success in the job.
• Falling victim to first impressions, i.e., the candidate looks good, talks well, she must be terrific.
• Desperation hiring, i.e., making an offer because you think it’s better to hire someone, anyone.
• Not asking deep and penetrating questions during the interview. This happens because managers don’t know how to conduct success-based interviews or lob softballs at the candidate because they “like” them.
• Failing to check references deeply. Many companies skip reference checks or don’t properly validate the claims by candidates. And if a candidate can’t provide references, RUN!

Ultimately, we all want to hire and retain top talent.  Here is what Barry has to say about top talent: Read the rest of this entry

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• Tags: corporate culture, Matrix Group, Recruiting