GAWDA Edge Blog 
  

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A recent editorial in the New York Times compiled twitter responses to the question: what cell phone app doesn’t exist but should? With the number of apps, it’s a little hard even just to think of what cell phone apps don’t exist. There are even optimized routing apps to help figure out the quickest delivery route, but what about “an app that maps out my grocery list in the supermarket to give me an optimized shopping path?” (as suggested by one NYT reader).

I am extending the question to you, but with a focus: What phone app should exist that would help gases and welding distributors?

Maybe it’s something for inventory. Maybe it’s for salespeople (an app to find customers would be nice). How about a GAWDAwiki app to search industry terms quicker from your phone? Maybe an app could manage your cylinder tracking or CRM.

There are endless possibilities, and it’s completely up to you. Get your creative juices flowing and let me know what app could make your life easier, allow you to develop better customer relationships or improve your business in some way.

Also, what phone apps do exist that you use in your business? How do you use them?

Leave a comment and share your app ideas and examples. I look forward to hearing what you come up with.

The world’s oldest Twitter user, Ivy Bean, passed away this week at the age of 104. According to MSNBC, she got turned onto Twitter when she reached her friend limit on Facebook. She had around 60,000 followers on Twitter.

I mention Mrs. Bean for two reasons. She shows us all that it’s never too late to learn something new. And maybe just as important, Bean shows us that marketing yourself doesn’t always have to take the form of selling yourself. While she probably had no interests in marketing herself, Bean developed a massive following from simple gestures. And perhaps it is the very fact that she did not seek to sell herself that drew people to Mrs. Bean.

For a company, a Twitter account can be a great way to market yourself but, as Bean shows, the best way to market yourself on Twitter is by not marketing yourself. On Twitter and off, by taking a simple interest in people, you can develop relationships. By caring about your followers, your followers will care about you.

Bean made headlines from her nursing home by doing a simple thing, a practice that millions of other people did. She attracted a following because she her true interest was in connecting with people. And even at the age of 104, she wasn’t afraid to try out new technology that could provide an efficient means to the often evasive end of getting people to care.

Recently I came across an article about how to buy technology for small businesses. The article has a lot of great points, but there is one tip that struck me as entirely innovative.

Article author Gene Marks points out that hardware reviews are readily available in magazines, but when it comes to business software applications and services, it can be hard to find reliable testimonies. What to do? Marks says to log onto job search sites such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com and search for the software’s name in job postings.

With any luck, you’ll come across a company seeking candidates familiar with your software, which means that the company uses the software. Then, call up the company and ask them what they think: Do they like the software? What has their experience been like? How’s the tech support? Many companies will be glad to help, and best of all, they have nothing to gain by being dishonest.

This is a brilliant and innovative way to use networking to your benefit. Taking advantage of other people’s experience is one of the most tried and true ways to get ahead in any industry. Maybe it’s the colleague who has worked in the business for thirty years that you turn to; but who says you are limited to those people to which you have direct access?

Think outside the box—learn from anyone you can. In my experience, everyone in GAWDA, from green salespeople up to the company presidents, is willing and happy to share their knowledge and experiences. This is the greatest resource the association has, so why not use it? With technology, networking is easier than ever, thanks to sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. Based on Marks’ advice, you could even add job search sites to that list.

GAWDAwiki is a great tool. I use it constantly, whether I’m trying to figure out the difference between MIG and TIG welding or I want to know what Nitrogen Trifluoride is used for. The wiki is over 1,600 terms and growing. If there’s an industry term you need to know, there’s a good chance it’s in the wiki.

The best part is that the definitions are submitted by you and other people in the industry. It’s like having your own personal gases and welding expert around 24/7 to answer your questions. In fact, just last week a veteran sales manager at a GAWDA member company told me GAWDAwiki was one of his favorite resources.

To make the wiki even more convenient (as if that were possible!), I want to show you a little tip to search more quickly from anywhere on the Internet. In three simple steps, you can make your own GAWDAwiki search bar. Once you have your shortcut, don’t forget to go to the homepage when you’re done to read up on daily gases and welding headlines.

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Step 1. The first thing you need to do is go to any definition at GAWDAwiki.org. For this example, I used the word “cylinder.”

Step 2a – For Internet Explorer 7 or 8 only | (Jump to Firefox Step 2)
In the upper right hand corner of the browser is a search box. While viewing the GAWDAwiki page, hit the drop-down menu and go to Add Search Providers. Select GAWDAwiki (en).

Step 3a – For Internet Explorer.
Confirm your choice. Check whether or not you want it to be your default search. Press Add Provider.

That’s it! You have your very own wiki search tool. From anywhere on the web, type in a word and hit Enter. The wiki page will instantly show up on your screen.

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Firefox

Step 2b – For Firefox only.
In the upper right hand corner of the browser is a search box. While viewing the GAWDAwiki page, hit the drop-down menu and select “Add GAWDAwiki (en).”

Step 3b – For Firefox.
To make GAWDAwiki your default search tool, press “Move Up” until it is first on the list. Press OK.

That’s it! You have your very own wiki search tool. From anywhere on the web, type in a word and hit Enter. The wiki page will instantly show up on your screen.

Photo: avlxyz

A few weeks ago I wrote about QR codes in the gases and welding industry, and looked at different directives that a QR code can perform, such as directing a user to a particular website or promotion. Even after you’ve figured out where to direct customers, that’s only half of the picture. The other major consideration is where to place the QR code.

I’ve come across some really innovative approaches to QR code placements. Advertisers rely on the novelty of QR codes to intrigue readers. Some are taking the mystery even further, by dropping all readable text and relying on a printed QR code alone to deliver a message. A freestanding QR code on a building or a bus, for example, has a certain draw—the mystery of where it will take you and who put it there.

Photo: clevercupcakes

A freestanding QR code is only one approach. Recently I stumbled across a flickr group called QR Codes in the Wild. If you’re looking for some inspiration, it’s a great place to see what other companies are doing.

I want to hear your ideas:
Where would you put a QR code for your company that might intrigue customers?

What do you think about the QR codes in Welding & Gases Today?

I asked four IT professionals about the future of technology in the gases and welding industry. Here’s what they had to say:

Michael Chelgren, American Welding & Gas: “There is an opportunity for mobile applications to facilitate inventory management on our trucks. Our drivers would be able to print out invoices for the customers right from the truck. Orders and deliveries could be processed on a handheld device and transmitted back to our data center and go into the system without requiring any human intervention.”

Rodney Huber, Huber Supply Company: “E-commerce is growing, but it will never replace face-to-face sales, especially in our area. Even with our online orders, customers call us to make sure they’re buying the right part. They rely on us for advice. When it comes to welding equipment, customers want to have a salesman call them and have that personal interaction. Although e-commerce will never replace personalized sales, I think it will complement it and help us reach out to new markets.”

Allison Earlbeck, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies: “From an operational perspective, file sharing could help improve our efficiency. We have the capability now with our network, but we don’t have an organized system in place. Training our staff on the system would help things run smoothly. When you have 40 or 50 employees in the same pool, it can be a big problem if something is saved in the wrong place or is accidentally moved or edited.”

Chris Bennear, Dale Oxygen: “We can do a lot more with automation and with cylinder tracking. Using RFID and microchips can help us track our cylinders when customers don’t know where the cylinders are. We can save money and preserve good customer relationships by avoiding disagreements over lost cylinders.”

To learn more from these and other young IT professionals, see their complete profiles in the June issue of GAWDA Edge.

These days, a company website is an important part of marketing for a gases and welding distributor. How does your company’s website look? Where are you in the search engine rankings? Maybe it’s time for a face-lift.

For the June issue of GAWDA Edge, I had some great conversations with young IT professionals in the gases and welding industry about their companies’ Web ventures. Allison Earlbeck, corporate development and Earlbeck Gases & Technologies, is currently planning the design for an overhaul of the company’s website. Rodney Huber, production manager and Internet sales at Huber Supply Company, took on the challenge of creating an e-commerce site for Huber Supply.

Beginning in November 2009, Huber has sold to customers in 32 different states. One customer even purchased welding supplies to send to our troops overseas. (Talk about global reach!)

Here are some of the tips they shared for planning a website.

Embrace the Competition
When Huber set out to create a website, one of the best resources he found was the competition. “I talked to the owner of a welding company that has a successful e-commerce site,” Huber says. “He steered me in the right direction and gave me some pointers. He was happy to help me.” Earlbeck also uses the competition for inspiration. “I look at other companies’ websites to see what works and what doesn’t,” she says. “It’s good to find out what other people in the industry are doing.” As Earlbeck draws up plans for the company’s new site, she incorporates those features that are most effective.

What’s in a Name?
When planning a website, an important aspect to consider is a website name/URL. When it came to the company’s e-commerce site, Huber was concerned that the name Huber Supply might not be easily associated with gases and welding supplies. Instead, he chose the name WeldingOutfitter.com as a more search engine-friendly option. To customers, the website’s purpose is self-evident, attracting a wider audience. Earlbeck Gases & Technologies also has an e-commerce site, called Hypermax.org. They chose the name to reflect the fact that they carry Hypertherm products.

Instant Gratification
One of the biggest challenges for an e-commerce website is inventory. “Customers on the Internet want to get their orders fast,” says Huber. “They want to see their order shipped within a day, and they want to see it within 3-5 business days.” That kind of turnaround does not leave time to order products that are not in stock. “I pay attention to what customers are ordering and try to keep it in stock so that we can get it out the door right away,” says Huber.

Of all the tips the young IT professionals offered, one of the most important is to understand that every site is different. By letting go of expectations and getting your company out there, you can—with a little tweaking here and there—get the most out of your company’s Web presence.

What is your company doing to improve its Web presence? I want to hear from you.

This image may look something like a miniature crossword puzzle, but it is actually a bar code. What’s so special about this bar code is that you don’t need a scanner to read it. It’s known as a quick response bar code—QR code for short—and you can read it with most smart phones.

For businesses, QR codes are the latest form of interactive marketing. When scanned, a QR code can perform a variety of directives, the most common of which is to take users to a specific website. For companies, it’s a great way to get customers to a specific area of a website without typing in a long URL. Instead of being limited to the main website, say www.gawdaedge.org, I could make a QR code to send you to my blog—or even a specific blog post.

In addition to directing web traffic, QR codes can be encoded to deliver coupons, text messages, contact information and much more. Imagine: a QR code on the back of your business card allows your contacts to store your information in their phone without ever typing a number.

Another example: fast food restaurants have started placing bar codes on product wrappers. By scanning the code, patrons can access nutritional information for their meals. How does this translate to gases and welding distributors? A strategically placed code on a hydrogen cylinder might give customers instant access to your Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS); another code on a MIG welder might provide detailed technical specifications and safety guidelines.

QR codes can be found throughout the pages of the summer issue of our sister magazine, Welding & Gases Today. These codes allow readers to interact and learn more about companies and their products. Information on how to read the codes with your phone is available in W&GT Online.

With the pervasiveness of cell phones, a phone-accessible code has a lot of appeal for businesses. In the space of a little more than a postage stamp, you can transmit a large amount of information in a variety of ways.

Do you have an idea of how gases and welding distributors can use QR codes in their businesses? Do you think the technology will catch on? Share your ideas in the comments section and they might be featured in the next issue of GAWDA Edge.

The June issue of GAWDA Edge is online today at www.gawdaedge.org.

For our June issue, I spoke with four talented, young IT professionals about working in the industry. They shared their strategies for keeping up with technology and how they use it to increase productivity and sales. Has your company thought about branching out into e-commerce? Read about a distributor that has had great success online.

Also in this issue is a tutorial on becoming a search engine expert. Use Google to find out information on customers so that cold call isn’t so cold. Hone your skills and uncover information you didn’t know was available to the public (and probably isn’t supposed to be). If it’s out there, the Edge will help you find it.

Plus: What can your business learn from Milli Vanilli?

These are only a few of the features in our latest issue. Check back right here for exclusive bonus content from the interviews.

If you’re not getting the Edge by e-mail, sign up here.

Two recent lawsuits have sought to establish this line. Employees of T-Mobile USA filed a suit against the company, claiming they were expected to respond to messages outside of work hours using company cell phones. It raises the question of when employees should be paid for what they are doing.

As the workplace has changed, so have the rules that govern what constitutes “work”. It used to be simple: if you’re in the office, you’re working. If you’re not in the office, it’s personal time. Customers in this day and age, however, expect service around the clock, and if your company wishes to remain competitive, it is often necessary to provide that service. This may not be a huge issue for salaried workers, who are accustomed to late nights without extra pay, but it carries heavy consequences for hourly workers seeking overtime pay.

More and more companies are adopting stricter policies concerning cell phone usage outside of the office. What’s your company’s policy? Do you have one?