Marketing Department Improvements or Enhancements from 2007 to Present
Compiled Starting: December 2011 Last
Updated: March 20, 2013
Broken
down by Type: Website, Email and Other
Website
Established local control of sigmaplot.com making it easier for both short and long-term content changes made by management or developers.
Numerous broken functions and errors on sigmaplot.com were repaired.
Hole discovered and repaired in website operation where buyers email addresses were not being saved.
The current hosting arrangement for sigmaplot.com does not allow for tracking of activities so another website was added for tracking and email image hosting: systat.us.
New webpages with forms were added to sigmaplot.com to increase the number of sales inquires including: multi-seat licenses, product training, student licenses and others.
Built trust with the India office gaining access to the domain control panel wherein other fixes, changes and repairs to the website could take place.
Added changes to the .htaccess file for IP blocking and resolving non-www requests.
Access to error logs allowed for further repairs such as broken links, missing images, etc.
Local control of the website allowed for needed changes in content and new products like: SP10, SP11, SP12, LISA, CERF, SigmaGraph API, etc.
The use of error logs studies revealed errors made by authorized Systat dealer websites.
The use of error logs studies revealed activities by hackers, warez websites, failed login attempts by customers and non-customers, etc.
Consistent updating of the home page Flash Movie reflecting current sales, product and marketing activities is ongoing.
Continued monitoring of industries for best practices in bulk email delivery, web hosting and SEO strategies.
Changes in content and coding reduced failed logins from over 20 per day to zero.
Changes in content and coding reduced the number of email opt-out syntax errors to zero.
Set up one click email sign up for webinars, etc., letting customers avoid website signup.
Brought SalesForce Automation to sigmaplot.com in the form of the "Web2Lead Initiative"
Made online utilities for deleting and searching of website db records and for the easy retrieval of customer login IDs by email address for use by Tech Support and Sales.
Optimized the homepage for speed including re-vamped images, decreasing the number of calls to the server, combining of CSS files and other performance tweaks.
Email
Brought our email program into total CAN SPAM compliance.
Instituted best-practices for bulk emailing like: clean lists, proper email HTML, content guidelines, quick removal of bounces and optouts, etc.
Properly addressing and answering customer concerns about our emails.
Using systat.us eliminated the India Office involvement with email campaigns deployment.
Ongoing changes and email content adjustments are helping our emails avoid spam filters.
Established the use of a new email account for each email campaign deployment.
Monitoring the industry for changes in deployment and content strategies.
Comprehensive instructions for GroupMail and Email Deployment were developed including email operational theory and ongoing maintenance procedures that insured program continuity, effectiveness and longevity.
Further experimentation with GroupMail features and plug-ins improved operational speed and efficiency resulting in the faster removal of bounces and overall program turn-around time.
Optout Requests started being documented for CAN SPAM compliance and for investigative audits if needed.
Email open rates steadily improve due to enhanced reporting techniques, reducing “spam words” and the updating of delivery logistics.
Provide a point-of-contact for email organizations such as FBL's, DNSBL's, ISP's and ESP's.
Established proper email server records for: A, MX, SPF and DKIM
Setup email FBL?s with all major ESP's like Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and others
Other
Designed and maintain an MS Access Database for customer registration cards mailed or emailed by customers (3600+ records as of March 2013).
Wrote and distributed the report on May 5, 2008: "Google Adword Campaign Performance" wherein was outlined the current status and what could be done to improve results.
Established, reorganized and edited Google Adwords and Google Analytics programs using report conclusions.
Attended and made arrangements for all tradeshows including: SfN, EB, PittCon, others.
Managed alterations of our trade show booth as required.
Produce printed materials for use at tradeshows (flyers, coupons, desktop displays, etc.).
Expanded the Marketing Activities Spreadsheet to include new activities, metrics and corporate information such as: logins & passwords, how many people are asking for a Mac Version each month, Email Setups, Tradeshow Information, Vendor Contacts and Advertisement costs, Press Releases, Domain Registration Information, 3rd Party Tracking & Scripts, Campaign Codes, Website Title Tags Initiative, company IP addresses and many more
Help with desktop support (removal of viruses, malware, Trojans, etc.).
Support the Tech Support Group with Internet or website issues.
Support the Tech Support Group with their content on systat.us.
Support for Sales with product delivery via the internet (UCLA ATS System).
Updated and expanded the lapsed "Marketing Department Continuity Document" adding all department activities past and present.
Provide support to Sales and Tech Support Group with occasional problem customers.
Updating the Systat Mailing List database.
Handle common carrier and LTL shipping duties as needed.
Research and procure materials for promotions or inhouse use (like branded USB drives).
Provide point-of-contact for outside organizations like Europa Science, Scientific Computing, etc.
Deployment of press releases to interested parties, advertisers and PR sites
Supporting the SigmaPlot training program by providing updated training materials.
Design Flash & GIF internet banner ads in standard and non-standard sizes.
Direct Honey in the India Office with regards to PHP scripting for sigmaplot.com.
Internal and external point-of-contact regarding ECCN, HTS and EAR inquiries.
Made available to EDU and other customers the means to download our products outside of the normal website login process.
Working in support of developers and other departments.
Helped with the website transition (systat.com > sigmaplot.com).
Work with all employees regarding email delivery issues (blocked emails, incoming or outgoing).
Updated company collateral as needed (business cards, Product Registration Forms, etc).
Worked with India office and developers on product packaging (SigmaPlot packaging).
Worked with developers and others on product mailers (SP10, SP11).
Handle all requests for FTP transfers and accounts for all offices.
Identify and report technical problems or issues.
Cracked and edited locked PDF files to change company information like addresses, etc.
Point-of-contact for technical issues with Corporate Disk and Information Distributors.
Helped with product logo design (SP11).
Helped with layout of "SigmaPlot Application Notes".
Produced the "Systat Software Design Guide" listing fonts and company colors for use in company collateral and advertizing.
Suggested to management that we should develop a SigmaPlot widget for use with social media websites.
Explained to management the process by which a Macintosh Version of SigmaPlot could be developed quickly and easily (Cocoa, Xcode, etc.).
Suggested that SigmaPlot graphs should import into 3D applications.
Authored a post- SfN 2007 report outlining the requests for a Macintosh version and the bugs reported by show attendees and exhibitors.
Asked occasionally to perform product and technical research and report the findings to management.
Suggested to management that we should incorporate a "Competitive Upgrades Program" for competing products.
Suggested uploading 27 of our SigmaPlot movies to YouTube in Dec 2007.
Exposed poor performance by vendor Vertical Markets (subsequently, account was closed).
Exposed poor performance by vendor Capterra (subsequently, account was closed).
Reorganized all files on the Marketing Server by type and year.
Performed projects by the request of UK Office.
Developed an online form to transfer computer files internally or externally regardless of file size.
Developed a webstore: http://www.systat.us/store/ to show management how a modern ecommerce website should look and perform.
Compiled research papers from http://highwire.stanford.edu/ that cited the use of SigmaPlot to post on the sigmaplot.com (project ongoing).
