CRM 101: Setting yourself up for success with contact relationship management
It’s easy to get drawn in by the siren songs of CRM (contact relationship management) tools. They promise greater efficiency, better data, and best of all, more sales – who doesn’t want that? But many startups and small businesses stumble when getting started with a CRM. Analysis paralysis can prevent them from getting started, or […]
Reflecting on a summer interning at Vault
Working with the next generation can be a win-win For the past two years, McNary Marketing and Design has been able to work with high school students as summer interns through Kirkwood Community College’s Workplace Learning Connection program. (Other areas might have similar programs – check your local community college.) This year we were lucky […]
Q&A: What is proactive web development?
A lot of people think they need “just” a website. A simple place to post their information online, and let customers find them. Easy, right? While for some, this can be a good first step, it doesn’t fully take advantage of all the opportunities digital marketing has to offer. In these cases, we like to [...]Mission, vision and values – defined
Recently, we went through a process to formalize our mission, vision and values. In fact, it was the first time we’ve actually written these things down. Throughout the history of McNary Marketing and Design, we’ve always had goals and direction informed by Joshua’s experience, expertise, and desire to build a business that complements the life of the […]
Periscope and the continuing evolution of social media
At 11 AM CST for the last few Tuesdays, I’ve hopped on Periscope to chat live about marketing technology and take your questions. We’re just getting started using this tool, but I’m excited about what it may add to my relationship with clients and growing the McNary contribution to MarTech. This month’s announcement event from […]
Leveraging Google to power your ideas in Iowa
Are you a… Entrepreneur interested in using Google tech to enable your offering? Developer wanting to explore what Google’s ecosystem? Businessperson wanting to leverage Google’s array of products/services? You said yes to any of all of these? Read on… Cedar Rapids Google Developer Group Launch On Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 6PM, I’m proud to be hosting Eastern […]
Dev/Iowa: Just What An Entrepreneur Needs
On Wednesday, July 9, 2014 I was asked to come and address a classroom of aspiring developers at Dev/Iowa, presented by the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. The students have heard from a number of professionals in the software/web development arena this summer, so my talk took a look at the "business" side of the [...]Learning to trust, collaborate, be authentic, believe, & do at EntreFEST
Thanks to Bart Schmitz (@bschmitz14) for snapping this photo of me presenting "Taking Your Email Inbox From Ridiculous To Inbox Zero" on Thursday of EntreFEST. Download the slides of that talk. Last week in Iowa City, EntreFEST 2014 entertained around 500 entrepreneurs, business people, and community members who shared an interest in innovative business ideas [...]Don’t Miss EntreFEST Next Week & Learn Inbox Zero From Me
Next week on May 14-16, 2014, you'll want to make plans to attend Iowa's entrepreneurial and business innovation mecca, EntreFEST 2014 in Iowa City, Iowa. This year's program is again produced by my friends Amanda West and Andy Stoll (both of Seed Here Studio). Andy has been quoted stating EntreFEST as "If #SXSW had a half-brother in Iowa." If EntreFEST lives [...]Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids “The Movie” from Cycle Studios
A few weeks back, our pals over at Cycle Studios released their short film documenting this Winter’s first ever Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids. I can say from firsthand experience, Will Lenzen Jr. and his team were all over the event, start to finish, recording all elements of the happenings. I have no idea how they […]