I‘m not enjoying the smoker’s lounge (aka the patio) at my mother’s house nearly as much as my set-up in Stamford! And I think I figured out the reason:
It’s in Florida!
Late night smokes are intended to bring a calm, comfortable and quiet end to my day. I don’t need much: a quiet spot on a lounge chair, a good cigar (Monte Cristo Espada for me), maybe a cool breeze and I’m all set.
But I’m in Florida and it’s July! So, you can forget the cool breeze or anything that passes for comfort! Nights are loud with flying and slithering creatures. At least mom has a comfortable lunge chair!
Sitting here sticky tonight, I see a cat meandering around on the lawn below my mother’s second floor patio. Not so unusual I guess. When smoking at home I often see cats popping through my yard in Stamford….just looking for a bird, chipmunk or some other late night snack. I usually think “go get ‘em kitty!” or some other form of feline encouragement. Tonight though, I could only give the passing kitty one bit of advice:
“Watch out for the gators!”
I shouldn’t worry. Any cat that can survive this heat can take down a gator, right?
But despite the heat, humidity and sounds of the jungle I have come out here nightly since my arrival. Praying each night that THIS night will be the night where the heat will break and I can enjoy my addiction in comfort.
Since my prayers are never answered I also have a backup prayer: that the screen over my mom’s patio holds up under the strain of the bug-kamikaze attacks that come each night. Fighting to get in because even the bugs don’t want to be outside the screening!
Florida: Where people swell!
Between driving my mom to see her friends (more on that in another blog) and sidestepping the multitude of critters running around the Florida heat I have been busy.
You KNOW: E-commerce!
Moving closer to the opening bell on the public unveiling of our first job, all the pieces are in place. We were supposed to launch On July 15th but chose to push it off until Monday so you’ll have to wait a few more days for the big reveal. It doesn’t take long to build a website. But it takes a long time to build a paint store, and that’s what we are building!
A paint store; online!
One of the things I have learned about e-commerce is that just having it doesn’t really solve many problems. An e-commerce site can process transactions, but without a proper web site which contains a significant amount of always up-to-date content, it won’t even get Google’s attention.
And you want Google’s attention! In-fact once you get your site up, you’ll CRAVE the attention. Don’t worry....I’ll teach you how to be an attention-hound! I’m a natural at it, I’ll teach you!
Once Google sends them to your web site and e-commerce solution, you still have to market to your customers to keep their interest; and make a sale. You are not the only paint store in your town, you will not be the only one vying for the consumer’s attention online either!
And that’s why our solution, Lexington, is so exciting. The means to attract the attention of the search engines, the ability to use social media to drive consumers to your site, the ability to market your brick and mortar locations AND online store to drive sales to them, and the functionality to complete the transaction. All while giving you more information about your customers than you ever dreamed of!
Oh…..have I not mentioned how much data you’ll get about your business?
How much does it cost to get a customer? Keep one? What is the lifetime value of a customer? What SPECIFIC email marketing campaign did they respond to? What other content are they responding to which lead to that sale?
The world has changed; you need this data! In the absence of it, you are nothing but the cat underneath my mother’s patio.
Harness that data, and you’re the gator!
