Ah, the days when you didn’t have to pay extra to check bags onto a flight. Just about every US carrier, with the notable exception of Southwest, now charges for checking the 1st 2 bags onto your flight. Where you can pay the bag fee at the airport when you check-in, some airlines have integrated payment into their online check-in process. One such airline is AirTran. In their case, they simply hacked existing Web functionality to do so, and along the way insulted me for checking a bag onto my flight.

As I checked in for my most recent flight online, I was prompted to select the number of bags I was to check. I selected 1, and clicked the button to continue. On the next page, I was surprised to see the Web page title – pay for excess bags – as you can see below.

The following image is a crop of the page title.

What? This is not an excess bag, it is my only bag! As someone who builds Web sites, I know why this is the way it is and what their developers did. They simply changed the threshold value for what is an “excess” number of bags from 3 to 1 – remember, AirTran and other airlines used to allow you to bring your 1st 2 bags for no additional charge. Where the functionality works fine, by not changing the words on the Web page, AirTran is being misleading, not to mention snarky. And it doesn’t end with the page title – look at the label of the submit button, which I have cropped below.

As you can see, it is labeled “purchase bags.” I am not acquiring a new bag, I am paying a fee, and one which to begin with I don’t want to. Please don’t sugar-coat the messaging, as it would be better to simply label the button as “submit” or “continue” rather than to attempt to be creative.

I fault this with the AirTran Web site product manager or whoever in their marketing department is the business owner of the Web site. Don’t blame the techies here, as it functions correctly, and that’s probably all they care about.

This is a good example of not knowing about what your customers look at everyday. Print out all of the pages of the Web site and put them on posterboard if need be, so that when a change is required, the function as well as the form are in sync.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • (4) Comments • Permalink

Here’s your opportunity to get a great domain name - redmug.com. I have decided to sell this domain name, and am using Bido.com, the social domain name auction service. You may recall a few weeks back I was a guest speaker during a domain name live auction. Now I will be sitting on the sidelines watching as redmug.com goes on the auction block.

Redmug.com can have many uses. As pictures, it can refer to mugs that are red, or for a more general application to coffee or travel mugs. The word “red” in itself is very common on Internet-based businesses. Plus mug has other meanings, including your face.

There is no reserve for the auction of redmug.com , and the opening bud starts at US$28. The auction will be on Wednesday, September 16 at 2:00 pm ET, 1:00 pm CT. You must register with Bido to participate in the auction. Even if you’re just interested in watching it, the Bido site has some unique features, like the 2-step, secure login process, which rivals ING Direct, in my humble opinion.

See you at Bido on September 16, and bid early and often on redmug.com!

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • Domain Names • (0) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, September 18, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Announcements • Business • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Editor’s Note - The following is a guest post by Emily Brackett, President of Visible Logic, Inc. a Portland, Maine-based graphic design firm that works with start-ups and growing businesses to help them build compelling and comprehensive brands across media. A longtime reader of The Hot Iron and strategic partner of Dunkirk Systems, LLC, Emily shares some of her wisdom and experience here, which we hope will be the first of many guest posts from her.

As a business owner, you probably have the usual elements of your corporate identity: business name, logo or wordmark, business cards and a Web site. However, as you grow your business, your identity can either be strengthened by consistent branding, or dilluted by irregular use of these elements.

There are several common reasons why business owners are not consistent in their branding.

The first is that no one is in charge of watching the brand. Many times our brand identity is being added to, molded, and stretched without anyone giving it much thought. Someone should be ensuring that logo usage and graphic elements are consistent from one piece to the next and from one media to another. For a small business, this may be the business owners, or an internal marketing person. If you work with outside designers, Web developers or even a print shop who does some design/typesetting for you, make sure you instruct them on how to use your identity correctly and uniformly.

Another reason why many businesses have so little cohesiveness in their image is that they try new things too often. You may be tired of seeing the same colors and similar layouts, but your customers (or potential customers) may just be starting to grasp your unique identity. Keep with it and the payoff will arrive.

Why is consistency important?

Avoid confusion

The most obvious reason to be consistent with your brand identity is that you don't want to confuse potential clients and customers. Make it easy for someone to remember you. Frequently, people notice certain elements, but not all the details.

For example, you meet a potential client at a networking event and give her your business card which features a large, red, circular logo. A few weeks later, that person is thinking she may need your services so they Google your name and browse to your Web site. If she sees a large, red, circular logo she feels confident that she’s at the right place. If, on the other hand, your Web site shows your logo (even the same graphic) in green, she may feel confused and question whether this is indeed the same person and company she had met previously.

People trust things that they know

The first example highlights the most basic type of confusion that can cost you sales. But often it is more subtle than that. Every time a potential client hears your business name or sees your logo it gets registered, even slightly, in their memory. The stronger the bank of memories - and therefore the connection - someone has to a brand, the more likely they are to buy from that brand. Consumers choose brands that are familiar, because they seem known, established, and therefore trustworthy.

It makes business sense - increase your returns

Unfortunately, many business owners make their brand inconsistent without giving it much thought. One example is an entrepreneur who hires a Web development firm to create their Web site and another design studio for their printed work, without coordinating the two. You’ve paid for two projects but rather than having those two pieces compounding your brand and building them exponentially, you may end up with two unmatched marketing tools. Therefore, the two pieces are not as effective in building brand recognition as one coordinated effort.

How to build consistency:

• Use the same business name, logo, and/or logotype. Typeset the name and other elements, such as a tagline in a fixed fashion. Whether you do this yourself or work with an experienced graphic designer, once the logo or wordmark is done, don't change it.
• If you’ve hired a designer to develop your logo or wordmark, make sure you receive electronic files that you can work with. You and your staff should use these graphics in all letters, memos, proposals, etc. Do not retype or tinker with the logo, and do not allow your staff or agencies to do so either.
• Choose a corporate color, or color palette and use them as the dominant color scheme throughout your materials - printed or online. If you’ve worked with a professional designer for your logo, make sure you’ve received your pantone (PMS) color numbers as well as CMYK and RGB equivalents. Whether you create something yourself in PowerPoint or work with a graphic designer, always use those same colors.
• Think across media. Ensure there are design elements that are similar across all of your materials. From business card to Web site to advertisement to educational brochure, there should be a recognizable look and feel.
• If you worked with a professional designer, have them write up some easy-to-follow guidelines and have them create templates for you. These might include a letterhead template in Word and a PowerPoint template for your presentations.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • Guest Post • (0) Comments • Permalink

As human beings, most of us want to belong to something. Looking around a large city like Chicago or even a small town, there will certainly be options on organizations to join. Where the focus here of The Hot Iron is around business and technology, I will use that angle to talk about joining related organizations. However when you read through this, you will see this applies to most all organizations.

The cost of joining an organization is important to consider because, unless money is no obstacle to you, how much you spend or invest is probably of importance to you. I have broken down cost categories below, and things to consider and ask about when looking to join an organization. Of course, before going into the process of evaluating organizations, you may want to consider a budget or amount you can truly afford to spend. If you’re not sure, then be cautious and accountable along the way. Note this piece is about cost, and not about what you get for the costs, which I will address in the future if there is some interest from you the readers.

Direct Costs

Direct costs of an organization are those that are obvious. If an organization has an annual fee, that is a direct cost. Many times this figure is all that is talked about when joining, though there may be additional direct costs, such as costs per meeting or special events. Some organizations do not charge an annual fee but instead just charge per event or meeting. Which ever way it is done, it is important to find out what the direct cost structure is, as even if you will be paying for this over time, at the end of the year it will all add up.

Indirect Costs

Even after you have asked what it costs to belong to an organization, there may be additional costs of being a member that are not obvious, or official to the group. Some organizations have informal gatherings or just plain happy hours where most of the business or value of being a member can come from. Official meetings or events may be just that – official, structured and may not have the opportunity you would like to network or connect with others. If it means you need to go to the pub afterwards to really get to know people, unless they are running a bar tab, you will have to shell out a few more bucks to get the value of membership. This is also a question to ask – not necessarily from a cost standpoint but to ask if members socialize after official gatherings. You can do the math yourself based on their answer.

Time Costs

If you put any value to your time, then you should consider it when joining an organization. Even if you ask the question about how much time is required to get full-value from an organization, the true answer will come from further investigation and direct experience.

Some organizations are “member organizations” where the members run all aspects of what is done, as well as serve on its Board. As a general member, your time commitment may be lower. But over time, it may increase dramatically, especially if you find interest in being a leader in the organization. Trust me on this – it happened to me, in a good way, when I was involved in the Boston Jaycees, and eventually served as its president.

Some organizations have paid staff who manage the day-to-day of the organization, or there may be a hybrid of staff and members. Whatever the structure, it helps to ask around how much time is required to get the full value from the organization. Keep in mind this value may be on the higher side, as those who are regulars at meetings or events are probably the ones who are more active.

Baptism By Fire

Maybe this section heading is a little on the harsh side, but the only real way to find out the cost commitment to an organization is for yourself. Just be aware going in that you may end up spending a little more than you planned without even realizing it at first. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, as it means you may have found an organization that is a win-win for you.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • (0) Comments • Permalink