January 2014 Summaries

"Learn to code" has become a rallying cry for marketers, with many companies recognizing the importance of technical skills in driving success online. However, there's a growing trend towards products that enable marketers to take control of their own conversion rate optimization without needing to write code. These tools, such as Optimizely, Vero, Unbounce, Kissmetrics, Zapier, Crazy Egg, Qualaroo, Typeform, Olark, Geckoboard, HubSpot, Gumroad, and Balsamiq, offer a range of features that allow marketers to analyze customer behavior, create personalized experiences, automate workflows, and optimize their marketing campaigns. By leveraging these tools, marketers can gain 90% control over their conversion rate optimization destiny without needing extensive technical expertise.

Zapier's support measurement process has undergone several iterations, driven by data-driven decisions to provide the best customer support experience. Initially, a Google Doc called the Support Recap was created to pull information from Help Scout reports, providing a template and permanent home for that data. This recap helped influence large initiatives, such as managing a steady climb in support volume. To improve measurement, Zapier added Hively, a service that lets customers rate their interaction with support, which provides user feedback at each point of interaction. The Support Recap was revised to focus on replies and response time, with decreased emphasis on conversations and individual contributions. Despite improvements, Zapier continues to look for ways to gather more or better data, such as time-specific data and leveraging Hively's integration.

Convert, a company that offers A/B testing software, was experiencing issues with managing its lead list due to the large volume of leads it received through various channels. To address this issue, they implemented a novel approach called "social qualifying" their leads by using the Zapier integration platform to connect their inbound lead generation channels to Nimble, a CRM that automatically pulls in social media data for contacts. This allowed them to filter out unqualified leads and reduce the time spent on follow-up, ultimately doubling the output of their sales team. By using Nimble's social media validation feature, Convert was able to identify potential users of its product more effectively, including CTOs of major brands who had been missed in the past due to Gmail usage. The company's experience highlights the importance of leveraging social media data to qualify leads and increase sales productivity.

The Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC teams use a combination of software to collect, organize, and summarize fan feedback, which is then used to inform management decisions. The process begins with a web form created using Wufoo, which collects feedback from fans. This data is then exported to a MySQL database, where it's summarized daily by Zapier, an app automation platform that connects the three software tools together. The resulting report is sent to directors and VPs via email, allowing them to stay informed about fan sentiment and make data-driven decisions.

The article shares a team's productivity reading list, featuring 12 popular blogs that offer advice and resources on increasing productivity. The blogs cover topics such as life hacks, social media tips, creativity, mindfulness, time management, self-improvement, and more. Each blog is analyzed based on its publishing frequency and social media sharing numbers, with the most shared posts being featured. The article aims to help readers discover new productivity resources and encourages them to share their favorite blogs in the comments.