December 29, 2008 by Steve.

Traditionally, Web developers only needed to worry about how your Web site displayed in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE). No longer. Multiple Web browsers are commonly used by your prospects and clients. A bad looking page on a non-IE browser (e.g. Firefox, Safari, Opera) could make a prospect abandon your site.

Browsershots.org is a complimentary service that lets you test your Web design in 55 different combinations of Web browsers and operating systems. It’s a handy tool to make sure you know how your Web site will look on different systems—which sometimes mangle sites using nonstandard code.

It’s simple to use. Put your Web site address into the input bar, select the different browers and operation systems you want to test, and click submit. Browsershots proceeds to make screenshots of your Web design in different browsers.

Here’s how it works. When you submit your Web address, it is added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers open your Web site in their browser. Then, they make screenshots and upload them to a central server. This process can take a while, depending on how many combinations you selected. The screenshots are then displayed on the site and you can download them to view in more detail.

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December 23, 2008 by Steve.

One of my passions is helping insurance agencies be successful and profitable. As I mentioned in my editorial last month, the current economic conditions have some agency owners questioning their ability, at least over the short term, to be both profitable and successful. In today’s economy, it’s extremely important for you to distinguish yourself by selling your value.

Sometimes value is how an agency utilizes technology to improve internal operations and provide better customer service. Sometimes value is how an agency positions itself in the marketplace and how it competes with other agencies.

Recently, I came across another strategy for selling your value. A friend of mine (not in the insurance business) recently recommended that I read Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. The subtitle of the book is: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant.

Red vs. blue oceans
The authors use the oceans as a metaphor for the marketplace where all businesses compete. There are two types of oceans: red and blue. Red oceans represent all the industries in existence today. This is the known market space. Blue oceans denote all industries not in existence today. This is the unknown market space.

In red oceans, industries and competition are well defined and well accepted. Companies compete by trying to outperform their rivals so they can grab a greater share of the existing marketplace. The competition can get bloody (hence, a red ocean).

Blue oceans, on the other hand, represent new, untapped marketplaces where there is currently little or no competition. The authors argue that most new blue ocean opportunities are created from within red oceans by expanding existing industry boundaries. In blue oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game have been changed.

The authors use several well known companies as examples of how strategies were created that completely redefined the industry. One of these companies is Cirque du Soleil, created in 1984 by a group of street performers. If you have attended one of their productions, you can easily understand blue ocean strategies. Cirque du Soleil took the best of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (red ocean) and completely redefined the circus experience and made it into a new industry (blue ocean).

As I read the book I kept wondering how an insurance agency could take these concepts and apply them to their organizations. Can an insurance agency make the competition irrelevant by changing the rules of the game? Ringling Bros. Circus had been around for over 100 years. Cirque du Soleil created a new way to experience the joy and wonder of a circus and millions of people now come to see their performances.

Once the concept of blue oceans is established, the authors describe a systematic process that any organization can use as a blueprint to look for (or create) blue ocean opportunities within their existing marketplace.

The concept of making your competition irrelevant is very intriguing. Most agencies fight for clients in a red ocean. That competition can be brutal and very unprofitable. How would your agency completely redefine your marketplace and make competition irrelevant? As you complete your planning for 2009 this book may help you think about the possibility of redefining a new marketplace without competition.

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December 16, 2008 by Steve.

Clients who have been confused or intimidated by the complexity of health insurance now have an easy way to take the first step towards getting the individual medical coverage they need. A new Web site, SimpleCoverage.org, provides information and guidance to help consumers quickly understand the basics of health insurance and how to find and select a health plan that’s right for them.

The site was developed by Consumers for Competitive Choice (C4CC) Education Fund Inc., a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide consumers with information and tools to make informed choices in the marketplace. More than 44 million Americans do not have health insurance and another 25 million have less health insurance than they need.

SimpleCoverage.org explains in easy to understand language, the different types of coverage available and how to find insurance, evaluate plans, and what to expect during the application process. For example, the Web site gives consumers suggested questions to ask when choosing individual medical coverage. In addition to the online information, SimpleCoverage.org offers consumers a downloadable brochure: Health Coverage Made Simple. The site was developed and is maintained with a grant from Assurant Health Foundation.

Check the site out. You may want to include a link on your agency Web site to direct clients and prospects to this information resource.

Posted in Marketing, General, Benefits Management Systems, Agency Management Systems | Print | No Comments »

December 5, 2008 by Steve.

I read lots of information from many different sources. The problem I have is deciding where to store all of this information so that I can find it again when I need it. I have tried several methods. I have copied and pasted text into a Word document. I have used Microsoft’s OneNote. Both worked—sort of. Then, I discovered Evernote (www.evernote.com).

Evernote allows me to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform I happen to be using, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Evernote has three parts: a program (for Windows or Mac), a Web site where all data is synchronized and stored, and a mobile phone application. Here is how it works.

First, I capture the things I want to remember using whatever platform I am using at the time—my Windows laptop, the Web, or my mobile phone. If I am reading an article on the Web, I can select the text of the article and trigger the Evernote hotkey (Windows-A). Then, the text is stored in the Evernote program database that resides on my laptop. That information is synched with my Web account when I am connected to the Internet. I can also use my mobile phone to take a note or a snapshot. This information is uploaded to my Web account and then synched with my desktop the next time I connect to the Internet.

For example, I have taken a snapshot of a bottle of wine that I wanted to remember. That picture went to my Web account and then to my desktop—seamlessly. Best of all, the information is run through a recognition technology and indexed for fast searching and retrieval.

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December 2, 2008 by Steve.

People tend to choose passwords that are easy to remember. That can be very dangerous because it makes it easier for a hacker to break the password. The following passwords are most common. If you use one of these, change it immediately:

Password, 123456, qwerty, abc123, letmein, monkey, myspace1, password1, link182, (your first name)

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