Next step in my marketing career: Managing account services at Coalmarch Productions

by Karl Sakas on September 2, 2010

Coalmarch Productions logoI have some exciting news — I’m joining Coalmarch Productions as the Raleigh web design and online marketing agency’s Director of Client Services.

I’m looking forward to working with Jake St. Peter and the rest of the team. I’ll be using my account manager and project manager expertise as  the company grows in the Research Triangle and beyond, starting this Tuesday.

Interactive marketing technology has evolved a lot since I created my first client website in 1997, but I’d argue that the core fundamentals of user experience and client service are the same today as they were 13 years ago. Fortunately, we aren’t using frames any more. I’m excited to start the next stage of my marketing career in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

Thank you for your help in my job search. I appreciate your leads, referrals, advice, and support along the way. If you’re still looking for a job, please let me know how I can help. And don’t worry, I’ll continue my Frontline Results marketing blog right here at KarlSakas.com.

Image credit: Coalmarch.com

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What’s your legacy? (via Chris Brogan)

by Karl Sakas on August 31, 2010

Eagle Scout trail bridge

Chris Brogan recently asked readers about their greatest legacy. In the comments section, I mused about something I created that’s lasted a decade and a half:

Unless you’re a great composer, artist, author, or architect, the biggest legacy most people leave will be their [well-adjusted] children. At 28, I’m not there yet.

When I was 12, I organized a team of 40 people to build a trail bridge at a local park for my Eagle Scout project. I recently visited the park in northern Virginia and I saw the Boy Scout bridge is still there, 15 years later. [see the photo above]

So much has changed in my life in the past 15 years, but the bridge is still there.

What is — or will be — your legacy?

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Marketing gimmick to generate leads: Free hot dogs at the yard sale

by Karl Sakas on August 29, 2010

Yard sale sign, with free hot dogs

Clever yard sale advertising

Sometimes you need to try a marketing gimmick to get new leads in a highly competitive market… like this “free hot dogs” sign for a yard sale in Raleigh’s Boylan Heights neighborhood.

If you’re a prospective customer — driving around with cash in your pocket — and you can go to any yard sale this weekend, wouldn’t you want to check out the one with free food first?

Photo credit: Karl Sakas

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Hotel computer meltdown, stubborn customer service, and saving the day at Hyatt Jersey City

August 26, 2010

When you get to your hotel, you just want to get to your room so you can take a nap, or change, or head off to what’s next, right? The Computers Are Down The computers were down when I arrived at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City, two hours before my friend Lauren’s wedding this summer. [...]

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iPhone friendly websites using an easy mobile bookmarking icon

August 25, 2010

Note: If this is too technical for your taste, forward the article to your designer or webmaster. Adding an iPhone-friendly icon isn’t a huge marketing priority, but it’s a nice branding touch for people who visit your website on a mobile device. At minimum, your site should have a favicon file for desktop-based bookmarking. I [...]

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Terrible fast food marketing advice: be inconsistent every time

August 24, 2010

For some terrible hospitality marketing advice, read consultant Mike Brady’s comments in QSR magazine. In Jill Watral’s column, he gives design advice to a fast food restaurant owner who’s considering opening a second location: … If you go into each of them, they’re frantic and they’re doing well. But the Five Guys is probably going [...]

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Ice in your margarita? Sorry, that costs extra.

August 19, 2010

Following a volunteer retreat in Indianapolis in May, the team headed to a restaurant for dinner. The Loon Lake Lodge is the type of place that has moose tracks embedded in the concrete floor. Later, I noticed a strange charge on the receipt. The margarita was $6.95. But the “rocks” were an additional $1.50. Somehow, [...]

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Helping a new client in Raleigh-Durham: daily-deal aggregator Redeemio.com

August 18, 2010

I’m working with a new marketing client who’s doing something pretty cool. You’ve probably heard of group-buying sites like Groupon, Living Social, and Twongo, which email you a daily deal for 40-90% off products and services at a local business. You might even be getting their emails every morning. Redeemio.com takes that a step further [...]

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Allison Najman interview: Working on all three sides of marketing

August 17, 2010

Marketer and world traveler Allison Najman is active in the Raleigh-Durham, NC marketing and social media community. In fact, she’s the first person I met “in real life” from Twitter. Allison recently shared: why today’s B2B marketing requires the same principles as B2C marketing the marketing career benefits of reading pop culture publications like Entertainment [...]

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Avoid unreasonable clients by asking prospects these 5 questions

August 16, 2010

Whether you’re in business development at a marketing agency or an independent consultant handling sales yourself, you need to spend time screening new leads. Just because someone says they’re interested doesn’t mean they’re actually going to pay you money for your product or service. Web designer Eli Van Zoeren has terrific “Contact Me” form that [...]

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