February 2009 - Direct2Dell

In the current economy, marketing budgets are being slashed every day. For many small businesses, it may be tempting to just eliminate all the money normally allocated to broadcasting your messages, products or service. The good news? Content marketing eliminates the need to 'pay for access' to the media and publishing. Check out Bizzuka's short video on how you can create your own content and weather the downturn.

Students: this is your chance to change the world. TAKE IT!

If you haven’t already submitted your ideas to the Dell Social Innovation Competition, it’s not too late.  The entry deadline is Monday, March 2, 2009.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s the 411: The University of Texas at Austin and Dell are looking for college students worldwide with ingenious entrepreneurial ideas that will change the world. Dream up a plan that combines creativity and innovation to tackle a pressing social issue, and you can win $50,000 to put your plan into action! Enter online at www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/

I was completely entertained reading through the most popular submissions yesterday. Take the sOccket, “a soccer ball…that captures the impact energy normally dissipated when the ball is kicked, storing it to charge batteries and lights.” The Harvard University team submitting the idea says early prototypes can power an LED display for around three hours after kicking the ball around for just 10 minutes. This could change what nightfall means to rural areas without electricity.

The Farmery is another cool one. Submitted by ben24542, “the Farmery is an urban vertical farming and retail system that… [enables] consumers to see firsthand the story of how their food was produced… [and] offer affordable, locally grown organic produce.”

So far, ideas have poured in from 160 universities (Texas A&M leads with 35 entries (whoop!), followed by Harvard (7), Cornell (6), and The University of Texas and University of Central Florida (5 each).

And it’s a truly global competition. Entries are in from 24 countries, with the majority hailing from United States, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and Colombia.

So what’s your idea? TELL US! It only takes a few minutes. Really. Do it! It could get you $50,000…and change the world.

If you are traveling for business -- or for a much needed vacation -- it’s always best to compare airfares to get the most economical tickets for your journey.

One search engine I use is TripAdvisor.com. They have just launched a new service that will automatically calculate airline imposed baggage fees, estimate the cost of onboard beverages, food or entertainment on domestic flights.

TripAdvisor also searches Expedia, Hotwire,  Travelocity, and other airlines sites to get the best prices as well as using seat information and maps from Seat Guru.

Other sites I’ve used like Kayak.com, lists the airline fees separately, but TripAdvisor is the first one to calculate and compare the prices in their results

Looks like some of the airlines are getting involved with Twitter as well: Southwest Airlines JetBlue , SAS, and others tweet about pricing specials and advise about possible delays.

So, if you are looking for a good deal for either a business trip or a vacation trip, check the online travel agencies, and Twitter before you go and you may save yourself or your company money.

The big news this week was around the launch of the Mini 10.  Many have asked us for something bigger than the mini 9, but smaller than the Mini 12.  The primary concerns have been around the size of the keyboard.  Two key ideas implemented include Dell should offer a Dell Mini 10 and Offer a cheap, 10-inch (AT LEAST) subnotebook/netbook with full-size keyboard.  If you have other ideas on what you would like to see in the new and exciting Netbook market, please add them to IdeaStorm. 

A few older ideas that I am slow to implement but absolutely deserve attention are around our retail business and Blu-Ray.

Need to be put in more stores...besides Wal-Mart.

Dell products at stores like Best Buy, Circuit City

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Drives in Notebooks and Desktops.

And our friends to the north can now enjoy the XPS One!

XPS One in Canada

With all the buzz about social media, marketers often forget what is really is behind the phenomenon...word of mouth. WOM is one of the oldest marketing strategies that recently regained notoriety with Web 2.0. We've known the importance of how our customers talk about our products and services to peers, but it's been difficult to track, let alone measure. Check out Bizzuka's next video in the 9 Ways to Maximize Your Marketing Dollars in the Recession on WOM to hear how social media tools enable people to make real connections with others outside of their physical communities.