Very Corporate Response

Published February 8, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Well, here is the next installment in the D & B collections drama. If you recall, about a year ago I went through the D & B Small Business Solutions suite of services and paid to have 3 collections letters sent to a company we did some work for who couldn’t pay their balance. I don’t have it in me to go through the whole story again, so go back and check this and this out if you want the history. At any rate, D & B uses a company called RMS as a vendor to fulfill this service. I got a very corporate response from them, not extremely warm or especially personal, but about what you would expect… The final resolution was that they offered a refund, which I gladly told them I would accept. So, props on that. The sad thing is, all I ever wanted was for someone to align with me, to want to help me, to be pleasant to deal with. Even after a year of this madness, I am still left with the feeling that RMS would rather stick a fork in my eye than just be genuine and want to make me happy.

Good Afternoon Jennifer:

Scott Baker has forwarded me your email regarding your use of the D&B, Small Business Solutions website to place an account and your experience with RMS Customer Care back in February 2009.

As Scott explained, RMS did provide a second three letter series at no cost to you as a result of the incorrect information entered at the time of sale on the D&B, Small Business Solutions website.

Copies of the demand letters that you requested through our Customer Care team are computer generated and unfortunately, we can not provide the exact letters that were sent to COMPANY NAME REMOVED on your behalf. However, Scott did provide the dates that the letters were sent and our Customer Care team provided you the copies of the text for each letter. Seriously, how can they not provide copies of the letters they sent on my behalf? They could only produce the text they use in all their letters. There is too much great, cheap technology out there to not be able to provide this information, especially in an industry like collections where records are so crucial.

You mention below that you paid for a solution, but did not get one. You purchased a three letter demand series and RMS upheld our end of the agreement by sending those letters. Although we hope to resolve and collect the account on our client’s behalf, we do not guarantee a collection from those letters, so I can understand your frustration in having to hire an attorney. AARRGGHH I know they don’t guarantee that! Why are you talking to me like I am a moron? It is sooo insulting, maybe its meant to be a little dig? Just apologize for the exceptionally crappy service!!

In any event, RMS does review all complaints and we strive for customer satisfaction, so I would be happy to refund you the cost of the three letters series in the amount of $40.00.that you paid for on the D&B, SBS website. I have the address below as the current address for Maggiore Consulting and Marketing. Please confirm this is the correct address and I will initiate the refund process.

Sincerely,

Laura
Customer Care Manager
RMS

Check it out!

Thanks to Heather Long for doing this, its awesome!! Go to LocalsOnlyPhoenix.com for details!

Update on Dunn & Bradstreet

Published February 3, 2010 customer service , public relations Leave a Comment
Tags: customer service, dunn and bradstreet, nd & B, RMS

If you recall, in April of 2009 I wrote this post about contracting with Dunn & Bradstreet to send collection letters to a client who defaulted on payment for completed project. Nearly a year later, a survey from D & B in which I included a link to this blog got their attention. I was informed that a company called RMS was responsible for the errors and poor service, as they are a subcontractor of D & B who manage the collections process.

After all the trouble I decided not to put anymore time or energy into pursuing the client who defaulted. I wish it had been an easier process, I might have continued my pursuit and recovered the loss. I am currently awaiting their response to my complaint and what they plan to do to resolve it to my satisfaction at this point- will keep you posted.

Social Media in a Carton Press Release

Published January 24, 2010 Social Media , Social Media In A Carton , business development , education , marketing , twitter 2 Comments
Tags: do it yourse, education, new product, press release, Social Media, Social Media In A Carton, SocialMediaInACarton.com, twitter, twitterinacarton.com

I am very excited to share the http://www.socialmediainacarton.com/ press release! We are officially launching and selling our first product in a series of educational do-it-yourself social media products called Social Media In A Carton! The first is Twitter In A Carton and includes a 40 minute DVD and 32 page booklet which explains everything you need to know about establishing a Twitter profile, and tips and tricks to successfully market your business.

For more details:
Jennifer Maggiore
Jennifer@mcmaz.com
480.231.2431
SocialMediaInACarton.com

Social Media In A Carton Assists Business Owners in Marketing
New line of affordable, instructional do-it-yourself DVDs and booklets is introduced to help business owners and entrepreneurs to market their businesses effectively themselves

social media in a carton

For immediate release (Phoenix, AZ – January 25, 2010) – A new line of affordable do-it-yourself DVDs and booklets focusing on Social Media platforms has been launched by Social Media Professionals and co-founders, Jennifer Maggiore and Dave Barnhart. The series began with the first product, Twitter In A Carton, and helps business owners to understand how to create a Twitter account, how to use the site and how to effectively build a Twitter network for prospecting, branding, and marketing. The next product in the series, WordPress In A Carton, is scheduled for release in spring 2010 and will show business owners how to establish a WordPress account, set up a blog for marketing and branding, as well as techniques to build traffic to the blog.

“As our agency has grown over the years, I’ve continued to meet small business owners, solopreneurs and entrepreneurs with start up who aren’t ready to invest in an agency-managed campaign. We’ve developed the Social Media In A Carton series to serve this market in bridging the gap until they are ready to work with an agency. We’re empowering them by providing simple step by step instructions, in laymans terms, and demonstrating effective techniques so that they may also harness the marketing potential of Social Media” said Maggiore.

The carton packaging was inspired by author and Social Media professional, Seth Godin’s anecdote about the “purple cow”- in essence, brown cows aren’t very thought-provoking, but a purple cow (or new idea) gets attention for being different. Each carton contains a 45 minute DVD narrated by Barnhart and a booklet with additional tips and techniques, as well as coupons for additional special offers to get the business owner started. Twitter In A Carton is available at an introductory price of $47.00 for a limited time at SocialMediaInACarton.com.

“Most small business owners are eager to jump in to social media but they don’t know how to start. They are also fearful of starting out wrong and either wasting time or damaging their online reputation. They need a roadmap. Jennifer and I designed Social Media in a Carton to solve these problems”, said Barnhart.

For more information, please visit SocialMediaInACarton.com.

###

SCORE Social Media Event Highlights Need For Education

Published January 17, 2010 Communication , Public Speaking , business development , community , education 2 Comments
Tags: Aaron Post, Amanda Vega, AZ Department of Education, Doug Bruhnke, education, Gabi Messinger, Gelie Akhenblit, Lon Safko, Matthew O'Brien, panel, SCORE, Social Media, Steven Groves, the Social Media Bible

Sharing the stage with Gabi Messinger

On Friday, January 15th, 2010, I had the honor of sharing a stage in a panel of experts, including Doug Brunke of Growth Nation, Amanda Vega of Amanda Vega Consulting, Matthew O’Brien of Mint Social, Gabi Messinger (formerly Gabi Kepes, congrats on your recent wedding Gabi!) the Phoenix Community Manager of Yelp.com, Aaron Post of We Can Do Things, Gelie Akhenblit of Networking Phoenix, and more, all hosted by SCORE, the AZ Department of Education and author of the Social Media Bible, Lon Safko.

The event was designed for start up entrepreneurs, executives and business owners who were looking to

Jenn with Lon Safko and Steven Groves of the Social Media Bible

learn more about what Social Media is and how it works. I also recently had lunch with some non-profit executives who had many questions about what Social Media is, let alone how we would use it to promote their organization and events.

I have a tough time keeping in mind sometimes, that I am in my industry day in and day out. A good portion of our time and money is invested in R & D and keeping up with technologies which change and develop each day. I forget that there are still people who need a helping hand. I found it to be a great event with amazing experts, and it made me feel good to be there lending a helping hand and answering questions.

Jenn with localsonlyphoenix.com co-hosts, Jenn B and Kevin

It’s important for experts to remember that there are still people who need our help, and it’s important to remember that even though you might have heard about Social Media a hundred times, it’s still OK to be a newcomer and ask questions. I hope to participate in more events like this in the future.

2010 Goals

Published January 8, 2010 Locals Only: Phoenix , Planning , Public Speaking , Social Media , Social Media In A Carton , community 6 Comments
Tags: 2009, 2010, Arthritis Foundation, ASBA, balance, community, family time, Goals, Locals Only: Phoenix, MCM, Oscar Night America, SCORE, SMAZ, Social Media, Social Media In A Carton, speaking

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again already! I feel like not too long ago I was sitting down at my computer writing out my 2009 goals… I am so excited about the year to come, I am filled with optimism about how far MCM has come as an agency, and how far my staff has come as a team. The economy appears to be struggling to come back, coupled with lots of amazingly talented people looking for new opportunities. This is going to be a great year!!

1. I’d like to speak more and attend more conferences to hear other talented people speak. So far, MCM plans on being a vendor at the SCORE Social Media event on January 15th- get more info here.

I’m also attending SMAZ on January 25th to hear some amazing speakers in my industry. If you’d still like to get tickets visit http://smaz.eventbrite.com/ and enter discount code “mcm” to take $44 off!

I will also be involved in a few upcoming events- I will be the facilitator for ASBA’s (AZ Small Business Association) monthly Social Media Exchange beginning the third Wednesday of February at 9am, at ASBA’s office. Free for members, $25 for non members. Additionally, I will be moderating the Social Media Club’s February 11 panel, and am working on an exciting quarterly series with Growth Nation’s Doug Bruhnke (@DougBruhnke) and the Sales Cooke himself, Dave Cooke (@SalesCooke).

2. Always looking ahead at where Social Media is going next, MCM is concentrating on launching a new multi-media project called Locals Only: Phoenix. This project is in partnership with Television personality Jennifer Burgess and Radio personality Kevin Gassman and will kick off on Sunday, February 21 at 5pm. Stay tuned for more details! Our goal this year is to revolutionize the way media platforms are integrated and creating new ways to market our clients while providing quality entertainment for our audiences.

3. I find increasingly that many solo-preneurs and small business owners are looking for ways to get educated on how to utilize Social Media for marketing themselves and their businesses. I’ll be putting a lot of energy in marketing a new series of educational do-it-yourself products founded with Dave Barnhart (@dbarnhart) called Social Media In A Carton. The first in the series, Twitter In A Carton which includes an instructional DVD and booklet, is currently available and WordPress In A Carton will be available soon.

4. We need a bigger office! We’re currently looking to expand into a larger office space as soon as possible. Have a lead for a place in the central valley? Hit me up!

5. I want to become a better member of the “community”. By this, I mean that I wish to do a better job of interacting and participating at events and online, and help contribute to the sense of cohesiveness of our industry and in Phoenix. As always, if I may ever lend a hand, answer a question or connect you with someone in my network, please don’t hesitate to ask!

6. One goal that I am really excited about is supporting non profits this year! We are starting by supporting the Arthritis Foundation by implementing and managing their Social Media campaign for Oscar Night America- their largest signature fundraising gala. It’s not too late to buy tickets or provide items from your business for giveaway in exchange for a great marketing opportunity! Contact me for more details!

7. In an effort to be more efficient and to stop killing trees, MCM is working at going paperless in 2010

8. Last, but most importantly, I am going to try to do better with finding work-life balance. I’m gonna try to do this by scheduling my days from start to finish, including time for meetings and getting work done, and spending regular quality time with my boys (hubby, Joe and Little Man, Teo). Since Matteo’s surgery at the end of last year, I cannot express how straightened out my priorities are. More than ever, family, friends, people in general come first!

What are your goals for 2010? How do you see the market changing this year? How will you find balance in 2010?

2009 In Review

Published December 7, 2009 Planning , branding , business development Closed
Tags: 2009 Review, 35 under 35, American Teleservices Association, AZ Republic, business development, Intel, SBA, The Phoenix Business Journal, Young Entrepreneur

Wow, is it December? Really? Not only are we ending a year, but we’re starting a new decade this time around! At the start of this year I blogged about my future goals, so I thought before I do that in January I would recap this year. What a year it has been. For those of you who know me well, you know that roughly 18 months ago I left a long term engagement to concentrate on building my business. In the process, I built a team including 4 other people, tripled the number of projects I took on from the last year I was serving multiple clients, created a modestly successful blog (and even tried video blogging! lol), spoke for several events, businesses and organizations, put new systems into place and innovated in the Social Media space with a viable business model which effectively serves our clients’ needs.

I learned a lot- I proved myself to myself. I feel good about making a calculated business leap- I am pretty good at figuring out which risks to take and what to do if things don’t go as expected. My team is strong- I see a lot of myself in them, they are down to earth, driven innovators, and they will be the key to our collective continued success. Relationships are our business- we truly value each of our business relationships, those with clients, vendors and collaborative partners. Much of the time, personal and professional relationships blur, it’s what happens when you genuinely care about people and want them to succeed. Best of all, the desire for seeing people succeed has been mutual. In November when my son had brain surgery, we received messages of love, support and faith in what I would now calculate to be in the thousands. Some from people we’ve never even met.

The year was full of ups and downs, but fortunately we are ending on a high note- MCM was featured in the Phoenix Business Journal several times this year, twice in November alone. In October I was named one of Arizona Republic’s 35 Women Entrepreneurs Under 35, and I found out last week that I am a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year nominee, nominated by ASBA (I’m just thrilled to be nominated for an award with “Young” in the title- one thing I haven’t fealt recently!). Now, we look forward to planning a new year and a new decade, more ups and downs, more opportunities and more amazing people who will change us for the better. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, my family and the growth that MCM experienced this year- I am more appreciative than you know.

: Speaking for American Teleservices Assoc

: Speaker for Capital Grille Lunch and Learn Series

: 35 Under 35 in AZ Magazine

: Intel poster

: Jenn at Intel

: Broadcasting Live at Ignite / KWSS

: FuelNet Monthly, March 2009

: Sam at Intel

By the way, the great photo from Ignite Phoenix was taken by a very talented photographer, Tyson Crosbie, visit him at http://tysoncrosbie.com/

Update on Matteo

Published November 12, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment

I’ll be taking a break from this blog for a while- my son is having surgery today. I’ll be using my personal blog to keep everyone updated: http://jennex.wordpress.com/

Thanks to everyone for all your love and kindness.

Very Corporate Response

Check it out!

Update on Dunn & Bradstreet

2009 In Review

Update on Matteo

Hi!

eNewsletter

Email Subscription

Blogroll

Archives

Tag Cloud

Recent Comments