is developed by Oddcast, a company that is dedicated to creating a wide array of innovative avatar (animated speaking character) products for corporations, small businesses and consumers.
Since 1999, Oddcast has emerged as the industry leader in avatar technology and has won numerous awards and thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 brands such as Coca-Cola, Verizon, JP Morgan Chase, and McDonalds. Every month, over one million Oddcast avatars are created and served worldwide. In 2003, the company introduced SitePal, an easy-to-use and affordable speaking avatar solution that enables small businesses to enhance their web presence and improve business results with virtual speaking characters. With its ability to engage site visitors and reinforce a call to action, SitePal has been proven to increase site traffic, conversions, loyalty and sales. SitePal was named as one of the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 companies and a 2006 Product to Watch by Small Business Technology Magazine. SitePal has also been covered by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Inc.com.
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SitePal SitePal in the News t's time to update business benchmarks
BY JACK G. HARDY Special to the Miami-Herald
Benchmarks -- simply put -- are a point of reference from which measurements are made. In olden times a carpenter marked the cutting bench with the lengths his assistant would cut. Surveyors chiseled horizontal marks in stone structures, ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned. Marketing benchmarks are handy tools that help improve marketing performance and efficiency.
They serve as standards by which we measure and evaluate. But when the economy changes, it's time to update, refocus your benchmarks. Today, customers expect quality and value -- and more. They're smarter, better informed, and take the time to find the best solution. If one organization doesn't meet their needs, they search the entire global marketplace. The point of benchmarking is to collect data that shows you what can be achieved and provide insight about how performance was achieved. Selling is a process. The more complex a purchase decision, more time and communication is required. But when value is perceived, purchase decisions are made in more rapidly with less importance given to price.
Sales benchmarks track the progress of specific steps: Prospect pipeline loading and conversion rates, calls or presentations required to close sales, average win/loss/no decision rates, percentage of sales closed as forecast. Steps and values may change, one industry to another. Improvement makes a process step or steps more effective. SalesForce.com has pioneered Web-based sales solutions. Their vision: ''Managing salespeople should be as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com.'' Their promise: ``To steer your company through these turbulent times, it's more important than ever to be on top of every lead, every opportunity, and every customer interaction.'' I responded to their download offer: Sales Performance Optimization, 2008 Survey Results and Analysis (csoinsights.com). It's 226-page report that enables a comparison of sales performance benchmarks.
Does your team excel, equal, or lag behind your peersω What are specific areas for improvementω I registered my personal data before the download. Usually that means an e-mail follow-up. Not this time! Seven minutes later, my phone rang: Emily, a SalesForce.com lead manager, calling from Toronto. Emily prequalifies and then passes leads to the appropriate sales person. I learned: Offering valuable content is an effective way of demonstrating your own values. Is your offer and follow-up that effectiveω There's an old saying, ''You only get one chance to make a first impression.'' Smart marketers are creating new benchmarks by adding online video. Online video is easily linked to e-mail campaigns and shown on YouTube.com. So establish new video benchmarks now -- you'll avoid the fanciful, focus on effectiveness. I found a wide variety of production sources ranging from full-service TV production to inexpensive ''avatars'' -- talking heads.
Production values and techniques are where you find the difference in costs. SunPop Studios hypes a new production methodology called Message Development. It saves time and money while uncovering a powerful sales message. They eliminate the need for a copywriter, cut out weeks from traditional pre-production time and guarantee a standard price. For the whole story: sunpopstudios.com Video Builder.com claims ''Communication Redefined.'' They're a full-service, turnkey TV production provider, and a good source for infomercials. Looking for production cost benchmarksω Automated quotes provide estimates. Sitepal.com -- a pioneer in budget-minded video tools -- helps you create custom avatars for your website, flash applications and e-mails. Interactive characters collect contact information from your potential customers.
Using Sitepal's FAQ player, your character responds to questions from site visitors just like a customer service agent. Cool!
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