I accept cash or card, but no cheques, thanks.

Posted on February 15th, 2010 by Cheyne | Linked in Opinion

It’s always amusing when I see our creativity being utilised by other companies, and however flattering it may be, you would at least think that companies who are much larger than us employ capable and competent business analysts to set the standard, rather than just keeping up with the Jones’.

With the launch of our new web site last week, we re-introduced the “Live Sales Chat” function after the majority of Australian web hosts had switched the service off. For our business model, it’s a great benefit for new and existing customers,  ensuring they are able to get the answer to sales-related questions quickly and easily.

Today, a competitor has launched a “Live Sales Chat” service on their web site, presumably after seeing it on our new web site. They’re more than welcome to the idea, in fact, I won’t be at all surprised if I see giant LCD screens or an integrated FAQ system on their site sometime soon.

This isn’t the first time this has happened to us. Our marketing strategies and offers are often replicated by competitors who simply lack the capacity to think outside the square.

While it’s humbling to know that we’re truly leading the way in terms of innovative ideas and automative productivity, I can’t help but feel like I’m a pseudo consultant for these companies. My usual rate for consultancy work is around $200.00 an hour, however I’m willing to apply our “50NOW” coupon taking 50% off the first invoice.

I accept cash, credit card, but no cheques, thanks.