Part 1: Be concise, and compelling

Hi Diane, how did your early career in the travel industry bring you to where you are today?
I loved my time in the travel industry, it's a fun business. I was the only one in the office with email, I had AOL 1.0 on the MacIntosh Classic. Remember those machines with a black and white 9-inch screen. No wonder I need glasses now.

Anyway, we needed to get in touch with a former employee who was living in Italy and didn't have a phone. I said I'd email her. We needed an answer in the next day or so. I went home, sent the email and when I got back she had called into the office and our problem was solved.

What do you believe is the best way to do marketing via the Internet?
The best way is to message the customer with a concise, compelling offer. We all listen to the same station - WII-FM [What's in it for me!]. If the offer doesn't answer that question in the first 30 seconds, I tune out.

As I market DigitalEve Boston, I tell the other person why they should be a part of the organization. For companies, it's a great place to find new customers, strategic partners or employees. For individuals, it's a great place to meet someone who is doing what they are doing - starting a career, making a change, re-starting a career.

I'm getting to the point where I don't read email or a website that doesn't fit on one screen. If I have to scroll, I assume what's further down isn't of importance. Sort of like the "below the fold" of a newspaper.

What do you consider the negative way to do it?
Spam, obviously. It's terrible. And what's awful is if you go to the website and say, "unsubscribe," they now know they have a valid email and you get more. So you ignore it, but keep getting spam.

What do you think are some good ways to sell a website?
I'm not sure anyone sells a website, per se. They certainly sell products or services. Simplicity is best. When I can go on a site, and easily navigate where I want to go, it's just great. I sometimes am asked to be a site or product tester. While I may be above average in my technology knowledge, I'm impatient.

If I want to order a product, I don't want to have to fill out all kinds of forms, just hit the button and take my money. I've never seen a site that says, "Do you want to buy or do you want to shop?" If you want to buy, then it should be very quick and easy.

Are there any role models on the Internet who successfully market via the Web?
For me, Boston.com is one of my favorites. It's actually now my homepage. It's straightforward, gives excellent information. I often check it before I head out to check on the weather and traffic. There are so many, it's hard to pick out just a few. is extraordinary on this. You are looking at a book and they recommend others. It's killer. These sites know how to market themselves once you are on the site.

Getting to the site is a different issue. In order to do that, again simplicity is my mantra. Make it fun, simple, easy to remember.

What do you think is key in a company's (website) customer service?
Customer service is so important and we often don't realize the impact on the bottom line until it's a mess. Then it's like taking a boat out of the water and scraping the barnacles. It's a huge task.

The best customer service examples I see are when the customer is acknowledged in a fast and courteous manner and then the matter is resolved. It doesn't mean that they get what they want. But they are heard and recognized.

Nordstrom's has literally made a business out of this. I had an excellent experience with Seiko not too long ago. They had an 800#, their tech support said a file was missing. He walked me through how to load it and bingo, the product worked!!! I was very happy.

I've had a very different experience with a company I won't name. Even letters to the CEO have been poorly handled by his staff. It's too bad. I'll never buy another product nor will I recommend the one I have. It was very expensive and essentially useless after five to six months. I'll replace it as soon as I can.

It's also important to remember that consistent customer service is essential when the business has a multi-channel distribution company. A fabulous example of this is Staples. While their "dot-com" is a separate business, they offer excellent customer service both online and in the stores. Mind you I spend so much money there, I feel that I must own part of it.

Your career has focused on the marketing, sales, and communications side. What made you decide to start up a technology-based organization like Digital Eve as opposed to a marketing and sales organization?
What's wonderful about DigitalEve is there are many in sales and marketing within the organization. There are also techies, executives, career changers and first timers in the job market. We have a variety of members.

I was most interested in how the "new economy" and the technologies leading it were impacting women and their careers. I also don't know enough about sales and marketing in retail or the medical industry for example. I wouldn't have any credibility in leading that type of an organization.

What drives your desire to help our future generations get interested in high tech?
Part of what drives me is hoping no one in the future misses what I missed. Part of it is just the times. Women were not encouraged to do math and sciences they way they are today. My father went to CalTech, he was brilliant in math and I did well. But girls weren't encouraged.

It's not just a gender topic, however, it's economic. If the future generation isn't versed in technology, they will not have access to jobs and opportunities for success. It's just that simple. I remember when I put "proficient in Microsoft Word" on a resume. Now it's a given that is a skill one knows and it's expected that you know it when job hunting.

Each person should know the basics. In order for me to graduate from high school we had to know how to swim. We had a swim test and everything.

Knowledge of technology is a survival skill. Also, there are so many various types of technologies that it offers, something for everyone. The creative student can design, the engineer can build the infrastructure, and the marketing and sales person can promote and distribute the product.

Continued...