May Newsletter

May 23, 2007 - Tortus Technologies

Okay, last month we promised to talk about the history of the web, so along with Michael J. Fox...Back to the Future we'll go! Wouldn't it be great to know in advance if the stock market is up or down, what the interest rates will be in 2012, or how about predicting your organizations revenues?

Maybe now you can.

Lets have a look: the year is 2012, and Florida is no longer a state- it's under water (Al Gore has predicted it!) Your income taxes have doubled, incandescent light bulbs no longer exist, and all cars use hydrogen fuel-no new gas engines are being made or sold!

But, there is good news for your web business because you've been planning ahead. Since 2009 your organization has been experimenting with and implementing a "Predictive Analytics" plan and it's beginning to work---business is booming! It's March and you already know what your sales will be for the year 2012- now wouldn't that be nice?

What are Predictive Analytics? Predictive Analytics is a data mining technology that uses your customer data to build a predictive model specialized to your business objectives. Predictive analytics is also called predictive modeling.

Here's an example to ponder. Let say you sell decorative flags on the web and you've got a database of 100,000 prospects and customers. You've identified certain combined predictors-or profiles-of your best buyers. What are the combined predictors to sell flags? The reason you know the following is because you've been developing a predictive web model-the web measures all data. Here's the profile and what you know about your ideal flag-buying consumer. They are females, suburban homeowners, age 35-65, visit your website 5 times per year, household income is $100,000+, and live in a four season climate. Now how do I weigh each factor to maximize and predict my sales? Apply a 2x value to one of the data points- the 5 visits per year for example-and test it.

Jack Welch the famous GE Chairman and CEO says, "Change before you have to." IBM's Frank Watson, Jr. motto was "Think."

To learn more about "Predictive Modeling" contact us today. More Back to the Future next month...

Tortus Talk

John will be keynoting our Growing Your Business in 2007 seminar on June 7th at the Log Cabin and Meeting House, Holyoke, MA. Besides providing you with a scrumptious Log Cabin breakfast and an opportunity to network with 499 other local business professionals, we have a prestigious panel of highly successful entrepreneurs. They'll be sharing their success stories, with a Question and Answer session to follow - so bring some business problems to solve!

The net proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Springfield Boys and Girls Club. It's only $60.00 per person and is tax deductible; if you act quickly you can still get a table of 10! By attending, you are not only making the decision to improve and grow your business, you are also demonstrating your commitment to improving the lives of children in Springfield. To register call Caitlin Casali, 413.788.5080, ext. 273 or sign up now at www.tortus.com.

Second, we are holding two executive seminars in June. June 13th: Using the Internet to Build Your Brand, and June 20th: E-Commerce: Traffic is Nice, But Sales are Better! As you may know seating is limited, (15 people per seminar, and available on a first come first serve basis), so contact Christina Gay today to sign-up.

Finally, we have welcomed yet another new tortoise to our pond. Her name is Victoria Chapman and we're very excited she's joined the Tortus team. Victoria holds a degree in fine arts from the University of Connecticut and four years experience as a student web designer at the university's Web Development Lab. Before arriving at Tortus, Victoria Chapman spent over two years as a contracted graphic and web designer. Over the past five years, she has also done freelance graphic design and artwork as Weyakin Designs; the name she started while still a student at the University of Connecticut. Now, Victoria adds a unique artistic eye for design to the Tortus team.

See you next month!