September Newsletter

September 29, 2007

There is an old saying that states: “when preparation meets opportunity, you have success.” The rare concurrence of preparation and opportunity can be likened to lightening striking the same spot twice. This is the story of how lightning found it’s way onto the web and how online retailer Design Within Reach was prepared!

A few weeks ago, I was at a gathering of friends, (or better said), a cocktail party. I ran into an old friend, who I will call “Jane.” I hadn’t seen “Jane” in quite some time. “Jane” is a lovely woman and a successful business owner. She’s worked diligently at building her business over the last 20 years. Happy to see her, I launched right into the following conversation:

“What’s new with you?” I inquired tritely. Jane smiled and replied: “Not too much.” I continued by saying: “Well something must be new and exciting in your life?” Casually, Jane replied: “Well, I just bought an Airstream Unlimited Edition a 5th wheel! You know one of those classic silver trailers?”

Since Tortus works with many RV retailers, this bit of information immediately piqued my interest.

So I asked: “Where did you buy this Airstream?” To my surprise, Jane supplied that she purchased the RV on the web!

I thought I knew exactly how she went about her purchase. Since 5th wheels can cost $50,000 or more, she must have researched the market on the web, traveled to a local dealer, (hopefully one of our clients), inspected the actual RV in person, and bought it at the dealership.

To confirm my suspicions, I asked: “Oh, which dealer did you buy it from?” Jane said, “I bought it online, sight unseen from Design Within Reach.”

Despite my experience and knowledge of the growing success of ecommerce businesses, I was taken back.

A $50,000+ purchase online from www.dwr.com! Design Within Reach is high-end contemporary furniture and furnishings web retailer already. Now they just sold a 5th wheel!

Wow, this is great example of preparation + opportunity = Success story.

Lightning struck…twice.

See you next month with email marketing ideas on how to build great broadcast email list for your business!

Tortus Talk

The pond is beginning to show some signs of Fall. Friend frog has left for deeper water to hibernate in this winter. And Don Dragon Fly has simply disappeared.

But good news for humans! We are running an exciting promotion! Find out how to receive free broadcast email software for one year (a $3,100 value) when using our Ezweb outsource program. If you don't already know about Tortus' EZWeb program it is the outsource solution for growing organizations who want to best utilize the web as a tool for growth—and pay only as you go. This offer expires on October 31st, so make sure to check out all the details here.

On to standard pond fare. We are holding two exectutive seminars in October. The first seminar, Send it Right: Email Marketing will be held here at Tortus on October 24th, at 9:00am. The second, Integrated Marketing Plan will be held on October 31st at 9:00am. Seating is limited, (15 per seminar, and available on a first come first serve basis), so contact Caitlin Casali today to sign-up.

See you next month!