I just read in today’s paper about a local business winning an award for their web site and online service. The irony about this award is that this company can’t hire local talent because of their  reputation of being hard to work with. Employees  come and go frequently.

So, it makes me wonder, and seriously doubt, the credibility of the award. Just how much research went into deciding who gets the awards? Look at the staff turnover for the real truth about any company. A high turn over rate is an indicator of a toxic work place and undeserving of any awards of any kind.

A lot can be hidden or covered up with a fancy web site. How many sham web sites exist that look professional and legitamate?

Dig deeper to find the real truth before handing out awards.

A true story: A local business reads their employees emails and Instant Messages. And this company sells stuff for your home such as electronics and appliances. If you’re like me, you’re scratching your head wondering why in the world would this type of business feel the need to do such a thing.

I don’t know their rational. I don’t care to know their rational. All I know is, by choosing to invade their employees privacy shows disrespect and lack of trust. And working there must feel like a prison sentence. You can bet it shows in the level of commitment and attitude of their employees and the quality of their work.

I will admit there are companies where reading emails and IM’s is necessary — MicroSoft, IBM, the Pentagon, and the like. But the company I’m speaking of is located in Missoula, Montana and sells things for your home!

So why do they need to read their employees email and IM is beyond me. All it does is create an unpleasant atmosphere to work. And former employees spread the word. So before you know it, only outsiders apply for work there.

What I think it boils down to is an incompetent manager, who can’t lead or manage, needing the control this offers them. It’s a terrible and destructive way to manage. It does more harm than good. In every healthy company, there is some fun bantering and laughter — building of camaraderie. Instead, in companies like this one, you get stone-cold silence and really, really long work days. Yes the work gets done, but at what cost?

Employees come and go and each one that leaves this company is telling their story to anyone and everyone. Before you know it, the company has earned a reputation that no amount of money and advertising or slick web sites can cover up.

This manager needs to understand the value of TRUST and RESPECT. I suggest taking courses and reading books on management / leadership and learn how to  get employees “loyalty” instead of using intimidation as a coercion to make them produce.

We’ve come a long ways from feudalism. There are better ways to get the job done.

Marketing can do a lot to bring customers to your door. Keeping them in your doors and coming back to do more business with you, is another thing.

A few years ago: I visited a local, long-time, Missoula appliance/electronic store to purchase a MAC computer. I waited and waited for someone to help me. When I realized no one was interested in helping me, I left and bought my MAC elsewhere.

Present time:  I was remodeling my kitchen and needed new appliances. I prefer to shop local so I decided to give the same appliance/electronic store a second chance. Unfortunately, I had a repeat experience. No service. I left and drove down the street to Sears where I got the help I needed and purchased my appliances.

Since then, I’ve had other less-than-positive interactions with the same business and have decided to write them off my list for any kind of relationship. Which is sad, because I really do like supporting local businesses.

They probably won’t even notice I’m not walking in their doors. What’s one “possible” customer? Who cares, right?

Given WOM (Word of Mouth) it can be more than what it appears. You can bet I’m not going to recommend them to anyone I know or meet. I’ll tell my story to anyone willing to listen. And perhaps, they’ll repeat the story down the road to other people inquiring about where to buy appliances or electronics.

A little respect as a customer, and as a professional, would have gone a long ways toward creating a happy life-long relationship.

And it’s so easy to do and costs next to nothing. It will even lower your overall marketing budget. If your business has mavens singing your praises you won’t need to advertise as much. They’ll do it for you.

For better or for worse, WOM is much more effective than spiffy ads and web sites and social network marketing campaigns.

Some businesses are not liking the competition that Joomla and Drupal bring to the web site business.

I can see their side. Besides viewing them as “competition” there may be a problem or two, with these programs.

They must be developed properly to assure security. Following directions is key. You can overcome this by hiring someone who knows the program and can build your site for you and then teach you how to update it. It’s not rocket science. And if you need help, the forums are easy to use and always helpfull.

As with most template CMS systems, you won’t get a truely custom web site. In the proper hands, however, a Joomla expert can change the appearance of a template to come as close to a custom web site as you can get. And with the numerous Joomla templates out there, the posibilites are endless.

The advantage of Joomla and Drupal is the massive collection of web sites offering fantastic template web site designs. The variety to choose from is almost mind-numbing. That alone makes using Joomla or Drupal worth considering.

Plus there are hundreds of free or low cost extensions that offer everything from shopping carts, forums, email newsletters, calendars etc. You name it, I’m sure you can find a Joomla extension that can do it.

But, before jumping into buying an expensive CMS or choosing Joomla or Drupal for your web site, you have to ask yourself is it really something you have time to use? Much like blogs and twitter, it’s a commitment of your time. Is your time better spent tweaking your web site or face-to-face with your customers?

A lot of times we buy more than we need or will ever use. A good example is a cell phone with tons of features and yet all we ever use it for is … making or taking calls. We buy an expensive cell phone with tons of features and never use them.

The same often applies to web sites. We think a web site with an expensive (or almost free) CMS will improve business. In actuality, a well-designed, well-written static web, will do just fine. And save you money too.

Web sites shelf-life is short. In about 2 years you will be looking at a new design. Given that short time span, how often will your web site need to be updated? Realistically, does your business change that much that you need a CMS?

Do you really need a CMS or not? That is the question.

I’m in the middle of reading “Twitter Power” by Joel Comm. If you’re interested in learning about twitter, I recommend reading this book. He explains it in great detail and helpful examples.