CRM Update – May 09 : 1:07 pm

Reporter on the phone? Use these rules to manage the conversation to minimize damage and maximize benefit.Your start-up probably doesn’t have a high-powered PR firm to handle calls from the media. So, you’re on your own when a consumer reporter–like me–shows up or calls about a complaining customer.It’s a tricky situation: These days, the classic “no comment” is often seen as an admission of guilt. On the other hand, anything you say can, and might, be used against you.Just to make sure it’s a fair fight…

Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Hoodie a “Mark of Immaturity”
Mark Zuckerberg went to a meeting in New York on Monday with potential investors wearing a hoodie, and analyst Michael Pachter thinks it’s a mark of immaturity. “I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money,” Pachter said in an interview on Bloomberg TV…

When you have interesting collectibles in your house that you no longer have room for, what do you do with them? Reader pop top has acquired a collection of mint-condition Cabbage Patch Kids from the ’80s. Okay, she won’t be able to retire on them, but they must be worth at least a few bucks each. Years ago, the question of where to sell them was simple: eBay was the best and biggest marketplace for collectibles. But horror stories of frozen funds and scammy buyers now abound, and she wants to ask the Consumerist hive mind: where is the best place to unload some cuddly dolls?

My step-mom recently cleaned out the attic in her house and found her father’s old collection of Cabbage Patch Dolls (he does not want these dolls, we checked)…

Use this tool to figure out your employees’ key strengths and take the best advantage of them.I spend a lot of time with CEOs and senior sales executives talking about the qualities of great people. Often, because of what I do, the conversation focuses on sales people–but the discussion is valuable for all areas of your business.The key takeaway: Learn to leverage what people are best at.As an example, let’s use the sales process as a way to evaluate a team. Start by creating a grid to rate your sales people in each of several areas…

Got an iPad? You may not know it yet, but that means you have a portable object duplicator in your hands. The key to unlocking its abilities is an app that lets you capture and create 3D renderings of objects in the real world. Once you’ve captured the object, it’s super-simple to send the rendering to a 3D-printing service and have it made.
From Autodesk, the free app is called 123D Catch and is part of the company’s suite of 3D graphics software. Autodesk previewed it before, but as of Wednesday morning it’s live in the App Store, ready for download…

Social, local, mobile are three words marketers are hearing more and more these days.And sometimes we may even hear them uttered together in one breath as SoLoMo.With an increase of users relying on mobile phones, tablets and their accompanying geo-location technology, businesses today are increasingly finding the need to think locally. So, how does SoLoMo work for businesses?In this post, we’ll introduce 26 tips, an A-Z guide for location-based marketing.#1: AnalyticsIf you’ve been wondering about location-based marketing, chances are that you’ve thought about how you’ll go about measuring performance…

The Global Innovation Series is presented by BMW i, a new concept dedicated to providing mobility solutions for the urban environment. It delivers more than purpose-built electric vehicles — it delivers smart mobility services. Visit bmw-i.com or follow @BMWi on Twitter.
As gas prices continue to climb along with car maintenance costs and environmental concerns, the concept of carpooling to work and around town has never been more appealing. But there’s a lot of hassle and research that goes into finding a reliable person to share a ride with — not to mention the safety concerns…

Social Media Participants to Marketers: It’s About Being Social
When it comes to social media, marketers can’t help making mistakes. [Check out When Social Media Goes Bad.] In their rush to embrace this hot marketing format or promote their latest campaign, marketers forget everything they’ve learned about social media and ignore its rules assuming this one time won’t matter. But it does, especially to the social media participants they’re trying to reach.
Here are ten social media mistakes marketers can’t help making because social media differs from the way they’ve always done marketing…

Microsoft made available for download Silverlight 5.2.10411.0 on May 8. Here’s what’s included in this minor update.

Are you giving away profit because of habits, attitudes, policies or procedures that irritate and alienate your customers or clients? Here’s how to find out.Questionable fashion choices, braying laughter, supporting the Mets– we all have our blind spots, right? There are things we just can’t see for ourselves, even if the world is telling us otherwise. Businesses are exactly the same. Every business has its own blind spots: The effective or inefficient activities which, unlike personal blind spots, cost money…

Data segmentation is one of the most useful tools when creating online surveys. The process helps your business identify opportunities for growth, target communication toward specific audiences, and reduce costs from having multiple survey campaigns. QuestionPro has different types of data segmentation grouping options available, including Custom Variable Based and Time Based. Lets look at data segmentation and what it can do for your survey research.
Segmentation lets you sort responses based on parameters such as question responses, custom variables or time frames…

A few years ago, Justin had workers from Lowe’s come install carpet in his house. After the warranty on the work had expired, the carpet began to stretch out in high-traffic areas. Even though he’s not a professional carpet installer, Justin does have extensive experience with walking on floors, and knows that’s not how it’s supposed to work. He researched possible causes, learned that it was due to an installation error, and tried to get Lowe’s to admit their mistake and fix the problem…

The Concept_One electric supercar from the workshop of Croatian automaker Rimac Automobili has some impressive specifications on paper, but can it deliver the goods in real life? Judging by the latest video of the car in action, the answer is: yes, it can.
The Concept_One is currently a prototype, which will be available in limited quantities for the hefty price of $980,000.
On paper, it has other-wordly specs, putting other electric supercars to shame: Its 1088 hp take you to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, with a top speed of 190 mph…

When you pitch a banker or venture capitalist, you may think you’re asking for money. That’s not really how it works.I recently listened to a management team practicing their money-raising pitch. The pitch was well-honed and hit all the right notes. The management team was adept at looking at their business from the outside, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and outlining how they would use the money. They deftly raised questions that an investor would ask, then showed how those concerns weren’t real or could be mitigated…