3. Request for more info: How can I help?
    For media quotes and interviews: media@stephdokin.com
    For speaker, panelist, M.C. requests: speaker@stephdokin.com
    View Stephen King's profile on LinkedIn

  5. Categories

      Business: Accounting, B2B, Big Data, Events, Government, Industry, Investing, Leadership, Occupy, Research, Startup, Tech Community (Alberta), Tech Community (Global)
      Technology: Cloud, Design, Development, eCommerce, Gadgets, Hacking, Hardware, Innovation, Mobile, SaaS, Social Media Tools, Software, Web Development
      Commercialization: Advertising, Branding, Content Marketing, Crowdsourcing, Customer Loyalty, Inbound Marketing, Online community, Outbound Marketing, Research, Sales Pipeline, SEO / PPC, Social Media, Tools, Viral

  1. Stephen King Thinking

    1-20 of 20

    1. Guessing vs. Knowing: The Role of Customer Loyalty in the SaaS Sales Funnel

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (May 14 2012) Big Data , eCommerce , SaaS , Customer Loyalty , Inbound Marketing , Outbound Marketing , Sales Pipeline , SEO / PPC , Social Media
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Guessing vs. Knowing: The Role of Customer Loyalty in the SaaS Sales Funnel

      In a previous post, I described the SaaS Sales Funnel where marketers can help customers emerge from the murky ooze of the world wide web and drive towards paying for products and services. Now, let's apply customer loyalty measurements to creating accelerated and sustained revenue growth. There are three ways a company can make money: 1) Getting existing customers to buy from you again -- in SaaS pricing models, this is typically on a recurring monthly basis. 2) Getting new customers. 3) Getting existing customers to buy more things from you -- in SaaS, this means enticing customers into the next ...

      (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Google

    2. The ABC's of the SaaS Sales Funnel [Graphic]

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Apr 15 2012) Leadership , Cloud , eCommerce , Mobile , SaaS , Social Media Tools , Advertising , Inbound Marketing , Outbound Marketing , Sales Pipeline , Social Media , Viral
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      The ABC's of the SaaS Sales Funnel [Graphic]

      Everything we do in a company is about selling. We all know that, right? ABC. "Always Be Closing," is the infamous sales motivation line from Alec Baldwin's character in the movie "Glengarry Glenross." I’ve been spending a lot of time with Go-To-Market strategies, campaigns and launches with my Stephdokin clients and other companies I pal around with -- I’ve been thinking about the journey of building awareness for your product and brand all the way to a happy customer giving you money on a frequent basis. I present to you … The “Stephdokin SaaS Sales Funnel-On-A-Page.” 

      (Read Full Article)

    3. Social Media and The Customer Focused CMO [Report]

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Mar 27 2012) Leadership , Social Media Tools , Content Marketing , Social Media , Viral
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Social Media and The Customer Focused CMO [Report]

      The folks at CMO.com have put together a good analysis of various social media platforms from the perspective of i) Customer Communication, ii) Brand Exposure, iii) Traffic to your site and iv) Impact on SEO. Here's a link to a .PDF of the report:http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/images/2012/03/SocialMediaCheatSheet2012.pdfAnd, the CMO.com site has the original data, which is updated from time to time ... you should Pinterest it, fer shure: http://www.cmo.com/social-media-guide/2012/

      (Read Full Article)

    4. A Day In The Internet MBAOnline [Infographic]

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Mar 10 2012)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      A Day In The Internet MBAOnline [Infographic]

      Did you ever feel like there is a bunch o' stuff going on that you're missing? This new staggering graphic by MBAOnline exemplifies this exponentially. Excellent compilation from the folks at MBAOnline. Of course, there's no way a single person can consume this much information. So it leaves one to wonder at the incredible fabric that we weave together. Big Data? Naw. Big Life. Meandering thoughts after an intense week at 11:39 pm on a Friday night. Hope you're having fun -- 'cause that's kinda what it's all about! Here's to you, and here ...

      (Read Full Article)

    5. 9 Ways To Screw Up QR Codes at Trade Shows [Infographic]

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Mar 5 2012) Events , Mobile , Advertising , Outbound Marketing , Sales Pipeline , Tools
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      9 Ways To Screw Up QR Codes at Trade Shows [Infographic]

      I had the special treat of going with my niece and her 9 lady entourage to a local Wedding trade show. Needless to say, between the tiny tastes of chocolate and the runway models, I had some time on my hands -- so I got to thinking about the trade show industry, and how mobile technology is surely, and slowly, creeping into the sales process. It can be a missed opportunity. My guess was that 99% of the brides and grooms had smartphones, yet less than 10% of the booths sported a mobile QR code! For those that didn't have ...

      (Read Full Article)

    6. Tax Credit for Investments in Technology Companies in Alberta?

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Feb 28 2012)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Tax Credit for Investments in Technology Companies in Alberta?

      I posted this article originally on TechVibes. An Open Letter to the Premier of Alberta, The Honourable Alison Redford “Albertaʼs challenge is to support a strong oil and gas industry and leverage the strength of this sector to broaden and diversify Albertaʼs economy” -- Government of Alberta Strategic Plan 2011-2014. A grassroots movement to reach Premier Redford on the road to the Alberta general election this year has started in the form of a new website: AlbertaTechnology.com. You can sign the petition here. This very well-crafted discussion on the notion of some type of direct tax credit or flow-through share ...

      (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Calgary

    7. Selling with the Sincerity of a Snake-oil Salesman

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Feb 12 2012) Accounting , B2B , Branding , Customer Loyalty
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Selling with the Sincerity of a Snake-oil Salesman

      This is a story about using Customer Loyalty research to create lasting and believable marketing benefit messages. I recently had the pleasure of refreshing the brand and marketing statements of one of my clients, Jazzit (http://www.jazzit.pro), a software company that creates financial statement and reporting templates for accountants. Their software is amazing with extremely happy customers, but their messaging was lagging behind in terms of telling their great story. In particular, and something that is typical in many B2B SME technology firms -- they had the problem of empty and unfocused marketing benefit statements.  What are "empty and ...

      (Read Full Article)

    8. Trilogy Software Raises $3.3M in Private Equity

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Dec 20 2011) Accounting , B2B , Investing , Startup , Tech Community (Alberta) , Tech Community (Global) , Innovation
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Trilogy Software Raises $3.3M in Private Equity

      Calgary-based Trilogy Software announced today that it has raised $3.3M in private equity with funds from founders and local and North American private investors. Read the full press release. This is CEO Cameron Peters 3rd company. He co-created Cantax Software in the 1980’s (now part of CCH), and and co-founded GreenPoint Software and the ProFile Tax Application Suite in the 1990’s, (I had the pleasure to be a co-founder, as well). GreenPoint was acquired by Intuit in 2000, after which Cameron served as CTO for Intuit Canada and U.K.   $3.3M for a first raise for ...

      (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Canada

    9. Facebook Hacked ... The Geeks Inherit The Earth

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Dec 8 2011) Tech Community (Global) , Hacking , Online community , Social Media
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Facebook Hacked ... The Geeks Inherit The Earth Notice that I removed the word “Shall” from the title of this blog post After I caught the news about the Facebook hack, I meandered around the internet, thought about some recent events and am connecting loose dots for those that haven’t heard about the goings on. Hell, maybe I'm way behind the eight-ball on this stuff, but it's worth noting. It all could be a “Blair Witch Project” or “Joaquin Phoenix” type hoax, so please take this lightly. Or, not. Prefacing all of this is what I took away from Leonard Brody’s talk at the ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Canada   Facebook   Calgary

    10. Edmonton's Empire Avenue? What's the point?

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Dec 3 2011) Startup , Tech Community (Alberta) , Social Media Tools , Online community
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Edmonton's Empire Avenue? What's the point? Empire Avenue out of Edmonton is interesting. Using the stock market as a metaphor, members of the community can buy shares in you using a virtual currency at your going stock price. Using a social aggregator algorithm, Empire Avenue evaluates and quantifies what is now commonly referred to as "social leverage"; counting and evaluating your tweets, re-tweest, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, Youtube activity, Blogs, Flickr, ... you get the idea. Combine that with your engagement and performance in the Empire Avenue "stock market" platform itself; how often and how much do you invest, etc..., and you get a single score ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Facebook

    11. Orpyx wins A100 One To Watch 2011 at Startup Calgary Launch Party

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Dec 2 2011) Startup , Tech Community (Alberta) , Innovation
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Orpyx wins A100 One To Watch 2011 at Startup Calgary Launch Party Wicked awesome Startup Calgary Launch party last night. About 350 people filled the Roderick Mah Centre at Mount Royal. Great networking and buzz; it's a continued validation that our tech scene is both exploding in both quantity and quality. Festivities got under way around 5:00. Ninecompanies presented to a select crowd of about 50 V.I.P.'s (C100, A100 and Investors) : Opryx,Minigroup, Hubblr, Kudos, Vision Player, New Panda, Transithub, Community Point, and Core Connect. The three companies selected to pitch in front of the full crowd, who had filled the hall by about 7:30, wereOrpyx ... (Read Full Article)

    12. The Art of Leadership in Calgary Engages, Entertains, Educates and Bemuses

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Nov 9 2011)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      The Art of Leadership in Calgary Engages, Entertains, Educates and Bemuses I spent Tuesday at The Art of Leadership conference at the Jack Singer Hall in Calgary. An excellent day with great speakers and good networking. Kudos to TechVibes for being a sponsor. I've always been a strong proponent of personal development … as I say, "I'm never as good as the person I will become" … but I was reflecting that I've been very focused on technical and business skills as of late, so it was great to step back and hear the latest in leadership development. Since, after all, the way we accomplish great things is with great ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Canada   Calgary

    13. AccelerateAB in Calgary significant milestone in tech community growth

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Aug 16 2011)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      AccelerateAB in Calgary significant milestone in tech community growth As many of you know, I am a generally optimistic fellow. Even still, I was pleasantly surprised at the success and exposure of AccelerateAB in Calgary yesterday. Organizer's capped the attendance at about 350, and told me that 100 more were turned away.  Everyone felt the energy ... a great event; combined effort of the C100, A100, TEC Edmonton, Innovate Calgary, Alberta Enterprise, Startup Edmonton and Startup Calgary. Kudos to Cynthia Titchkosky and Carey Houston for organizing a great event. Carey tells me the event resonated as a big step forward in community building: Industry partners are willing to step ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Canada   Innovate Calgary   Calgary

    14. Calgary’s Simmering High-Tech Community Set to Explode - Part Two

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Jul 4 2011) Tech Community (Alberta)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Calgary’s Simmering High-Tech Community Set to Explode - Part Two         I started writing for Techvibes about the Calgary, Canadian and Global tech scene a couple of years ago. Here's the post I did regarding Calgary's Simmering High-Tech Community Set To Explode from January 2008. To quote myself :) "Calgary's high-tech scene is swimming in a sea of oil and gas" ... and that is still very much true. Many of the things that I wrote in that prior article still resonate: The tech sector is large and contributes significantly to Alberta's economy (is the third largest industry behind Oil/Gas and Agriculture)  No-one outside of the sector really ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Innovate Calgary   Calgary

    15. Top Ten 2011 Mobile Predictions

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Jan 4 2011)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Top Ten 2011 Mobile Predictions Our customers (mobile developers, product and brand managers, ad agencies, telecoms, handset manufacturers) are taking advantage of Mob4Hire’s mobile usability testing and market research services to make sure they lead the world in the mobile revolution. So, with that in mind, we put our rose-colored glasses on, and identified these top 10 opportunities / challenges that will effect our customers the most in 2011.PREDICTION NUMBER 1The Platform Race is Far From Over.We don’t know if it’s wishful thinking or what, but there are lots of people out there saying, “The race is over, and the two ... (Read Full Article)

    16. New Report "Impact of Mobile on Network Operators" illustrates cost-effective global mobile market research tools

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Aug 13 2010) Mobile , Research
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      New Report "Impact of Mobile on Network Operators" illustrates cost-effective global mobile market research tools  When doing market research with Mob4Hire, I can't think of ANYWHERE you can get this kind of high-quality global access to mobile users with respect to SPEED OF RESULTS and INEXPENSIVE COST OF PANEL SAMPLE.In collaboration with Dr. Hayes from BusinessOverBroadway.com, we recently released our new report "The Impact of Mobile Apps on Network Operator Customer Loyalty." 26 pages jammed pack with insights, figures and data about how users view their network operators performance as it relates to their mobile app ecosystem.Highlights and other info from the report can be found here:http://www.mob4hire.com ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Apple

    17. How to make a Big Brand Mobile App not suck

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Jul 10 2010) Innovation , Mobile
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      How to make a Big Brand Mobile App not suck Steve Jobs has said that if Apple were led by market research they would never have introduced the products they do - they design with a conviction that what they make is great. More generally, testing new tech is always risky, as people don't know what they're going to like. For apps, how do we get beyond what people “say they would like” and get to the things that will be big hits longer term? In other words, “sticky”. “Sticky” is a term used to describe apps that get used frequently, persist on handsets over time, get recommended to ... (Read Full Article)

    18. Top Ten 2010 Mobile Predictions

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Dec 29 2009) Mobile
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Top Ten 2010 Mobile Predictions At the end of 2009, as we celebrate a year of mobile innovation and growth, we thought we'd throw our hat into the ring with some brave predictions for the industry in 2010. Next year at this time, we'll have a look back and see how we did. Thanks to all our customers, testers, and partners for making this such as great year for Mob4Hire and for crowd-sourced testing ... we're doing great things together! This list was put together by myself, Stephen King (Mob4Hire CEO), Paul Poutanen (President and Founder), and John Carpenter (CTO). On behalf of ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Google

    19. Mobile App Stores: Fear The One Star

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Nov 10 2009)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Mobile App Stores: Fear The One Star Understanding the dimensions of Customer Loyalty is a primary market research requirement for many software companies, but in the world of mobile apps, a one star rating on your app is the kiss of death. I've worked with my good friend, Dr. Bob Hayes, Ph.D., www.businessoverbroadway.com , on many occasions, as his customer loyalty science is the best in the business. As a quick primer, Dr. Hayes defines customer loyalty in three dimensions; Retention, Advocacy and Purchasing. Measuring, understanding and improving these 3 dimensions of customer loyalty gives firms an opportunity to exponentially grow their revenue 3 ... (Read Full Article)

    20. Calgary’s Simmering High-Tech Community Set to Explode

      Explore Stephen King Thinking (Jan 16 2009) Tech Community (Alberta)
      by Stephen King (Stebankag)

      Calgary’s Simmering High-Tech Community Set to Explode I recently attended a Material Insight event, hosted by VC and author Guy Kawasaki with a panel from noted success stories in Calgary. It’s premise: Calgary-based tech companies includingVoodooPC, iStockphoto, StumbleUpon, Veer and NovAtel have all been acquired by international technology mega-players. We ask Calgary's tech elite if our city is becoming a hotbed of sought-after technology? I experienced a bit of this acquisition euphoria when our company, Greenpoint Software, was acquired by Intuit in 2000. But, nowhere in the stratosphere of the recent iStockphoto $50M sale to Getty Images, StumbleUpon to eBay for $75M, Bioware and Pandemic ... (Read Full Article)

      Mentions:   Calgary

    21. 1-20 of 20