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GTS Wins Glass Magazine's 2010 Crystal Achievement Award

wendym — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:40:37 GMT

PORTLAND, OR. – September 9, 2010 – GTS Services, a division of Pittsburgh Glass Works and the leading software and services provider to the glass industry, was honored today by Glass Magazine’s 2010 Crystal Achievement Award for Most Innovative Industry-Specific Software.

GTS GlasPac^®LX Glazier Edition with Microsoft Dynamics^® empowers contract glazing companies to manage and control all aspects of their jobs from estimating to project management through financial accounting and business analysis. GlasPacLX eliminates complex steps and non-value added functions found in competing software solutions to deliver only what a glass company requires to improve profitability.

"One of the best decisions I've ever made was moving to the on-line version of GlasPacLX with Microsoft Dynamics GP." Doug Linderer, Go-Glass Corporation.

Glass Magazine‘s 2010 Crystal Achievement Award winners are selected by a panel of judges representing all segments of the glass industry, the awards recognize the best products and glass applications the commercial, retail and fabrication markets have to offer. This year’s program includes 30 categories but only one winner per category.

“We are honored to be recognized as one of the best products in this industry. We know that contract glaziers are facing tough times during this economic downturn, and our software is making a difference by streamlining and automating their workflow which in turn increases their productivity and reduces overhead costs,” said Mike Jones, president of GTS. “GlasPacLX helps glass companies focus on the most profitable elements of their business.”

GTS is Platnum Sponsor of 2009 Sail for the Cure

wendym — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:51:51 GMT

GTS IS PLATINUM SPONSOR OF 2009 SAIL FOR THE CURE

Software and services provider donates technology needed to manage breast cancer research fundraising event

PORTLAND, OR. -- Sept,11 2009 -- GTS, a division of Pittsburgh Glass Works and a leading software and services provider to the glass industry, is donating $13,000 worth of computer management expertise to the Oregon Women’s Sailing Association’s Sail for the Cure 2009.

“We are honored to be joining forces with the Oregon Women’s Sailing Association to support this year’s Sail for the Cure and its efforts to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research,” said Mike Jones, president of GTS.

Sail for the Cure 2009 celebrates its 10^th anniversary event on Sunday, September 27 at the Portland Yacht Club on the Columbia River. Sail for the Cure includes on-the-water sailing activity, silent and live auctions, music and more.

Sail for the Cure Chairwoman Jeanine Hohn said, "The Oregon Women's Sailing Association is thrilled to receive such an amazing outpouring of support from GTS for the 10th anniversary of Sail for the Cure. Through this donation of technology, we will surely be able to run a very smooth and successful fund-raising event this year."

Some 500 people and 85 boats are expected to participate. The overall fundraising goal for the event is $50,000. Local KATU reporter Shellie Bailey-Shah, a breast cancer survivor, will emcee and Sony Hess, also a breast cancer survivor, will perform with the Sony Hess Band. All net proceeds to the event will be donated to the Oregon and SW Washington affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

GTS Earns Certified For Microsoft Dynamics Accreditation

wendym — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:26:43 GMT

*GlasPacLX Has Met Microsoft’s Highest Standard for Partner-Developed Software Solutions*

Portland, OR., June 22, 2009 – GTS announced today that its GlasPacLX, the leading management software for glass shops, is now Certified for Microsoft Dynamics, which signifies that the solution has met Microsoft Corp.’s highest standard for partner-developed software. By successfully meeting all certification requirements, GlasPacLX can now carry the distinct Certified for Microsoft Dynamics logo.

GTS is one of only two companies in the U.S. to reach this level of integration and certification with Microsoft Dynamics GP and it is the only company serving the glass market to offer this solution. As part of the certification process, GTS was required to provide ten current clients to serve as references during the independent third party certification process and undergo rigorous testing which included 44 significant impact test points.

Solutions that are Certified for Microsoft Dynamics have demonstrated development quality and compatibility with the Microsoft Dynamics product by passing rigorous VeriTest software solution testing. In addition, the Microsoft Dynamics partner must have customers who are successfully using the certified solution and are willing to recommend it, be enrolled in a Partner Service Plan with Microsoft, and be a Gold Certified Partner in the Microsoft Partner Program.

“By requiring both the software solution and the partner to meet our highest standards, Microsoft is assuring customers that these certified solutions work with their investments in Microsoft Dynamics,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners. “Microsoft congratulates GTS Services on achieving the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics status for GlasPacLX by demonstrating its success and commitment in delivering a leading Microsoft Dynamics solution.”

According to Doug Linderer, Chairman, GO-Glass Corporation, the end result is well worth the effort. “GlasPacLX with Microsoft Dynamics GP has the wing-span required to handle all facets of our diversified glass business,” said Linderer.

“This certification from Microsoft is especially gratifying to our business given it requires that customers are successfully using the solution and willing to recommend it to others,” said Mike Jones, President of GTS Services.

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About GTS

© 2009 GTS Services, LLC. All rights reserved. GTS, a division of Pittsburgh Glass Works, is a leading software and services provider to the glass industry. For over 25 years its products have helped glass companies deal with the increasing technical demands of their business and connect them with consumers, suppliers, and insurance companies. The company’s internet marketing experts have a unique approach to simplifying the Web for its customers. Whether it is on-line advertising management, ranking well on search engines, improving customer engagement, or web analytics, GTS keeps pace with the online business trends to deliver high performance – but budget friendly – web strategies. GTS is a Microsoft Certified Gold partner. For more information about GTS products and services, visit www.gtsservices.com and www.scoremywebsite.com

GlasPac, GTS and GTS Services are trademarks of GTS Services, LLC. All other products or company names are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer-relationship and supply-chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

Social Media Best Practices

wendym — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:50:29 GMT

With social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter being all the rage lately, there are bound to be questions about how these popular online tools should be deployed in a business environment. Some companies fully embrace social media, creating Facebook and MySpace profiles and pages, Twitter accounts, and using them to interact with customers, as well as advertise to potential customers, and manage their online reputation. Here are some best practices for implementing social media in your company.

DO use Social Media as a customer service tool. Your customers—and potential customers—are already talking about you online. To their Facebook friends, on their blog or via Twitter. Why not become a part of those conversations? If a customer has a gripe, they are much more likely to post something about it online, and social media is an increasingly popular place for online rants, especially about customer service. Social media is a great way to manage your online reputation. By engaging people who may have experienced a less than optimal situation with your company, you can greatly reduce the amount of negativity associated with your company and brand. Resolving issues in plain view of the general public goes miles towards building a reputation for transparency, as well as building trust in your company/brand. Comcast has been particularly successful at using Twitter to resolve customer issues.

DON’T use social media for recycling data or automated feed dumping. Nothing is worse than a company reposting the same thing that is on their website on their Facebook page or Twitter feed all the time. Linking to the website or blog post from your page/feed is great, but always save some unique information for social media. You want to engage your audience, not recycle information. One recommended use would be posting an online coupon just for your Facebook friends/fans, or Twitter followers. Make sure it is a ‘limited time only’ offer, to ensure the coupon isn’t abused. Some other potential uses would be “web only” deals or specials, free gifts, or complimentary services and perks.

DO be conversational. Monitor your pages and feeds (most social media sites offer email notification for this), and interact with your customers. With Twitter, use “@username” replies and “re-tweet” interesting and relevant posts as much as possible. On Facebook, respond to questions or requests for information on your company or its products. When someone has a gripe, respond publicly, and use the opportunity to show you are human, and willing to work with someone to resolve an issue.

DO have fun and be human. Give your customers some personality to enjoy. Being a social media automaton is not going to get you any fans or followers, and could even hurt your potential to gain new customers. Make social media fun and interesting to your fans and followers, and they will think of you first when they need your product or service.

DON’T be rude or condescending to people online, even if they are a troll or are trying to flame you. Most things posted online can remain there indefinitely. Having rude interactions with people online won’t win you new customers, and will just remind everyone that you didn’t handle a situation appropriately. If needed, you can always appeal to moderators or help staff of the social media platform for help with trolls and people who flame you online.

DON’T share sensitive information. If you are managing a social media presence for your company, you definitely don’t want to post things about layoffs, gossip, and other sensitive or potentially harmful information. Avoid things that could put your company in a negative light, or cause distrust among your potential customers. That’s just common business sense!

DON’T let your page, profile or Twitter stream go stagnant. Social media is all about engagement, and creating a profile or page, and then letting it sit there, is not going to do you any benefit. Post links to interesting articles in your industry. Ask questions, post surveys, contests and/or special offers…anything to engage your fans and get them thinking about your company and its offerings.

Use of social media is growing at an exponential rate. What are you doing to capitalize on these exciting new online tools? Are you doing enough?

Can Your Customers Find you online? (Local Search)

wendym — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:31:31 GMT

Much has been written about advertising on the Internet, and using search engines to get customers to your website, but can those customers really find you in your town? An easy (and free) tool many business owners don’t take advantage of is the “local search” listing section of the major Search Engines.

What is local search? Simply put, local search is a listing within the search engine’s maps database for your business. It is important to note that local business listings are only valid for businesses that have a real physical location. “Virtual” or “mobile” locations are typically not allowed. Local business listings include the company’s name, address, phone number(s), website address, and even hours of business and services offered. And best of all, they are FREE!

As an added bonus, local listings are shown in the local business results section within the regular search engine results page. A Google “10-Box” local business results section is shown below, for the search “commercial roofing products” near Portland, Oregon.

Chances are, your company already has a local business listing on Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft’s Live Search, even if you didn’t enter that information yourself. Here’s why: The major search engines take business information posted on other websites. Data from business review websites, like CitySearch.com, Yelp.com and MerchantCircle.comis imported by the search engines for this purpose as well.

In the example below, the local business listing was created from listings on Super Pages and Dex Knows, and has not been claimed or edited by the business owner. There are 8 additional web pages that mention the company (ABC Supply), and 2 pages of user-generated content, typically blog posts, that also reference the business somewhere online. This business has not received any reviews online, positive or negative.

Some questions to consider about your local business listings:

· Do they exist in the 3 major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN/Live)?

· Is the information they contain correct and relevant to your business?

· Have you claimed your business listing in each of the major engines?

Yes, all of the major engines allow, and actually prefer, business owners to claim their local listings. To quickly find out if your local business listings have been claimed, visit GetListed.org and enter your businesses name and zip code. GetListed.org even gives you easy links to claim your listing in each search engine.

Once you have submitted a claim request to each engine, the engines will verify that you are indeed the business owner by calling you or mailing you a letter with a unique code that must be entered into the listing. After you have verified your ownership and claimed the listing, you are free to edit your listing information. Here are some tips to consider when you do this:

· Make your listings as accurate as possible.

· Place your listing in as many appropriate categories or types as possible in each engine’s local business center.

· Solicit positive reviews from customers! If a customer thanks you for doing a great job, ask them to review your business on Google, CitySearch, Yelp, or other review sites. A good idea would be to create postcards for your company, with the URLs to your local business listing, Yelp, CitySearch, etc…to make it easy for them to find you on those popular review sites.

Total number of reviews, as well as amount of additional user content and web pages helps the local listing to rise within the “10 Box” results section. Note that while negative reviews are not good for the company’s reputation, they do actually help the listing get better rankings in local search, and provide a way for the company to address customer issues publicly, which increases trust.

In review, it is very important to have a good local search strategy in place for your business. You can start by following the tips below:

1. Go to GetListed.org and check your local listings.

2. Claim each listing.

3. Edit/update each listing.

4. Solicit user feedback in the form of reviews and user generated content (blog posts, etc).

5. Ensure your full business address is located on your website.

Does Marketing work in this economy?

wendym — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:58:57 GMT

We all know what’s happening in the economy. We’re living it. Homeowners are in trouble. Home buyers are nowhere to be found. Banks aren’t lending. Consumers aren’t spending. The sky is fall. Responsible businesses are slashing spending across the board to ride out the storm… Or are they? Or should they be?

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business * study, “Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?" , finds that companies that proactively market during a recession not only survive but thrive. Marketing dollars spent during a down economy are more powerful than the same amount spent during the good times, because each dollar represents a greater percentage of the marketing pie.

This isn’t time to launch a huge branding campaign, but it is the time to weigh every penny against results. Just getting your name out there isn’t enough. Accountability is important in every aspect of your business. Marketing shouldn’t get a pass.

· How many people are seeing/hearing your advertisement? (If you can’t answer this you’re losing money!)

· How many people are responding to your ad?(Same as above!)

· Your buyers have changed the way the research and buy. Have you? Forrester Research found that in the next six months 26 percent of interactive marketers plan to increase their interactive marketing investments and 46 percent will maintain them at current levels. GTS' own Mike Jones has a great blog post on this subject.

What have you found that works? Are you doing enough?

*I sincerely apologize to my fellow University of Pittsburgh alumni for noting a Penn State Study. I tried desperately to find something from anywhere else. (It could be worse. It could be West Virginia).

NACE (International Autobody Congress & Exposition) 2008- Las Vegas

wendym — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:59:49 GMT

It is hard to believe NACE was a month ago already! I had hoped to post a recap for everyone as soon as we got back to Portland. It’s been a whirlwind since we returned, partly because NACE was such a great show for us.

Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week (AAIW) took place in Las Vegas November 3-8. AIA consists of three main shows: AAPEX, SEMA and NACE.

To kick the week off our friends at Aquapel were exhibiting at AAPEX and allowed us to spend time in their booth to meet with customers and prospects. Anyone who hasn’t already really needs to check out Aquapel rain repellant. I’ve tried the others, and they don’t come close to stacking up! Aquapel is amazing! www.aquapel.com

We were able to slip away and spend some time at SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). What an overwhelming spectacle SEMA is: 2 Million square feet of exhibits, well over 100,000 people and all kinds of outrageous hotrods & parts that I can’t even describe. The one that sticks in my mind was this crazy motorcycle meets batmobile thing (like I said hard to describe).

With the week in full swing, NACE began November 5^th. GTS’ Internet Marketing Services team had a lot to show off:

· ScoreMyWebsite – This tool continues to be a wealth of information for our customers and prospects. If you haven’t already, check it out now. You can read more about it here

· Speaking engagements—It is great to share our expertise with the industry, and it is always well received.

o NACE- 11/5 We focused on strategies for using online marketing to push offline success.

o NWRA- 11/7 We focused on ways to get immediate return on your Marketing dollar

o IGA- 11/8 We covered advanced strategies for gaining online presense

If you are interested in viewing any of these presentations, please let us know.

· Sonic Rocks- GTS gave away “Sonic Rocks” at our booth. What are Sonic Rocks?

They’re fun and addictive magnetic rocks that you toss in the air to make noise. They were a huge hit! People were coming from far and wide to find GTS to get noise makers. No matter where you were on the NACE exhibit floor you could hear someone playing with their Sonic Rocks.

How is this relevant to GTS’ Internet Marketing Services? It’s simple. Marketing is all about getting noticed. We did it! We have new customers coming in the door today, because we got their attention. Are you doing enough to get noticed? Are people able to find you?

A whirlwind week to say the least!

Things Heard Round the table- "Retaining Good talent Round Table"- Mike Jones moderator

wendym — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:32:55 GMT

Mike Jones moderated a discussion with a group of CC08 attendees this afternoon..." "Retaining Good talent Round Table"

Mike opened the discussion by introducing the "Talent Management in the 21^st Century. Attracting, Retaining and Engaging employees of choice" study. Data obtained during the study helped to frame the conversation moving forward.

Everyone was asked to introduce themselves and their company.

Wess Wenhard ABC Autoglass- 16 employees 3 locations... auto parts based business. Three existing parts stores are expanding to include glass. This reduces the initial investment considerably as the storefront already exists... Great ROI. Two of the three locations have been completed the transition.

Jill Foxworth Dependable Glass- Fabricators, beveling, wholesale. 45 employees. "I love my job and it would be perfect if it weren't for the employees"

Mike Jones- 60 employees GTS

Betsy Evanoff- Glaxis

Scott - Bobs Autoglass- 4 stores Auto, 11 employees

Robert Serpa- Don's Mobile 25% Auto 25% other 50% wardrobe and shower door man. 165 employees

The three keys identified in the Talent Management Study were:

Attracting People

Retaining People

Engaging People

Attracting People

Mike posed the question, "How are you attracting talent today?"

Responses:

Online (most common method)

Used to be word of mouth

Newspaper (all agreed this is prohibit expensive)

Value of LinkedIn network- Mike mentioned what a valuable tool this has proven to be for him. He has been able to leverage the thousands of people he is no linked to as a way to recruit talent (online word of mouth)

Craigslist is emerging as a must use in finding people for a number of people in the group.

According the Talent Management study the top five most important factors to a candidate when looking for employment are:

1. Money
2. Healthcare
3. Work/Life balance
4. Career advancement opportunity
5. A plan in place that individual performance was tied to salary increases

The younger workers just don't have technical skills. "What's a screwdriver?" Work visa employees have allowed them to remain competitive.

Retaining People

Turnover was a HUGE concern for the group overall. The consensus was that CSRs tend to stay around a little longer. The installers & Glaziers however are hard to find and getting harder. "Within 3 weeks you know if they are going to be staying. It's hard to find a younger workforce to do physical labor."

According to the Talent Management study the top five most important factors which make an employee want to stay:

1. They see that the organization values and nurtures talent. The company invests in their talent.
2. Opportunities for learning and development.
3. Company has a good reputation.
4. Feel that they are fairly compensated relative to coworkers.
5. Their management understands what motivates them.

There was some debate on the ROI of training. Some felt they are training for the competition, i.e. "you finally get them up to speed and they leave and work for the competition." Others find efficiencies in training. "Investing upfront in the people is better than the cost of ineffectual training. Shabby workmanship has far more of a negative impact on the business"

Examples given by the group on how they are investing in their employees:

Healthcare was being offered by everyone in the group. Some offerings in particular seemed to be very well received:

"Cafeteria plan" set at a dollar amount. Very flexible.
The health savings account "is what the younger employees are looking for." Younger employees aren't going to the doctor, so they don't want pay for standard insurance. It saves the company money, and the employees see it as a benefit. "Explaining it was the most difficult part."

When asked if the route to advancement was clear to employees, the responses were mixed:

A few found it difficult to define different employee levels on the production side of the business. One company has implemented semi-annual evaluations to help define the development process. "It's important to speak to them so that they understand how they are doing. They won't know the expectation if you don't tell them." Others found they could move people around to find the best fit. This doesn't work in auto... there is nowhere else to go.

OVERWELLMING agreement that the supervisor level is not for everyone. A supervisor must understand what the training is about. Why it is important. Must be committed to the process

"I don't want the headache" mentality makes it difficult to advance people. Always keep that in the conversation. They need to understand that the pay comes with the responsibility. Some of this stems from a generational gap.

"The hardest part will always be letting people go."

"Babysitting!!"

"Freaking Daycare"

Men and Woman handle conflict differently. They also see different things during the interview process the other tends to miss. A few people use both a man and woman interviewer, to take advantage to the different points of view.

GTS uses the Behavioral interview process. Candidates are asked questions based on key characteristics valued as an employee. The group found the technique to be valuable, but weren't sure that it would translate well with manual labor candidates.

It is hard to find people with drivers license.

Everyone in the group does mandatory drug testing as a condition of hire. If there is an accident mandatory drug test is also needed during a defined period of time.

Everyone offered 401Ks, but many employees don't use it.

What is being done to insure the 4^th point above, "Feel that they are fairly compensated relative to coworkers" is being done?

o Some are paying commission on invoice.
o Some are paying performance bonus daily.
o Some are paying a bonus on monthly invoice amount.
o They start hourly and work their way up to commission structure.
o One company shows everyone one every two weeks whether or not each individual employee is profitable. This has proven to be a HUGE motivator.... No one wants to be on the bottom of the list. (Those on the bottom tend to disappear.)

Engaging People

According to the Talent Management study:

Only 21% of employees are highly engaged

15% were disengaged

63 % moderately engaged

Top 5 reasons why people stay at job:

1. Senior management had a genuine interest in employee well being
2. Individual was able to improve their abilities and skills year over year
3. The organization has a good reputation for being a good employer
4. They had the appropriate amount of decision making authority to do their job well
5. Salary policies are fair and consistent

How is everyone handling internet access?

Everyone is using filter tools to limit and or ban use. (Barracuda one example given)

Email is being handled the same way

Some are using intercompany email only

One is re-releasing their internet policies to increase awareness (nothing's changed, but they need a refresher)