I just wanted to take a moment to reinforce how much we appreciate all the input we’ve received from all of you. Even if we aren’t able to add something that you’ve been waiting for, much of what we do here is based directly on customer feedback. From features, to fixes, to new applications, we always look to what our customers tell us as we go to make decisions.
Does this mean that we can always do the things you ask for? Unfortunately no, if for no other reason than that for every person who asks for Feature A there is a person asking for Feature B, and at some point we have to make a choice. At the same time, we never take requests or comments lightly, even if it only comes from one person.
So thank you again for all of your feedback, and absolutely keep it coming. And over the coming week, expect to see some posts where we specifically ask you for your input on some of the challenges we’re facing!
I know everyone is waiting with bated breath for the release of the sync component for iPhone. I’ve heard the grumbling and I don’t blame people for being impatient. And what I talk about here isn’t meant to make you feel happy or wash away frustrations. I just want to address these concerns, especially for folks new to dealing with Ilium Software, so you understand the way we do things.
I’m also writing this because when we first created this blog, we told you that we’d give you a little insight into what happens behind the scenes at Ilium Software. The things I talk about here really highlight the sort of decisions and challenges we face everyday. So if you’re interested, read on after the jump!
So let’s talk about releasing software. Here is my philosophy…
First and foremost, I will never release an application that isn’t ready. Period. If that means releasing it a week, two weeks, or even a month late, then that’s what I’ll do. I hate to do it. It screws things up here when we release past our deadline, it is frustrating for folks waiting for it, but quality is the number one most important issue when it comes to our software.
Of course that leads to the question of “then why did you release eWallet without sync?” I’ve actually addressed this a few times - same answer. While some folks can’t even use eWallet without sync, a lot of folks are perfectly happy with a device only solution. So, for those people, eWallet without sync was everything they needed and we could give that to them on day one. And the application we released is, in my opinion, the best in class. Sync for iPhone is a “new feature” and not a requirement for eWallet to be a fantastic product on its own.
Second, I hate giving release dates and generally I don’t. In fact up until this iPhone release, we have never given release dates for anything. And after this release I doubt you’ll see release dates given for other products. We’re not stopping because of this release, but for the same reason we never posted release dates in the past: software releases aren’t like building a car. You can’t predict exactly how long it will take to put all the parts together. Unforeseen problems come up. Glitches happen.
So why did we give a release date for this and the original release? Well for the initial release, we gave a date because Apple said “It will be out on this date!” Seemed safe to us. Ah well. Live and learn. And for the sync release, we wanted to assure our loyal customers that we really were going to release a sync component. We wanted to assure folks that sync wasn’t just a cool idea we had but something we were working on.
And boy, did we work on it. As I’ve said before, not only did we work on this thing constantly, putting in many extra hours to get it done, we even brought in contractors. We take our promises very seriously. Did we get it out to customers by the end of August as we’d predicted? Sadly we didn’t. I’m really sorry about that and it frustrates me. At the same time, the entire project was complete by August 27th and considering the challenges we faced along the way (we killed three computers during development - we must have overworked them!) I’m really pleased at the speed with which the team here got the work done. (My thanks to all of them!)
Third, whatever we do should treat the customer right. We gave out a LOT of free desktop software to thank folks for buying early (just ask Kevin, Lee, and Don who had to fulfil all of those requests!) We effectively halved our potential revenue as a way to show our customers that they always come first. Did we take a major hit? Absolutely. Do we think it was worth it? Without a doubt. This is how we’ve done business since day one and I like to think that this is part of the reason we’re still here 11+ years later. Now for some folks, it isn’t enough. I understand and respect that, but at least I know we did all that we could to help out the folks who supported us.
I’ll close by saying I don’t blame folks for being frustrated. I know this software is important to a lot of people. I also know that for some folks, sync makes the difference between eWallet being useful or memory filler on their phone. I also want to make clear that I don’t blame Apple. After the initial release we knew just what to expect from Apple. So does that mean it’s our fault? You bet. In fact as Product Manager I take full responsibility for a late release.
But at the same time, while I’m sorry for the wait, I wouldn’t have done it any different. The end result is a fantastic product we’re all very proud of, and one that we really believe is going to make folks lives easier. Releasing the stand alone version first made a lot of people really happy. Releasing the sync component a little bit late means we’re releasing the best software we could build that will work properly the first time you use it.
In the end, folks that purchase eWallet will have the best product in its class, that works every time they use it, with the best support in the industry to back it up.
So here we are, fielding hundreds and hundreds of email questions, desktop software requests, and much more, and guess what happens?
The email server dies.
Again.
OK, to be fair it didn’t die on Monday. It just went down for awhile which put us behind on our email responses. Today, however, the thing finally went belly up. Although we didn’t lose any emails UPDATE: It looks like we COULD have lost some emails if they came in between 12AM ET and 8AM ET. If you think you may have emailed us during that period you might want to resend!
We are working hard to get replies out to everyone in a timely fashion. Fortunately, the trouble on Monday got us moving in the “Get a replacement, STAT!” direction, so recovery won’t be too bad.
The bad part is that email replies will likely be slower than usual, and we’re very sorry about that. We pride ourselves on quick email turn-around, and this is just the sort of thing that makes us crazy. We’re even bringing in a temp to help get things rolling again, so hopefully we’ll get to everyone before the weekend!
In the meantime, if you haven’t heard from us yet, at least you know why. And if it’s an emergency, remember that you can always give us a call!
I’m convinced that everyone looks better in a hat. Not these hats, however.
We had so much fun with our earlier caption contests (here and here), that we can’t resist having another one. But rather than trying to caption yet another picture of the 9 of us standing outside our building, you get to caption a few of us as individuals. And to make it really easy, we’re wearing hats, wigs or masks.
Just send us a caption for any of the photos below (with some indication of which photo you’re captioning) for your chance to win today’s prizes. As before, send your entries as replies to this post, and enter as many times as you like. The winners will be selected and announced tomorrow.
Click on any photo to enlarge it
This is the second contest in our week-long 11 year anniversary celebration. We’ll give away one $121 Amazon gift certificate for the best and funniest entry, and runner-up prizes of a complete package of our software and swag to many others. Enter as many times as you like, by sending your entries as a replies to this post. Employees and friends of Ilium Software aren’t eligible to win the prizes, but are welcome (and encouraged) to participate anyway. Today’s contest closes at 9:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow morning.
Today is our 11 year anniversary! Yes, we’ve been making and selling mobile and desktop software for 11 years. We’ll be celebrating it all this week, and you get the presents!
Every day this week, we’ll have a contest. Of course we’ll have copies of our software as prizes, but since we know that many of the people who read this have most of our software already, we’ll also be giving away one or more $121 Amazon gift cards(that’s 11 times 11), each day. So check back daily - we’ll have entertaining reading and fun prizes.
And because we never have a celebration without a sale, every day this week, you can get 55% off any of our software. Just visit www.iliumsoft.com/elevenyears to start shopping - you’ll see the discount in your cart when you’re ready to checkout.
Today’s contest follows. But first, I want to thank everyone who’s been so very helpful and supportive of us over the last 11 years. We couldn’t have done it without you! I’m not going to make a list - I started to, but it was a very long list, and I got worried about inadvertently leaving someone off. But - you know who you are. Reviewers and writers, beta testers and customers, friends, supporters, partners, people who send us suggestions, information and kind words. We really could not have done it without you. Many, many, many thanks to everyone.
Marketing is a tricky business, and one wrong move can set you back twice as far as a good campaign can move you forward. We recently posted an article entitled “Windows has left the building!”, talking about an ill-conceived marketing tag-line that appeared at the Microsoft website. The reason this caught our eye wasn’t just a chance to laugh at Microsoft. We happen to like Microsoft a LOT over here at Ilium Software. Instead, it was a chance to see how even a company like Microsoft, with all of its resources, can miss something simple and end up hurt by it.
First impressions are a huge part of marketing. It isn’t about what the customer thinks after they’ve taken time to dig into your message and really understand it. The sad reality is that most customers never bother. Rather, it is the immediate, visceral response your message generates.
Using the “Windows has left the building!” tag-line as an example, the phrase is (obviously for many folks) based off the famous “Elvis has left the building!” line. Using a well known and familiar line and tweaking it is a great way to strike a familiar chord in your audience. Unfortunately, the original line was about the King leaving the stage. The show was over. Everyone could go home. It wasn’t about Elvis hitting the street to do a show for the crowd out there. He was done. Finis.
So, when Microsoft uses this line they are accidentally saying, “Show’s over folks! The King is done and has left the stage!” Someone at the Microsoft PR firm deserves a swift kick for this snafu. I mean yeah, when you think it through you can figure out what they mean, but unfortunately by then it is too late. They’ve made their impression.
I’ll leave you with a great, simple example of this that I learned in a fantastic marketing class at University of Michigan. A professor said, “Unless you are an exterminator, never get a flyswatter with your company name on it. Having your product directly associated with bug guts does not create a positive impression in the minds of the customer.”
I just wanted to take a moment to reinforce how much we appreciate all the input we’ve received from all of you. Even if we aren’t able to add something that you’ve been waiting for, much of what we do here is based directly on customer feedback. From features, to fixes, to new applications, we always look to what our customers tell us as we go to make decisions.
Today is our 11 year anniversary! Yes, we’ve been making and selling mobile and desktop software for 11 years. We’ll be celebrating it all this week, and you get the presents!