Have you heard? 37signals is working on the next version of Basecamp cleverly dubbed Basecamp Next. Set to launch in early 2012 the announcement is either further evidence that Fried and DHH have way, way too much time on their hands, or they’ve seen the future and it is Next. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.
Tinkering with a business tool like Basecamp could create real problems for the folks up in Chicago. Up until now we haven’t really had a reason to evaluate competing products, a fact one of our customers, a 37signals competitor, would welcome. Rolling out Basecamp Next is just such a reason.
As we ponder our 2012 strategy at VLG, the thought that we’ll see a bump in productivity while the team gets acquainted with whatever Next looks and feels like gives us pause. Maybe it’s time to explore other options. Maybe it’s time to reassess how we use Basecamp. Or, should we just sit back and see what’s next?
My name is Michael, and I’m an addict. From social media to web-based and iPhone apps I am guilty of a leap-then-look mentality. If you tell me you found a smoking hot iPhone app for 80’s trivia I will download it without giving it a second thought. Tell me about a great new time management application online, I’m there. Yes, I’ll register for inclusion in the industry specific directory of advertising movers and shakers.
Now I find myself in the ugly position of having no earthly idea what I’ve signed up for, how, why or when. What good are all these time management, SEO friendly, networking savvy applications if I don’t use them?
So many apps, so little brand loyalty
This post would be really awesome if provided a link applications that keep track of everything. I know the apps are out there, but if I sign up it’s just another login ID and password and URL I have to remember. Yep, I have a problem. Admitting the problem is the first step.
It’s so difficult to track case dropboxes, rendering the feature pretty much useless. However a new shortcut allows you to put those files away using a simple forward slash (/deal AA Fly Home, for example). You’ll keep those deal and case names shorter to really get the benefit of the new feature, so impact how you use the app. When will we get API access to add tags to contacts? Still patiently waiting for that…
Basecamp is changing its domain. If you’re one of our customers you are very familiar with this online project management app, because we force feed you Basecamp to track milestones, copy, version control, etc. For three years we directed clients to vialunagroup.grouphub.com. The “group.group” redundancy drives us crazy. The nice people at 37signals recently came to the rescue and will migrate all accounts to the basecamphq.com root domain. Thank you, thank you.
Don’t worry. You can still manage your projects through both vialunagroup.grouphub.com and vialunagroup.basecamphq.com. Plenty of time to make the switch before 37signals flips the switch on grouphub.com. The only knock I have is that you’ll have to login with your OpenID, or regular-style username when you hit vialunagroup.basecamphq.com for the first time. No biggie.
We are big, big fans of Basecamp, a slick online project management tool built by 37signals, and would recommend the tool to anyone bothered by Microsoft Project’s complicated user interface. You can sign up for a FREE account by following this link.
FYI–For years our customers called Basecamp by antoher name, Grouphub, which could explain why 37signals decided to made the change. Long-term brand integrity was at stake.
Our use of Basecamp and Highrise borders on religion. Seriously, we use Basecamp not only to manage our clients’ projects, but to administer the entire company. Marketing plan, in there. Accounting, in there. Brand guidelines, in there. It goes on and on. We leverage the Highrise CRM for all relationships with vendors, friends, customers, prospects and each other. Highrise tasks keep us running like a well-oiled machine, which is why today’s announcement boggles the mind.
37signals appears to have sold out with today’s release of Twitter integration with Highrise. Now all 10 of my clients that Tweet can have their daily routine captured in Highrise. This introduces noise, a cancer, into our CRM with little benefit. So Jason Fried and the gang don’t have time to add a long-requested feature allowing API users to tag customers and prospects, but instead jumped on the bandwagon. For a company that prides itself on being a leader, this feels a lot like a follow.
Why we care. We recently started to amp up our use of Highrise by integrating through the API to our online marketing campaigns. It’s great. We send targets to a personalized microsite, they click buttons, roll over rollovers and opt-in for goodies and information. All of this activity can now be pushed into Highrise, building a really solid customer/prospect profile for later marketing and sales touches. Awesome!
For example, we run this cool Hotel-themed campaign. If recipients opt-in we add them to Highrise, but because we can’t tag them we run the risk of sending the same campaign to the same person twice. Today’s API forces us to play Twister to extract the data. It’s so cumbersome that we keep a spreadsheet offline to make sure we don’t have campaign dups. If we were running only one campaign that might be acceptable, but when you run 5 or more campaigns simultaneously it’s overwhelming.
We think the guys and gal at 37signals are usually on their game, but what were they thinking? Nobody’s perfect. I know we aren’t, but we expect more from the inventors of Basecamp and Highrise.
Our programs aim to be disruptive, but in a good way. Credit card mailers and circulars reduced direct mail’s effectiveness, which is why we send the odd, the unexpected, and most often handwritten mailers that slip by cynics and gatekeepers. So, we appreciate it when others disrupt our common perceptions of what an advertisement should be by delivering something unexpected. Should we push the envelope now that newspapers are money hungry?
We truly believe our customers need to simplify messaging and cut the fat out of their marketing programs. Do more with less. That’s the key to sticky campaigns.
Jason is well known around here and we use Highrise and Basecamp religiously. He echos our belief that small is better. The volume is a little off in this video, but the message is spot on. Check it out.
