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WEB REVIEW: Is e-mail marketing the answer for you?

If you’re running a business, there’s a good chance you’ve been frustrated with marketing. You’ve spent time and money on ads here and there, but the results were unpredictable-or worse-questionable. You’re in the phone book because you feel you have to be, but the cost goes up year after year. Word of mouth works, but it’s too slow. Direct mail works, but it’s too expensive. Radio and TV are difficult to do well and nearly impossible to track for results….

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Pepper, others commended for their safety programs: Area contractors turn to technology to track job-site performance

Hand-held computer devices are becoming as common as hardhats and heavy equipment on the job sites of Pepper Construction Company of Indiana Inc. The Chicago-based contractor’s Indianapolis location began using the hightech gadgetry about 18 months ago to track job-site safety and tie the results to bonus amounts awarded to supervisors. While the company has tracked safety performance for years via written reports, the new system lets everyone from executives to subcontractors view the information almost immediately after it’s loaded…

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VIEWPOINT: What kids learn outside the classroom

Like many discoveries, my first “aha” moment about the importance of parents’ involvement in their children’s school success occurred when I was investigating something else. In 1999, shortly after I arrived in Indianapolis to work at Conner Prairie, I set out to learn how kids rated their school visits to the museum. I located a fourth-grade teacher who would let me and museum researcher Jane Hetrick talk to students. She happened to be the teacher of an “Inquiry” class, Washington…

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Crown Hill nearing new deal: About 70 acres expected to sell for $5.2M

An announcement on new development for 70 acres of woodlands held by Crown Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home may come within weeks, bringing to a close a controversial land deal that some environmental and neighborhood groups hoped to stall. Crown Hill leadership is talking with three developers that have submitted competing proposals for mixed-use projects, cemetery President Keith Norwalk said. He declined to name the developers or provide details on their proposals but called an announcement “fairly imminent.” The price…

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SPORTS: Fixture on local sports scene continues 42-year run

Since he nearly died a couple of months back, now is probably a good time to write something about my friend, Bill York. After all, I’d at least like for him to be able to read it. York is one of those behind-the-scenes folks who gives Indiana a good name. To the local and national sports media, he personifies Hoosier Hospitality. For years, York has directed the media room operations at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Conseco Fieldhouse (Market Square Arena…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Writers require clarity or risk calamity

Last night, I had a dream. I was standing on the ledge of a tall building. People down below were shouting, “Jump!” They were angry because they thought I misrepresented the various and diverse meal-delivery programs in Indiana in my column last week. One woman was yelling, “You’re trying to take away my job!” “No,” I tried to explain. I was just saying that such programs should be coordinated better and that no oversight agency exists to monitor not-for-profit agencies….

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INVESTING: Dow keeps climbing, but land mines abound

The theme I’ve been concentrating on-the Dow Jones industrial average’s climb toward a new all-time high at the same time large numbers of stocks are weakening-is playing out in dramatic fashion. The Dow is only 150 points away from a new high, and it may well reach it. What’s working is obvious now (energy, metals, industrials), and I say, ‘Stay with them until they break down.’ But there is a growing portion of the market that is giving people fits,…

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NOTIONS Bruce Hetrick: Readers share insights on the elusive ‘one thing’

In the movie “City Slickers,” Billy Crystal plays a fellow in midlife crisis. He escapes to a guest ranch, where he meets Jack Palance as a wisdom-dishing cowboy. On horseback one day, Palance asks, “Do you know what the secret of life is?” “No, what?” Crystal asks. Palance holds up his gloved index finger and says, “This.” Crystal says, “Your finger?” Palance says, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean #*@%.” Crystal says,…

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Does your Web site need an SEO to boost it up?

Every time I see the term “SEO,” I cringe a little. It stands for “searchengine optimization,” a supposed service offered by many “SEO companies.” Such companies claim to be able to boost your Web site up the pages of major search engines so customers can find you. To a limited extent, they can help. Most Web sites are so poorly designed that they almost defy search engines to look through them, a process known in the trade as “crawling.” The…

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CD-burning kiosks debut: Four years of work on the line for local media-technology company

As the after-work rush of customers came into a south-side Karma music store on a recent Wednesday, some wandered up to a new kiosk and gave it a whirl. It was the public’s first look at CD-burning technology, developed by local entrepreneurs, that allows customers to pick songs and immediately burn a CD mix before leaving the store. If consumers like the kiosks, backers hope to sell video games, movies and even concert tickets through the terminals, which could be…

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Merger talks near finish?: George optimistic about open-wheel reunion; sources say deal may be reached by May 26

Indy Racing League President Tony George said earlier this year “the stars, moons and planets” would need to align for his series to merge with open-wheel rival Champ Car in time for the 2007 season. According to motorsports sources, the alignment appears to be happening, and George told IBJ he is cautiously optimistic. George said in a May 3 interview that discussions with Champ Car principal Kevin Kalkhoven are ongoing, but that there are still a number of issues to…

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Goulding & Wood Inc.: Bigger is not always better Organ maker emphasizes quality over quantity

Goulding set about learning every aspect of the business and when his father and partner Thomas Wood retired in 2003, he was ready to take over. He and longtime employee Brandon Woods bought the company. The transition was slow, though, because the founders had a backlog of clients still waiting for their instruments. The amicable changeover was a combination of the company being handed down and bought out, with capital taken out to reimburse the original owners, Mark Goulding said….

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Timing is everything in the fuel-savings game: INDOT to synchronize signals in more area brake zones

State transportation engineers, having just tweaked traffic-light timing to improve flow on U.S. 31 in Carmel, next plan to target three other busy corridors in the metro area. They include U.S. 31 on the south side, between Interstate 465 and County Road 750N, and the increasingly congested stretch of State Road 37 between State Road 238 and Cumberland Road in Noblesville. The improvements to be conducted over the next several months can’t come fast enough for motorists weary of the…

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Reebok should fit into Adidas’ global plan: Indianapolis facility finds an ally in NBA after 11-year apparel deal

Adidas-Salomon AG’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Reebok International is having ripple effects from Boston to Beijing. Those waves are likely to wash right through Reebok’s design and manufacturing plant on Indianapolis’ east side, which employs nearly 1,000. Reebok’s headquarters will remain in Canton, Mass., and Adidas will maintain its state-side headquarters in Portland, Ore., but officials for the German sporting goods giant have revealed little else about their plans for Reebok facilities. Adidas officials have said they project saving $212…

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BULLS & BEARS: Marsh, Suros deals a study in how to value businesses

Two recent Indianapolis business deals have provided local investors with excellent case studies in business valuation. What is truly instructive is that these acquisitions are polar opposites based on the valuation methods employed and in the future expectations the buyers have for these two businesses. They are the announced purchase of Marsh Supermarkets Inc. for $88 million by Florida-based Sun Capital Partners and the acquisition of Suros Surgical Systems for $240 million by Massachusetts-based Hologic Inc. In the Marsh acquisition,…

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NOTIONS: A primary primer on the need for simpler government

Do you know the name Kelly Bentley or Derek Redelman? Michael Brown or Michael Rinebold? How ’bout Barbara C o l e m a n – K n i g h t , Barry Campbell, Judie Williams, Karon Williams, Maureen Jayne, Milton Baltimore Jr. or Olgen Williams? Even if you’ve heard these names, do you know these people’s backgrounds, what experience they bring to the table, what they preach and practice? Do you know who, if anyone, supports them financially…

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Jazz Fest loses pair of sponsors: This year’s show will go on, but future events in danger

Until late April, fund raising for the annual musical event was on track. But then a pair of major sponsors revealed they would no longer underwrite the festival. Now its future may be in doubt. “We really need to have the festival fully funded to sustain its business model,” said Indy Jazz Fest Producer Helen Small, who also is president of the Indianapolis-based American Pianists Association. “In no way is it guaranteed that the festival will be here forever for…

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Land drove Marsh sale: Sun Capital has backup in real estate if grocery biz fails

When Marsh Supermarkets Inc. put itself on the block in November, the company’s stock dove. When it cut future executive compensation $28 million a month later, the stock continued falling. When it terminated 25 executives and closed two groceries and six convenience stores, shares slipped yet again. Nothing, it seemed, could stop the downward spiral. Then a footnote appeared in the Fishersbased company’s fiscal third-quarter financial report Feb. 21. It said an appraisal showed the company’s real estate was worth…

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Emmis fights radio doubt: CEO Smulyan defends his struggling industry as stock price continues to slide

Emmis Communications Corp.’s stock has fallen 80 percent in six years. Revenue from its radio stations is falling short of Wall Street expectations. And its bid for Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals is running third in a three-horse race. But Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan is as optimistic as he’s been in months. “I’m upbeat because I think this industry is ready to turn the corner, and Emmis is turning the corner,” Smulyan told Wall Street analysts after his company released…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Mysteries abound in Indiana

There is so much I do not understand about Indiana. After living here for 35 years, after visiting every county and traveling almost every mile of state highway, after making friends with thousands of Hoosiers, I am in the dark on so many issues. Here are three examples: Example 1: What do Mitch Daniels, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, and Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana have in common? They are all governors who have massive approval deficits. According to Survey USA (and…

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