Very simply, reviews increase conversion rates.  And several studies point to the fact that, yes, even negative reviews help.

It all boils down to credibility.  Customer reviews simply have more credibility than your sales copy, so they inspire more confidence in the buyer.  And negative reviews lend credibility to the review process itself, standing as visible proof that the reviews are not edited.

Makes sense right?  Sure it does, until you find yourself staring at the (perceived) ability of a blisteringly negative…

...continue to read "You Can’t Edit Your Way Out of Negative Reviews"

If you’ve been to one of our trainings over the past few years, or seen any of us present at a conference, you’ve probably heard the line about the average tenure of a Chief Marketing Officer being less than the gestation period of an elephant.  Well, it’s time for some new material.  New research from executive search firm Spencer Stuart shows that CMOs are making it into their 3rd year with the same organization, on average, based on a review of…

...continue to read "On CMOs, Customer Service, and Birthing Elephants"

There are only a few more shopping days left. If you have a web geek in your life and are still wondering what to get them, I’ve compiled a wish list by asking my fellow web geeks at FutureNow what they want:

The list of favorite things we would want as gifts:

1. iPod Touch

2. A day of Helli skiing or Cat skiing.

3. Old-school snowsuit so you can feel like you’re a kid again.

4. New snowboarding boots- Women’s size 7 please (not for me,…

...continue to read "Gifts For Web Geeks"

There I was at Babies”R”Us, way back in 2003, manhandling different strollers and finding myself more eager to read the amazon.com reviews than to kick the tires myself – and it had nothing to do with wanting to avoid the in-store shopping experience and everything to do with wanting to make the best purchase decision possible.

So why would I want to read reviews when I could examine the stroller first hand?

Because I was a yet-to-be-first-time parent and I knew that what…

...continue to read "Why You’d Be Smart to Let a Stranger Select Your Baby Stroller"

On Monday, August 18, 2008 at 12:30pm, my co-author friend and colleague Bryan Eisenberg, founder of FutureNow and co-author of the New York Times bestselling books, “Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?” and “Call to Action”, will launch “Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer” at Search Engine Strategies (SES) San Jose ( http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/sanjose). The event will be held August 18-21, 2008 at the San Jose McEnery Center.

Bryan will be presenting the session “Pay Per Conversation” together…

...continue to read "Free Books & Signing at Search Engine Strategies San Jose"

The other day I was looking at a website – justforgirlssports.com – and saw an excellent example of why product reviews do a better job of selling products than product descriptions do.   I was looking at the product page for a girl’s bicycle helmet.

The product copy had this to say about the helmet:

“The ergonomic designed padding and an additional pad set for the perfect individual fit guarantee ultimate comfort.

The product review had this to say about the helmet:

“The helmet fit both girls well; ages 10 and 12.…

...continue to read "Why Product Reviews Are Better Than Product Descriptions"

Sitting down to the watch the Sox game last night, I surfed over to my hometown paper and found an absolute gem of customer-centricity in the most unlikely of places – a cable television company. As someone who’s lived in a few different markets over the years, I’ve experienced Time-Warner, Comcast, Primestar, Cablevision, and Verizon, and I can tell you there is one common bond that stands out amongst all of Big Cable – the privilege each of the CSRs allowed me…

...continue to read "Case Study: Comcast uses Twitter to delight"

Not long ago, Microsoft showed just how bad a corporate motivational video can be with an utterly painful Bruce Springsteen adaptation that proved a fitting soundtrack the equally lackluster Vista operating system. (So much for the “Start Me Up” days of the Windows ‘95 release.)

As a former music journalist and current karaoke champion [in my own mind], I know a bad remix when I hear one. That’s why I’m particularly impressed with this outlandishly cheesy/brilliant rework of Extreme’s soft “rock” hair…

...continue to read "It Takes More Than Words to Out-Karaoke Microsoft"

Testing and optimization are a necessity in any marketing endeavor. I’ve gone deeper into the subject in several columns, such as “Conversion Folly Funnel” and “We Tried That Already.” Today, I want to focus on one aspect of optimization: customer insight.

Success in testing doesn’t necessarily indicate success in customer insight. For example, you can test landing pages, determine the best landing page, and enjoy an increase in conversion. But do you know why it converts better? Oftentimes marketers gain knowledge…

...continue to read "How to Gain and Act on Customer Insights"

Have you ever noticed that if you really want good information about a product, you’re much more likely to find that information in a product review than in the product description itself?

Why aren’t product descriptions more helpful?

Here’s one thought: Men and women may care about different things. Product descriptions may not be speaking to both genders’ needs. In product reviews, men talk about what they care about, and women talk about what they care about. This may be one reason why…

...continue to read "Using Customer Review Keywords to Pick Up Women, Men"