...continue to read "Blogging: Who Makes Up the Rules?"

Hat tip to John Moore who pointed out a recent BusinessWeek article about the new science of reputation management.

A company’s reputation for being able to deliver growth, attract top talent, and avoid ethical mishaps can account for much of the 30%-to-70% gap between the book value of most companies and their market capitalizations. Reputation is a big reason Johnson & Johnson (JNJ ) trades at a much higher price-earnings ratio than Pfizer (PFE ), Procter & Gamble (PG ) than Unilever…

...continue to read "What’s The Value Of A Brand?"

Testimonials work really well.

Testimonials don’t work at all.

No, I’m NOT suffering from some sort of personality disorder (though some might disagree). There are times when testimonials are incredibly powerful, and times when they might actually hurt you.

Testimonials hurt you when people don’t think they’re real. Anything that sounds vague or cliché can smack of insincerity.

Vague testimonials don’t really tell the customer anything.

A vague testimonial reads like: “I was very satisfied with your hotel’s service.”…

...continue to read "Why Testimonials Do (and Don’t) Work"

Let me give you two examples…

Example one

Example two

Ok, example two is clearly the superior page for several reasons. But here is my question:

What if example one did nothing else but add the high quality customer reviews (yes even the negative ones) found on example two?

Do you think they would sell more shoes?

Not sure? Our friends at Bazaarvoice have more insight.

And now the most important question: Do you think I would look cute in those shoes?

...continue to read "Do Customer Reviews and Ratings Impact Conversion Rate?"

GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons is no stranger to controversy, but one thing’s for sure: he’s not afraid of your feedback. On his Hot Points blog, Parsons has anchored himself in a stream of apple-polishing praise, tepid commentary, thoughtful suggestions, and downright nasty personal attacks–all because of GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ads.

Recently, he blogged about their all “GoDaddy Girl” page. After one particularly scathing comment, Parsons countered with genuine diplomacy, thanked the guy for his input, and asked a follow-up question. Rather than…

...continue to read "GoDaddy’s Bob Parsons Really Cares"

When I read Walt Mossberg is at an industry event, and asking questions no less, I stop and pay attention. After all, his “new” column on personal technology (16 years, and counting) in my local paper (WSJ) is one I read regularly. The question he asked screamed to me:

When will the online advertising industry actually deliver on its outstanding promise of the last decade to present the right ad to the right person at the right time? When will we…

...continue to read "The Promise of Interactive Advertising?"

Your business can use transparency to its advantage, turning ordinary customers into tireless advocates for your brand

Do you ever get annoyed when a business’s online communications are as poor, if not worse, than their offline customer service? One of the most sacred promises of the Internet is that we have the power to chat with total strangers, regardless of how fragmented the information or disproportionately strong the opinion, to piece together the bigger picture about a given experience anytime, anywhere.…

...continue to read "The Transparency Imperative: Moving Beyond the Suggestion Box"

What you are trying to accomplish should always shape how you go about accomplishing it The other day, a guy comes up to me in the grocery store. “Hey, you’re that Martian what’s-it from GrokDotCom, aren’t you?”I plaster on my how-nice smile as I poke through the tomatoes. “That’s me, alright.”

He settles into a soap-box stance. “You know, I read that book on copywriting … you know, the one with the picture of you on the cover? It was pretty…

...continue to read "Let the Purpose Guide You"