See the interview. As I talked about earlier this week, That Software Guy using RatePoint for Word of Mouth management, which is an excellent and reasonably priced solution.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Craft it like 37 Signals
Harvard Business Review recently did a really interesting article about 37 Signals. Apparently their secret sauce is recognizing that less is more:
“When you’re competing against companies that have so much more, the only answer is to do less,” Jason and David told me. “Do less than your competitors to beat them. Instead of one-upping other companies, one-down them. Instead of out-doing other products, under-do them.”
If Pareto’s law applies to your business (hint: it does) then you should absolutely be asking yourself questions like:
- Does it really make sense for me to be vertically integrated? Or should I just pass on that other business?
- Is any aspect of my product offering overengineered?
- If I re-released a feature-dieted version of my product, would most people complain or be delighted?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Keep an eye on those icons
So I booked a Choice Hotel room this weekend, and being a non-smoker, selected a non-smoking room, as identified by this icon:
Except … that wasn’t the no-smoking icon. This is the no-smoking icon:
Given the choice of millions of colors, why on earth would they reuse red? Why not, oh, say, red and green?
Question: are any icons on your site ambiguous?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Writing is the basis of all wealth
The NameTag Guy frequently asserts that writing is the basis of all wealth. Disagree? Read about computer guru Larry O’Brien, who says one blog post generated the majority of his income in the last four years.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Beyond Blogs
Business Week revisits the topic. They repeat the theme that non-hierarchical connectedness and dialog – promoted by Web 2.0 style tools – is the next big thing. Interesting article … but is it just me, or does Zuck look a bit too much like a Greek God? 
Monday, May 12, 2008
Are you an accidental spammer?
My friend Jeremy over at Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks asks, Do You Assume that Everyone Wants to Regularly Hear about Your Creative Freelancing Business?
Delete the words “Creative Freelancing,” and you’ll find it’s an effective question that every small businessperson should be asking themselves. The rules are:
- Just because they bought from you doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
- Just because they met you at an event doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
- Just because they emailed you doesn’t mean they want your marketing material.
The best practice here is to use a double-opt-in newsletter provider and allow clients to sign themselves up. I use MailChimp (see examples here) and wrote software to allow Zen Cart users to use MailChimp too. There are many offerings in this space, but I think MailChimp is the best one for SMEs.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Sucking Up
“Suck up early and often,” goes the saying in corporate life – but is it really all that effective? Guy Kawasaki throws in his two cents with a series of suggestions which, while not completely servile, are still unctuous enough the be annoying. (For instance, Guy is not clear on the distinction between seeking empathy and begging.)
“Why?” is the question I want to ask. Does anyone really believe this is more effective when the externalities of revolting your coworkers is included in the calculus? I prefer people who deal with me in a straightforward, sincere and honest manner – don’t most people?
I wonder if it’s the general increase in incivility and vulgarity in society which makes people think they have to overcompensate by sucking up to their superiors. I believe an even keel of being courteous and respectful to everyone – particularly those below you in the pecking order – is a better strategy.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Polling your users
I really like the idea of energizing the communication channel from your customers towards you using the web, so I was really impressed by My Starbucks Idea. What surprised me though was that this wasn’t a simple blog, this was a SalesForce.com application. I wonder if we’ll see an increasing number of these in the future.
Let’s hope we see some of these suggestions implemented and some exciting changes in your local ‘Bucks.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Listening
Wasn’t it Yogi Berra who said you can learn a lot just by listening?
I really enjoyed this talk by Dawn Airey from ITV on how she benefitted from listening to her staff.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Reducing your suck index
Want to know how many of your customers think you suck? Google “<your company name> sucks” and see what the hit count is. The Wal-Mart number is half a million; chances are yours is lower. Business Week has a suggestion about what to do:
“Now don’t get mad at these people. Instead, help them get even with you. These angry customers are doing you a great favor. They care enough about your product or service to tell you exactly what went wrong. Other customers may just desert you and head to the competition. But these are telling you what to fix. Listen to them. Help them. Respond to them. Ask their advice—and they’ll give it to you.”
Don’t just process them – validate them. Affirm them. Let them hit you with a clue-by-four. In general, if they’re complaining, they still care and want to be engaged. Take advantage of this.
