John Todor
What Kind of Online Customer Engagement Leads to Sales?
It is generally agreed that only a small percentage of participants actively contribute in social media. At the June 2009 Online Community Unconference many community managers were seeking ways to increase the number of active contributors. Since the unconference, I have been pondering two...
Who Will Miss Car Dealers? Not Customers!
Over the last few days Chrysler and GM have fired nearly 2000 dealers. The manufacturers say it will help them become more competitive. The dealers say the customer will suffer. I side with the manufacturer and here's why. Estimates have it that about 90% of...
Human-Centered Design
When designing the user interface, the idea is to make it easier for the human, not force them to adapt to the complexity and logic of the computer. The same applies to other forms of innovation and complexity. Sure to more ahead, human need...
10 Resources That Might Keep Twitter Quitters Engaged
Recently, Nielsen Online reported that more than 60% of U.S. Twitter users fail to return the following month, or in other words, Twitter's audience retention rate is about 40%. I quit once. The learning curves seemed just to steep for the perceived benefits. I've been...
Zappos Want to Make You Happy! Here’s How!
A little fun and a lot of serious business ideas from Zappos. First, they got from zero to $1 Billion in shoes sales in less than 10 years and it is all online. And, they are still growing. Watch their sales happen on this map:…
Making a Living as a Blogger
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 452,000 people make their primary income as a blogger. That's more people than work as computer programmers or firefighters. Why the emergence of paid blogging? Bloggers have influence in almost every field and industry. But, they must earn...
Why Businesspeople Use Twitter: Tales From the Trenches
Are you Twittering? If not, don't you know that it is the fastest growing social network with seven million people using it? If you are like me, you may have thought: "What will it do for my business? How much time will it take?" To…
Yelp.com Bends to Media Pressure
In an earlier blog post I asked the question, "Can you trust peer-reviews." My comments stemmed from the growing concern that Yelp.com was exploiting small business. Owners complained that Yelp would not let them comment on peer-reviews or remove one. Yet, there appeared to...
Social Media, Earned Media and Paid Media
Social media is a very popular term these days. A Google search yields over 35 million results. Yet, many businesspeople cringe when then hear the word social. To some, it implies the opposite of work or business. Many think of it as connecting with friends,...
Should Entrepreneurs Twitter — No says USA Today
No is the opinion of Steve Strauss a small business consultant in his USA Today article. He gives 4 reasons: #1 Your are in business and it is not a club or sorority. You are in the business of selling products or services – you...
Failing at Social Media – Now We Are Getting Somewhere
The Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco had an interesting panel discussion yesterday, Why Social Media Marketing Fails – and How to Fix it. The panelists, Peter Kim, Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang addressed what people had rated as the major issues with social media...
Can You Trust Peer Reviews?
First, let me say that I am a big fan of peer reviews. I use them to learn about the experiences people have with products I an interested in, before I buy. I also recommend them to my client companies, that is, if they...
Top 5 Lies That Marketing Tells Sales
The friction or disconnect between marketing and sales is real and contributes to disfunctionality. Geoffrey James's blog titled "Top 5 Lies Marketing Tells Sales"" caught my attention and prompt me to make my own observations. There was a time when I was technology salesman, I...
Stressed Out Employees Can Ruin Your Business
Yesterday a Dunkin Donuts employee slashed all four tires on a customer's car. Apparently, the customer felt the employee was taking too long to prepare his coffee so he walked out of the store. The employee followed and got in a verbal confrontation with...
A Customer Experience Focus in the Recession Pays Off
Bruce Temkin of Forrester has just published new data showing a relationship between a focus on the customer experience and loyalty. These results are similar to his findings last year except that the correlation has gotten stronger. What is the difference between 2007...
Customer Experience, Emotions and the Recession
There seems to be a tacit assumption that when budgets get tight customers are attracted to discounts and lower prices. I have argued elsewhere that when people focus on price they tend to become more indifferent to the brand, the company and the experience....
Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media in Business
Here is a link to Jay Deragon's blog where he posts some interesting stats on the impediments to business adoption of social media. It also has a YouTube video of Cisco Systems CEO, John Chambers giving his take on the impact of collaboration on...
The Science and Politics of Making Social Networks Work
Of the top 10 sites in Internet traffic, seven are involved in social media. And, a big part of social media is social networking. Ever wonder why? Ever wonder what the business implications are? Check this video where Physicist, Albert-Lazlo Barabasi and Political Scientist...
The Recessionary Mindset for Businesses and Employees
I am going to make a few points that will have most people nodding their heads in agreement. Yet, many businesses, business leaders and employees do not seem to grasp how these forces should be changing their behavior. Point one, the recession reduces the amount...
Staples Inc: Customers Cutting Back. Profits Down. What to Do?
Staples Inc., the largest U.S. Office supplies chain announced that its 3rd quarter profits dropped 43% because businesses are not spending as much and are spending on an as needed basis. Of course, Staples is not alone. The recession and economic uncertainty make this picture...