Andy Sernovitz | Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That!

I blogged a few weeks ago about The Geek Squad’s Robert Stephens talking about how they build a corporate culture.  Here is a video interview we did: Highlights:  Their employees get their drivers license photos re-taken in their Geek Squad uniform Encouraging positive word of mouth with blogger relations Some other interesting notes on how […]

Lots of people are writing about MyStarbucksIdea.com – Starbucks’ new site to ask for customer ideas and input. The site uses software from Salesforce.com.  The most famous implementation is Dell’s IdeaStorm. This type of site is important – it’s possibly the easiest and most effective way for a company to get ideas from their customers.  […]

There are now ads superimposed on YouTube videos.  Are they putting ads on my personal videos? I think YouTube has every right to do it.  Here’s the implied deal:  We get the service for free, they get to make money in exchange. There will be a great market for YouTube Pro – a $25 ad-free […]

68% of online shoppers read reviews before buying. Stop and think about this:  Your entire marketing effort expenditure drives customers to the reviews.  Not to your landing page. Not to your shopping cart.  Who is in charge of reading online reviews at your company? Nothing impacts your online sales more than customer reviews.  Do you […]

It only takes one little thing to generate massive word of mouth: Colorful iMacs Zappos’ 365-day return policy Red Envelope’s wrapping paper A clever blog post One smart salesperson A sincere apology Here’s an example: 1coolpen.com  makes a nice pocket-sized pen.  The word of mouth hook: A lifetime guarantee.  "Pen not working? Out of ink? […]

The New York Times wrote about how you can now haggle and negotiate prices at Home Depot, Best Buy, and Circuit City. It makes me very uncomfortable. Here’s what I expect lots of customers are hearing:  “We are usually ripping you off.  You are an idiot for paying full price.  Some people get a better […]

Why are there express lanes for people who buy a small amount of stuff? We should have express lanes for people who buy a ton of stuff.  How about this:  If you fill your cart over to the top, you get to use the SuperLane!  The SuperLane will give you 2 cashiers, 2 baggers, and […]

Take a look at their jobs page.  1. If they are hiring, that’s a good sign of growth. 2. If they are hiring engineers, that means that they are investing in building a better product 3. If they are hiring more sales people than engineers, they may be using sales to cover for a weak […]