Hotels.com is making a huge change — they used to compete on price, but now it’s about service. I used to book rooms through them to save money. Now I do it because they saved my butt (several times): One time our entire staff was booted from an overbooked hotel the night before our big […]
Make it insanely easy to work with you
January 31, 2011
When I’m selling my book, I can list it for sale on Amazon in less than 15 seconds. I can fulfill an order (pack, postage, ship) in less than 60 seconds. All because Amazon has the easiest, fastest, simplest selling support system ever. And I’m happy to pay them a sizeable commission because they make […]
Newsletter #817: The “Look at it Differently” Issue
January 27, 2011
[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] Sometimes a great idea, product, or marketing concept is right in front your eyes, but you’re just not seeing it. […]
Newsletter #808: The “Be Convenient” Issue
November 11, 2010
Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] If you can save the world time and prevent headaches, you’ll be thanked with love and loyalty. A peek at […]
Never get in the business of “this year’s model”
October 19, 2010
I have some amazing iPod speakers. This year’s model costs $125. So I bought last year’s model for $25. It’s pretty much exactly the same, but retailers are dumping it to make way for the new model. Don’t ever let your business get stuck in this rut. You’ll never catch up, and you’ll train your […]
I just paid $16 for a single issue of a magazine
September 19, 2010
That’s the newsstand price of Harvard Business Review. And it’s worth it. If you’re in the publishing business, stop whining that print is dead. Make something incredible instead.
Just tell me what it costs
September 18, 2010
I don’t buy from companies that won’t give pricing information on their web site. Forcing me to fill out a form and talk to a salesperson just to get a ballpark price is a bad way to start the relationship. It makes me grouchy before I even talk to you. It wastes everyone’s time. I […]
“Contact us for a quote!”
July 14, 2010
Nope. I’m busy. Your competitor put the price right on their website. Why do you think I’m going to do the extra work of calling you? (Because of your stock-photo headset hottie?) Lesson: Every competitor is a click away. Don’t expect your customers to jump through hoops for you.
Free Kills
February 9, 2010
Everyone is all excited about the idea of free. Free software, free content, and Chris Anderson’s book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price. But it’s not always good. When something is given away free, it kills the market for similar products. iTunes is a very adequate music manager. But it doesn’t work well for […]
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