Category Archives: Internet

Self-Running Videos That You Can’t Turn Off Abuse Customers

Posted on July 29, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Self-running Videos on websites, that visitors can’t turn off, are customer abuse. If you put one on your website, you guarantee that I will not buy what you’re selling. Here’s why.

Self-running demos are rude. I’ve written about them before. I hate them.

Self-running demos are counterproductive for marketers, because people who go to your site from their office must usually turn them off or close the site immediately. If they’re like me, and they have to close the site, they will not go back. You’ve lost them.

But the videos that the site visitor cannot turn off are truly abusive. They violate the rights of the site visitor and say, “I’m more important than you, and I don’t care what you want.

Besides being sociopathic and sick, that attitude does not bode well for support—or even for honesty and fairness. Anyone who tries to cram their offer down my throat probably doesn’t have a very good offer.

And as for pages that are all video, with little or no text, forget about it! If you won’t put your offer in writing, it’s probably a scam. So far, my experience has born that out. I’m not continuing the experiment.

So, marketers, suit yourself. Keep abusing customers and turning them off. Because that just leaves more for the rest of us, who treat them right.


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Posted in Internet, Marketing

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10 Webinar Pitfalls for Marketers and How to Avoid Them

Posted on July 21, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Webinars are the current darling of Internet Marketers. There is a lot of hoopla out there right now about how easy webinars are and what big sales they make.

Courses encourage marketers to just get on line and blather—and record the webinar blather to sell as a product. It just is not that simple.

Some people should not do webinars. They just are not good at them and never will be. You have to be a reasonably good speaker with a decent voice and presentation to make webinars work for you.

Remember, so-called free webinars are not totally free. They still cost attendees time, and time is money. Respect your listeners by being prepared.

If done wrong, webinars can really tick off customers. I experienced one today that was classically bad.

To save you from annoying your customers, here are some pitfalls and guidelines:

1. Be prepared. I just attended the worst webinar ever—for a product I’ve already bought. The presenter did not really know how to use the product! Continue reading →


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Posted in Internet, Internet Marketing

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Robust, Configurable SEO Shopping Carts from AscenderCart

Posted on March 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

To successfully sell goods on line, you need a robust and easily configurable shopping cart. There are many choices.

Generally you get what you pay for—if you can figure out what you need. But price does not always guarantee the best quality. You need to know what to look for.

I have looked at quite a few shopping carts for clients. They generally fall into two groups: free or cheap but very limited, or very, very expensive.

Most do not seem to have considered SEO. They may generate pages that the search engines (and customers) will ignore. But this one is different. Continue reading →


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Posted in Internet, Internet Marketing, Technology

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If Your Product, Site or Support Fails a Customer, It’s *Your* Problem

Posted on January 30, 2010 by | Leave a comment

If your product, website or support fails a customer, is it their problem? No, it’s yours.

Heed their feedback. It’s a warning.

Customers who complain are doing you a big favor. Instead of telling you that there is a problem, they could just go away mad—and tell all their friends.

Just because you have not encountered the problem yourself, that does not mean it is not real. It means that your interface, documentation, web design, or *something* is at fault, and you need to fix it.

And just because no one has complained before, that does not mean there has not been a problem all along.

Quit assuming that the customer is always wrong / stupid / lazy / dishonest. And even if you think that, do not let it show.

And the customer who is trying out a free service or product today (and complaining when it does not work as advertised) is not being “ungrateful.” Grow up! You’re in business.

That complaining, grouchy customer gave you a chance. They could have become your biggest fan. But you failed them.

Good marketers rise to the challenge, accept complaints as feedback, and make sure the customer is happy. That is how you keep customers and get new ones by referral. Sarcasm is not.

Sure, a grouchy customer could be just a mean person. Or they could be just having a bad day. And your product and/or inadequate service and support could just be the cause of that bad day.

So be nice. And pay attention. You could learn a lot.

Customers who speak up are valuable. And they are the tip of the problem iceberg. For every one who speaks up, there are lots more who simply leave in disgust—and tell their friends.

Think about it.


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Posted in Internet, Internet Marketing, Marketing

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iPad: a Great Product in the Wrong Market?

Posted on January 29, 2010 by | Leave a comment

ipadI admit to being a diehard Steve Jobs fan. As a marketer, how can you not be? Jobs is not just a marketing genius; he’s a marketing revolutionary.

Defying marketing maxims about the difficulty of creating brand new markets for totally new products, Jobs has succeeded on a grand scale with products such as Apple II, Macintosh, iMac, iPod, iPhone…

And lest anyone think his success with Apple Computer was just a fluke, when Jobs left, the company foundered. His return brought the company back to success. Clearly he knows what he is doing.

But Uncle Stevie’s latest brainchild strikes me as a mismarketed product. It is a great product. I believe there is a large market for a tablet computer with great Internet connectivity at a reasonable price. Yet the iPad tablet computer is being marketed as a phone!

Too big to carry in your pocket, and too expensive, vulnerable, and heavy to carry everywhere, the tablet seems likely to fail in the cell phone market for those reasons and a few more. I hope I am wrong, because I really want one—but not to use as a cell phone.

At least that’s my opinion. What’s yours?


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