Independent Thinking Blog
Independent Thinking Blog
Google, Doodles, and Showing You Care
This is what I found when I popped over to Google the other day. Obviously not every company can customize its logo for its customers. But what about: Sending a "happy birthday" postcard (as did one of my doctors)? E-mailing a "happy birthday" greeting (race...
Your Customers Are Not Morons
This should be obvious, right? [Insert BIG SIGH here.] There's a lot of talk these days about "empowered consumers" and what this means for companies. It's an issue for pricing and sales, and for what consumers want and expect from the brands we...
Twitter, Followers, and First Date Syndrome
I cleaned my Twitter house recently, dropping off over 200 people whose streams never grabbed my attention and/or with whom I rarely or never engaged. This was not a lazy mass unfollow; I looked at every single account. One by one. (No, it didn't all happen in one...
The Fastest Way to Shut Down Conversation on Your Blog
Want to know the fastest way to shut down conversation on your blog? Moderate comments. (And if you're going to hold comments, you should at minimum have a process for getting them approved quickly.) Case in point: I followed a link to a terrific blog post the other...
Are You Embracing Risk?
I had a conversation with my mom recently about an apparel retailer that is going out of business. She had attributed their fate to a declining economy. My own take: the clothing was staid--and there's a limited market for boring. The company never took a risk. It...