-
When a small padlock appears in the corner of your Web browser’s address bar or the entire bar turns green, it seems like a powerful signal you’re safe to proceed. But experts say the SSL certificates those green lights signify — digital stamps of approval that Web sites buy to prove they’re running a legitimate business and can send and receive encrypted data safely — don’t provide the safety they seem to. "They instill some sense of security, but that could be a dangerously false sense of security," said Paul Mutton, a researcher with UK-based security firm Netcraft Ltd. The site itself could still be riddled with security holes for hackers to exploit. And the certificate could simply be bogus: Criminals have been forging them to get the padlock icon and dress up fraudulent sites.
-
During the Web’s heyday, a profitable Internet company nearing $100 million in annual sales while luring a million new customers a month would have found itself on the IPO fast track. But that’s hardly the case for LinkedIn, a professional networking site that has cleared those hurdles and then some. Instead, LinkedIn is hewing closely to the Web economy’s new motto on initial public offerings: Easy does it. Founded in 2003, LinkedIn may not sell shares until some time next year. Likewise, social networking site Facebook, worth $15 billion on paper, may not go public until 2010,
Category: Marketing Page 2 of 3
-
The other day, a friend who runs a small business lamented that his Web site wasn’t worth the trickle of business it brought in. Something told me he’s not alone. In fact, some estimates have found the majority of small-business Web sites fail to generate revenue. Which is too bad, because I think that entrepreneurs like my friend make a mistake by blaming the site itself, or even the medium of the Web. The problem, in my view, is not the site—it’s the lack of trust in the company behind the site. Trust is an elusive concept, of course; the sort of term bandied about freely in Marketing 101 but rarely defined adequately since any of us found ourselves in that class. Building trust is important. Building trust via your Web site is essential. Now here comes the biggie: How?
-
I am a professional board member. I’ve been sitting on boards for almost 20 years and I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen some of the best board members in action and have tried to copy them. I’ve seen some of the worst board members in action and have tried hard to forget them. Here are some thoughts on choosing board members. This advice is for everyone, but it’s of particular use when you are a bigger company, maybe public, and need to fill your board with good people.
What is the most valuable brand in the world? 
Google is the number one brand in the world with an estimated value of $66 billion according consulting firm Millward Brown Optimor.
This got me thinking… How did Google become the most valuable brand in the world in just a short nine years? As the Founder of a consumer-focused internet company, I find this question very interesting. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Google must spend billions of dollars in advertising every year to accomplish such an impressive feat.
Well after a bit of research, one thing becomes clear… Google is an advertising cheapskate!
How can you drive up your holiday revenue? Build trust with your buyers!
That’s right. By simply spending a bit of time and energy thinking about how your consumers do their searching, shopping, and decision-making, you can increase your holiday revenues in a material fashion.
On Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 11:00-12:00 PM MDT, I will be giving an educational webinar sponsored by Infopia and buySAFE on the subject of building trust with your buyers to drive up your revenues and
profits.
If you can spare an hour of your time, I promise you that you will learn something
new and interesting. If you are serious about building your online business, this will be time well spent.
Space is limited, so please register for the webinar as soon as you get a moment. You can register at https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/890705170.
Related articles:
“Infopia Integrates with buySAFE” – Infopia Blog
I often hear people suggest that since eCommerce is growing so fast, shoppers are obviously perfectly confident and comfortable shopping online. In my opinion, that is naive, and it ignores the facts.
During the recent holiday shopping season, a new survey was published confirming that consumers are, in fact, nervous shopping online, and that these concerns are growing, not abating. buySAFE commissioned an independent firm, InsightExpress, to survey 1,000 random, online shoppers for their views on trust, safety, security and eCommerce. The eCommerce survey reveals that small and medium-sized retailers without well-known brand names are the big losers when it comes to nervous shoppers. More than 1/3 of shoppers, 35%, feel "unsafe" when considering purchasing from unknown retailers.
WOMMA (The Word of Mouth Marketing Association) is holding its next Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in Washington, D.C. on December 12 and 13. It should be a great event. There will be more than 70 speakers, several big-name authors, and three incredible keynotes all talking about word of mouth marketing.
If you are interested in word of mouth, viral, buzz, or blog marketing, you should try to make it to this conference. You can register online at www.womma.org/summit2.
Today, buySAFE announced a new partnership with The St. Paul Travelers Companies, one of the largest financial institutions in the world with more than $113 billion in assets.
The new Travelers relationship adds another major U.S. financial institution to buySAFE’s growing team of business partners. The Hartford Financial Services Group and The Rutherfoord Companies are major investors in buySAFE, and in 2005, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company joined with buySAFE to provide significant surety bond capacity for buySAFE’s rapidly growing business on eBay, Overstock.com, and TIAS.
What’s wrong with eBay? Before I answer this question, you should download this Wharton case study by Dr. Eric Clemons of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Clemons is one of the world’s most renowned experts on information economics, and this case study is currently being taught at Wharton this semester. It goes into great detail discussing eBay’s current challenges, and I believe you will find it insightful.
Okay back to the question… What’s wrong with eBay?
Check out this terrific post on WOMMA’s blog by Andrew Nibley, Chairman and CEO of Marsteller on the subject of how to leverage "e-Fluentials" to market and promote your products.
Andrew is exactly right. My buySAFE experience has proven to me how important positive e-fluentials are for your business, and this is especially true when launching a new business in a new industry. e-Fluentials are the folks that will educate the rest of the market on your product. Just as important is the need to reach out and manage the concerns of negative e-fluentials. It is obviously common that you won’t agree with these folks, but their perspectives provide valuable learning experiences nevertheless. I also believe these folks, if ultimately converted, will often become your strongest evangelists in the future. At buySAFE, this has been critical.
Again, check out Andrew’s insights here.