Today, we all know how important customer reviews are to retailers and customers alike. They help convert buyers by building trust and confidence in the product, they reduce returns, draw long-tail search traffic and are a simple entry into on-site communities for ecommerce websites.

But there was a time when no one had them. It makes you wonder what we’re missing today that we don’t know we’re missing.

Let’s take another effective merchandising tool: cross-selling. Currently, ecommerce marketers are banking that their personal cross-sell suggestions or algorithmic-based recommendations will be relevant and attractive to shoppers. This *can* be really hit and miss. But what if we gave customers a crack at cross-selling?

Continue Reading:
User Generated Cross-Sells? Why Is Nobody Doing It? »

Shel Holtz joins the conversation to discuss the ways new marketing and communication tools can assist retailers collaborate with customers - resulting in better experiences and increased sales.

Along with host DaveO, they discuss blogging for business, reasons for podcasting, what’s up with Second Life, ways to engage audiences with Twitter and Ustream.tv and the low-down on Social Media Releases plus Shel wisely advises strategic action before diving in.

MP3 File

(crayonville in Second Life)

Shel is frequent flier, professional speaker and prolific writer as well as VP of New Marketing at crayon (a new marketing company). He joined us from Toronto where is presenting at Visa’s Ecommerce Summit. Thanks to Chris Clarke at Thornley Fallis Communications for the hookup. Thanks to Derek K. Miller (Penmachine.com) for music track “That’s No Dream.”

Topical Annotations

A Shel of my Former Self - Shel’s Holtz’s personal blog

Holtz Communications + Technology - Shel’s professional services

Road Weary - Shel’s Travel frustration blog

crayon - a new marketing company - Shel’s daily toil

The American Family Whirlpool podcast

Linden Labs’ Second Life

Darren Barefoot’s GetaFirstLife project

GetaFirstLife.com

Get a First Life - Second Life Insider

Technorati tag: secondlife

crayon in Second Life

Twitter

Twitter - Wikipedia

twittervision

Ustream.tv

Social Media Release

Chris Heuer’s Idea Engine

Microformats

Social Media Club

Social Media Club is being organized for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and for promoting media literacy. This is the beginning of a global conversation about building an organization and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share and learn.

Sample Social Press Release (Coca-cola Virtual Thirst campaign by crayola)

Megan Cole posted some poignant notes from Matt Mullenweg’s bit at the WebVisions pow wow in Portland last week.

I often talk (gush) about how much I enjoy Wordpress and much of WP’s success comes from the efforts of the wise young Mr. Mullenweg. Megan captured a list of tips from his spiel on “Scaling for your First 100,000 Users” which really applies to a broader scope than just software development - this is a community development and team building guidebook in one short list!

[Photo of Matt Mullenweg
at Gnomedex 2006 by Dave Olson]

Matt’s tips after the break … Continue Reading:
Wordpress Rocks and Matt Mullenweg is Wise »