Why people say no to your idea

Seth Godin intimates that there are two reasons people say no to your idea: 1) It's been done before. 2) It's never been done before.

I think there are many more reasons that people say no.

• They are scared of change.
• They don't understand your idea.
• They want to repackage your idea as their own.
• They don't like you.
• Or maybe it's a bad idea.

Ultimately it's your idea and you need to take ownership of it. If the naysayers are in the way, figure out a way to move them.

OpenOffice

Most of us use Microsoft Word and Excel in the office. But what if you want to work on a document at home? Many computers ship now with no office software pre-installed. If you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for Microsoft Office, OpenOffice is a good free alternative. What is OpenOffice you ask? Think of OpenOffice as a free version of Microsoft Office-like programs. There's a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, a presentation program, etc. Best of all it allows you to both open and save documents in the Microsoft formats.

Version 2.2 of OpenOffice was released today. I use it on my home computers and I highly recommend it. There's a complete product description available here.

Conveying trust

Have you ever noticed that David Letterman's chair is just a little bit higher than his guest's? Or wondered why the pharmacist at the drug store is one step above you behind the counter? Or pondered the reasoning for the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?" As Billy Joel would say, it's a matter of trust.

Take a look at this banner of the Washington Post newspaper:



How would your impression of the paper be different if it looked like this?



The fact is, most newspapers use a similar, powerful, gothic font for their mastheads. Not only do these fonts connote trust and strength but also a "heritage of reliability." Interestingly, when the Washington Post created its website, they chose to go away from the traditional, authoritative print logo and create a new brand that is more modern and relaxed for the new medium.



Your organization's websites and e-newsletters reflect credibility (or the lack thereof) too. When we work with clients on a redesign project, one of the questions we ask early on is "How credible or authoritative should the site appear?" Should it look rigid and austere or relaxed and informal? Most organizations fall somewhere in between, but vary in where they want to be on the "continuum of trust."

Email Marketing: The Seven Deadly Sins

Digital Web has a nice article today outlining the "don'ts" of email marketing. The deadliest of all sins: emailing without permission. Read the article here.

"Word of a Stranger's Mouth" Marketing

I get some interesting spam email messages. I recently received one from someone named Marcel trying to sell me a watch. The subject line read "Mauricio said these are incredible." Another one, also for watches, said "Kerri said these are unbelievable."

Now even though I know no one by those names, I'm sure Kerri and Mauricio are reputable folks who know a fine timepiece when they see it. But I don't think these emails are trying to fool me into thinking that these are real endorsements from real people I know. Surely the spammers could choose more common names that Kerri or Mauricio, right? Maybe they think those names are unique enough to get my attention.

But "word of mouth" is really at work here. The company isn't saying "Red-hot watches here, Get yer Rollexx, here." Instead, they have "Mauricio" and "Kerri" give testimonial endorsements of their products. The cynic in me says this must work or they wouldn't all be doing it.

It turns out, people are pretty trusting of others. CNet, Epinions, and Amazon are all examples of where product reviews made by complete strangers, have been shown to be incredibly valuable. Sites like Digg, Reddit and Newsvine take this "wisdom of crowds" approach and apply it to the news.

I propose that never before in the history of man have the thoughts and opinions of strangers been so powerful - powerful enough to influence what we read, hear, buy and watch.

Hmmm...Buy. Watch. Now what did I do with that email from Marcel...?

Crowdsourcing

There's an excellent summary of the "crowdsourcing" movement over on Read/WriteWeb. Highly recommended reading for those that are interested in the biggest trend of Web 2.0.

What can you do for me immediately?

The web is all about instant gratification. Users don't want to watch your flashy splash page. They barely care who you are. The question is what can you do for them? Can you entertain them? Fulfill a need? Make their lives easier in some way? Can you provide value? "What have you done for me lately" has been replaced on the web with "What can you do for me immediately?"

The Internet and other technological advancements have ushered in an Era of Now. Customers want service and information. Now. We want pay at the pump. We want debit cards and instant messaging. We want 24-hour banking, GPS navigation and self-checkout. We want the Easy Button.

The bar has been raised for customer service too. No longer is getting back to a customer in "2-3 business days" good enough. Companies are adding features like real-time chat to their sites to engage the customer and facilitate the online experience.

The layout and usability of your site needs to take this "user attitude" into account. How could you streamline the navigation to highlight your most important areas? How could you improve your users' satisfaction? What would you want to see if you were the customer?

The new rule is simple: Make it easier, faster, cheaper for your customers to do business with you, or they will take their business to someone who will.

Design for the poor

Found this interesting article that proposes that most of the Internet users are either Time Rich (wasting time) or Time Poor (trying to accomplish something quickly).

In most businesses, you want to assume your customer is "Time Poor." Design your website to save them time, make things easy to find, and make tasks easy to accomplish.

Is this thing on?

I figured out what the Internet really needs - one more blog about the Web. So I've decided to jump into the fray and start my very own site. I've created CleverThink as an outlet for my writing, a repository for my thoughts, and a therapeutic hobby for my Internet addiction.

The topics you'll find here will vary, but in general look for information about websites, marketing, user experience, customer service and the like. More than anything, this site will be about looking at life with a critical eye. Rather than accept something at face value - we should pick it up, shake it, and figure out what makes it tick.

Thanks for stopping by. Talk to you soon.