Expert Advice

The burgeoning world of social media could be a huge threat to your brand if not managed properly. On the other hand, the world of social media may be the biggest marketing opportunity in years. The difference is all in how proactive you are in protecting yourself by becoming part of the broader soc...

It's official: Mobile is moving into the mainstream. With the ever-growing proliferation of devices offering full Internet browsing access, more and more consumers are interacting -- and purchasing -- on the Web via their device of choice. In fact, according to an October 2008 Forrester Research rep...

You do not need another diatribe on how tough the economy is and how the next tsunami is hitting IT departments. You have seen the signs and have to take necessary actions: budget cuts, pay cuts. You know the drill. However, bad times need not be all doom and gloom -- they can be times of opportunit...

Everyone knows cyber-crime is a cat and mouse game, usually involving a bit of social engineering to trick unsuspecting computer users into clicking a link, installing some software or providing valuable information. The latest trick in crooks' bags: "recession malware." This is a new generation of ...

On paper, the affiliate market appears to be among the most lucrative marketing channels. At its core, it is a revenue-sharing model among a network of Web sites or partners that receive a cut of the sales of any products that they promote. In reality, though, using an affiliate network to drive sal...

From time to time, attorneys ask me to act as mediator in a situation where partners in a business are not getting along. My experience has been that partners act more like a team when they are struggling together to make the company survive. But surprisingly, the business is usually quite profitabl...

It's not news that industry leaders in many markets are rushing to join the "earth friendly" revolution. Their "green" initiatives range from new eco-friendly products, such as paper towels made of recycled paper, to corporate programs promoting community involvement, such as Dell's "Plant a Tree fo...

Every marketing tactic gets more scrutiny when budgets face the severity of a struggling economy. Marketers are increasingly responding to the accountability found in digital marketing, placing their budget toward efforts that they can clearly measure against. Put SEO under this microscope, and it c...

Data centers and headquarters have made up approximately 90 percent of the value in many recent asset sales on Wall Street. For example, Lehman Brothers sold its assets to Barclays for $1.75 billion, 86 percent of which was for the data centers and headquarters alone. The fact is that a company's he...

Without a doubt, major brand name identities will be arriving at the precipice where they will be lined up for a freefall from grace; some will fall, and some will have a parachute. This scene will be repeated all over the world, with new ultra-modern-cyber-age-branding-platforms being structured as...

The game has changed for retail. In an era of increasingly competitive online business, failing corporate giants and consumer fear over the state of the economy, it's clear that small online retailers will face an uphill battle over the next several months. The good news is, e-commerce may be the on...

Identity theft has had a crippling effect on more than 9 million Americans, according to the Federal Trade Commission, and businesses that collect or hold identifying information report millions of dollars in annual losses as a result of these crimes. New identity theft regulations for creditors -- ...

You've launched an online campaign. Now how do you measure its success? Despite all the data that can be sliced, diced, scrutinized and parsed, the process of tracking what's working -- and what isn't -- doesn't have to be overly complicated. If you set a clear, reasonable objective and have a syste...

As I watch the world economy spiraling downward, I thank my lucky stars that I happen to work in one of the few industries that is expected to grow despite the downturn. Nonetheless, online retailers are going to face slower growth than we were all predicting even a few weeks ago, and the industry i...

More is better, right? Wrong. In "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less," Barry Schwartz explains how too many options actually cause more psychological distress than good. And nowhere is the overabundance of choice more prevalent than the Internet, where any given Web site can present us with an ...