Devoted to branding and building and protecting brands

Besides names that begin with the same letter, there’s something much more significant held in common by Cisco, Curves, Club One Fitness and Craigslist.  What is it?  Each one has a web site that ranks high in our benchmark rating.  And each wield their sites as competitive advantages. Weapons. It’s no coincidence that their traffic is heavy and productive. 

Full disclosure: our shop rates web sites as part of our overall marketing services.  For years, we’ve implored clients to develop and operate sites as the precious corporate assets they actually are, and not as passive, electronic propaganda vehicles and “read-only” electronic brochures.

In other words, don’t be like the vast majority of web sites on the Net.  

Superior companies go beyond way touting product features on their sites.  Lesser ones go no further than features.  Superior marketers clearly articulate what shoppers and customers want to know the most and value the most: the benefits, the value proposition, the proof points and candid testimony.  Icing on the cake: conversational engagement with the company and discussions with other shoppers and customers whom they feel are like themselves, using web-based applications that are cheap and easy to implement.

So, the implications far exceed the ratings generated by this or that web site.  The intelligence these companies derive from what they learn in no-holds-barred commentary from customers, in a public forum, provides the basis for fresh web site content, new product concepts and product features that deliver the kind of benefits for which those customers will pay the most money.  

In other words, what shows up on your web site can make a swift and positive contribution to your top line.

Check our roster and see if you’re there.  See if you agree with your grade and if not tell us why.