http://www.retailonlineintegration.com Copyright 2011 North American Publishing Company en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Two weeks ago in my blog , I totally skewered CompUSA and its warranty company (found out it’s Assurant Solutions ) for not doing the right thing and honoring the extended warranty I purchased for a high-definition television. Within... ]]> Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:19:06 EDT UPDATE: Right after this blog post published, I got a call from someone at CompUSA. I was told two things: That the CompUSA I was writing about went out of business and the NEW CompUSA would never treat customers with warranty issues... ]]> Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:44:01 EST Dear Readers, Today I bring you the latest quarterly employment survey from Bernhart Associates . I find it very encouraging, and hope you will too. A rebound in hiring in the direct and cross-channel retail industries spells good news for all... ]]> Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:25:30 EST As a marketer, you should be overly concerned about how your customers experience your brand, products and customer service. I evangelize how in the internet age it's very easy for a company to wind up getting skewered via social media. But... ]]> Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:36:07 EST Folks, business is serious business! I've worked for too many companies and employers who took themselves way too seriously. And why not be serious? It's important work bringing great products to consumers, right?  Wrong! Given... ]]> Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:15:31 EST Last week, I started a new series on how to make sure you capture as many visitors as you can when they come to your website . For the purpose of this discussion, let's forget about branding and think as if we're just creating a... ]]> Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:06:50 EST As a cross-channel merchant, you know that your website, and more importantly, your homepage are your company’s main calling cards. These have to be perfect in order to put your brand in its most positive light.  There's an... ]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:27:12 EST I don’t know how much more I can do or say about the U.S. Postal Service and its stupidity. I've made all kinds of suggestions on how it can increase its revenues, incentivize companies to try mail and win back customers who have... ]]> Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:27:18 EDT OK, now what?  Direct marketers aren't getting slammed with another 5 percent-plus postage rate increase in January. Big whoop-de-doo. Postage is still the biggest expense in all my clients’ mail campaigns. And the cost of... ]]> Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:14:15 EDT Dear Mr. Postmaster General and the honorable members of the Postal Regulatory Commission , As an online marketer, I want to thank you. I cannot wait until you raise postage rates come January. Now some people may not agree with me, but I... ]]> Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:45:05 EDT When I first started marketing via social media, I didn’t understand Facebook. A blog was the central focus of my social media programs. I’d create a blog post and push it out via Facebook and other social media channels. And that... ]]> Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:47:22 EDT