Looking back over the past week and to the weeks ahead - to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. How about honest prices at our airports? When I went to Sydney a week ago I packed a good number of Whittaker's...

Currently things are really, really tough for a lot of trades around the country and despite a building boom, significant factors and stressors have created a set of extremely difficult conditions. Business owners are under considerable strain and homeowners and...

In my last piece I wrote about branding and reviews and since then I've had the opportunity to talk with colleagues and think further on the subject and realised I had missed another feature of traditional branding that is trumped by authenticated online reviews -...

Brand, the buzzword for advertising for so many decades, has changed substantially from what it once was since the advent and supremacy of online commerce. Years ago brand was the holy grail for businesses and by extension advertising companies. Brand was splashed...

I'm old enough to remember those crazy, carefree days before the internet where shopping was a physical pursuit and an adventure. Obviously a lot has changed since then and sometimes I have to check myself about my own consumer behaviours, especially over the past two...

One of the greatest things about NoCowboys' online marketing platform is that it requires minimal time and attention and if set up properly, regularly updated, with consistent and recent reviews, it essentially takes care of itself. So well, in fact, that one of the...

Over the years I have heard practically every question about our review platform from business owners with some or small knowledge about us. Some raise objections, that are always countered with brief explanations. I thought it be good idea to offer some of them here...

Talking with Tim Masterton, owner and managing director of iElectrics Ltd, I'm reminded that each and every one of us has a story and every business has a history - downs, ups, failures, and successes. Tim has come a long way from his days in Christchurch as a...

It’s always heartening talking with business owners who are passionate about their craft, their staff, and their customers. I spent some time with Darcy Wills, owner of Hibiscus Tiling to discuss the history of his business, the craft of tiling, trading through Covid,...

[vc_row css=".vc_custom_1636598365151"][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1636598381671{border-radius: 25px !important;}"] NC Web offers high quality websites, with secure high speed hosting and SEO solutions at competitive pricing, to enable...

When I was a kid I loved the Three Musketeers - the sword fighting, the adventure, the wit, the overcoming of evil and adversity. More than that though, I was utterly sold on their rallying cry of 'all for one and one for all'. It made beautiful sense and it was so...

Many business owners spend a formidable amount of money on their 'brand' without really considering what it is that customers look for in a brand and what attracts them to brands in the first place. Brand is not about a fancy logo or a self idealised and professed...

Like every dynamic business, at NoCowboys we take great pride in the feedback we receive and it is even more heartening for us as we are in the business of marketing the reputations of thousands of New Zealand businesses to help them prosper and grow. Reviews are our...

This week I had another one of those wonderful lightbulb moments where something I read online put something I knew into sharp relief. This one was all about the resistance some business owners have to taking charge of their online reputation and controlling the...

Last week I read an article on The Guardian about the backlash that a reviewer had experienced over their career of opining on television shows and movies and I saved the link because I wanted to come back to it. That night the article occupied my thoughts and I...

A friend and I were talking the other day about branding, reputation, and reviews and she said something that was incredibly simple and also amazingly profound. I really love when that happens - when someone can utter a few words that solidify your thinking and make...

This resource is aimed at those business owners who have not yet committed to putting their reputations on the line, online. It explains the many benefits of an online reputation to every business, no matter what it does, where it does it, no matter how large or how...

I've been thinking a lot about free speech really, though in truth, the issue of the right to express opinions and beliefs is something endemic to the review industry all of the time. Reviews are, after all, the subjective experience of an individual and there is no...

I've riffed on John Clarke Fred Dagg's (John Clarke) song "We Don't Know How Lucky We Are" before. It's a great song and shamelessly parades all of the things that Kiwis prize about ourselves and our country, while also satirising the Muldoon era of the...

One of the best things about Christmas is a beautiful tree adorned with decorations but it's worth knowing that trees - real and fake - can also be a fire hazard. There's also a few ways of ensuring a tree lasts longer and is in tip -top condition. Here's a few tips...

Online consumer reviews can make or break a business. Transparency and immediacy means that consumers want to see reviews before they will make contact with a business. No reviews? Lost customers, and no business can survive if they are not actively marketing...

The latest research by BrightLocal says that more than ever consumers are actively seeking online reviews before deciding which business to contact. The research establishes just how essential an online reputation is for every business, big or small. Since 2011 the...

Reviews left by consumers are of great value to your business – they build trust, create transparency, and cement the power of your reputation online to maintain and advance your future well-being. When 90 percent of online visitors are driven to find reviews before...

I get to hear a lot of questions about online reputation marketing and I expect to. It makes sense. While online reviews have been around for over a decade, the power they can have for businesses is only now being seen as essential. So I take it for granted that I’ll...

Ratings are the personal stories that convince prospective customers to connect with businesses, or not. Their value can't be emphasised enough. The best thing a prospective customer can see by viewing your ratings is the way you exercise your customer care. It tells...

To understand why online reputation marketing is essential for every business, it’s important to grasp just how much consumer behaviour has changed with the evolution and availability of computer and smart phone technology.  Understanding consumers' habits and choices...

In today’s business environment marketing your reputation online is essential. Do you  know what you look like online? Have you Googled your business name and seen what comes up and where? Do you know what other people are saying about you? Do you want to control how...

Once you’re registered with NoCowboys, the first thing to do is to fill out your profile – this is your marketing tool and it is important to optimise the  various features to present your business to your prospective customers.          ...

An article by Jon Hall published by Forbes last year says that business owners need to move from managing their reputations online to actively marketing them. While the article has a distinct US flavour, the points he makes are just as valid in New Zealand. The...