For customers
How good it is to be lost in a crowd again
It's certainly been the strangest year most of us have experienced and much of how we go about our lives has changed. The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated our thoughts and actions and there is every sign that we still have a way to go, before vaccination and opening up...
Overcoming a recession will take more than great leadership
While it was surely one of the strangest election campaigns in living memory, postponed by a month because of the the Covid-19 epidemic, New Zealanders voted on Saturday (and in huge numbers beforehand) and exercised one of the most abiding elements of our personal...
Reputation is far too important to abandon to those who twist it
I think about reputation a lot. Not only as a concept or an idea but as an actuality that governs the choices we make about individuals, brands, businesses and politics. It's important to remember that reputation is all about perception, as it is created from the...
Auckland has everything – except for imagination
I've lived in Auckland for 16 years. I moved here from the South Island, never thinking at the time that I would be here this long. I've lived out west, east, and north and I've travelled all over the wide expanse that now constitutes the 'Super City'. My kids have...
Covid-19 series 2 – yeah, nah
So, we are almost at the end of series 2 of Lockdown and the reviews aren't quite as positive as series 1. Where the first series created a sense of connection and togetherness against a formidable foe, resulting in a finale of real triumph and shared achievement,...
Tipping our hats to the no cowboys
There are some professions that get a rough deal - that are perceived by some in negative ways because of past experiences or through word of mouth. Tradespeople are one such sector and in my opinion the vast majority of them would have to be some of the most hard...
It’s space Jim, but not as we know it
I've been thinking about virtual space for a while - not only because it is the strange, necessary and contested space of digital marketing - but because of the disappointing manner in which some of the more gargantuan online entities have shifted and melded to become...
Consensus, consensus, consensus
Sometimes I find myself just going 'wow', when I think about how much the world has changed in the past six months and how it continues to alter and shift as we all negotiate our way through the social, cultural and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Each day...
We cannot go backwards
While we may always have known, and were told that Covid-19 may well come back after a 24 day spell of no cases, the past few weeks has brought us all back down to earth, with a crashing thump. More than that, the trust that many Kiwis have had in our institutions has...
We’ve had leadership – do we need politics?
New Zealand has done what most of the nations around the globe could only have dreamed of at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic - reduced active cases to zero for a stunning 19 days, with a fraction of the deaths, even though each and every one is a heartbreaking...
Colmar Brunton releases corporate reputation index results
Last month Comar Brunton, in conjunction with Wright Communications, released its annual index of New Zealand's most trusted companies. "Wright Communications’ managing director, Nikki Wright said Colmar Brunton’s polling during the COVID-19 lockdown showed many of...
Thank the stars for online!
All over the world, as many people stay at home, under varying levels of lockdown or self-isolation to combat the spread of Covid-19, one of the saving graces has been the internet. I'm not specifically talking about the seemingly endless access to entertainment as I...
Working at home – win win for businesses and employees?
Working at home is by no means a new thing but it has certainly increased due to necessity over the past few months, in the new, Covid-19 reality. Mainly to curb infection and to maintain productivity and functionality, businesses that were able to conduct operations...
Reviews are the new brand, only more effective
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...
Make your feedback valuable
I was reading an article online recently with guidelines on how to leave great feedback - whether positive or negative - and it reminded me that at its core - feedback is a conversation. What I mean is that the words we choose in the feedback we leave are...
Abusing reviews for personal vendettas
Online reviews are to meant give guidance to our peers based on our experiences and subjective opinions. Unfortunately, if allowed to be, they can also be used to damage the reputations of businesses when absolutely no service was provided or product purchased. When...
My last dalliance with an irritating brand
A month ago my phone decided that its sure and steady trek to oblivion was getting tiresome and decided to quicken the pace. I had the phone for a year. It was a refurb - that's refurbished for those who still take pleasure in avoiding the need to shorten or...
The power of the apology
In a perfect storm of irony I was all set to write about the power of apology in business this week, and wouldn't you know it, I was served up the ideal how not do it by celebrities in Lalaland. For those of you who missed it, Will Smith decided to let rage and...
The Covid pandemic and online reviews
The past two years have transformed our lives, no matter where we are in the world. In the coming years, behavioural psychologists will have a field day, filling academic journals with papers focused on the many and various ways that the Coronavirus has impacted our...
Retail vs online shopping
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...
A review is an opinion shared
Something that came up recently got the ol' brain box ticking over and took me to what some may call the bleeding obvious - a question that I imagined should have a universal and obvious answer - what is a review? It may sound simple, as we may think we know what a...
How to find tradies/businesses on NoCowboys
NoCowboys isn't a directory in the traditional sense, it is a platform where Kiwis can contact businesses after reading reviews. Our verified reviews are a point of difference to other sites, such as job boards, and they are the best metric to guiding your choices -...
Facebook marketing? Yeah nah
In our last piece I analysed some of the main takeaway points form BrightLocal's 2022 annual online consumer survey that established the near total reliance consumers have in reading online reviews before contacting businesses. One point in the survey results has...
98% read online reviews for local businesses
For over a decade BrightLocal had conducted and published the results of its annual "Local Consumer review Survey". Last year's survey results were released a few weeks ago, but hey, we are in a global pandemic, so who is going to call them out for tardiness? As is...
NoCowboys online platform is nothing less than marketing gold
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...
FAQs for business owners who know little about NoCowboys or online reviews
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...
Dodgy company charges for free Google sites
NoCowboys began in 2006 for two reasons - to give Kiwi consumers access to the best information to make informed decisions on who to hire (and who not to) and to create a platform for New Zealand tradies and businesses to harness the power of their reputations,...
Despite the risks, new business goes from strength to strength
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...
Finding the sweet spot
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,...
NC Web
A Professional Website - Exclusive to NoCowboys Businesses As a registered NoCowboys business, you can get a fully custom-built website for a one-time setup cost of $999. Your website will be designed to make your business easy to find and trust online -...
Missed opportunity to help Kiwis benefit from authentic reviews
A few weeks ago (September 13), Fair Go presented a segment on fake reviews - interviewing two women that had a dissatisfying experience with a local moving company and a founder of a site than analyses fake reviews, based in New York. Fair Go has been a Kiwi staple...
All for one and one for all
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...
Websites for all seasons
At NoCowboys we have been marketing the reputations of Kiwi businesses for over 15 years. We know reviews, we know reviews work and we have witnessed the rise and success of thousands of businesses who use our services and our platform. Over the years, however, we...
Visibility means being transparent
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...
Keeps you on top of your A game . . .
Keeping up with all of the latest research on online reviews and consumer behaviour is all well and good but I still firmly believe that the best indication of the power of what we do at NoCowboys comes from the businesses that use and profit from our platform. After...
“NoCowboys is an invaluable tool”
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...
You may not think you’re online but your reputation is
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...
Direct contact from customers puts you in charge
There are various ways for businesses to attract new customers but some are better than others. The best methods of all involve active, motivated customers contacting a business, this is known as direct contact. It is far superior to the alternative - business owners...
Fake reviews are only an issue for the unwary
We are strange creatures and no matter what the enterprise, the unscrupulous amongst us do anything they can to secure an advantage. It's been this way for millennia and it's just the way it is. Even still, that doesn't mean that the rest of us have to fall into the...
Reviews and ratings trump price in consumer survey
Survey results published in the US last month cement the absolute dominance of online reviews and star ratings driving consumer behaviour. 6500 consumers were surveyed by PowerReviews and for the first time the findings indicated a substantial shift in the...
Our health professionals deserve far better
There are some decisions that really should be worked out with a hell of a lot more thought and consideration. Freezing public sector salaries after the budget last month is one of them. Now we face the prospect of nurses striking for better pay and conditions and...
It’s vital to ask your customers how they found your phone number and did they see your reviews
Your reviews are online to reassure your customers; to provide them with the peace-of-mind they require to consider even picking up the phone and making contact but as a business owner, it's imperative you ask your customers a few questions when they first get in...
Utilising reviews to boost your conversion rate
As always, I spent a few hours this week perusing the internet to see what new trends are emerging in marketing, consumer behaviour, and online reviews. A lot of it is just confirmation of what I already know but I will always read something that puts what we do at...
NoCowboys is an online review platform
Since 2006 NoCowboys has given Kiwi consumers the essential information they desire before contacting businesses and at the same time we have been instrumental in helping thousands of New Zealand businesses grow and substantially increase their customer bases. The...
Online reputation marketing is for the life time of a business
Over the years I've seen a number of business owners make one of the biggest marketing mistakes without thinking of the consequences to their business and it's so easily avoidable. Marketing a reputation is not something that you turn off because you are 'too...
Strangers’ opinions guide us to greater things
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...
Most trusted Kiwi brand revealed
The word iconic is terribly overused and often misapplied but for some reason it fits exactly when I think of the winner of this year's Reader’s Digest’s annual Trusted Brands survey. Ask any kid and they will tell you that one of their favourite things is chocolate,...
The perils of positivity – read the reviews!
We have known this for years and the research affirms it year in and year out - consumers aren't just taken in by 4 and 5 star ratings - they want to read the actual reviews themselves. An article I read this week brought that into greater focus and I...