News from the upside!
Welcome to The Upside, your destination for uplifting stories and positive news from around the country. In a world often filled with challenging headlines, we aim to bring a refreshing perspective by celebrating the inspiring moments, acts of kindness, and achievements that showcase the best of New Zealand. From heartwarming community efforts to breakthrough innovations,The Upside is dedicated to spreading optimism and highlighting the bright side of life. Let’s shine a light on the good happening all around us!
In reviews – 14th April – ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Animals really are incredible Last night as as I was driving home I approached a zebra crossing and had to take a...
In reviews – 7th April ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Christchurch Cathedral rebuild slowed down by huge budget blowout I was raised in Christchurch, so like many others...
In reviews – 31st March ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Easter trading rules are a bit of a mess For years, the rules over Easter trading have been a bit of a hodge podge...
In reviews – 24th March ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Frozen pie sold for ten times its price I grew up in the South Island and we were introduced to fast food chains a...
In reviews 17th March ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Anonymous benefactor brightens strangers' lives A lovely heartwarming tale of faceless generosity opens this weeks...
In reviews – 10th March ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. We all lose when tech giants get a free hand In the past few weeks our two major broadcasters have announced cuts...
In reviews – March 3rd ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Dad found in the bush after son's gut feeling and help from a goat This one is a real beaut. 72 year old Brent...
In reviews – 25th February ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. The buck sotps here Making mistakes on the job isn't always the end of the world and this one at least raised a few...
In reviews – 18th February ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Sterling effort from firefighters battling Port Hills blazes Only seven years ago the Port Hills in Christchurch...
In reviews – 11th February ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Feat given record status, finally You spend seven years knocking together a faithful reproduction of Paris' Eiffel...
In reviews – 4th February ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. Heartwarming tale of generous stranger You're working in your garden, minding your own business and some randomer...
In reviews – 28th January ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. We need to question the traffic management rort. An recent article in the New Zealand Herald made me realise that...
In reviews – 21st January ’24
Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. 'Theft' grey area makes for a ripping yarn Laying waste to the well established schoolyard maxim of 'finders...
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...
Don’t ask, don’t get – the practice of acquiring online reviews
I've been involved in online marketing and the review industry for a number of years and if there is one constant I hear from business owners, it is frustration about getting their customers to review their business. I've learned a number of valuable lessons and...
Has traditional advertising lost its impact?
I was researching a story the other day and as often happens, an innocuous statement got me thinking. I love when that happens and I am constantly surprised by where it it can take my mind and make me think very differently about things I hadn't considered before....
Better be home soon
Last Sunday I got to be part of a huge, raucous, and appreciative crowd at Auckland's Spark Arena to see and hear Crowded House. This isn't a review of their music, their talent, their endurance, their achievements, or their artistry. It's a short and heartfelt...
A year since the first nationwide lockdown . . .
This week marks the one year anniversary of New Zealand's nationwide Level 4 lockdown and it is incredible how quickly the past 12 months have passed and how much we have changed. I can remember vividly the thoughts of impending doom as the whole country, apart...
An authenticated review platform is essential
One of the greatest challenges to the substance and veracity of online reviews is instilling confidence in the consumers who flock online to make their choices based on the opinions of others, whom they will likely never encounter in real life. Maintaining a...
Why you need to register your business with NoCowboys
Simple marketing is the most effective Marketing is essentially the bridge across the gap between your business and the customers you want to attract. NoCowboys provides the most effective means to close that gap – using your greatest, and probably most under utilised...
Reputations are made by the perceptions of others
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...
How to leave a great review
When you're leaving feedback for a business there a few things to keep in mind to ensure those who read it get the real benefit of your opinion. After all, that's what feedback is, your experience of the service you paid for or a product that you bought and...
A resource of all of the benefits of online reviews
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...
Conflict resolution is a crucial skill in business
I've witnessed enough conflict between businesses and customers, personally and professionally, to have a good idea of how to avoid it and if it occurs, to resolve it. Firstly, and most importantly, differences are endemic to human beings. We see things,...
NoCowboys grows your business online!
Where does the freedom of speech end?
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...
Fair suck of the sav!!!
Search engine monopoly, Google has been accused of playing rough in Australia by an 'experiment' that removes certain news websites from search results. In and of itself, that's fairly average but it is even more worrying, considering earlier calls by Australian...
Responding to an unreasonable review is essential
I worked in the hospitality industry in various capacities when I was much younger and while I loved being in a kitchen, I quickly worked out that I didn't quite have the patience or the quick thinking required to be successful when dealing with the public. Perhaps I...
Cricket needs honest leaders as much as it needs ‘stars’
Late last year, or nearly a week ago, former Australian cricket captain, Steve Smith was named test player of the decade by the ICC (International Cricket Council). Now, don't get me wrong, Smith is a fantastic cricketer, with an incredible record of amassing a huge...
Consumers expect to see challenging reviews – embrace them!
For some businesses owners, challenging reviews are a huge obstacle and sometimes end up being a stumbling block that they just can not get past. While there is obviously a human element to dealing with and accepting criticism - fair or unfair - there are some things...
2020 – we’ve seen the best of people in the worst of times
In 1992 the Queen defined one of the more challenging 12 months of her reign with a handy Latin phrase that summed it up perfectly - an annus horribilis (horrible year). She was referring to a string of divorces in the family, a fire at Windsor castle, and a litany of...
Review survey establishes impact of Covid-19 on consumer behaviour
Each year BrightLocal publishes the eagerly anticipated and well respected results of its annual Local Consumer Review Survey. Year in, year out, the survey affirms the supremacy of online reviews as a dominant driver of consumer choice. This year has been unique in...
Come together
This week the very first Covid-19 vaccination was administered to a 9o year old in the UK. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was created in record time and offers a real sense of hope of being able to defeat a virus that has held the world to ransom for most of this year....
The whole truth and nothing but the truth
Reviews are only valid and worthwhile if they are honest, transparent and real but more than that businesses need to be aware that in New Zealand, there is a legal requirement to present reviews accurately, and consequences if those obligations is not met. This...
Owning up to mistakes is a huge strength
The vast majority of unflattering reviews online focus on failures to deliver what was promised - whether that be for a product or a service. The substantial factor in all of this is that the uncomplimentary review is very often the last step a consumer takes when all...
Time for All Blacks fans to step up
When I wore a younger man's clothes I dabbled with playing rugby. For most of my childhood I'd played football, or soccer, as Kiwis call it. I had my masculinity attacked. Other kids hassled me and mockingly asked if I kissed and hugged the other players, as that's...
Too little, too late?
Since last Wednesday when the US held elections for president, congress and half of the senate, as well as a myriad of other public positions, the world has focused on the results as they came in, in fits and starts, until at the presidential level, Joe Biden had won...
Increasing customer value in your business
In business, growth is dependent on attracting new customers and ensuring that existing ones return. For repeat customers a significant factor is what they perceive to be the benefits of the purchases they make or in the services they commission. In most instances,...
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...