The Big Red Fez: How to Make Any Web Site Better

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Simon & Schuster, 2002 - Business & Economics - 111 pages
Everyone who surfs the web knows that some sites are better than others. Now marketing guru Seth Godin identifies and illustrates the crucial guiding principles behind creating websites that satisfy visitors and keep them coming back for more. Once upon a time it was believed that web surfers had plenty of time, knew exactly what they wanted,and made considered decisions with each click. Before long, however marketers asserted that surfers were busy, ill-informed and impatient. Data would later reveal that the marketers were right. Thus, according to Seth Godin, anyone building a website should think of every visitor as a monkey - in a big red fez. Monkeys want to know one thing: Where's the banana? If the banana isn't easy to see and easy to get, the monkey is as good as gone. Expanding upon this premise, Godin uses real-life examples to explain why no website sould try to be all things to all visitors, how and why the mantra 'customers first' applies to websites, why it's incredibly important to think proactively about serving online customers, and more. Packed with wisdom and practical applications, THE BIG RED FEZ is an essential tool for anyone involved in the web.

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About the author (2002)

Seth Godin, Vice-President, Direct Marketing, Yahoo! Inc., is responsible for Yahoo!'s direct marketing, permission marketing and Internet promotions. Godin joined Yahoo! in 1998 from Yoyodyne, where he served as president and CEO. Yahoo! acquired Yoyodyne, a recognized leader in Internet-based interactive direct marketing, last year. Recognized as the pioneer of Permission Marketing, Godin is a sought-after speaker on the conference circuit, having presented at the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference, Jupiter events, and ICE, as well as international marketing forums. Last year, Godin was one of the highest ranked speakers, among 403 presenters at Internet World. He is a featured speaker at Fall, Spring and Summer I-Worlds. Godin is also the recipient of the 1998 Momentum Award, honoring outstanding Internet industry accomplishments. Godin received an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School in 1984. Prior to graduating from Tufts University in 1982 with a degree in both Computer Science and Philosophy, Godin co-founded and ran one of the largest student-run businesses in the coutnry. From 1983 to 1986 he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software, where he led the team that developed the first generation of multimedia products, working with such forward-thinkers as Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton. He managed 40 engineers and introduced more than 60 software and video products to the marketplace. Godin is the author and co-author of a number of top-selling business books, including E-Marketing, the first book ever published on how to do business online; The Guerilla Marketing Handbook, part of the best-selling Guerilla Marketing series; The Information Please Business Almanacm, a ground-breaking business reference book; and Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Freinds, and Friends into Customers.