Open Up Your Web Site to Customer Reviews

I can't tell you how many times I've ordered something—usually clothes or shoes or—from the Internet and it arrived looking and fitting decidedly not how I thought it was going to. Would it hurt someone to give me the head's up that this shirt runs five sizes too small? Or that those shoes—ouch—hurt like they're made of needles?

Big online players like Amazon and Target have long understood the importance and necessity of customer reviews on their Web sites, and others are finally catching on, says this BusinessWeek article, which is chock full of statistics that all point to one thing: Reviews, pictures and comments from your customers can only help your sales.

And in the case of that horribly painful pair of shoes you sell? Well, hopefully you'll take the hint from your customers and discontinue them.