Sell Softly on the ‘Net

As you’ve probably surmised, ask-the-expert forums — Q&A pages where customers go to post questions and get answers from a company expert — are simple to set up. A Web designer posts a picture of a company expert on an ask-the-expert page, adds a little background text detailing the employee’s knowledge, and an online virtuoso is born. Web site visitors are invited to post questions, and before you can say “return on investment,” the domain is off and running.