Category: Networking


Content

Filed under: Customer Service, Networking, Social Media — Leave a comment
June 8, 2016

An old employer of mine published this blog about “chasing traffic” the other day…  It brought up some interesting points. One thing I would keep in mind, if you are blogging about high-level topics then, it can be really easy to make your posts over-complicated.  For differentiation in your area of business all you have to do is follow one simple rule.  Is your blog post meaningful?

You don’t have to link, you don’t have to write a novel, you simply have to write something that your target audience finds value in. THAT is a worthy blog post.

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ClickBait

Filed under: Complaints, Customer Service, marketing, Networking, Politics, Social Media — Leave a comment
June 2, 2016

A catchy title can drive traffic to your blog or website but, if it isn’t related, it can damage your credibility. Here are some thoughts to consider before being too catchy. Does the reader actually want to read your content? Does the title explain what is in the blog post or article? Do you tell the truth with any graphics associated with the post? If the answer to any of these are no then you might be on the verge of selling out for clicks.

Consider the following:  The title is a weighted link for blogs and articles, for SEO purposes, using a non-content title will lower your search rankings for the information in the blog. The title is also a preview to your post. People who want to read about your title-topic will click on your link and be happy to read about your content. If you encourage the wrong person to click on the wrong link, you run the risk of them clicking options on Facebook like “Ignore all posts from ____”.  I can’t tell you how many sources of information I have un-followed for posting misleading links. If your picture is semi-related to your topic, but not really, you’re really going to irritate readers who otherwise might have been inclined to share your information.

Possibly the worst thing to do in this situation is type something like, “Something in your backyard might kill you.”  And post a picture of a little girl riding a tricycle in a backyard because it’s a back yard.  People are going to click the link expecting to read about the dangers of tricycles on grass, and the moment you start talking about weed-killer or cobras or something else, they are never going to trust you again. This happened to me with an article about foods that were bad for you and showed a picture of yogurt. I was curious to find new research about yogurt, (Sugar content? Fructose?) did they mention yogurt?  Nope. As a result I have disabled that website on all my browsers on most my devices permanently. Did it have bad information? Nope, it simply lied about the information it might have.

Use these questions to guide you in your online title crafting.  Catchy is good, but don’t lie to your readers.

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Finding Value in Complaints

Filed under: Cellular, Complaints, Customer Service, marketing, Networking, Social Media, Telephone Service — Leave a comment
May 26, 2016

I have had a lot of interactions with customer service lately.  Some of it I pursue aggressively to actually get to a resolution but for the most part I think I am just looking for answers.

The bottom line with any form of complaint is transparency.  When you are in a sales situation being transparent with your process builds value.  An example of that is what the membership sales staff at LA | Fitness would walk their prospects through on the tour.  “This machine has Kevlar belts on it to ensure the smoothest operation possible and prevent any interruptions to your workout schedule day after day because it’s more durable than the alternatives.” You don’t need to be an almanac of knowledge but it is really good to know some of the things about the product you are representing to make the sale.  When you field a complaint to customer service it should really operate the same way.

Even if the result is the same you can improve your customers’ perception of you by building value in the offer of resolution.  “So just to let you know, the reason we charge so much for roaming services in Canada is because we have to strike agreements with Tel-West and they charge us an arm and a leg for every MB we don’t prepay for.  That’s why as soon as we detect you’ve entered the area we send you a notification where you can opt-in to our travel plan where we pre-pay for your service.”  Go deeper, explain the process, this can also help you refine your service standards.  Is the notification sent to the travelling phone or just the account holders?  Was it sent by text? Email? Maybe there is a better way? Explaining this process will allow you to even make corrections for the future.  What if you are notifying an email the customer no longer checks?  Or communicating with an employee who no longer works for your clients company?

Build value in the process, you and your customer will both appreciate identifying where the error occurred and this makes you partners in it’s resolution.

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Winning the Off-Season

Filed under: Customer Service, Dating, marketing, Networking — Leave a comment
March 21, 2012

The Kansas City Chiefs sure are doing a lot to improve their team right now in the off season.  Every year the goal is to be the most improved team between the time that the super-bowl finishes and the Week 1 game starts.  This is Done through complicated free agent moves and draft choices as well as implementing new forms of offensive game-plans, plays and defensive strategies.  There is a lot of work that goes into the win prior to the game.

Kansas City, Seattle, Denver.  All good examples of teams that look to be “winning the off-season” right now in football.  What is your company or organization doing right at this moment to “Win” the off-season?  It’s not all about the sale, it’s about the product, new developments or research. Sometimes heightened customer service or community involvement.  Really ask yourself, are you winning the off season? The time in between sales? And if not, why not?

In the dating world, if your single or newly broken up.. Are you in the gym? Starting a new hobby?  Have you done anything that you could talk to another human being about in the last 5 days that they would find remotely interesting?

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Connectivity

Filed under: marketing, Networking, Social Media — Leave a comment

These days it pays to be connected, how would you like to do 3x the amount of work with only one post/update in one spot?

If you don’t have networked social media, you are wasting effort!

I’m happy to help you network yourself any time if you’re from the Seattle area.

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