I had the pleasure of facilitating a communication workshop earlier this week and the results were riddled with “ah-ha” moments.
The group took a test to determine their “color” communication style and then they broke into groups to identify:
key elements of their communication style
pet peeves in communication
topics they like to discuss
tips for effectively communicating with them
Part of the group, identified as the BLUE communicators, like to tell stories and make people happy and were empathetic and don’t like to be cut off.
Another part of the group – the GOLD communicators, wanted “just the facts” and didn’t want the back story and couldn’t stand to listen to the drivel.
Oh my goodness – the two groups were shocked to discovered their opposite approaches and all of a sudden the conversation got derailed with people offering up times when they struggled to effectively communicate. I couldn’t have planned it better. The participants were saying things like “no wonder you interrupt when I’m talking” or “now I understand why you have to tell the back story to something rather than just getting to the point.”
The group learned that by sticking with their own comfortable way of communicating rather than trying to be sympathetic to other communication styles, they struggled to develop a relationship of trust and mutual respect.
We then broadened the conversation to include the customer. When a customer needs to tell a big long story and the sales associate just wants them to get to the point – we have a situation were the lack of patience and respect are felt and the customer doesn’t feel listened to or valued.
Bottom line: when communicating with our customers, our peers, our boss or our family members, we need to be aware of the fact that different people communicate differently. We need to try and mirror their communication style if we want to build relationships.
The one thing all four communication groups agreed upon: they all wanted to be respected when communicated with.
It’s hard to build a relationship on the Internet. You can’t make eye contact. You can’t ask questions and if you could – you certainly wouldn’t be able to hear the answers.
Yet the Internet is where our prospects and customers seek information and make decisions about potential vendors or companies with which they’ll do business.
So how do you tell your story? How do you communicate your vast knowledge and experience without a bunch of WORDS PEOPLE WON’T READ?
YouTube offers a platform to share your story – but you have to be creative if you want to capture the attention of viewers and hopefully create a message that “goes viral.”
In a recent edition of Advertising Age, Teressa Iezzi of Creativity Online shared the top creative picks of 2009. I’ve talked about one of them in an earlier post – the musical stairs in Stockholm. But this time I want to share the story of Johnnie Walker in their historical, yet extremely creative video called “The Walk” which chronicles the history of one of the greatest adult beverages known to man.
You have a unique story as well. One that people would be interested in hearing. Have you considered using YouTube to tell about how you got started? Or maybe your start-up story is ordinary, but how you came to focus on a particular product or service is unique.
For more information on how to connect with your customers and share your story using YouTube, check out this video from Small Business Trends by Jim Kukral with 101 ways to use YouTube and this article from Meryl Evans on the 34 ways to use YouTube for Business.
Banks have had a rough year, haven’t they? Scandal, fear, anger, and a general loss of confidence from consumers have made banking a challenging field. Marketers for banks understood the concern and changed their primary message to one of safety and soundness but in many cases that has begun to change.
Maggie Kelly, VP of marketing for American Banking Association said “We’re seeing people move back to more product-specific promotions.”
As the confidence increases a wiser, more informed and perhaps cautious consumer is now looking for ways that banks can help them save and be more effective with their hard earned dollars.
In a recent article in Advertising Age entitled Banks Turn Message Back to What Consumers Want, reporter Beth Snyder Bulik spotlights the fact that banks are listening the consumers and changing their message to one that includes the answer to ‘how can you help me manage my finances?”
What I love about this is the fact that MARKETERS ARE LISTENING TO THEIR CONSUMERS.
One of the changes being made effects the bank websites. They are creating separate pages for each product with a “one-page simple explanation of each specific product…Forget jargon-filled ads and book-like bank documents; the bank of the future needs to cut straight to the point.”
Yes! Two enthusiastic thumbs up. We can all learn a lesson from banks by listening to our consumers and providing a marketing message that answers their most prevalent questions. And then here’s the important part: making sure the answers are simple and easy to understand and easy to find on our website.
It is a new year. What new things do your customers want to know? How are you sharing that information? Where is it in on your website? Is it easy to find? Is it easy to understand?
One of the primary services of my company AllWrite Ink is providing content for websites that connects with the reader. I always find it interesting that most website content focuses on the company; their history, their products and their services. I understand that the company wants to put their best foot forward and reassure the reader they have what the reader is looking for – but does that build a relationship?
The purpose of your website should be to get the reader to take a predetermined action: pick up the phone, send you an email or fill out a contact form.
When it comes to building relationships on your website with the reader you have to first:
Get their attention
Show them you understand their problem/pain
Convince them to read beyond your headline
Inspire them to take the action
We only have 3-7 seconds to grab the reader’s attention once they land on our website page. So how do you get their attention?
Start with a question. Questions require an answer and if the question hits a chord with the reader, they’ll find themselves answering the question and reading the next line. bonus!
Use short sentences, lots of bullet points – make it easy and fast to read the most important points
Use BENEFIT STATEMENTS – don’t talk about your line of widgets, instead talk about the difference they’ll experience because they’ve used your widgets: a life that is better, faster, cheaper, better looking
INVITE them to pick up the phone and call you – MAKE IT EASY TO CONTACT YOU
The real relationship building comes when you have actual contact with the reader. That’s when you can ask additional questions, uncover needs and make recommendations. It is that relationship development that begins the process of building trust in the mind of the prospect and hopefully turns them into a customer.
So does your website capture the attention of the reader and inspire them to call you so you can start to the process of building a relationship?
Visit Ohio Web Writer for a free web paper on the 5 Elements of a Website People Read. Make sure your website is doing its part to capture the reader’s attention and get them to pick up the phone so you can do your magic.
The final step to ensure long lasting and profitable customer relationships is to incorporate post-sale servicing into the overall process. The sale does not end when the contract is signed. It is the customer’s experience – and, in many cases, the experience of the customer’s customer – that develops the long-term relationship. Only if the customer is satisfied that he has received all that was promised, and that the solution does indeed address his financial concerns, have you succeeded. And that success is not an end unto itself, but rather just another step in a long journey of working with your customer to continue to solve problems and develop new approaches to doing business together.”
I was talking with my friend yesterday who shared a story about a company he knows that has incorporated into their selling process the sale of an on-going service package. Unlike most companies who focus on the initial sale, this company starts the sale by explaining the value of an on-going relationship. They use this as an opportunity to say in touch and make sure that the customer’s ever changing needs are met.
Establishing a need for an on-going relationship gives you the chance to continually meet/exceed expectations and keeps you in the forefront of the customer’s mind. In the case of the customer relationship – absence DOES NOT make the heart grow fonder.
I’m reminded of a mortgage specialist who told me she can quote right down to the person’s name the number of mortgages she has closed that went into foreclosure. How can she do this? After the contract is signed, she keeps up the relationship; calling to see how things are going, sending little notes and emails to keep in touch. On the front end, she works very hard to ensure that the right people connect with the right mortgage product so they don’t go into foreclosure. In an age of unpaid mortgages due to loss of income or buying too much house for their budget – she starts off by being open and honest and continues the relationship long after the boxes have been unpacked.
Selling is a finite task.
Building relationships that last long after money has changed hands, leads to life long opportunities to serve the customer’s needs and referrals that grow your business.
Do you have a process in place that encourages continued communication after the sale is complete?
It’s not in my nature to brag, but I was surprised and pleased to receive an email today from the US Commerce Department informing me that the monthly e-newsletter I send out to just under a 1,000 generous souls has been recognized as the Best Service Newsletter for my community.
I’ve been writing Words People Read for just under five years. Each month, faithfully on the first of the month I’ve produced an e-newsletter that shares one primary theme. It isn’t a sales pitch – in fact until just recently I would forget to even include an invitation to call me. I share tips and suggestions revolving around customer service, communications, social media and small business marketing. Sometimes I’ll include a few side bars notes with links to cool resources I’ve discovered. Not all 1,000 recipients open/read my newsletter but those who do are kind enough to send me thank you emails. I’ve even heard one reader say that she uses the newsletter as the kick off point for her staff meetings.
Many have poo-pooed newsletters as old hat – last year’s marketing tool – but if done correctly, a newsletter can be a great way of providing value and keeping your name in front of your target prospects.
Just a few tips:
Keep it short – one page – people are busy and don’t have time to read magazine-length newsletters
Be focused – keep it to one primary theme
Offer value – be thought provoking, cutting edge or informative
Don’t sell – people will stop opening your newsletter if they expect it to be another sales pitch
Be consistent – it takes a commitment to create a following – if you are going to start a newsletter, make sure you can commit to a schedule whether that is monthly or quarterly
Be readable – just like with any marketing or communications content – use small words, short sentences and lots of white space – capture the attention with bold phrases and bullet-pointed lists like this one
Be entertaining – the use of stories to get across your point is much more fun to read than dry, textbook content
I’m honored to have Words People Read and the efforts I’ve put forth recognized. It’s pretty cool stuff!
So do you have a newsletter? What suggestions do you have for someone just starting out? Care to share?
Have you thought about starting a newsletter but need help? Call me 330-414-8792. I offer newsletter writing as one of my services and would love to help.
I had to have an MRI today. I’m struggling with back and leg pain and after months of other treatments the doctor said “I think it’s time for an MRI.”
NOT THE COFFIN THING. I cried. You see I have a little bit of an issue with small spaces. Being a rather large person – tall and big boned, if you will – small spaces give me the creeps. But I’m tired of the limited mobility and wanted some answers. So my son took me to the doctors because they said they’d give me something to relax.
The nurse took one look and said “Hmm, we usually only give one pill but you look like you need two.”
I climbed on the table as she explained the procedure and what to expect. Tight space, no movement, really loud jack hammer sounds. She placed radio headphones on my ears, squeezed my shoulders and told me it would be okay.
Soon, I heard her reassuring voice in my ears through the headset. The first test was to last for five minutes. It was the longest five minutes I’ve ever experienced.
“Could you count down the time for me,” I asked before the next test began.
My nurse, Denise, was really understanding and encouraging and said all of the right things, but the one thing she missed was just how long five minutes can be. From then on she let me know as each minute passed.
Just four more minutes, you are doing great.
That little extra information was what I needed to finally calm down and make it through the following four tests.
She told me afterwards that she hadn’t realized I would be able to hear her over the noise of the machine. However, her voice and the message of how much longer I had was a life line that I strained to hear. It was a little thing – as great customer service details are – and yet it truly was the make or break moment for me.
Some times our customers have to go through a bunch of steps to use our products or services. We know the process by heart and for us it doesn’t take any time at all. But for a customer who hasn’t ever experienced working with us – they might need a little update now and then.
Sometimes just communicating that you don’t have anything new to tell can be of value. Think of how long you wait for a car repair. They tell you 45 minutes and round about an hour you start to wonder if they’ve forgotten you. Giving our customers little updates along the way shows we care – we know their time is valuable and we haven’t forgotten them.
Is there a customer service moment you can offer – one small increment at a time? Take the time to do it – it can make all the difference in the world.
I just upgraded my Verizon phone. Why did I do that?
I’m guilty of being one of those people that is tempted by the latest and greatest gadget. There was nothing wrong with my Motorola Q – we were good friends. But I switched to the Blackberry technology.
YUCK!
I understand there is a learning curve. I’M TOO OLD TO LEARN.
So I am forced to get out the manual. I’m already frustrated and it seems like “giving in” to resort to reading the manual but here I am – manual in one hand – phone in the other.
“Go to the Applications screen”
“Click on Show Tunes”
I go to my phone – no where on my phone does it say “show tunes.” Even if I turn it sideways – still doesn’t say “show tunes.” It says “Show Ring Tones.” Close enough? Guess what – it doesn’t work. It’s empty.
Now I’m angry. I can’t get the phone to work and what the manual says to do is INCONSISTENT with the product.
How many times have you angered your customers because your communicate is inconsistent? Do you use different terms for the same thing. Does one department call a “widget” a “thing-a-ma-bob?”
If different people/departments develop products/services then those that write the instructions – do you have consensus on what you call things? There is nothing that will tick a customer off more than making them feel stupid.
Guess what? Inconsistency makes people feel stupid. If they don’t get it – they surely won’t get you. And then what happens? They dump you and go to the competition.
Don’t lose a customer over something as simple as clear, concise, CONSISTENT communication.
Need help? Hire a copywriter – they are skilled in making sure that the same words are used throughout a communication piece.
You’ve read articles on how to improve your business, lose weight, be a better lover and all have a long list of things to do to be successful.
This list has one item:
Fail to communicate.
That’s all it takes to really tick off a customer and potentially LOSE them for life.
I’m waiting on a product that I need to help complete a project for a customer. I called the vendor and was told it would be ten working days for delivery.
Ten days came and went six days ago.
No email from the vendor.
No phone call.
No explanation.
So yesterday I called him. At ten am. His voice mail said “I’m in today but away from my desk. Leave a message and I’ll call you right back.”
So I did.
Nothing.
I called at 11am. Left another message.
Again I called at 1pm. Figured he’d need a lunch break so I didn’t call at noon.
At 2pm I called the main number. Sorry only Mr. Cartright has the information on your file.
I left another message at 3pm.
Finally a call from Mr. Cartright at 4:30pm. No apology. No excuses. No – in fact – he chastised me for not leaving my account number on the voice mail which required he look it up by my name.
“I don’t know when that product will be available. I’ve sent an email to the person that provides the product. I think they may have been on vacation. I’ll give you a call when I hear something.”
I was promised delivery. Yet, when delivery was impossible I wasn’t communicated with. I had to hunt down the information. The answer I received showed no compassion, no empathy, no concern, and certainly no customer service.
When we promise something – the very least we need to do is deliver what we’ve promised. THE MINUTE WE KNOW WE CAN’T DELIVER – we need to act by calling or emailing the customer to keep them informed. The less the customer knows – the more they imagine and the more angry they become.
Our customer makes decisions and promises of their own based on the information we provide. And when we fail to communicate – we put our customers in a position of not making their deadlines. Our products may be needed by the customer to fill an order of their own or may be something they desire for a personal reason. It doesn’t really matter WHY our customer needs our products/services. They just do. And when we fail to deliver when promised and then fail to keep them in the loop – we might just as well kiss them goodbye as a customer.
I just called the vendor again to see what the status was. He said he didn’t know anything. I said – so what is your plan of action?
Wait for a call.
I see. That sounds mighty powerful.
I said – when can I expect to hear from you?
When I hear something, was his customer-focused reply.
How about you call me within 24 hours even if you don’t know anything – just to keep me in the loop, I suggest.
Have you ever noticed that associates treat customers – not always how they’d like to be treated – but rather how their boss treats them.
Interesting.If we are encouraging, positive and informative with our associates – they’ll respond positively and in turn, treat their customers with the same open, honest attitude.
So when assigning a project to your team – keep in mind that they’ll respond more in line with your desires if you take the time to explain the “why” behind the task.
Think back to when you were a kid. Remember when your Mom would tell you to do something? Sometimes it was a random request; you are playing with your toys and she sticks her head in the door and says, “Come on, get your coat on.”
Well, you don’t remember any appointment.Nobody told you there were plans to go someplace. You are right in the middle of intense play! You look up to find your Mom has already left your room and you holler, “Why?”
“BECAUSE I SAID SO.”
Oh, many times, she pulled the “because I said so” card. Grudgingly you drag yourself off the floor, looking longingly down at your dolls and slowly you turn towards your door.
“NOW!”
You hear your Mom yell at you to move faster.
You know where I’m going with this, right? How many times have we done the same thing at work? Oh, maybe we don’t say “because I told you” but it’s the impression we give.
So how does that make our associates feel?How many communications have you read or even wrote that spelled out mandatory edicts without an explanation? I know, who has time to bring everyone up to speed.
But how quickly do you achieve 100% compliance without clearly communicating the “whys.”
What if Mom had said, “Hey, come get your coat on? I can hear the marching band practicing at the high school – let’s go watch them practice.”
Or
“Grandma called, she’s not feeling well and she asked us to come for a visit.Go get your coat.”
We’d leave our toys a minute, right?
As the former Director of Communications for Cole National, I often had to communicate messages to associates that would require change or additional work. Most frequently my writing went under the signature of the President or Vice President of Stores.Their goal was a communication that achieved results. My responsibility was to ensure the message was read – understood – and acted upon.
To that end, I always included the why behind the information. It doesn’t need to be lengthy or complicated, in fact, if it is – it won’t be read.
When communicating with your associates remember these tips:
?If there is an action, task or deadline for the reader, state it early and often
?Explain the why behind the message – it should be as simple as a sentence:
o“In response to competitor’s recent advertising we are…”
o“Due to changes in our vendor supply capability you will need to…”
o“In response to requests from your peers we are changing…”
?Tell them how their compliance will impact the company. When associates realize that the request isn’t busy work but will actually impact the overall company results, they are more likely to comply.
?Thank them in advance
?Reinforce any specific task and/or deadline
?Give them a contact in case they have questions or comments
Create a partnership for success by being informative and providing associates with the “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, “when”, and “how”.You are letting associates understand the value they provide to the company’s success.That makes everyone a winner.
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I had the pleasure of facilitating a communication workshop earlier this week and the results were riddled with “ah-ha” moments. 
I had to have an MRI today. I’m struggling with back and leg pain and after months of other treatments the doctor said “I think it’s time for an MRI.”
