A week ago, during an interview about how communication styles affect your success with customers on ThatRadio.com, I had the chance to air one of my biggest bug-a-boos - business people who don't take the time to be professional. It isn't an expensive proposition but it can make all the difference in the world in terms of creating a trusted relationship with your customer and in protecting your brand.
The first contact with a customer is often on the telephone. Sometimes it is in person, but regularly, in our age of rush, rush, rush, we find ourselves listening to voicemail rather than a real person. Those voicemails are the gateway to your business. If you can't afford a professional voicemail, then for heaven's sake, take the time to write a script for yourself and make it professional.
Please don't pretend it is your house. It is your business. So, no "Yo, this is George, you know what to do." And if you run a home business, it is even more important to recognize that your customers are calling to find a professional business person. As cute as your three-year-old might be, that is not the voice they want to hear when they call.
Another prevalent non-professional behaviour is the use of yahoo, msn or gmail as your email address. These free email services are used regularly for scam and spam emails. You could find your communication to your client going into their trash bin. Not only is that a risk, but your credibility and stability could be questioned.
At the very least, use the email from your provider. An email extension that says rogers.com, sympatico, etc. is a little bit more credible. At least it shows you have a provider for your business and are not just sitting in an internet cafe somewhere accessing your email.
Best case scenario is obviously to develop and purchase your own business URL. This needn't cost an arm and a leg. There are several sites that offer registration of URLs as low as $20. And there are companies, such as Black Sun, that offer web support of your URL for as low as $10 per month.
Do some research. Ask business associates the name of their service provider and whether they are happy with the deliverables. Even if you are a novice at website and URL management, tapping into your business associates' knowledge and experience can get you on a good path. Or check in with your local small business centre. They often have experience in this area and can guide you.
You don't necessarily need to put up a website just because you have a business URL, but if you do, make sure that your website reflects the credibility, stability and professionalism of your business. Just because your nephew has Front Page, doesn't make him a web designer. Keep it simple, keep it clean. There is rarely any need for animation. Keep in mind you have about three seconds to engage your customer or they move on to someone's else website.
In closing, professionalism doesn't mean you have to become dehumanized. Deliver the personal touch that helps grow your business. And remember all the things that touch your customer reflect on your business and on your brand even your voicemail and email address.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Active writing, active reading - get your email message right
Active listening is the cornerstone to good relationships, whether in your family or in business. But active writing and active reading are too often left in the dust of business behaviour.
How many times have you misunderstood an email message or written one that just didn't cut the mustard?
When we compose an email to a colleague or a customer, it is so important to remember you will not be there to interpret the message.
So here's few rules to really keep you on track for active writing and active reading for emails:
1. Resist the urge to use a background. You have no control over how it is going to display on your customer's screen and you could lose a lot of business just because your email is illegible. Backgrounds add no impact to an email, but they can sure make a mess of it. And in many cases, in the business world imbedded images are blocked and can ultimately send your email to the spam bin.
2. Write in an active tone of voice - use present tense wherever possible. It helps get your reader involved in your message. Get involved in your message and your reader will too.
3. People scan! Always remember that your reader is busy and is likely scanning the email to see if it is worth their time. Don't ramble. Get to your point. Put your most important issues at the beginning of the email and close with a call to action. The middle is often material that the eye sees but the brain doesn't absorb.
4. Use bullet points. Because of our tendency to scan, bullet points work better. They are easier on the eye and the brain can absorb them faster.
5. Use plain language. Scanning two syllable, even three syllable words, works but much above that and your reader might get the word wrong and not even know it.
6. Actively read your incoming messages. You will scan; I guarantee it. You scan to make a decision whether to spend time with the message and you scan to absorb the content. Try to slow down and really read all the words. It takes practice, believe me. We all live in a hyper-active world and just to keep up we need to find ways of saving time. Don't make your business associates' or customers' email one of those places. Unless of course you get a lot of silly nonsense from them...then scan. And maybe recommend that they aren't helping people take them seriously and on that note....
7. Don't send junk. Few business associates and few customers want to see pictures of your kids, read joke emails or learn the newest psychic information. Use discretion for goodness' sake. Only send emails when there is important information to share or questions to ask.
8. Give them some face time. Both your customers and your business associates would benefit from you actually speaking to them in person or even over the phone rather than through email so much. We're forgetting the value of personal contact. Get off your butt and build a relationship.
9. And finally.... watch your tone of voice! Cheekiness, quips, sarcasm and innuendo just don't translate safely.
You have one chance to get your message right - damage control for "accidental emails" is too time-consuming and potentially costly to your business.
How many times have you misunderstood an email message or written one that just didn't cut the mustard?
When we compose an email to a colleague or a customer, it is so important to remember you will not be there to interpret the message.
So here's few rules to really keep you on track for active writing and active reading for emails:
1. Resist the urge to use a background. You have no control over how it is going to display on your customer's screen and you could lose a lot of business just because your email is illegible. Backgrounds add no impact to an email, but they can sure make a mess of it. And in many cases, in the business world imbedded images are blocked and can ultimately send your email to the spam bin.
2. Write in an active tone of voice - use present tense wherever possible. It helps get your reader involved in your message. Get involved in your message and your reader will too.
3. People scan! Always remember that your reader is busy and is likely scanning the email to see if it is worth their time. Don't ramble. Get to your point. Put your most important issues at the beginning of the email and close with a call to action. The middle is often material that the eye sees but the brain doesn't absorb.
4. Use bullet points. Because of our tendency to scan, bullet points work better. They are easier on the eye and the brain can absorb them faster.
5. Use plain language. Scanning two syllable, even three syllable words, works but much above that and your reader might get the word wrong and not even know it.
6. Actively read your incoming messages. You will scan; I guarantee it. You scan to make a decision whether to spend time with the message and you scan to absorb the content. Try to slow down and really read all the words. It takes practice, believe me. We all live in a hyper-active world and just to keep up we need to find ways of saving time. Don't make your business associates' or customers' email one of those places. Unless of course you get a lot of silly nonsense from them...then scan. And maybe recommend that they aren't helping people take them seriously and on that note....
7. Don't send junk. Few business associates and few customers want to see pictures of your kids, read joke emails or learn the newest psychic information. Use discretion for goodness' sake. Only send emails when there is important information to share or questions to ask.
8. Give them some face time. Both your customers and your business associates would benefit from you actually speaking to them in person or even over the phone rather than through email so much. We're forgetting the value of personal contact. Get off your butt and build a relationship.
9. And finally.... watch your tone of voice! Cheekiness, quips, sarcasm and innuendo just don't translate safely.
You have one chance to get your message right - damage control for "accidental emails" is too time-consuming and potentially costly to your business.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Plain Language - a gift from the gods
Small business writers, owners and general marketing staff often get bogged down in their own industry lingo and leave their customers behind. The 'big guys' are even more prone to this. The financial services industry has completely forgotten how to speak normal-people-language; technology companies, I think, prefer to never speak regular language in lieu of boggling all our minds and cell phone companies are happy with the bewilderment they create with terms and conditions.
But finally, I have had a wonderful language experience I think bears noting. And can be a terrific example for small business when building "the sound of your brand".
I lost all respect for my cell phone carrier a long time ago but had to wait until my contract was up to change to a new provider. The shop clerk understood why I wanted a change and recommended Virgin Mobile. I was prepared for the "same old, same old" but was in for a fantastic surprise. Not only are there no hidden fees - or for that matter no additional fees for things like access or set-up - but they actually speak the same language that I do. In fact, they speak a language anyone over the age of 12 could understand!
And the brilliance of all this, is they not only talk a comfortable level of language, but they write it too! Their brochures and guide books can be understood even by someone like me (I'm an audio-kinetic learner so the written word is sometimes a challenge if the language is high-falutin' or too much technical jargon). Heck, my eight-year-old neice Emily would be able to manage in the Virgin Mobile environment.
Now don't get me wrong. They don't talk down or in a condescending fashion (nothing makes me boil faster than that). It is the simplicity of it that really makes the mark.
The lesson for small business here is the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Silly. (We don't like the word 'stupid' around here, so no need to write and tell me I got the acronym wrong)
Don't use four sentences when one will do. Don't get lost in your industry jargon - even if your industry doesn't seem to have a lot of technical terms. Your industry could be peopled by folks with masters degrees who just by nature write at a high-end university level.
People tend to scan material and get involved only if the scan has given them value. It is easy to scan two or three syllable words. Much above that and you run the risk of them scanning and getting the meaning all wrong. Courts have said that contracts must be written in plain language so the common man can understand them (not that contract writers are actually listening in most cases). If the courts are insisting on plain language, it only makes sense to make sure your small business insists on it too.
But finally, I have had a wonderful language experience I think bears noting. And can be a terrific example for small business when building "the sound of your brand".
I lost all respect for my cell phone carrier a long time ago but had to wait until my contract was up to change to a new provider. The shop clerk understood why I wanted a change and recommended Virgin Mobile. I was prepared for the "same old, same old" but was in for a fantastic surprise. Not only are there no hidden fees - or for that matter no additional fees for things like access or set-up - but they actually speak the same language that I do. In fact, they speak a language anyone over the age of 12 could understand!
And the brilliance of all this, is they not only talk a comfortable level of language, but they write it too! Their brochures and guide books can be understood even by someone like me (I'm an audio-kinetic learner so the written word is sometimes a challenge if the language is high-falutin' or too much technical jargon). Heck, my eight-year-old neice Emily would be able to manage in the Virgin Mobile environment.
Now don't get me wrong. They don't talk down or in a condescending fashion (nothing makes me boil faster than that). It is the simplicity of it that really makes the mark.
The lesson for small business here is the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Silly. (We don't like the word 'stupid' around here, so no need to write and tell me I got the acronym wrong)
Don't use four sentences when one will do. Don't get lost in your industry jargon - even if your industry doesn't seem to have a lot of technical terms. Your industry could be peopled by folks with masters degrees who just by nature write at a high-end university level.
People tend to scan material and get involved only if the scan has given them value. It is easy to scan two or three syllable words. Much above that and you run the risk of them scanning and getting the meaning all wrong. Courts have said that contracts must be written in plain language so the common man can understand them (not that contract writers are actually listening in most cases). If the courts are insisting on plain language, it only makes sense to make sure your small business insists on it too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
