“They just don’t get it!”
“How many times have we told them this?”
“Why don’t they understand?”
These are common phrases in the world of business, whether applied to employee communication, marketing communication or customer communication. But there is something fundamentally wrong with each of these statements which contributes immensely to our failed communication efforts.
How do you effectively develop rapport with customers? How do you connect and compel those who have “raised their hands” and said “yes, I want to connect with your company” to continue coming back for more and, better yet, to spread the word about how great you are to others?
In a world marked by increasingly sophisticated technology, it may seem trite but it’s true that developing rapport with customers is not rocket science. In fact, my advice which, initially, may sound very general, is simple: Continue reading “Developing Rapport With Customers”
For those communicators who work with — or who are! — professionals who required multiple, high-level degrees to practice in their careers, there can be a tendency to “speak in lofty language.” They forget that those who are *not* members of their profession *don’t* speak in their language. They fail to realize that, rather than being impressed by their advanced knowledge, their intended audience is simply confused and disinterested. Worse, when their intended audience doesn’t “get” the message they don’t *get* the message. Continue reading “Lofty Language Fails to Connect”
It’s a question that comes up in many venues. On Twitter and in LinkedIn groups. In business meetings. In university classes. It recently came up through a journalist who was asking for input from marketing professionals – like me: “I’m looking for experts to explain, compare and distinguish advertising vs. marketing vs. branding vs. PR.”
For those of us “in marketing” the answer is deceptively simple. Continue reading “What’s the Difference Between Marketing, Branding, Advertising and PR and Does it Matter?”
Recently I’ve received a series of email notices from a cloud-based software provider that offers a service I use. (I’m not going to mention their name, because I don’t want to suddenly begin receiving even *more* difficult-to-interpret messages from them.) Suffice it to say they’re a good company, a big company and one that has become a leader in their area of service. Continue reading “When Communicating With Customers Use Common Language!”
Look up the phrase “new customers only” on Google and you’ll turn up more than 38,000,000 results. Look up “existing customer deals” and you’ll find 19,000. It comes as no surprise that companies often turn to special incentives when trying to lure new customers to their fold. Chances are, most of us have even taken advantage of those deals from time to time. But, when you’re an *existing* customer Continue reading “Different Strokes For “Special Folks”? Good Idea or Bad Promotional Move?”
| During a recent conversation with a client, while talking about her new web site and ways to use the site to interact more with prospects and clients, she recalled that I had recommended an eletter at one point. But, she admitted that she really didn’t see the value of using a tool like that for her audience (and that may well be true given her communication goals and specific market). Still, the conversation made me reflect on all of the reasons that I feel that eletters (or even the old, traditional, print newsletter) can be very useful communication tools for marketers and why it’s worth the bother to create one on a regular basis. Continue reading “The Value of an ELetter or Newsletter” |
Facebook had an outage yesterday that apparently created a lot of angst for users. Not being a heavy user, I didn’t actually experience the outage, or even know about it, until I came across the apology issued by Facebook. It started out like this: Continue reading “Facebook’s Apology Over My Head – But Maybe I’m Not The Audience…”
For years, the “baby boomers” represented the focus of much of society – from television programming, to advertisers’ focus to social media commentary from journalists and academics. But, today there is a new generation that is rapidly gaining attention and focus from these groups. Continue reading “Are You Ready to Serve GenY?”
