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August 2007 Archives
August 3, 2007
Treat your customers like blog subscribers
You must think I've gone off my rocker. I can just hear you clicking on the comment link, just waiting to ask me why in the name of all that's Holy I would suggest you treat customers like blog readers. Well, there's a perfectly rational explanation, and it has nothing to do with sending your clients rss feeds.
I'm referring to responsiveness. One of the biggest factors that excites me about a blog is how the author responds to the readers.
Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame makes regular appearances on his own comment board to reply to anybody who contributes to the conversation in a meaningful way. He has far too many readers to reply to every comment, but when somebody adds their two cents and adds something relevant to the conversation (rather than someone saying "Good post!" and linking back to their own blog), Brian is sure to keep the dialogue going. Brian qualifies his readers as real readers rather than skimmers and shameless self-promoters, just like you would qualify prospects as potential clients rather than window-shoppers.
Mike Sigers of Simplenomics does the same as Brian, but takes it a couple steps further. Mike doesn't seem to get as many commenters, and is also a consummate salesman, so he does in fact reply to EVERY comment. I believe he even posted about it. He is quick to thank any poster and welcome newbies, and even quicker to chew out abusive comments. Mike leaves no inquiry or sales call hanging, and treats every new arrival as a valued 'customer'. He also has no patience for troublesome clients who prove to be liabilities.
Chuck Westbrook of I Hate Your Job is the "small business" of the bunch I'm talking about today. He replies to every comment (in length, as well) and if my experience mirrors others' he even sends emails offering thanks for comments and reading. In fact, he even emailed me asking me to add my two cents to a discussion going on over there right now. When you're competing with a big market like blogs and you're a new face, you need to stand out. And one of the best ways to do it is with beyond outstanding customer service. Leave nobody unanswered and they will be loyal to you. And when you invite current clients to participate in an exercise or experience that adds value, you show them that you care about their needs. Every salesman should try this at least once.
I'm also going to use myself as one last example. Rather, this post. If you promise a post to your readers, you need to deliver. I promised this post to Chuck, and it wasn't until today (and following an email from him) that I delivered. The same goes for...well, anybody in real life. FOLLOW THROUGH.
These are just a few examples of how you can improve your customer service/client relations by just being responsive. I recommend you give them a try. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm currently enjoying some time off from work and spending the long weekend (plus a few extra days) in Muskoka. I will be back in the big city in the middle of next week. And I hope to return with a post expanding on one of the points I mentioned today, as well as a few entries on Key of J. (Preview: Greatest hits albums and a certain Boss...but not the kind in your office). In the meantime, I have a date with a book, a dock, and a bottle of Alexander Keith's.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on August 3, 2007 10:05 AM Permalink
August 9, 2007
What do you see in the mirror?
How well do you know yourself? Probably better than anyone else. You know your thoughts, your beliefs, and you know the real story behind you. But there's another side to you, one that you're probably aware of, but haven't gotten to know: how other people see you. And the flip-side is equally true.
As someone who spent his university career studying psychology and philosophy, I think about this stuff a lot. And I've had the opportunity to have plenty of fine examples and reminders come my way in the past month or so.
For example, there was this article by Chuck Westbrook over at IHYJ. The same boss you hate could be a great person outside the office. You might even have gotten along. But there are two sides to every person.
To further carry this example, we have a family friend at the cottage (whose name I will **** out to protect the innocent). We were all hanging out, having fun, and we got to talking about work. And we realized that while we all have loads of fun with ****, we probably wouldn't like "Suit ****".
If you're a fan of the office (on NBC), everybody's "favourite" Regional Manager, Michael Scott, is a perfect example. He sees himself as well-liked, friendly, and having a great sense of humour. But in reality, he comes across as creepy, needy, and offensive.
So many questionnaires invariably ask a question where you have to say how your friends would describe you. And of course, we all pick the option of how we WANT them to think of us, not necessarily how they really DO think of us. It's understandably hard to do; we all have a concept of ourselves and what we're good at. To have that come crashing down around us would be unpleasant to say the least.
To wax philisophical for a moment, Sartre stated that we think of ourselves as subject, and as everything (and everyone) as objects. This is our subjective reality. We are the centre, and the world is organized by its relation to us. But the experience of the Other makes us realize that WE are objects to THEM. We are pushed outside of our subjective reality and are forced to cope with theirs. This leads into the idea of the "look", that when we feel the look of the Other on us, we see ourselves from outside, and we have a moment of realization of how we are perceived.
That was a little dense (even for paraphrasing), but the gist of it is, we find it hard to look at ourselves from someone else's perspective because we don't always like what we see.
But if you can take the time to accept who you appear to be as opposed to who you want to be, it's so much easier to work through these perceptions and bring them closer in line to one another.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on August 9, 2007 8:50 AM Permalink
August 19, 2007
The Best Boss in the World
Two of my favourite artists fall into that category of "you either get it or you don't". One, who I'll talk a lot more about later, is Neil Young. And the other is "The Boss", Bruce Springsteen. When I tell people I listen to Bruce and the E Street Band, I keep getting a negative reaction (much to my surprise). Whether they don't care for the voice, can't relate to the music, or conjure up unflattering images of men in their forties in white t-shirts and bandanas belting out "BAAAHRN IN THA U-S-A!" some people just don't like Bruce.
To me, of course, Springsteen's appeal is obvious. First off, the sound of his music is unbelievable. The sheer size of the E Street Band creates a wall of music that could easily blow your speakers. And it's not just quantity of musicians; it's quality as well. Each member of the band is legendary in their own craft; after all, there is only one Max Weinberg, one Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, and only one Stevie Van Zandt.
The songs themselves are masterful too. Bruce has created an entire world within his music. There aren't many songwriters who are storytellers of his calibre, and the distinction suits him. Almost every song is a narrative with distinct and separate characters, and the listener is really brought into the world of the protagonist. All the hopes, fears and challenges that they face becomes familiar, and you can identify with them. The fact that they are almost entirely about a blue-collar character is the real key to how he became the hero of the working class. The great thing is that not only are the stories meaningful, they are credible. They tell of things that can and do happen; they also have a grandiose feel to them. Rather than a pop song about meeting a girl at a party, the songs are more about sacrificing to make a life for a family.
The backdrop for the songs can only be described as an industrial utopia. He sings of lovers who meet "in the field behind the dynamo", or a "giant Exxon sign" which gives light to a "fair city". It's about finding those small scraps of beauty within a world of grime and despair. Even the people are realistic. In Thunder Road, he sings "you ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright." Not a goddess, not a Barbie doll, but an average looking woman who means everything.
The biggest divide between lovers and haters is energy. When I first started listening to Springsteen, I pictured a stoic man rasping out these songs of yearning and hope in the darkness. But then I saw live footage of Bruce and the E Street Band, and it changed my life. Never before have I seen such raw energy and power coming from a group of performers. All of them look as if they're playing a local rowdy bar: dancing around, standing on the pianos and speakers, pumping their fists; you almost forget they are in front of a thousand people in a stadium.
Rest assured, I will be reviewing actual songs and albums in the near future. And I'm very excited to say that Bruce and the band are releasing a new album in early-mid October, called "Magic". And there are rumours of a tour. And here I thought I'd never get to see the Boss and the E Street Band live. I guess when it comes to Bruce Springsteen, whether in his songs or in real life, there's always hope.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on August 19, 2007 7:46 PM Permalink
Spam, spam, eggs, sausage and spam
I seem to have a spam problem. Okay, don't we all? But it's starting to get out of hand. I could handle the junk folders in my hotmail and gmail filling up at a staggering rate. I could handle the occasional junkmail getting through the filters. I could even handle the comment spam I've started getting on this blog. But I've started getting a new kind of spam (related to this blog) that I'm not sure how to deal with. And it's going to drive me insane.
This isn't your regular, old fashioned comment spam. Oh no. That I don't mind. All that takes is to turn on comment moderation. I figured I'd spare you from having to see it, and not give them the satisfaction of reaching anybody. But I've got something new. I have received two emails, each from a separate "company", offering to help me promote my blog. From what I can tell, they are each offering to spam other sites for me. Each email has details contained in an HTML attachment, and hid the "unsubscribe" email address in a TXT attachment.
Because I don't believe in protecting the guilty, their names are Hit-Booster and BlogBlaster. They are sent out by Promote-Biz.net. I'm sure they bother other people as well. Basically, I'd like to ask if anyone has any advice, and to offer my own two cents on what they're doing.
First off, this is not permission-based marketing. I did not opt-in to receive anything from them, and they are cluttering my inbox with daily emails, each offering an identical but different product. This is a good way to piss people off.
Second, they are offering to spam FOR me. Why anybody would make such a ludicrous offer is beyond me.
Third, who insists on putting the email address to stop receiving messages in a separate file attachment? It looks like a virus rather than a legitimate email.
Basically, these types of guys are who ruined email marketing for everyone else (or at least gave it a bad reputation). If you're thinking of promoting something, and you're new to the game, don't do this. It's just bad practice.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on August 19, 2007 7:48 PM Permalink
August 24, 2007
I hope I get to make this next post
Pardon my recent absence, I have been focused on work related things- including a recent interview for a new, fancy, corporate job. So I'll be making a post of things to do for a successful interview...so long as all goes well ;)
Posted by JW on August 24, 2007 8:06 AM Permalink
August 25, 2007
How to be condescending
You may remember a recent post I did about giving advice. I'd like to discuss a similar topic, but to keep it fresh, I'm going to take a different angle. Today's post is all about how to look down on other people and let them know you're doing it.
Treat opinions different than your own as stupid
It's a well known fact that you are right. How could you not be? Everybody of your intellectual calibre (the few, the proud) agrees with you and anybody else is an idiot. You're a Democrat, they're a Republican?* They're an idiot. You're a Creationist, they're a Darwinist?* They're an idiot. You prefer to download movies and music, they prefer to pay for them?* They're an idiot. You don't agree with this post?* I'm an idiot. How they could arrive at such a ridiculous line of thought is absolutely unthinkable; clearly they are dumb.
* - Feel free to reverse these to fit your position. This paragraph will be far more agreeable to you once you adjust it to fit your needs.
Let them know there's your way, and there's the wrong way
Every task has only one way to be accomplished, and you figured it out. Any other method is inefficient or glossed over. Make sure to show everyone the RIGHT way of doing things, and don't forget to tell them as much. It's the only way they'll learn.
Take any advice you agree with as absolute obvious fact
You don't need to check references or think critically about things you hear that you agree with. Since you're clearly right, so are they. It's just common sense. How some people could not accept this to be true is simply an example of their lack of intelligence.
Ignore any counterpoints
Oh, those simple-minded cretins might try to say they have "reasons" for their way of thinking, but that is ludicrous. Their opinions are simply propoganda that's been drilled into them by the government/the drug culture/pop music/aliens/corporations/activists/Steve Carell/insert secret evil organizations here.
Remember to rub it in their faces
As a last little reminder, always make sure you make it perfectly clear to those you're trying to enlighten that they are WRONG and STUPID and you are RIGHT and SMART. If you simply remember these steps and follow these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to being a pompous, self-righteous, condescending creep.
Until next time,
JW
Posted by JW on August 25, 2007 7:30 PM Permalink
August 27, 2007
How to get an offer you can't refuse
There's something I really hate doing. And unfortunately, I don't do it much. Yes, yes, I'm aware that sounds crazy. "Jason, why would you find it unfortunate you don't do something you hate very often?" Because that something is going to Job Interviews. So naturally, when I got "the call" from "the Corporation" (whose identity will be protected for obvious reasons), I was both thrilled and terrified.
Getting TO the interview point has always been quite difficult for me. So I don't have a whole lot of practice in this area. When I got word from the Corporation, I decided I would have to bring my A game...and in fact, a whole NEW game. Therefore, I did something I've never really done for a job interview before: Prepare. While I'm still waiting on their decision, my interview did feel like it went well, and one of my interviewers even remarked as much as she led me back to the lobby. Here, then, is my laundry list of helpful interview preparation:
Look the part
The last thing I did before I hung up the phone was ask directly what the recommended dress code would be. Today's business world seems to be having a bit of a fashion crisis, so it really helps to know what to expect. The HR person to whom you're speaking will be glad to answer the question, will be glad to see you're taking it seriously, and might even give you a hint. Personally, I was told that wearing a suit "really impresses them".
Behave yourself!
I'm not talking about having good manners; that should be OBVIOUS! I'm talking about behavioural questions. They seem to be the regular form these days. Go to a career centre, or get a book, or hell, even use the Internet; you'll be able to find all kinds of resources on common interview questions and what they're looking for. The fact is, in behavioural questions, they want SPECIFIC examples from your past. So if you've got a list in your head of excellent situations, you'll be ready. Think of the situation, but don't plan your answer out 100%. You should be able to adapt the event to the actual question (since they can differ), and you don't want to look too rehearsed.
Mind your manners
Yes, I know, it doesn't bear mentioning...okay, maybe it does, just in case. Be polite! Shake their hand, smile, look them in the eye, sit when asked (not before...I'm serious!), and be courteous. Look to your interviewer to set the tone. You can loosen up if they do.
Do your research
Know the company. That's another simple one. But I want to stress that you can't go too far with this. Go to their site, check their stocks, look in the news, read their releases...in fact, learn how to do some basic business analysis, and give it a swot.
...what?
Yes. I was asked, on the spot, to do a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of the Corporation. Never get caught off guard. I did it, and did it well, too. When I got back from the interview to my current place of employ, I ran into my marketing strategy teacher, and thanked him profusely for drilling those SWOTs into our brains.
Hope for the best
Basically, just remember to be your best. Be confident, be personable, and show them you're capable. It's not guaranteed to get you the job, but it'll sure as hell help.
Until next time,
JW
P.S. The Saturated Market head office will be moving come Saturday, so if I disappear in the near future, don't panic. Or do, it'll give me an ego trip.
