Write for Clients

If Your Message Fails to Communicate, It's Your Fault

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:51:29 -0500

This is the cautionary word from business communications expert Tom Sant, who’s interviewed in the March 2008 edition of Management Consulting News.

Sant’s latest book is The Language of Success. In the interview, he explains that it’s the business writer’s responsibility to “take the reader into account and modify the message to get through—even if your reader is dumb as a post.” Sant sees this obligation as a contract of sorts. If you breach that agreement, he says, readers have an absolute right to be put off.

It seems that this kind of breach often stems from the writer’s unwillingness or inability to communicate in his or her own voice. Sant refers to this as a “lapse into [ ] pseudo language, a nonfunctional way of communicating which they think is somehow superior to what they could produce themselves.” In his book, he identifies four common pseudo-languages:

Fluff - Using vague generalizations and assertions
Guff – Using big words, long sentences, lots of passive voice and convoluted constructions to convey superior intelligence or knowledge
Geek – Using jargon-filled language instead of everyday terms
Weasel – Using lots of subjunctive construction so that everything comes across as a hypothetical and nothing stands as an assertion

In addition to outing these pseudo-languages, Sant quotes a study finding that “comprehension drops dramatically when you substitute a longer synonym for just one out of every six short, everyday words.” Not only do big words make our writing harder to understand, they also make readers question our competence.

finding your authentic self when communicating with clients

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:46:53 -0500

Service professionals often find it challenging to connect with clients on a human-to-human level. That’s because you’ve been trained to cultivate a business persona that’s distinct from the person you are in your down time with family and friends. The business face you put on typically reflects just how seriously you take your role as an advisor and advocate to people who need your help.

How service providers can bring more of themselves to their work is a topic that frequently comes up when I consult with clients about there business communications. So, I was very happy to read the practical wisdom and guidance that communication skills coach Joey Asher offers in an article titled Faking the ‘Real You.’

Although he’s writing about public speaking, Asher’s advice applies just as well to any kind of written or live communication. His premise is that people who tend to come off as stiff, formal and standoffish when they communicate have to learn how to “fake [their] own authentic communication style.”

In presenting this “authenticity paradox,” Asher states: “Great speakers know how to fake their own "natural style" even when they don't feel natural at all. It's learning how to act like your real self.” So, instead of being formal, cool and distant when communicating with clients and other business contacts, we need to mimic our “natural personality” – the friendly cadence, rhythm and energy of the communications we have with people that we feel close to and comfortable with.

There’s no doubt that service providers can use Asher’s approach to foster successful business connections.

SEO 101 for Service Professionals

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:37:11 -0500

Service professionals who want to enhance their online presence and visibility need to understand the basics of search engine optimization (SEO).

Well-written content that’s relevant and useful to the people you work with and want to work is a cornerstone of any website. But, all that great content won’t do much for you or your business if the major search engines (think Google, Yahoo! and Live Search) can’t find your site.

That’s where SEO comes in. It’s the art and a science of creating Web pages that appeal to human visitors and rank well with the search engines. There are different approaches to SEO. The resources that follow will give you some practical tips and insights on organic (a/k/a natural or non-paid) search engine optimization.

You’ll find a solid introduction to organic SEO in this:

Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization from SEOmoz.org

SEO Tutorial from webconfs.com

Post from SEO expert Lee Odden on Search Engine Optimization Basics

If you want to build on this knowledge base, you can subscribe to and regularly read the:

High Rankings Advisor Search Marketing Newsletter

Online Marketing Blog

Search Engine Journal

SEOBook

To move further along the learning curve and see how you can incorporate SEO into your online business writing, you can refer to:

Rhea Drysdale’s post on How to Write Good for Search Engine Marketing

Heather Lloyd-Martin’s instructive SEO Copywriting Preferred Practices Guide and e-book on the same subject

Tom Pick’s excellent roundup of the best articles and blog posts from 2007 on optimizing website copy for SEO

Karon Thackston’s article on What SEO Copywriting Is … and Isn’t and directive to Stop the Slaughter of Innocent Copy!

Business Communication Basics for Service Professionals in a New Media World

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:39:30 -0500

When I started out as a lawyer 16 or so years ago, service professionals who wanted to use their business writing to gain visibility and grow their reputation had a choice of several print platforms, including:

Trade journals

Newspapers

Newsletters

Books

Among other common features, this traditional media group boasts:

Static content

One-way communication

Space restrictions

Limited distribution

Gatekeepers

Fast forward to 2008. Traditional media is now keeping company with, and losing ground to, a host of new media (also called social media or Internet media) outlets such as:

Blogs

Vlogs

Podcasts

Social Networks

Real-time community, dialog and interactivity are key markers of this growing media space.

Service professionals looking to (1) build business relationships and (2) direct their marketing communications through new media channels will find solid guidance and practical tips via:

Edith Yeung’s 50 Habits of a Highly Effective Blogger

P.J. Fusco’s Five Getting-Started Blog Questions

Kevin O’Keefe’s post on Why Every Client Should Want an Attorney Who Blogs

Pam Slim’s inquiry into What the heck is a vlog?

Darren Rowse’s vlog post on how to Differentiate Your Blog

Openculture's Podcast Primer

Dennis Kennedy’s Podcasting for Lawyers

Jessica E Vascellaro's WSJ article on Social Networking Goes Professional

Business Week’s Social Networking 101

Denise Howell’s and Ernest Svenson’s exchange on Social Networking for Lawyers

Although a few of these posts target a lawyer audience, service providers working outside the legal profession will also find them relevant and helpful.

Don't Let Your Business Communications Fall into the Generation Gap

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:53:16 -0500

Professional service firms across the country are concerned with navigating the chasm stretching between the values of older employees and those of the Generation Y - or Millennial - professionals now entering the workforce.

Study after study has shown that this younger cohort is more dual-centric (placing equal priorities on career and family) and less work-centric (putting higher priority on their jobs than family) than previous generations. With an eye on attaining work-life synergy, they’re impatient to progress and define rewards in terms of financial success, flexibility, freedom, opportunity and meaning.

According to a recent news release, along with its dual-centric outlook and value system, Gen Y also has a unique communication style. Its members “respond to humor, passion and truth” and need direct and “timely feedback, frequent encouragement and recognition of efforts.” As this article on talking across generations explains, Millennials were raised in an age of tech-fueled instant gratification. So, they need to receive a steady stream of information “to feel in the loop and included” at work.

While older generations are used to communicating with co-workers and clients face-to-face, Gen Y prefers the ease and speed of e-mail and their constant companion – the Blackberry. If you feel behind this e-communications eight ball and want a handy tip sheet for connecting with the Millennials in your work and client space, check out David Pogue’s piece on The Next Generation of Online Shorthand.

What Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About Business Writing

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:07:40 -0500

My mantra is that business writing is all about relating to your intended audience. When service professionals write newsletter columns, blog posts, trade articles or basic e-mails, more often than not, they’re trying to connect with clients and prospects. Whether they succeed in making that connection depends on several factors.

First and foremost, as communication expert Joey Asher points out in Lessons From a Lousy Law Lecture, business writing has to be audience-centric. When your writing fails to focus in on and address their needs, challenges and concerns, readers will quickly lose interest. They’ll turn the page, click the back button or hit delete.

So, how do you grab and hold the reader’s attention?

Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen suggests that you take some guidance from Steve Jobs’ keynote presentation at this year’s Macworld. According to Reynolds, Jobs was so engaging and effective on stage because he:

Developed rapport with the audience. “Right off the bat he was acknowledging the importance of the audience and that they are they important ones, they are who this presentation is for.”

Gave them an idea of where he was going. He didn’t offer a detailed itinerary, but just “a bit of a road map of the journey [he was] taking them on.”

Showed his enthusiasm. Although his opening included the words: “Incredible, extraordinary, awesome, amazing, revolutionary,” Jobs delivered them with genuine and sincere zeal. It wasn’t a put on.

Yes, Jobs gave a live presentation. But, what worked for him in real time will work just as well for most business communications, including your business writing.

How Service Professionals Can Be More Visible in 2008

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:09:10 -0500

We’ve all experienced moments when we’d give anything to be invisible. At those times, it seems safer and easier to just disappear. Then there are times when we really want to be noticed. To get that attention, we’ll step on a soapbox, dress flashy or walk on the edge.

Whether we embrace or shun it in our personal lives, visibility has become a prerequisite for success in the business world. Your clients and prospects won’t know the first thing about you or your services until you grab their attention and engage them in a meaningful dialogue. There are many ways to make yourself stand out as a service professional. But, for years, the Web has been a main line to visibility.

Whether you’re a solo professional or practice in a firm, you can create a Web presence and online communications that attract attention and build strong client relationships. Here are some tips and tactics to help you along:

As Kevin O’Keefe reminds us - by channeling Robert Scoble - your goal isn't to attract the widest possible Web audience. A better aim is to become a credible and indispensable resource in your “niche area.” I've found that you can jump-start this process with a who-what-how intake.

Ask yourself and your team these questions:

Who do you want to draw through your Web door?

What problems do they have that you can/want to solve?

How do you solve those problems?

Once you’ve brainstormed the answers; you can design (or re-design) your website and site content for maximum relevance and benefit to your target visitors-clients.

To learn more about the makings of innovative Web content, tune into an ongoing series on the topic at Brian Clark’s Copyblogger. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen is another great source of information on how you should write for the Web.

Redesigning Your Business Writing for the New Year

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:33:20 -0500

There’s something about being on the edge of a new year. There’s a sense of possibility that compels us to look at things from a fresh perspective. It’s a time that lends itself to renewal and renovation.

Like other aspects of professional life, our business writing can benefit from a new-year-inspired overhaul. Service professionals can accomplish this by trying out new channels of content delivery and distribution, including:

You can also revamp the substance of the written content you produce to market and support your business.

It’s long been said that content is king on the Web. But, it reigns offline, too. As Amber Simmons eloquently writes at A List Apart : “[T]he words that shape the page lie at the very center of an engaging visit. If the words aren’t beautiful and meaningful, the sleekest design in the world won’t compensate for it. The body can never replace a missing heart.” When you write helpful material that engages your clients and prospects, you foster the human-to-human connection that makes you stand out in the crowded field of service providers.

For some more ideas on re-designing your business writing for the New Year, take a look at Bronwyn Jones’ article on Better Writing Through Design and this Dosh Dosh post on Using the Right Content Development Strategy. While both pieces address writing for the Web, their guidance applies to your offline endeavors as well.

Declutter Your Business Writing With Occam's Razor

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:07:30 -0500

One of my favorite new (to me) blogs is Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits. Among other topics, it covers productivity, organization and simplicity. As a business writer, I appreciate the practical guidance offered in posts like this one outlining 15 Can’t-Miss Ways to Declutter Your Mind.

Babauta’s insights often remind me of a writing lesson I learned in law school.

Lawyers and judges are known for producing written work that’s dense, convoluted and jargon-filled. I experienced this first-hand as a fledgling law student. I spent hours and hours trying to decipher the cases anchoring the curriculum and classroom discussion.

I struggled without much success until a friend suggested that I approach the task like an editor and re-write the case facts and law in plain English; reducing them to their simplest and most essential form. He backed his suggestion by citing the principle of Occam’s razor: given any two approaches to the same problem, the simplest one will be the best.

This is a principle that I still hold near and dear. I often refer to it when I help clients create content for their Web and print publications. No matter how it’s delivered, business writing benefits from simplicity. There are many ways to simplify your writing without diminishing its quality or impact. Here are some great tips from Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl.

How to Re-connect With Your Business Network Through Your Business Writing

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:44:12 -0500

From time to time, service professionals emerge from the whirlwind that’s work and life to find that they’ve fallen out of touch with people in their business network. Especially at this time of year, when closing out the old and ringing in the new, there’s a pull to fix these broken connections.

Many professionals send out holiday cards and gifts as means to this end. While these offerings certainly can connect you with clients and business associates you’ve lost touch with, they’re largely one-way lines of communication.

The better route to re-connection runs two ways. It’s an organic dialogue that lends a human dimension to business relationships. Face-to-face and phone conversations enable this kind of interaction. But, you can also encourage and evolve it through your business writing.

There are a number of ways to channel your written words of re-connection, including:

E-mails

Websites

Blogs

E-Newsletters

Whatever channel you choose, it’s important to convey why you’re reaching out to your network and to invite recipients to reciprocate by sharing something about themselves and their work.

Curt Rosengren nicely illustrated this point when he e-mailed me an invitation to his Reconnection Revolution. Curt explained: “[I want to have] “30 conversations in 30 days with people I've never actually spoken with (as in voice) before. No particular agenda to the conversations – just seeing what I learn, how I’m inspired, and what new ideas pop up.”

I know Curt from the blogosphere. Still, ours was an arms-length association at best. We reduced that distance during our hour-long phone conversation. We discussed our personal and professional backgrounds, goals and challenges and offered each other advice and support.

Reflecting on his 30-day mission. Curt said: “People start talking, building relationships, exchanging ideas, even finding ways to collaborate. Next thing you know – hey presto! – the positive potential has just grown exponentially.”

Although Curt’s experiment took place in real-time, his model can be adapted to written communications. If his 30-in-30 formula seems a bit daunting, you can easily customize it so it works for you: think 5-in-5 or even 5-in-10 and see what happens in time.

The Psychology of Business Communication

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:41:20 -0500

This is the time of year when mirth and good cheer abound. With 24-7 Rudolph sightings and carols on the airwaves, negativity can be kept for another day.

When that day rolls around and you have some bad news to deliver to a client, this Legal Times article compels you to ask: What Would Winston Churchill Do?

Apparently, after the Germans defeated the French army in 1940, Churchill “gave what was probably the greatest example ever of conveying very bad news in an effective way.” He didn’t mince words or sugar-coat the truth. He communicated the information clearly and directly, ending with a rousing call for the British Empire and its Commonwealth to face “their finest hour.”

As the article suggests, inadvertently or not, Churchill used the psychology of communication to command a difficult situation. He seemed to recognize that people are more likely to accept bad news when it’s:

Candidly presented

Teamed with a plan for remedial action

Similarly, according to Thom Singer, we can remedy a bad business relationship by candidly communicating a request to clean the slate (post tipped by Chris Bailey). However, as Singer points out, taking the lead on fixing a challenged relationship is "not the same as admitting guilt. Instead it shows you really care about your [business connections] and are willing to give folks a second chance.”

Pamela Slim embraces this kind of openness and honesty in a recent post on the importance of communicating an apology. Slim misused the word “crass” when describing someone in one of her blog posts. Instead of handling his upset behind the scenes, Slim publicized her misstep for all her readers to see and learn from.

Roundup of Business Writing Tips for Service Professionals

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:58:35 -0500

I’m planning to regularly round up writing and communications tips I’ve culled from my feeds and daily Web work.

To start off with a theme of sorts, I found a few recent tip sheets organized around the number 5.

First up are Five Tips for Writing Great Web Content brought to us by the Daily Writing Tips blog. They stress the importance of using a clear, jargon-free and conversational writing style.

Next, internet marketing strategist Lee Odden offers Five Tips for Content Distribution Networks. One of the best ways for service professionals to gain visibility on the Web and elsewhere is to produce written content that addresses the needs, interests or problems of the people you work with and want to work with.

But, as Odden points out, production is just one part of the equation. You also need to make the content readily available for consumption. Odden identifies several main distribution routes, including:

Blogs

E-Newsletters

News Organizations

Social Networking Sites

Next, Brian Clark of Copyblogger sets out Five Steps to a Truly Unique Blog. The two steps that stand out for me are:

Identify the Difference

Maintain Your Credibility

Taken together, they point up that your business writing (and your readers) will usually benefit from your unique perspective if it’s anchored in your authenticity instead of “false confidence or arrogance.”

Rounding out this roundup is a comprehensive listing of 150 Resources to Help You Write Better (yes, it’s a mid-span “5” tipped by Raymond Ward at the (new) legal writer blog ). Among other material, this roster comprises online:

Almanacs

Citation Guides

Dictionaries

News Media Resources

Is Your Business Writing Free of Artificial Client-Centricity?

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:14:41 -0500

Charles H. Green’s recent post on Faking Customer Centricity is a nice coda to my earlier commentaries on:

Communicating with Authenticity

Building Trust Through Your Business Writing

Communicating Mixed Messages About Client Relationships

Green points out that, although the “language of relationships—feelings, apologies, empathy” is very much in vogue in the business world, many companies only pay lip service to being “customer-centric.” He gives a few examples of how businesses fail to back up their proclamations of customer care. From there, it’s easy to launch into our own experience.

For instance, what happens when a salesperson wearing a cute “I’m happy to serve you” button grumbles at your request for help? You feel slighted, maybe even ticked off. The same holds true when you ask a vendor to make good on their service guarantee and they offer a host of reasons why your particular problem isn’t their responsibility. This disconnect between promise (implied or overt) and action makes an indelible negative impression.

Service professionals often produce marketing materials and other communications stating “we care about you and your business” and “we put you, the client, first.” It’s very easy to embed those words in your business copy. But it’s much harder to prove to your prospects and clients that you mean what you state. The proof comes through their interactions with you.

How are you backing up your written claims of client-centricity?

Communicating Mixed Messages About Client Relationships

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:07:16 -0500

FastCompany.com alerted me to a discussion on strong customer relationships hosted by the Tom Peters blog.

Responding to his own question - What is a Customer Relationship? - contributor Steve Yastrow offers us this two-part definition: “A customer relationship is an ongoing conversation with your customer … in which the customer never thinks of you without thinking of the two of you.”

The concept of customer relationships as conversations got me thinking: What kind of conversations – and, thus, relationships - do service professionals typically foster through their business writing and other client communications?

Not too long ago, I made a late-night run to one of our local big name supermarkets. As I pulled into the parking lot, I was reassured by a large sign in the window that read “we’re open late for your shopping convenience.”

After gathering my groceries, I approached the checkout area and saw a line of about a dozen people waiting for the sole cashier on duty. Spotting the store manager, I politely asked if another cashier could open up. He looked at me and gruffly responded that someone was coming out, but that people should expect to wait when they shop so late at night.

Being the shrinking violet that I am (not), I pointed out that the store is open until midnight and prominently displays a sign communicating that fact. I also suggested that the manager remember that there are other late-night supermarkets in town and that his words actually impact way more than the dozen or so individuals consuming them in that moment.

To be sure, my shopping experience that night – which I’ve since shared with a number of local friends - was far from unique. We’ve all been on the receiving end of poor customer service. But, as consultant David Maister suggests, my experience does point up the potential dangers of treating client connections as fleeting transactions rather than lasting relationships. It also highlights the fallout, in the form of negative word-of-mouth, that service providers can generate when they send mixed messages about their willingness and ability to serve their clients well.

Perhaps, then, my local supermarket would have fared better had its manager engaged me in a candid conversation and admitted: "As the sign says, we are open until midnight. But, we can't provide you with fast and efficient checkout or plentiful and affable employees after 9pm.”

Building Trust Through Your Business Writing

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:23:00 -0500

Not too long ago, bloggers Michelle Golden and Charles H. Green spent some time outlining why they object to the use of the terms “trust” and “trusted advisor” in professional firm marketing materials.

Green - who co-authored a great book, The Trusted Advisor, and offers programs on the same subject – opined that professionals shouldn’t overtly publicize their status as, or intent to be, trusted advisors to clients. Why? Because trust is “an outcome, not a come-on.”

Reiterating Green’s belief that it’s really up to clients to deem their service providers trust-worthy, Golden adds that “trusted advisor” is used so often in promotional channels that “it’s now cliché.”

I understand and respect Green’s and Golden’s points. But, I'd like to offer a slightly different perspective.

Trust has become a key concept - and key word - in the service professions for very good reasons. We live in a world where people often don’t live up to their promises. In essence, most business disputes concern a breakdown in trust. So, as professionals, you need to be vigilant about the role of trust in business matters and refrain from giving clients false expectations of your services.

That said, if you’re sincere and determined in your desire to foster trust-based client connections (really, the only kind of client connections there should be), there’s nothing wrong with letting the world in on that authentic intention. People seeking your help will only benefit from your candor about placing a premium on trust.

To be sure, you don’t need to use the words “trust” or “trusted advisor” when describing your offerings in online or print communications (although I see nothing wrong with using them). There’s lots of ways to let clients and prospects know that you’re committed to cultivating trust-filled, meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with them.

Regardless of the words you choose to state your commitment to trust, as Golden and Green suggest, this can’t be an empty promise. You have to team your public words with consistent, professional and personal action. As the very cliché phrase goes: You need to walk your talk.

For more insight into building trust in business relationships, check out Green’s latest Carnival of Trust , a collection of 10 recent blog posts on this important topic.

How to Cultivate Client Evangelists

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:07:12 -0500

In an earlier post, I discussed the concept of Client Experience Management. As a business writer for service professionals, I’m also very interested in the related concept of Client Evangelism.

Client evangelists are people who are so pleased with, and passionate about, services they receive that they voluntarily shout the provider’s praises until the rafters ring. I first learned about this kind of consumer zeal through Ben McConnell’s and Jackie Huba’s terrific book, Creating Customer Evangelists, and now continue my education at their Church of the Customer Blog.

Always on the hunt for practical input on this front, I was pleased to run across a McConnell-Huba article titled Customer Evangelists: Spreading the Word. In it, the authors list some telltale signs of client evangelism, including:

Clients passionately recommend you to others

Clients give you unsolicited praise and feedback

Clients forgive your occasional services lapses, but tell you about them

McConnell and Huba also identify avenues for fostering client evangelists, such as:

Planning a social media strategy that incorporates blogs, e-mails and podcasts

Soliciting client feedback

Creating an open, two-way line of communication

Providing another take on this topic is an article called Capturing the Voice of the Client culled from the Originate! Business Development Newsletter (the article is part of a free preview issue of a newsletter that's available by paid subscription). Documenting an initiative undertaken by the law firm Patton Boggs, the piece highlights how the firm has built a strong service culture around creating opportunities to listen to, and hear, its clients.

One way the firm accomplishes this goal is by publishing a biannual magazine. The publication gives its “key clients” a chance to “talk about issues relating to their businesses.” Likewise, it offers the firm an invaluable opportunity to showcase its “intimate knowledge of the client’s business, organization, culture, industry and financial metrics.”

Business Communications and Connectivity

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:23:19 -0500

A client recently asked me to gather and review some articles on life with the ubiquitous BlackBerry. Although I’m not a user myself, I am closely related to some major BlackBerry enthusiasts. So, I was eager to read up on the subject.

As I’ve noted before, successful business relationships require intimacy – a willingness to get to know the human beings we work with and want to work with. It’s basically the same kind of intimacy that fuels healthy connections to family and friends. But, according to some observers, the tools that many of us now depend on for everyday connectivity may be compromising our capacity for intimacy.

In a Forbes.com article on PDAs (as in personal digital assistants) and intimate relationships, one expert describes this kind of wireless technology as “the modern-day equivalent to the spinster chaperone.” Although PDAs appear to boost relationships by providing users access to one another 24/7, the interactions they facilitate are generally quick and impersonal. As these “nanosecond communications” become the norm for us, we expect “instant relationships as well as all other kinds of instant gratification.”

As a WSJ.com piece on BlackBerry Orphans suggests, this expectation may not play out so well in the real world of human-to-human connection. While some of the quotes from kids dealing with PDA-obsessed parents are funny, the sentiments behind the words are powerful and hard to ignore. These kids are expressing a real need for attention – they want to be more visible to their parents. But, at many points throughout the day, they’re largely invisible because their parents have exchanged intimacy for constant connectivity.

For another perspective on the nexus between constant connectivity, our (past, present, future) everyday lives and our business communications, set aside a few minutes to watch this thought-provoking video, Did You Know? (tipped at Marketing Profs Daily Fix).

Business Writing and Client Experience Management

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:32:54 -0500

I’m very interested in a business trend called Customer Experience Management (CEM). Evolving in tandem with the new experience economy, the CEM model considers a customer’s relationship with a service or product from the vantage point of user experience. It asks providers to understand how their customers’ lives are enhanced or depleted as a result of consuming their goods or services. This doesn’t require super sleuthing. More often than not, this kind of customer – or client – information is readily available.

That’s because people tend to translate their consumer experiences into stories that they quickly share with others. A great example of this comes by way of a Fast Company article in which some “customer service champions” describe their own “stellar customer experiences.” Here, Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy depicts his monthly outings to a local junk store where the proprietor understands how much his customers thrill at the hunt for buried treasure. There’s also an anecdote about exceptional book store service relayed by Build-A-Bear Workshop founder Maxine Clark. Referring to something she calls the Cheers factor, Clark says: “People don't have to know your name, but there has to be that connection and recognition of your value as a customer and a person.”

Echoing Clark's perspective is the poignant customer experience story set out in a much-talked-about blog post called I Heart Zappos (flagged by Seth Godin). In it, a woman describes how she bought several pairs of shoes for her ailing mother from online retailer Zappos.com. Some of the shoes didn’t fit and she intended to return them, but couldn’t get around to it. When Zappos learned that the woman’s mom had died, the company sidestepped its corporate policy and arranged for UPS to pick up the unreturned shoes. What happened next, told in the customer’s own words, is what’s most heartening:

“Yesterday, when I came home from town, a florist delivery man was just leaving. It was a beautiful arrangement in a basket with white lilies and roses and carnations. Big and lush and fragrant. I opened the card, and it was from Zappos. I burst into tears. I’m a sucker for kindness, and if that isn’t one of the nicest things I’ve ever had happen to me, I don’t know what is.”

This kind of positive customer experience clearly derived from sincere human-to-human exchange. It wasn’t orchestrated or contrived.

With sincere interaction as a lodestar, service professionals can engage in Client Experience Management through written business communications.

For openers, you can offer newsletters, blog posts, articles, e-books and other content that helps clients navigate their business questions and challenges. The objective isn’t to tout your greatness or push your services. Instead, you have to come with a genuine desire to provide relevant and practical information that benefits your clients and prospects. When you close a project or resolve a matter, you can continue to engage CEM by sending a personalized thank you note welcoming your clients’ candid feedback about you, your work and your firm.

Communicate Your Currency

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:40:18 -0500

Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone is one of my favorite books on building business relationships. You’ll find a nice overview of its core messages in this USA Today article.

Ferrazzi recognizes that business relationships are personal. To help us make this connection, he encourages us to find our currency. We all have this particular kind of currency. It’s our “capacity to help somebody else fulfill their mission or vision of themselves in some way.”

In fact, according to Ferrazzi, most of us have multiple currencies. Some are naturally stronger than others. Typically, he says, “our most valuable currencies are things we do that seem as natural as breathing -- natural to us, but to others, these skills are a real rarity!”

Your business writing provides a clear channel for conveying your currencies to clients and prospects. But, to optimize these communications, you first need to pinpoint what your currencies are.

To do this, Ferrazzi suggests that you consider the following questions:

What things do you say about yourself and your interests that excite or intrigue people you meet?

When did you help make someone else a success at something?

Of the times you were able to give, which worked the best and which felt the best?

How can you purposely incorporate those currencies into your sales and networking plans?

Business Writing Tips for Aspiring Thought Leaders

lori@loriherz.com (Lori Herz) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:43:40 -0500

A few years back, consultant Elise Bauer introduced me to the term thought leader, which she defines as “a recognized leader in one’s field.” Bauer says that this recognition comes when “the outside world” acknowledges you for freely and generously sharing your intelligence and expertise to meet the needs of your clients and the “broader marketplace” in which you operate.

Picking up on this theme, author and consultant David Meerman Scott provides some great tips on producing thought leadership content. He notes that - whether presented via white papers, blogs, newsletters or reports – this kind of written material:

Addresses issues of interest to your clients and prospects

Aims to educate and entertain, but not to sell

Solves problems and answers questions

Shows that you and your firm “are smart and worth doing business with”

Scott is one of my favorite sources of information on creating excellent Web and print content. He offers his insights through his blog, webink now, and his terrific book, Cashing In with Content.

For the visual learners among us, Brian Carroll has a post on Using Thought Leader Content As A Lead Generation Tool that includes a great mindmap of client-centric content that can position you as a thought leader.

Rounding out the tips is Scott Ginsberg’s post on 17 ways to become a thought leader. My favorite, of course, is “write, write, write” because, as Ginsberg puts it, “[i]f you’re not capturing your thoughts, ideas, experiences, stories, advice and insights, forget all about this whole thought leader thing."