Jacquelyn Lynn, Business Writer, Speaker

When You Have to Tell a Customer No

I was always taught that you never tell a customer no, and if the answer is no, you offer an alternative instead. So if the customer asks, "Does this come in red?" and it doesn't, your answer should be, "It comes in blue and green."

But sometimes the answer is no and there's no getting around it. Here's a way to make that work for you.

If you subscribe to the Flashpoints newsletter (which I produce) or my own e-mail list, you may have noticed that I use Constant Contact to send those publications out. I recently had a question about something I wanted to do with mailing list management. I couldn't find the answer online, so I submitted a help ticket. Within a few hours, I had a personal answer that essentially said, No, we're sorry, our system isn't set up to do that. However, we think it's a great idea, and we're sending it to our product development team to see if it's something we can implement in the future. (Not an exact quote, but that was the gist of it.)

What a great lesson! If a customer asks for something you simply can't provide, don't just say no and let it end there. use the question as a way to improve your products and services -- and let the customer know that's what you're doing.

I was already loyal to Constant Contact, but now I'm telling others about what a great company they are. Do you have customers who might do the same for you if you turn their questions into product improvements?

What's wrong with your website?

If your website isn't performing as well as you think it should, the fixes may be very simple. Take a look at "Five Things I Hate About Your Website" by Carol Tice and seek how many of those mistakes you're making.

How to Use Keywords to Pull Journalists and Consumers to Your Press Releases

Are you making the most common mistake online press release writers are making? 

 

Over the years, I have enthusiastically recommended Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, for great advice and information on various aspects of publicity and promotion - and I'm doing it again.

 

If you write press releases and post them online, are you making the #1 mistake that 9 out of 10 other press release writers are making?

 

That mistake is this: They aren't using keywords within their releases. Keywords are the same words people type into Google and the other search engines when they're searching for the answer to a problem, or they want to buy something.

 

Not using the right keywords - or any keywords - means consumers might never find your press release. If journalists are using the search engines to look for sources on a particular topic, or news about your industry, they won't find your press release, either.

 

Publicity expert Joan Stewart, who has been the source of many profitable ideas I've used, is hosting a teleseminar on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that will cut through the often confusing issues related to press release keywords. One lucky person who registers for the call will win a free press release, written by Janet Thaeler, Joan's guest expert. I'm planning to attend, and I hope you'll join me.

 

For details, or to register, click here. 

Leave Strong, Clear Voice Mail Messages

How many times have you received a voice mail message that rambled on, left out important information, or just didn’t make much sense? And on the other side of that, how many times have you place a call, reached someone’s voice mail, and left a message that you knew made you sound (let’s be gentle here) less-than-intelligent?

 

Leaving good voice mail messages that will get your calls returned isn’t difficult—it just takes a little planning. Here are some tips to use for both business and personal calls:

 

Now could be the time for snail mail

A substantial portion of my communication is done electronically through e-mail, texts, blogs, Twitter, websites, etc. It’s fast, convenient, efficient—but you know all that.

 

Even so, since I was a small child, I have loved getting real mail: envelopes and packages delivered to me by the USPS. In the last year, the volume of snail mail arriving at my home and office every day has seriously dwindled.

 

Direct marketers are clearly evaluating the cost/benefit ratio of bulk mail and many are probably purging their lists to reduce costs and better target their prospective customers. That’s just good business and we all applaud it.

 

Because of that, a truly personal letter, a hand-written note, or other targeted communication arriving in the mail has a better chance of getting read now than in recent years. This could be the right time for you to consider the role of traditional mail in your marketing efforts.

 

Jacquelyn Lynn

 

 

Another Lesson in Online Reputation Management

Over the last not-quite-two years, I have written three times about a company, using the conduct of its service technician and senior management to illustrate some important customer relations issues.

 

Here's the background:

 

In August 2007, I first wrote about this company and the lessons that both consumers and businesses could learn from the situation that was described in Greg Dawson’s Orlando Sentinel column. Click here to see that post. (All of Dawson's columns referred to here are available in the archives at www.orlandosentinel.com for a small fee)

 

In September 2007, I posted a follow-up to that article. Click here to read that post.

 

Fast-forward to a year later: In August 2008, someone with this company e-mailed me and asked me to take the posts down, claiming the information wasn’t true. I offered to post his response on this blog, but he did not answer me on that. Click here to see the post I put up about that.

 

I would have completely forgotten about this except for the fact that my blog gets comments from people who want to share their experiences with this company. And then on May 11, 2009, I received notice that this company had sued me for slander (note: the correct term would be libel) in Boston. The claim states that I have no proof the incident ever happened and that "the post was removed by the original source due in part that their facts were fraudulent." Well, the "original source" was the Orlando Sentinel and the article wasn't removed due to any error but simply archived as the Sentinel regularly does.

 

When Greg Dawson learned of the suit, he shared the story in his May 24, 2009 column in the Orlando Sentinel, “Business digs itself a deeper hole.”

 

The trial is scheduled for July 20. I’ll keep you posted.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Website Design Tip - What does your site look like on a cell phone?

More and more people are using their cell phones to access the web for more than just e-mail. Have you looked at your website on a cell phone? Is it user-friendly on that small screen?

Pull up your site on a cell phone and look at it from the perspective of someone who has not seen it before and has no idea what it looks like on a desktop or laptop monitor. Does it open quickly? Is the navigation easy to follow? Can the user conveniently find you, contact you, or buy from you? If not, you may want to consider a redesign in the near future.

 

E-mail Tips

You use e-mail every day, so you know how to do it, right? Maybe -- but maybe not. I am routinely surprised at the number of computer-savvy people who make some of the most rudimentary e-mail mistakes. Take a look at my article, E-Mail Guidelines: Get the Most Out of Your E-mail Communications, to see if you have some e-mail habits that need changing.

Lessons from the current financial crisis

My personal approach to the current financial crisis is to focus on issues I can control and not worry about what I can’t control. With that said, there are some important lessons businesses can learn from how government officials have responded to the situation.

 

In his article, “Katrina Again? US Gets Poor Grades For Credit Crisis,” Albert Bozzon, CNBC’s senior features editor, interviewed a number of crisis management experts, including Jonathan Bernstein.

 

The lessons for your business? Get out in front of potential problems. Take action before small situations turn into huge crises. But don’t rush into rash decisions; think through what you’re going to do so that you can do the best thing. Understand the threat and the solution. And communicate clearly and honestly, even when you have to say, “We’re working on that and we’ll get back to you.”

 

Most business crises can be avoided with crisis prevention planning. It’s a worthwhile investment in the future of your company.

 

Jacquelyn Lynn

The Entrepreneur's Almanac

Who is your reader?

One of the first questions I ask when beginning a new project is: Who is the reader?

That is often the hardest question for the client to answer, but it’s essential if the product – whether it’s a book, an article, web copy, or whatever – is going to be effective.

James Chartrand has put an interesting spin on the importance of knowing the audience in his article “How to Make Sure Your Content Never Goes Naked.” It’s worth a read.

Make sure whatever you write (or whatever you hire someone to write for you) is appropriately dressed for the occasion.