You’ve just developed an email, an article, or a blog post, and one sentence is particularly important. You want to make sure nobody misses it. So you should put it in ALL CAPS, RIGHT? Wrong. You probably don’t need to boldface it, either. In fact, if its importance is obvious, you probably don’t have to … Read more
Companies often complain that customers and prospects just don’t seem to understand what they offer, or what differentiates them from the competition. They blame those customers and prospects for a lack of knowledge or intelligence — but they should blame that person in the mirror. As someone who earns a living helping companies communicate, I … Read more
They lurk in the quiet corners of most offices, maintaining a low profile, performing their normal jobs quietly and efficiently. It’s a carefully practiced deception designed to divert attention from their true identities. They are the Grammar Nazis. When asked to review a document, a proposal, a brochure, or a report, they feign reluctance before … Read more
Nobody likes to deliver bad news, but it can be just as challenging to share something good … when you have to do it in writing. To understand what makes it difficult, you have to consider the role that your written words will play. They essentially take your place when you can’t deliver the message … Read more
Many people have a strong aversion to repetition. It isn’t that they can’t tolerate others repeating a message; it’s that they don’t want to risk echoing their previous efforts when developing their marketing communications materials. The concern about repetition crops up most often in planning for ongoing marketing programs, such as social media or customer … Read more
You’re well aware of the internal structure of your company, and the politics and complex challenges that spring from that structure. When a customer needs something, you mentally consider which departments will be involved and what it will take to make it happen. Your customers view you differently. They see you as a single entity. … Read more
I’m not sure that a welcome mat in front of a business ever made anyone feel truly welcome, or a notation on a receipt saying that it has been someone’s pleasure to serve you made up for the indifferent treatment delivered by the server who dropped it on the table. Businesses put a lot of … Read more
If I mention the word “psycho,”, there’s a very good chance that a certain black and white image will spring to mind: water trickling into a shower drain, slowly being supplanted by a darker fluid, all punctuated by ear-piercing shrieks. There’s also a very good chance that you just shuddered a little. Assuming that image … Read more
I’d like to see more organizations put as much work into implementing their mission statements as they do in drafting them. Mission statements, vision maps, shared goals, value statements and all their frame-worthy cousins fascinate me, though I confess it’s in a cynical way. Everyone has them, but I’m not sure why. I suspect it’s … Read more
The other day, I had a Convenience Store Experience. I didn’t start the day with the goal of having a Convenience Store Experience. In fact, I didn’t even know that such a thing existed. But as I pumped liquid gold into my car, the too-loud oldies music on the PA system stopped. A perky recorded … Read more