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
Business owners and managers often suffer from a common allergy. When they review copy for a website, blog post, or newsletter and see wording they perceive as negative, they break out in hives. That could be understandable. We’ve long been urged to accentuate the positive and emphasize the good things. Mentioning something that’s negative is … Read more
Our ears frequently deceive us. We hear a word or phrase, make assumptions about its spelling, and then find ourselves using it. Sometimes, we use it correctly, but sometimes we’ve confused it with a similar word. There are many that sound identical but actually have vastly different meanings. Think those misuses aren’t a big deal? … Read more
It was a great radio commercial that brought a smile to everyone who heard it. The message was on-target, reassuring, and powerful. And after it had aired for a week, a panicked bank president pulled it. You see, he had received angry phone calls about it. Two of them. During the commercial, a toddler refused … Read more
While the last national election was chaotic, something about it offered an important lesson to companies and organizations with messages to share. Whenever either side took up an issue, they used common language and a common voice. Even more remarkable, they achieved that unanimity almost immediately. It wasn’t magic, nor were the politicos mind readers. … Read more
It’s a concept so simple most marketers and companies don’t even think about it. When humans want to know something, we ask questions. Paying attention to common questions and sharing the answers is a remarkably powerful form of communication. The FAQ (frequently asked questions) document or web page is one of the most important messaging … Read more
Whether you consider yourself to be a skilled writer or you dread reaching for the keyboard, writing probably plays a critical role in your daily work. You may not be authoring articles for professional journals, but you probably have to create emails, memos, reports, and other items that require some writing skill. Following a few … Read more
He stared at me through steel-blue eyes, lower lip quivering in some weird kind of suppressed rage or unbridled contempt. I had just broken Rule Number One: I had suggested he might be wrong. “Think I don’t know who my customers are?” he seethed. “We did twelve million in sales last year. You really think … Read more
I’m often hired to write biographies of top execs for company websites, proposals, and other uses. Then I’m asked to rewrite them because one of those executives insists they be drier than a mouthful of rice cakes in mid-August somewhere just west of Tucson. You know, bios can be pretty important. You might dismiss them … Read more
Looking for a new way to promote your organization and establish credibility among your audiences? Perhaps you need to find a ghost. No, I’m not suggesting you tag along with Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to a creepy tropical island (besides, we already know that the caretaker is the guilty party). Nor do I think your global … Read more