Scott's Blog - Page 46 of 63 - Scott Flood Writing

SOME PEOPLE JUST DON’T GET IT

June 27, 2012 by Scott Flood

Over the years, I’ve encountered many situations that were either amusing or bemusing when trying to complete projects. I’ve learned that many people don’t grasp the basics of marketing … and others seem to have missed the most basic lessons of — well, life.

For example, there are several folks who have asked me to add more information to copy while simultaneously making it shorter. Graphic designers know them as the people who want the type size larger and the type to take up less space without cutting anything.

DO TYPOS REALLY MATTER?

June 20, 2012 by Scott Flood

As social media continues to explode, a subset of users is frustrating some posters and delighting many others. Viewed as the evil grammar police by their critics, these are the people who take time to point out grammatical and spelling mistakes in their friends’ and associates’ posts. Some of us see them as heroes.

The casual nature of Facebook, Twitter, and whatever social media channel we’ll all be using next month leads many users to take a fairly sloppy approach to communicating. As long as their meaning gets across to their followers, who cares whether it’s spelled correctly or structured properly?

ARE SEARCH ENGINES CHANGING WRITING?

June 13, 2012 by Scott Flood

An online editor recently rejected an article I wrote, accusing me of the heinous crime of “keyword stuffing.”

Writers grow accustomed to rejection (or they quickly find other careers), but this was a good story that would be of interest to many readers. So I fought back.

THE PORCELAIN INDICATOR OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

June 6, 2012 by Scott Flood

Want a quick indication of a company’s commitment to customer service? It’s a simple gauge that works just as well for restaurants as it does for retail stores, as for gas stations, as for professional service providers.

Just take a look at the bathroom. No, I’m not kidding. The condition, cleanliness, and comfort of a restroom speak volumes about what a company thinks about its customers (and often, its employees).

GREAT CUSTOMER CONTACTS ARE TRAINED, NOT BORN

May 30, 2012 by Scott Flood

Companies that want to be better at customer service will often put a great deal of effort into trying to hire the “right” people. “If we just find the right people, everything will fall into place,” they believe.

It’s true that there are a lot of people out there who view helping others as a calling. And there are people who may not be quite as dedicated, but who genuinely enjoy seeing customers walk away with a smile and a promise to return. But if you simply place even the most well-meaning people into your customer-service settings, you probably won’t get the results you want.

SUCCESS STORY: ATTENTION TOWARD A SECONDARY MARKET

May 23, 2012 by Scott Flood

When you operate the largest hotel adjacent one of the nation’s top tourist attractions, you don’t have to do a lot to entice out-of-town travelers to visit. But what do you do during weekends, when the tourist trade isn’t quite so robust?

The Chicago Hilton & Towers Hotel, which sits at the corner of Grant Park, set its sights on the many suburbanites who travel downtown for concerts and other cultural attractions, and Scott Flood created a special tent card to catch their attention.

GIVE FRONTLINE STAFF THE AUTHORITY TO FIX THINGS

May 16, 2012 by Scott Flood

I called the quick-service restaurant with a large carry-out order, and was told it would be ready at 5:45. At exactly 5:46, I walked in and discovered that nobody had started to prepare my food. The manager muttered an apology and snapped at the crew to get to work, then disappeared from sight.

A smiling teenage employee walked up and said, “Sir, if you’d like to have a seat, I’ll bring your order to you when it’s ready.” I thanked her and declined, primarily because I wanted to watch the kitchen crew prepare my food. I’m funny that way, especially after the cooks have just been scolded.

PET PEEVE #462

May 9, 2012 by Scott Flood

Put a brochure or a magazine in front of you. Now take your index finger, and tap it repeatedly. Does anything happen? Aside from the object developing a slight dimple and you receiving some kind of repetitive stress injury, that is?

Microsoft Word is a dandy piece of software that has many helpful tricks. One of those tricks is automatically turning website and email addresses into hyperlinks and giving them a pretty blue color. When you’re exchanging documents online, that can be handy, because you can use your mouse (or finger on a tablet) to connect with that link.

CUSTOMERS HAVE THE ANSWERS

May 2, 2012 by Scott Flood

Businesses and organizations often struggle to understand why they’re not performing as well as they’d like. In many cases, the answer is a lot closer than they realize. If they took time to talk with … and genuinely listen to … their customers, they would develop a much stronger understanding of what they’re doing right, and what needs to be improved.

In his landmark book The Customer-Driven Company, Richard Whiteley cites many successful companies that aggressively pursue input from customers, and then build what they’ve learned back into their products and processes.

CONNECT THE UNFAMILIAR TO SOMETHING FAMILIAR

April 25, 2012 by Scott Flood

At a time when new technologies seem to appear every day, most folks are becoming overwhelmed. While they’re impressed by all the new features and opportunities, and while many can see at least some of how these new advances will benefit them, the sheer volume of information is pushing a growing number of people into overload.

How can you help people understanding something new and unfamiliar without overwhelming them? A tried-and-true tactic is to connect that unfamiliar object or process with something that’s very familiar and quite simple. It’s a tactic effective copywriters have used for decades, and it’s even more applicable today, because it can help to overcome resistance to new ideas.