Category: Trends that could trip you
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Data on why your data needs storytelling
When selecting topics for my blog, I prefer to share evidence. But we have to be careful… data doesn't speak for itself. Context is crucial and the best way to provide it is by telling a story–especially a story that makes people feel something. Forbes: Data Storytelling, 2016-Mar-31 by Brent Dykes Memorability: A study by…
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The dark side of creativity
Some people use their creativity to rationalize dishonesty. Some people feel their creativity justifies immoral behavior. And some people discover that being creative requires them to break the rules. The Conversation: The dark side of creativity, 2014-Dec-11 by Lynne Vincent while individuals who self-identify as creative may feel more entitled, it’s possible that this entitlement…
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Biggest mistake we make with social media: going for the Like
When we treat social media as if they are publicity tools, we undermine ourselves. Our posts ought to direct people how to participate in a dialogue that leads to co-operative action. Over at The Bloggess, Jenny is founding a new religion, Blogessianism, as part of her ongoing effort to get everyone to take the world…
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Rising customer expectations of memory and context
The more we interact with a company, the more we expect them to remember us and to recognize our context. As 'always on' technology increases, we can experience surprising benefits. In thinking about our own customers, we have to plan ways to track them for their benefit. Acquia: Champions of Context, 2014-Nov-4 by David Mennie…
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How to waste your effort in a CRM database
Having a lot of data in your CRM system can give you a false sense of security. Unfortunately, on every day that goes by, some contact records are going out of date. The only way to maintain the data is to use it. Any record that hasn't been touched in a month ought to be…
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Our customers take steps in a journey, not a slippery slide down a funnel
We’ve been using a very unfortunate metaphor for years: the sales funnel. Supposedly, leads are dropped into the top and slide out the bottom as customers. Yuck. Actually, we are guiding contacts on a journey, and we need to think about the next step they have to take because we can’t take it for them.…
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Second step in loyalty: connect to a shared interest
Most businesses plung into a loyalty program with their most frequent or biggest customers. Although it's not a mistake, there are pitfalls in this approach. We may discover that our biggest customer is only accidentally our customer–a big cause for concern on many levels. Before we invest in in a loyalty program, we check our…
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Get ahead of the curve in serving your customers
One of the most important reasons to gather information about our customers is to plan the future of our company. Our competitive edge is the ability to use that information to better satisfy and anticipate customer needs. Searchblog: Living Systems and the Information First Company, 2014-Oct-11 by John Battelle Put another way, NewCos are "information…
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How to educate our customers for their own success
We can either educate our customers to succeed in their business or to succeed in our business. Why would we educate them to succeed in our business?? Well, that's what we do when we try to get them to excel at using our products and services. Instead, our products and services are only a means…
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Using email introductions to help people
To become a leader in our industry, we have to become known for providing valuable introductions. Unfortunately, it also means establishing new habits and skills. Michael Simmons has some very helpful tips. Inc.com: Stop Doing This One Thing in Email Introductions to Busy People, 2014-Oct-8 by Michael Simmons [Not] giving your contacts enough context on…
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