Content Creation | Content for Biz Inc.

Four Reasons Why No One Wants to Use Your 800 Number

Marketers spend countless hours coming up with strategies to engage customers and prospects through content marketing. Yet, too often, when customers are trying to engage with a company, such as when they have a question or problem, we make it difficult. We relegate the answers to an 800 number, when we could be providing the information online. Here’s why 800 numbers are a turn-off:

1) The automated voice mail. If there’s a better way to make your customers feel like they are not important, let me know. When is the last time you heard a message that was engaging on an 800 line. “Listen carefully, we have changed our selections” is typically followed by an endless array of options, not one of which involves a human being. Companies may as well just scream, “We don’t want to talk to you!”

2) The wait is too long. I recently spent 10 or 15 minutes waiting to ask a question of GoDaddy.com. Another interaction with Lenovo took more than 30 minutes to resolve. And while you wait, you have to listen to annoying music, or sales messages.

3) People who can’t solve their problems. When you finally do reach a human, it never seems to be the person who can solve your problem. By the time you have been transferred to the right person, you have explained the problem at least three different times to three different people.

4) There’s usually no record of your conversation. Unless you count the confirmation number you scribbled on a scrap of paper. After a phone transaction, I am often left wondering if anything really will be accomplished.

Is it any wonder that your customers would look online for the answers to their problems? Studies show an increasing preference for online interaction.

Does your website content address your customer’s questions? Do you have an area for frequently asked questions? Can a customer chat with an operator online? Can they access a customer portal to see their account information?

Many b-to-b marketers fail to answer common questions online because they want people to call them. But will they?

What’s your strategy?

Fun Friday – Worst Sentence & Observations on Content

We are calling our end of the work week posts “Fun Friday.” You will find our “World’s Worst Sentence” along with observations made during the week. Our intention concerning the “worst” sentence is not to be harsh, but to honor those who take the time to proofread and edit their content. If YOU have a better suggestion for how to edit the “worst,” share it here.

This “worst” sentence appeared in an e-book I downloaded from a website.

BEFORE

If you are more philanthropic, profit mat not be your main motivation and you may want to sell more products to help more people and where your fruition comes from enhancing lives, but for the purposes of this example I will simply focus on the how to make the maximum profit for your company and its shareholders.

AFTER

Profit may not be your main motivation when selling products, yet increasing profits for your company and its shareholders may be the best way to enhance the lives of those you care about.

****

From Used Car Lot to Show Room

I attended two webinars this week. One was awful and the other sublime. I liken these experiences to walking in a used car lot vs. entering a show room. I didn’t know either of the speakers and learned something from both. But why did I feel sleazy during one and successful during the other?

The difference was tone, trust, and the call to action. It became apparent to me that one was selling while the other was sharing. The first relayed a sense of urgency and how easy it all was if I only follow his direction. He offered a free gift at the end. On the webinar window was a counter showing an impressive number of attendees. He described the sales cycle and how to up sell people during the purchasing process. He wanted us to become affiliates of something he was selling. Meanwhile, the counter kept dropping until near the end there were less than a third of the original attendees still listening. I think he needs to go back and do some marketing homework.

The sublime experience was during this year’s Blogging Success Summit, an annual event sponsored by BlogWorld & Social MediaExaminer.com. I had attended their events before and knew they only invite leaders in the field to speak. So Douglas Karr had been vetted by people I trust. He is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. His voice was friendly. He generously shared his contact information at the beginning. His content was current and engaging. What is the biggest factor influencing your site’s search engine rankings? Not keywords, not page titles, but incoming links. I tweeted a few of the good points he made. His call to action was for us to engage and ask questions. I did. Then shared the answer with a client. My esteem was heightened. Which book will I buy to learn more about corporate blogging? As a journalist, who will I interview for an article on corporate blogging?

Can a Holiday Inspire Your Content?

Today is Valentine’s Day, a holiday many people think was invented by greeting card companies. Not so, say historians. It actually became a sanctioned holiday by the Catholic Church near 498 AD. Greeting cards hadn’t become commercially available until the 1840s. What does this have to do with business to business content?

Misconceptions occur when information is not readily available. I was recently hired to write content for two B2B companies in different industries. When I went to their websites I could not tell what they did and for who they did it. At first glance, I mistakenly thought one was a printer and the other a sports equipment dealer. In reality they are a graphic design firm selling to nonprofit publishers and the other personal trainers for executive management. Spell it out. Your brand and identity depend on it.

Second, ideas or products can be fluent and when allowed, evolve into something greater. While Valentine’s Day started as a religious holiday it sustains its popularity in secular society because people like one aspect of it – expressing romantic sentiments to their beloved. Greeting card companies fill that desire. Think of your business history and how it has evolved. What is the thread that runs through it and how has it evolved? The About Us page may be a great place to tell this story.

Relying on that thread, your history becomes clear and engaging. February 14^th became more than a day on the calendar. Good content can distinguish your company as something more than a manufacturer, supplier, or service provider.

These other holidays have been officially designated by Congress and/or calendar makers:

August 16^th – National Joke Day

September 21 – World Gratitude Day

October 16 – National Bosses Day

November 21 – World Hello Day

We will have to see how long they last. Tell your customers now how much you appreciate them. Let your content say “You’re important”, “We’re here to serve” and “We’ll give you more.” No chalky-tasting hearts required.

Keep Your B2B Web Content Current & Long Lasting

If people saw your website in a museum 100 years from now what would they infer from it? If your website is only about products and where to call, you may be missing an opportunity to influence your customers and industry.

1. The first way to stay current and long lasting is to know that what your data says is not as important as how you interact with peers and customers. Are you combining the potential of the moment with what has always been true? For example, blend what happened this week (300 items shipped) with how your company ensures quality (hand inspections are time consuming but effective) and how those items solved a problem for your customer.

2. Tell a tight story. Product information and technology use may be important, yet also include in a few well chosen words how your product became meaningful and worthy of attention – how it adds value for your customers.

3. Another way of keeping your content current and long lasting has to do with first and lasting impressions. The competency of your company is reflected in the visual appearance of your website. Good design and organization principles withstand the test of time. These principles usually advocate simplicity, allowing visitors to quickly find information and easily perform tasks. Trendy fonts and moving text distract from your message and your prospects’ goals.

4. Accurate spelling and grammar are here to stay. Check that your text is error-free. These kinds of mistakes lessen credibility and professionalism with audiences. This is true on digital social networks as well as websites.

5. Customize how you describe your company within its industry. Use perspective. Think big, feel small. Make your purpose apparent to those not familiar with your market. Avoid jargon and assumptions.

6. Become a resource by distributing reliable and relevant information in multiple formats and channels. Your content should provide what is known and helpful to those interested in your product, service or industry. Get rid of anything that is useless and out-of-date. Time wasters frustrate.

Visitors 100 years from now should infer that your company met a need and helped customers solve problems. That the company was careful in mind and manner, trustworthy and competent. The company knew how to prosper.

Do you have content that shows perspective on your website? What do you write about that’s timeless versus immediate and current?

Every Product or Service Has a Story

I write a “Closer Look” feature for Construction Equipment Distribution magazine that focuses on a single supplier to the construction equipment industry. Rather than rely on a lone interview with the company’s CEO or president, I always ask for the names of a few customers to interview.

Customer interviews provide a “real world” framework for the reader. Instead of describing a company’s product and services from the CEO point of view, I integrate a story of how their products or services provide a solution for customers.

The profiled companies are amazed at the information I gather. There is no big secret to this.

When you need a great customer story follow these steps:

1) Ask customers to start with the source of their initial frustration or need.

2) Answer the questions of who, what, when, where and why. Get as much detail as possible.

3) Ask if there was anything that surprised them about the product or service.

4) Ask if there was anything that could have been done better.

5) Give them an opportunity to review their comments.

Don’t just ask for a testimonial and rely on the customer to deliver it. If you get it at all, it will likely sound like something no one would believe. Hiring a professional writer to conduct the interview will provide the best results. Customers open up more when they talk to a third party. It shows a level of professionalism. If that’s not in the budget, at the very least, select someone who is not familiar with the customer/client relationship. Review the questions in advance. Follow the steps above and let the customer know you are truly interested in hearing what they have to say. That’s the secret to getting a great customer story.