customer experience | Content for Biz Inc.

Content Business Trends This Week

Content business trends this week focus on being social, customer experience, blogging and niche markets. Brent Leary on SmallBizTrends.com interviewed Sandy Carter, Vice President of Social Business Evangelism at IBM. When asked about the difference between using social media tools and being a social business, she replied: “It is someone who has social embedded into sales, HR talent management, product innovation, customer service. It’s about taking these tools and techniques and making those processes much more competitive.”

About market intelligence, Carter said: “My favorite saying is that analytics is the ‘new black.’ ” Carter also talked about identifying influencers, those 15% who influence the rest of a company’s clients. “You really need to look at those who have the most influence in a particular subject matter area.” She discounted identifying influencers only by their number of followers. Look for engagement.

On the Business2Community site, a post by Omar Zaibak Top 10 Customer Service Trends for 2012 highlights how companies are giving priority to customer experience efforts. The top five customer service trends cited include: mobile, social media, community-based service, the Cloud and customer feedback. You can download a full report from the site.

Does your company have a blog? If not, maybe it’s because no one is comfortable writing for your audience. In her post, The 3-Step Process for Creating Your Blog Voice, Lisa Barone at Outspoken Media, Inc., gives this advice: Know who you are blogging for, know who you are, and know what already exists.

Other business trends highlighted this week came from social media maven Mari Smith who created a video titled 7 Social Media Trends, John Viera, director of Sustainable Business Strategies at Ford and CEO Rieva Lesonsky on Open Forum who identified 3 Hot Market Trends: Weddings, Educational Support, and Plus-Size markets.

As you can see, content business trends revolve around effective communication. Get your content right and you will connect.

Will 5 Senses Replace 5 Ws in Customer Experience Content Writing?

The 5 Ws – who, what, when, where and why are taught in journalism schools as well as in sales training to get across quickly what readers or prospects want to know in order to engage them. The five senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and taste are taking on new importance in customer experience content writing. Researchers are learning how interactions with the physical world influence our perceptions and how we respond.

In his article Experience is the Next Frontier in Marketing published on Fast Company’s website, Jacob Braude shares insights on how cognitive science may help marketers manage their messaging and how companies may improve their customer experience. Experience is defined as physical interactions with the world. But it doesn’t end there.

Research on emotional processing and physical interaction support Braude’s ideas on how the brain codes experiences. Studies lead by Harvard graduate student Christopher Nocera and others report these observations about experience:

People handling rough-surfaced puzzle pieces viewed a written passage as being more adversarial than those handling smooth puzzle pieces
Harsher judgments were made by those given a wood block vs. those given a soft blanket
Harder bargains were driven by study participants sitting in hard chairs vs. those sitting in soft chairs
The weight of a clipboard holding a candidate’s resume influenced perceptions of the candidate’s qualifications.

While these observations relate to physical experience, content writing can convey what’s understood about the subconscious impact of the five major types of experience:

Sensory – Use language that includes sights, sounds, smells, touch and tastes. Of all the senses, smell is the strongest in evoking memory. Touch is the first sense to develop. Apparently, tactile sensations align with emotional qualities throughout life.

Action – Write about what a product does, not what it is. Using active verbs activates the brain.

Space – Relate to size and scale. Show photos in an uncluttered environment that allows a comparison to a common item.

Situations – Describe how the product is used and in what environment.

Impressions – Write clearly and concisely so the reader doesn’t have to use much effort to decipher the information.

As we learn more about how the brain works, the idea is not to manipulate but to find the right fit, solve problems and deliver a good customer experience. The five Ws will always be important to provide context. The five senses will play a role in the customer experience narrative.

How Website Content Supports and Sells Customer Service

Outstanding customer service is something that many companies make claim to, but how do you convince prospects that your business will go above and beyond? How do you make your website an extension of the outstanding customer service you deliver in person? We looked to four customer service leaders for inspiration.

Tell the “Wow” Stories

Ritz-Carlton’s customer service has been widely recognized. In each hotel every day, every department meets to share stories about customers who have been wowed by their services. We find a selection of these stories on their website. Stories That Stay With You: Unique and Memorable Moments from the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton, makes customer service interesting and compelling to the website visitor.

Build a Customer Service Page

Wegman’s is a grocer that consistently ranks high in customer service. On a a recent Bloomberg Businessweek survey, 60% of respondents would recommend the brand. Visit Wegman’s website and the Customer Service page is a convenient one-stop shop for any and all info a consumer might need. From frequently asked questions, to actual phone numbers, and a store locator, Wegman’s anticipates customer needs well and neatly compacts the info in one convenient place. A website that does this well can effectively reduce customer wait times and free up staff for other assignments.

Add Convenience

Automaker Lexus (Ranked 7th on the same survey) uses its website to build in convenience for busy customers. Once enrolled in My Lexus, an owner can conveniently schedule service appointments online, access their complete service history, or download ownership manuals. Imagine, no more digging out a paper invoice out of a file cabinet to see when the last time you had new tires installe

Be Helpful

Home of “the Helpful Hardware Man,”Ace Hardware extends customer service online through the Projects and Solutions area of its site. Expertise is shared through interactive project videos, step-by-step how-to’s, and the Helpful Hardware Man’s Corner. Customers know where they can find assistance with their projects. Are you doing the same for your “DIY” B2B customers? “Projects sell products,” we used to say when I worked at a home center publication years ago. Similarly in foodservice, recipes and menu ideas sell ingredients.

What these service leaders demonstrate is that website content can not only sell customer service to a prospect, but also extend customer service by helping customers find the information they need online. While face-to-face customer service is highly valued, these companies recognize that buyers increasingly go online to interact with the brand. Smart marketers will maximize the customer experience in both places.

Are you ready to think differently about how you approach your website content? As professional content strategists and contest writers we can help you determine the content that will best support and sell all aspects of your brand, including service. We can help you find and tell your customer service stories; organize and write an effective customer service page; enhance customer convenience, and share your know-how.

Give us a call, or send us an email. We’ll respond right away, either way.

Content Expands Customer Experience

ConversationAgent.com brand strategist Valeria Maltoni posted: Does Your Brand Have the F-Factor? Referring to friends, fans and followers. The influence of social networks on buying preferences is becoming so pervasive and persuasive that marketers are looking for F-Factor possibilities.

Maltoni writes: “The biggest opportunity for brands is still to provide content that expands and improves the experience around a product or service. To build relationships with the people who choose to be inside that experience around what the brand makes.”

Who Follows the Ordinary?

How do I create content for a client that provides an ordinary, everyday service but later surprises me by naming well known celebrities and professional athletes who have used their services? The possibility for endorsements is limited because celebrities don’t want to be associated with an ordinary, everyday service. Their privacy is of concern to my client as well.

I focus on making potential and repeat customers feel good for making the right decision. I offer some pizzazz by including names of high line brands used with the service. Next, I find social footprints of people who follow these brands on Twitter and Facebook and listen in on some forums to help my client see the possibility for sharing and increasing the company’s F-Factor.

Become Extraordinary

Unfortunately for some marketing managers and companies the time factor rules out the F-Factor. This doesn’t need to be the case because outsourcing is available at a reasonable rate. What I like about my client is their openness to try something new. Also, they are trustworthy and care about quality. Their ordinary, everyday service becomes extraordinary through the care and craftsmanship they offer.

I am excited now. I want my client to prosper from a friend’s recommendation, share praise from a fan, and know why followers appreciate their insider news. The relationship is expanded and improved for both company and customer. How are you working on building your F-Factor?