Sunday, February 24, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
A Different Sort of Lesson; Don't be a Puker
In life, I've always said there are two ways to learn. You learn from a person or an experience that was pleasurable and you do what you can to recreate that positive experience to improve yourself, your business, your approach, etc...and then there are those individuals and experiences that leave you with such an awful taste in your mouth that you do everything in your power to ensure you are the polar opposite of that person and you do what you can to ensure that experience never happens again. There are plenty of people doing things right, but today I would like to look at a valuable lesson learned from a puker. Yes, I said puker...as in someone who vomits. In this case, someone who vomits or pukes all over their customer or potential customer. If you've never met a puker, you'll need a few key ways to identify them (see below):
*****you are spending time with a puker if you can't wait for your phone to ring because you are looking for a graceful way to exit
*****you know absolutely everything about them, their business, and/or their product and they have likely forgotten your name and they haven't asked a single thing about you
*****they have trouble making eye contact and you aren't sure if they are having a conversation with you or the imaginary person on the wall behind you (even worse if there is a mirror behind you)
*****they use more words than the average person but they don't seem to say anything - the more you listen, the less you know
I'm not sure there's any hope for a puker. They are completely self-absorbed and wouldn't recognize feedback if you threw it at them at 90mph...so the best thing to do is avoid the puker. If you find yourself involved with one, make some mental notes about what NOT to do in your own life and business. If you think you're becoming a puker, take a quick inventory of what you know about the person or people you are talking to. Remember that people like talking about themselves. If you want to be engaged and engaging, a conversation needs to play out like a tennis match with questions and answers and a back and forth movement/flow. Ask for feedback from time to time as well. I have a dear friend who worries that she has a tendency to be self absorbed (I don't see it, but she fears it) and she will ask me if she's showing signs of puker-ness ... asking a trusted friend for this feedback can only help you grow.
Next time you see me, we can enjoy a glass of wine and I'll tell you what prompted this post - in the meantime, enjoy and I hope it brings you value!
~Crystal
*****you are spending time with a puker if you can't wait for your phone to ring because you are looking for a graceful way to exit
*****you know absolutely everything about them, their business, and/or their product and they have likely forgotten your name and they haven't asked a single thing about you
*****they have trouble making eye contact and you aren't sure if they are having a conversation with you or the imaginary person on the wall behind you (even worse if there is a mirror behind you)
*****they use more words than the average person but they don't seem to say anything - the more you listen, the less you know
I'm not sure there's any hope for a puker. They are completely self-absorbed and wouldn't recognize feedback if you threw it at them at 90mph...so the best thing to do is avoid the puker. If you find yourself involved with one, make some mental notes about what NOT to do in your own life and business. If you think you're becoming a puker, take a quick inventory of what you know about the person or people you are talking to. Remember that people like talking about themselves. If you want to be engaged and engaging, a conversation needs to play out like a tennis match with questions and answers and a back and forth movement/flow. Ask for feedback from time to time as well. I have a dear friend who worries that she has a tendency to be self absorbed (I don't see it, but she fears it) and she will ask me if she's showing signs of puker-ness ... asking a trusted friend for this feedback can only help you grow.
Next time you see me, we can enjoy a glass of wine and I'll tell you what prompted this post - in the meantime, enjoy and I hope it brings you value!
~Crystal
Monday, February 4, 2013
What Small Business Needs to Know About Blogging
You own a small business and you've heard about social media, blogging, having a website, and it's all making sense as a plan to promote your business by engaging customers and potential customers. Except...this blogging thing sounds a lot like homework or a book report...and you've either set up your blog and haven't been posting, or you haven't even been inspired to create the blog. Today's post may not change your mind, but it may give you a bit of direction when you're ready to post on a regular basis. Hopefully if we break it down, it won't seem as overwhelming:
1.) Personalize Your Posts
Your business blog is a great place to post reviews about your business, but it is also a great place to post your feedback for others. Have you read a book you've enjoyed? Had a great customer service experience? Met someone who inspired you? Another business that has mentored you? Been to a fabulous presentation about ____________? All of these would make great content for your blog. If you run a tractor repair business and the dairy expo is coming in a few weeks, you might want to write a blog about the hardworking students who put together a display about the history of tractors. Make it personal, make it fun, and don't be too terribly worried about typos. You're writing a blog, not a book ... and mistakes mean you're human. Being human makes you more approachable (some might disagree about this, but if you spend tons of time choosing the perfect word, the perfect topic, having it spell checked, etc... it's no surprise you aren't posting often - it's becoming too much work - don't take the fun out of your blog)!
2.) You Know Best
Don't write about something you don't know about. Just because something is trendy doesn't mean you should write about it. I haven't worn high heels in years, so if I were to write about the latest trendy high heels, my post would suck...you'd see right through me and know that I don't know my arse from a hole in the ground. If you know about something, write about it. Your posts don't always have to be about your business - the key is they should provide value. If it's close to the holidays and the hot topic of conversation is cookies and bars or the best punch recipe, go ahead and post it to your blog. If it flops, your audience has let you know this isn't something that appeals to them...but you just may find that you get more hits on the human interest posts as opposed to the sales related posts.
3). Write About Challenges
If you had an experience with a customer or project that was challenging, write about it...in a tactful way of course...but you no doubt took that problematic exchange to improve something about your business. Tell people about it. Examples in the restaurant industry have been used for years to build customer loyalty. The customer had a bad experience, the manager offered a suitable solution, the customer is more loyal than they were before the negative experience. Voila'!
4.) Don't Sell Through Your Blog
I don't like to be 'sold' anything. I like to be an engaged consumer. If you attack me the moment I walk into your boutique, I won't buy anything and I won't be back. If you notice me looking at something and you engage me in a conversation, I'm likely to buy the object. No one likes the hard sell. Talk to me about things that interest me and I'll end up buying from you when I need whatever it is that you offer. There's a great pastry business out of state called Georgetown Cupcakes. I haven't purchased anything there, but I love their funny facebook posts. I follow them because they engage me - and someday, I am going to have a reason to order a dozen cupcakes and I'll give them my business...if every one of their posts had been about "buy our cupcakes" or "our cupcakes are the best - get 5% off and order today", I would stop following them and would never order those dozen cupcakes there (by the way: http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/ if you're interested)
That's it - 4 reminders/tips/steps - call it what you like. Hopefully they'll give you some direction and make your goal of posting ___ times each week a little more attainable. My goal is 3 times each week - sometimes I have lots to say, sometimes not much at all ... either way, just get out there and engage your customers and potential customers so when the time is right they turn to you with their business.
~Crystal
1.) Personalize Your Posts
Your business blog is a great place to post reviews about your business, but it is also a great place to post your feedback for others. Have you read a book you've enjoyed? Had a great customer service experience? Met someone who inspired you? Another business that has mentored you? Been to a fabulous presentation about ____________? All of these would make great content for your blog. If you run a tractor repair business and the dairy expo is coming in a few weeks, you might want to write a blog about the hardworking students who put together a display about the history of tractors. Make it personal, make it fun, and don't be too terribly worried about typos. You're writing a blog, not a book ... and mistakes mean you're human. Being human makes you more approachable (some might disagree about this, but if you spend tons of time choosing the perfect word, the perfect topic, having it spell checked, etc... it's no surprise you aren't posting often - it's becoming too much work - don't take the fun out of your blog)!
2.) You Know Best
Don't write about something you don't know about. Just because something is trendy doesn't mean you should write about it. I haven't worn high heels in years, so if I were to write about the latest trendy high heels, my post would suck...you'd see right through me and know that I don't know my arse from a hole in the ground. If you know about something, write about it. Your posts don't always have to be about your business - the key is they should provide value. If it's close to the holidays and the hot topic of conversation is cookies and bars or the best punch recipe, go ahead and post it to your blog. If it flops, your audience has let you know this isn't something that appeals to them...but you just may find that you get more hits on the human interest posts as opposed to the sales related posts.
3). Write About Challenges
If you had an experience with a customer or project that was challenging, write about it...in a tactful way of course...but you no doubt took that problematic exchange to improve something about your business. Tell people about it. Examples in the restaurant industry have been used for years to build customer loyalty. The customer had a bad experience, the manager offered a suitable solution, the customer is more loyal than they were before the negative experience. Voila'!
4.) Don't Sell Through Your Blog
I don't like to be 'sold' anything. I like to be an engaged consumer. If you attack me the moment I walk into your boutique, I won't buy anything and I won't be back. If you notice me looking at something and you engage me in a conversation, I'm likely to buy the object. No one likes the hard sell. Talk to me about things that interest me and I'll end up buying from you when I need whatever it is that you offer. There's a great pastry business out of state called Georgetown Cupcakes. I haven't purchased anything there, but I love their funny facebook posts. I follow them because they engage me - and someday, I am going to have a reason to order a dozen cupcakes and I'll give them my business...if every one of their posts had been about "buy our cupcakes" or "our cupcakes are the best - get 5% off and order today", I would stop following them and would never order those dozen cupcakes there (by the way: http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/ if you're interested)
That's it - 4 reminders/tips/steps - call it what you like. Hopefully they'll give you some direction and make your goal of posting ___ times each week a little more attainable. My goal is 3 times each week - sometimes I have lots to say, sometimes not much at all ... either way, just get out there and engage your customers and potential customers so when the time is right they turn to you with their business.
~Crystal
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