by Debra Ellis
How often do you search Google for the post that Seth Godin wrote in January 2009? Or, ask Bing to find a post Chris Brogan wrote in November 2008? Never? You’re normal. Nobody searches by the date a post was written. They want specific content.
Godin and Brogan are established bloggers who have high volumes of daily traffic to their blog. Presumably, they have all the traffic they want because neither follows best practices for blog usability. Both list their archived posts by date written.
Notice in the image below that Godin [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
The future is closer than you think. Yesterday, I spotted a white van with a QR Code on the Interstate highway. QR Codes store addresses or URL’s for mobile devices to scan. My initial reaction was “This is so cool” and I handed my phone to my daughter to take a picture.
The post I wanted to write goes something like this – [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
In Alice in Wonderland, Alice is intrigued by the White Rabbit scurrying along checking his watch. She follows him into a tunnel and soon finds herself falling into a new world with little hope of finding her way back home. Most of the websites I visit are filled with similar rabbit holes. Visitors are one click away from leaving, never to return.
The problem begins when someone adds an external link to a website. Maybe it is for a social media page so the visitor can join the company’s community. Or, to a cause the person supports. Or, a link to an article about the business. Whatever the link, when people click it, they go to another website in the same window.
Bloggers are the worst offenders. They share freely, peppering their posts with links to other blogs or websites. It’s great that they are so focused on sharing with their community, but they need to also take care of their business. When people click on an external link, they start freefalling. The next site sends them to bouncing to another one, and then another, and so on, until they can’t [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
Some brands are a natural fit for social media. Long before twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Apple had followers and fans. The new platforms simply made it easy for them to connect with each other.
But what if your company doesn’t have built in sex appeal? Why should you participate in a world that values conversation more than conversion?
Because there’s more to social media than meets the eye.
It significantly increases your natural search rankings. When Google followed Bing into the new world by indexing Twitter, [click to continue…]
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by Debra Ellis
Things happen. Orders get lost in the mail. Systems and software fail. A day without challenges is extremely rare in any business. Your customers know this. They have similar issues in their life. But, if your challenge becomes their issue, they want it resolved quickly.
When they contact you, they already know what they need to make it right. So, start by listening to their story and then ask…
“What do you want us to do?”
It’s a powerful response. It has the element of surprise because most people won’t expect you to give them the power to choose the resolution. It changes their direction from venting frustration to thinking of a solution. It diffuses the situation. Customer relationship care lives up to its name.
And, in most cases, their suggested resolution will be less than you expect.
But, don’t take my word for it. Test it. Today. With your next call, email, or tweet. And, the next one. After you do, come back and share your experience.
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