Travel is about waiting. – Chris Guillebeau

As much as travel involves waiting, it also involves other people; people who run the airport, move luggage and goods, check you in, make your trip comfortable, and navigate roads or airspace. And then there are your fellow travelers.

As a solo traveler, I am not always keen to travel too closely with people. I like my personal space and like to offer others personal space as much as I can within the design confines I am given. It is this reciprocation of personal space that originally led me to create this site. If I can do unto others as I would want them to do unto me, then we should have a more pleasant journey together.

However much we might try to be nice to each other, we can only do so much within the designed space we are given to wait, or travel in.

Let’s Talk About the Waiting Area or Gate Seating

At airport gates, I encounter a typical situation with rows of identical seats. Sometimes these are packed together with a plan, other times not. Almost everyone chooses a seat that has at least one seat on either side of them. They (and I) will claim this open space with bags to deter all but the most tired traveler from requesting a seat.

This invariably leads to as many as 50% of the seats in the gate area left empty. Few people will deliberately sit next to others (at least in the US) unless absolutely necessary. This situation becomes troublesome if the flight is delayed because people will only stand up waiting for so long.

There are two problems here:

1. People are not following the Golden Rule because they want to sit are not letting others sit down because they want more personal space. Using bags to deter a request to sit down is a subtle and impersonal hurdle.
2. The design of the chairs and arrangement of these chairs is not facilitating the Golden Rule.

Which takes me back to my favorite topic on this site…

Good Design Facilitates Golden Rule Behavior

Since it is hard to change people’s behavior, what if we avoided the situation with a redesign of the chairs and seating arrangement? What if this new design started with the Golden Rule Question?

“How can we design these chairs, and place these chairs, to treat travelers the way travelers want to be treated?” – Click to Tweet!

or

“How can we design the chairs and waiting area to help people treat each other the way they want to be treated?”

I may have found the basis for one solution at American Airlines Terminal 4 at LAX.

The placement of the seats enables conversation, meetings, and personal space. The tables offer a place for the junk we all carry on a journey, or a drink. The angle of the end seats permits solo travelers the space they need, while offering the potential for conversation. The center seats allow pairs a chance to sit together. No one is too close for comfort. The layout encourages bags to be placed on the table or off chairs, opening up more space for sitting.

Even if someone claims two chairs, there is enough space such that they should feel comfortable moving their bags and another person should feel it easier to request the seat.

To make this design more in alignment with the Golden Rule, we could add a power port unit in the center of each table along with a sticker for Wi-Fi details. Now the seats are more enticing to use, people friendly, and each person has enough personal space and electricity to wait patiently.

If the Golden Rule says we should treat people the way we would want to be treated in the same situation, then a good designer should do the same so we have the right tools to apply the Golden Rule.

Let’s face it, not everyone practices the Golden Rule 100% of the time or applies it well. A Golden Rule Designer knows this and helps facilitate the application of the Golden Rule through design. A good designer works with people’s inherent biases, quirks, and inclinations to help the Golden Rule along.

If you are a designer, all you need to start is the Golden Rule Question:

How do I design this [chair, thing, space] to help people treat each other the way they wanted to be treated in the same situation?

At each point in the creation process, a designer might step back to ask further questions, such as, “Would I ask people to use this? Will they use it in the way intended? Will this design help people apply the Golden Rule?”

Do you have Golden Rule airport ideas? Have you seen a Golden Rule friendly layout for gate chairs? Tell us in the comments!

Images: Josh Hill and Flickr hoyasmeg

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Each day on the cold platform, my fellow commuters and I would wait in the vain hope the car was heated. Since the trains sat out all night turned off, this was wishful thinking. One day, there were very few people in the car I chose because it was ice cold. The conductor came up from behind and asked the guy behind me for his ticket. This was their exchange:

Conductor: “Ticket please.”

Passenger: “I’m not showing it to you.”

Conductor: “What? Do you have a ticket?”

Passenger: “Yes, but I am not showing it to you. These cars are cold every day and I shouldn’t have to pay for this kind of service.”

Conductor: “Sir, you have to pay for a ticket or show me your pass.”

Passenger “No way.”

Conductor “Sir, you have to show me the ticket regardless of what you think of the heat.”

Passenger: “grumble…fine.”

I showed my ticket.

Their tone was probably a bit angrier than this post conveys (it was 9 years ago!). The point is they were both right and both wrong. Until recently, Metro North consistently failed commuters on the New Haven Line. And yet, if you ride the train, you need to have a ticket, regardless of how poor your experience is. With the decline of train service in the US, the remaining train systems just don’t seem to take service seriously anymore.

The Golden Rule would say Metro North should provide heat on their trains because it is how they would want to be treated too. The policy, of course, is they only provide transport. There is nothing guaranteeing a comfortable ride due to mechanical issues.

The Golden Rule also says the Conductor is doing his job. The Passenger should show his ticket because that’s what he would want to have happen if he were in the Conductor’s place. Of course, the Passenger is also right that Metro North is not participating in a typical reciprocal service relationship by not providing heat.

What do you think the conductor could have said better in this situation?

How should the passenger have conveyed his discomfort to get results?

Side Note: The other day I was stuck on the same line for 1.5 hours because the train engineer thought he saw a person on the tracks. To ensure that person’s safety, they held the train and searched the entire area. First, they displayed the Golden Rule by trying to help someone who may have needed help–wouldn’t you want to be saved from a train? Second, they failed to display the Golden Rule by explaining anything until a great deal of time went by, which led to inevitable arguments, groans, and more. If the conductors were passengers, wouldn’t they want to know what was going on? Why not keep passengers informed?

I know the MTA has improved many things about service in the past 10 years and there is still a long road ahead.

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The Unwritten Rules of Bus Travel

However much I know some people try to avoid the bus for intra city or inter city travel, you will find yourself on a bus one day. It might be public transit, Greyhound, or a charter.

Let’s go over how each unwritten rule relates to the Golden Rule as well as Ms. Kim’s observations of nonsocial transient behavior. If, as Kim says, people are primarily looking for individual comfort, safety, and privacy, then can following the Golden Rule in transient situation help ease the stress of the experience? I believe it can.

1. When seats are plentiful, please sit as far away from others as possible.

This seems to naturally occur, but occasionally someone will violate this rule for no apparent reason. In her paper, Kim observed that the first thing people do is avoid sitting next to another person. So if you do have the option of finding an open row, do so, because it is the way you would want to be treated.

2. Please do not put your wet umbrella or other gross things on the seat.

That’s just rude.

3. Would you remove your bags from the seat when the bus is full?

People “Place several items on the spare seat so it’s not worth the passenger’s time waiting for you to move them.” – Esther Kim.

This seems to be hard for some people. In her paper, Kim states this is one the best ways to prevent someone from sitting next to you. I see this all the time during train commutes when people pile up stuff on the way home to deter a request to sit down. In fact, I am more likely to keep going because I would feel like it was an imposition on the other person, which will only lead to irritation during the ride. I also practice the bag trick when it makes sense to. But if someone asks, I will move the bag for them.

I’ve seen larger people place a bag on the adjacent seat because they know almost no one will dare sit next to them because there is hardly any space.

While these seat avoidance tactics work, you do have to allow another person to sit down if the bus is full. When there is no other choice, please move your things.

4. Avoid doing things which are fun for you, but no one else.

I know this sounds like a teacher you had once. But there is something really annoying about being 12 inches away from someone who is smacking his or her gum for 4 hours (or even 10 minutes). Would you want someone to do this to you with loud music or something which irritates you?

Kim observed that travelers were concerned with their own comfort, which could mean chewing gum or playing music. But if you are concerned with your comfort, it makes sense the other person is too. To make the trip pleasant for all, please keep your comfort to yourself.

5. Please don’t talk loudly on the bus or on the phone.

I don’t want to hear your life story, how much you love each other, or any such nonsense. Keep your calls short—no one really wants to know the details of Aunt Betty’s brain surgery.

Kim shares a story of how even a normal voice can be perceived as offensive if the rest of the bus is quiet. This situation is difficult because sometimes you do have to talk on the phone. Be mindful of the current situation and what will be tolerable for you may not be tolerable for others. So ask two questions:

“Must I make this phone call now?”

“Would I want someone else to make a phone call now?”

6. Never eat your dinner on the bus…unless you have enough for everyone.

How many times has someone brought McDonald’s or another effervescing meal onto the bus? And they don’t share! This forces you to either be sickened or hate them or to smell like their food the rest of the day.

Of course, on a long distance bus, there is not much you can do about people bringing on food. If you can, please try to eat before you get on the bus.

7. Use the Golden Rule

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you in the same situation.

Bus Travel Tip: Use the #Golden Rule with your fellow travelers. - Click to Tweet!

Improving Bus Travel

Kim writes, “Ultimately this nonsocial behavior is due to the many frustrations of sharing a small public space together for a lengthy amount of time.” One of the goals here at Golden Rule Now is to improve how people interact. If the trend of social isolation in public places continues, no one will help each other when it really counts.

What can bus operators and builders do to facilitate Golden Rule experiences?

• Renovate bus stops to be traveler friendly, taking into account travelers, as Kim notes, are “tired and stressed.” Instead of dusty decaying stations, create welcome centers with showers, working bathrooms, and easy places to store luggage briefly.
• Change the interiors from the dark greys, blues, and oranges to lighter colors which enhance people’s moods.
• Increase bus services such as wifi, in seat entertainment options like on planes, and mini vending machines.
• Make sure every bus seat has power and a tray table.
• Ask people to use the Golden Rule. Perhaps small, funny signs on tray tables or seat backs would help. How about posting these rules on each seat back?
• Hire people who use the Golden Rule.

What are your experiences on the bus? What can we all do to make the experience a Golden Rule one?

Please sign up for the newsletter on the right to receive further updates on applying the Golden Rule to your business and life!

Image: Flickr: ptaff

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I took a look around the web and found some interesting examples of how people use Golden Rule thinking to improve (or worsen) the experience of their audience.

The Golden Rule Builds Better eCommerce Sites

How often have you visited a site to buy something and then left without buying something? How often did you leave the site because of the way the site treated you, even if they had what you wanted to buy?

If you run an ecommerce site, these bounces and dropped shopping carts are the biggest impediments to higher sales (conversions). You can use all the analytics you want to discover choke points or bounce pages, but ultimately how your site treats people is why they stay or why they leave.

Let’s take a look at some common ecommerce situations as they relate to the Golden Rule.

Automated Emails

Automation emails should be transparent and as friendly as possible.

Everyone already knows an automated email is coming their way when they place an order. What they don’t always know is if the email is information or a delightful welcome. Or something else altogether.

I do not believe automated emails from a real person’s email address with unsubscribe links builds trust or your list quality. False relationships and poor mail merges are more likely to end up on a list like the Email Folder of Shame.

My preference is for automation emails that provide a temporary replacement for a human interaction in the same way a FAQ replaces and deflects 80% of common questions. When I set up an autoresponder system for the Economist Intelligence Unit, my goal was to help people who knew they were not real buyers find the information they wanted. My other goal was to avoid personally answering those emails because it wasted huge amounts of time for little return.

What I wanted to avoid was giving anyone a bad “brand experience.” People do not forget how you treated them, even electronically. In five years, one of those inquirers could be in a position to buy.

I wrote the autoresponders with appropriate links and pointers. These emails, at least initially, had very high open and CTRs because (1) they had requested more info (2) they received it. I invited them to contact us again for a more serious conversation while the automation worked behind the scenes to flag those people who should receive a call. After a month of use, I never saw a single complaint from Sales or from the people receiving the emails.

I recently purchased shoes from 6pm.com. While the number of emails I received for one order is a bit much for me, they are done so well, the team at Zappos clearly thought about what their target audience (bargain shoe shoppers) would enjoy. The system and emails were very clear about how to unsubscribe and why I was receiving them. The copy was in line with their brand, but also human. I really do believe I made their day with my purchase. Even though I unsubscribed to their automated two part welcome series, I appreciated they gave me the option to do so and explained what they were doing in a friendly way. They want to help me and offer me “special deals,” but also gave me an easy way out.

Guest Shopping Carts Abound

Remember 10 years ago when all shopping carts required registration to buy? Yet another account? Some places I will only buy rarely from and then forget my account. This happens to me at the major bridal registries since such purchases are sporadic.

When a few places such as Pottery Barn, Williams & Sonoma, and Bloomingdale’s decided to offer Buy as a Guest options, I was relieved. I wasn’t in another database forever or committed to a website account I would rarely use. Registration only slows me down on my way to buying that lovely glass set for my friend, which means a longer “on site time” as well as a higher chance of a dropped cart.

For regular shoppers at Pottery Barn, a registered account makes sense. The web developers there also had to account for an important audience: the wedding present buyer. Know whom you are selling to just as much as their friends who will also visit you one day.

Even when I am not in a firm’s primary target market, I appreciate when a firm makes it easy for me to buy.

More e-commerce Order Processing

I believe that if many of the major ecommerce sites were considering how their customers would want to be treated, they would have included many common features much earlier in their development. Here are a few examples of why these features are Golden Rule or Not.

• Ability to opt out of emails is not only law, but makes sense. Why irritate people who aren’t interested? Golden Rule!

• Abandoned shopping cart emails. Touted by marketing experts as ways to entice people back, these are terribly irritating to many other people who had good reasons to click away. Not Golden Rule.

• Calculate shipping costs before finalizing the order. You should always help people understand what they are buying and how their choices affect the costs. Never dupe people or hide anything, because you wouldn’t want someone to do that to you, would you? Golden Rule!

• Be clear that I can review the order before it is complete. How many times do some ecommerce sites make it seem the order is done, when it is not? Or won’t show you the totals and summary on the last page? The last thing you want in a lean operation is someone calling you frantically because they thought they were not buying, when in fact they committed to a purchase over their spending ability. Not Golden Rule.

• Ability to cancel or change order in the immediate moments afterwards. Occasionally I make a mistake or press OK and then change my mind. A few sites, such as Amazon, allow you to find your order so you can change it before it ships.  Allowing people to change orders helps them avoid a major problem, lowers shipping costs, and lowers return costs. If you allow changes to orders in the automated system, then you save human time as well as treat your customers the way you would want to be treated in the same situation. Golden Rule!

• Not allowing order changes. While I enjoyed 6pm.com’s experience, they did not allow me to change my order after it had been placed. Clearly their shipping system is very fast and cannot allow such changes.  Exception handling is where Humans sometimes become involved. Firms should offer both automated and human options for fixing an order, because some of us are fine with the website, while others want to speak to a human who will better understand the nuance of what we want. Not Golden Rule.

• Wish Lists and bookmarks for registered accounts are fantastic ways to treat people well while encouraging them to return to your site for repeat visits. Even a cookied shopping cart is appreciated sometimes in spite of privacy issues. Amazon and a few other stores do this well so I can come back to buy when I am ready. I would want someone to help me remember potential purchases in this situation. Golden Rule!

• Golden Rule automation provides all the details you would want to have when you order something online. Some storefronts still insist on burying shipping details, sales tax, or product details. To be a Golden Rule ecommerce store means over sharing information. You should make it clear where a buyer can find those details even if you decide not to clutter the page. Golden Rule!

• Have a FAQ. It helps you, it helps your customers, it is what you would want to read in the same situation. Golden Rule.

In a Golden Rule World, automation is perfectly fine, as long as

• It treats people the way they want to be treated as as you would want to be treated in the same situation.

• You handle exceptions or unusual situations the same way you would want to be treated. That might mean having more complex systems to anticipate exceptions, or it just might mean having a human to help create a solution. You can develop any system you want as long as it meets the needs of your customers. That can also mean you will not take on certain kinds of people because you would be unable to treat them in the same way you want to be treated in the same situation.

• You are up front about who you are. If you want to build an ecommerce solution that requires no sales people and doesn’t take special orders because that is how you run your business, then you also have to align your product, site, and process around that. You also have to make it clear to people that you are doing this, including recommending other places for a different experience. It is ok to have a barebones system and offer because some people need and want that solution.

Marketing Automation tip: ask “Is this how I would want to be treated by a store owner?” If not, design a better site. – Click to Tweet

Use Golden Rule Questions to Stay Focused on Your Audience

Your automation processes should have the Golden Rule built in from the start. When developing your ecommerce site, use Golden Rule Questions to keep your target audience in focus at all times.

Ask the Golden Rule Question: 

If I were to buy something on my site, is this how I would want to be treated?

If you want to learn more about building a better business using the Golden Rule, please sign up for my newsletter updates!

Image: IvanWalsh and Josh Hill, 6pm.com

You are reading The Golden Rule Builds Better eCommerce Sites by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” – Bill Gates.

These days nearly every online process has some automated component. Automation increases speed of sales and delivers instant gratification. When it works well, I welcome it and expect to be treated that way in many situations. Automa

tion is a great thing when done well, meaning the designer thought of how the human who interacts with the automation would want to be treated.

But automation is only as good as the human who built it. Exception handling causes the most difficulties for everyone from marketer to audience. In other words, you have a situation that was not anticipated by the system. The more rigidly you design your system to serve your own needs, the farther away from the Golden Rule your business becomes because the business is then about your needs instead of your customers’ needs.

In many situations, a human must intervene to fix the automation or error. How the human handles the resolution is what determines if a company is viewed as exceptional, clueless, or uncaring.

For consumers, Zappos built its entire business on helping people handle exceptions from website errors to choosing the right shoe color, and of course, returns.

The difference between a remarkable firm and an also-ran is how your human team handles mistakes. – Tweet This.

If your human team is remarkable in helping your human customers to resolve questions which are not answered by your site (or automation) or in resolving automation exceptions (personal preferences, outright errors, or human fulfillment mistakes), that makes the difference between a remarkable firm and an also ran.

The Golden Rule Mindset Will Guide You to Better Marketing Programs

The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you would want to be treated in the same situation.

A few firms truly understand that. How often have you seen poorly written email invitations to industry events? Or read critical blog posts about mail merge errors and automated “personal” emails? Or you receive a few too many reminders because some other marketer desperately needs you at their webinar?

Is this how you want to be treated? So why are you doing this to your prospects and customers?

Marketing Automation tip: ask “Is this how I would want to be treated by a vendor?” If not, design a better workflow. – Click to Tweet

Ask Golden Rule Questions to Improve Customer Focus

Here are tips for building automated workflows which treat others the way you want to be treated in the same situation.

Asking the Golden Rule Question at each stage of developing a campaign, nurture flow, or lead management workflow will connect you to your customers in a more meaningful, human way.

How do you keep a Golden Rule frame of mind? Ask Golden Rule Questions!

1. Ask the GR Question: if I were to receive this email (or series of emails) is this how I would want to be treated? Is this email providing me with the information I need?
2. Nurturing flows: “Would I want to receive this series of emails in their position?”
3. Subscription Management: “If I wanted to change my preferences, is this how I would want to be treated?” What if I just wanted webinar invitations? Or live events?
4. Lead Management: if I were a student, or had a question, but wasn’t ready to buy, is this the way I would want to be treated? How will that affect future perceptions of the brand?
5. Sales Alerts: if I were a sales person, is this the information that would excite me to accept a lead, call that person, and be informed ahead of time?

There are plenty of opportunities to improve your workflows to save you time as well as make a good impression on people who contact your firm.

There are plenty of opportunities to improve your workflows to save you time as well as make a good impression on people who contact your firm.

If you like what you read here at Golden Rule Now, sign up for my newsletter on the right to keep receiving remarkable updates every week. I’d do the same for you.

Image: IMPACT Brand & Design; Jurvetson

You are reading Better Marketing Automation With the Golden Rule by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License

In other words, if you run a business, agency, or country you may be legally allowed to fight valid claims or dodge justice, but as a corporate agent, you should seek to fulfill your obligations just as you would to a neighbor down the street. It’s likely cheaper and faster to treat people the way you want to be treated in the same situation.

Seth Godin wrote to remind business people and lawyers alike that corporations are not people. This was in response to Progressive Insurance’s fight to avoid a claim by Matt Fisher.

Your company or agency will always be seen as a monolith to outsiders, which does not mean it should act like a kafka-esque, nameless, souless, unstoppable machine.

I bet Progressive’s lawyers fight just as hard when they have a personal claim instead of accepting the insurance company’s explanation.

Only a Golden Rule Culture Can Make a Difference

While I am unfamiliar with the legal options Progressive has, and I am sure their contract and State law allow them to fight even clear cut claims, this is not the way to run a business.

Would Flo do her best to avoid a valid claim? She seems so nice and bubbly, like she would never sell you an exploding policy. But Progressive’s actions (or the actions and choices of its lawyers and adjustors) say otherwise. We might imagine the following scene:

Flo taking a break from her store, heading to a back room, marked “Employees Only.” We find the dark mahogany room filled with cigar smoke.

As she walks in, a flunky shuts the door and another flunky hands her a large Stogie. She shoos him away. As he runs in fear, her countenance turns dark and she somehow is in black and white.

She slowly walks to the board table and says, “Boys, I just brought in another million policies below rate. Be sure I don’t have to pay on these or you’re out. If you do well, I might give you your bonuses. Now get back to work.”

Is Flo what we see on the commercial, or is she someone else?

Pro Tip: It’s cheaper in the long run to pay up a contract than be inhuman.  – Click to Tweet

Stay Consistent in Image and Action to Deliver Remarkable Results

Progressive’s inconsistency between image portrayed and action taken is what ruins companies’ reputations. It is this kind of inconsistency which goes viral on the internet, and not in the way the Marketing team intended.

Now I am sure the actress who portrays “Flo” would love to stay out of the controversy so she can keep a good gig. She may also find it difficult to see her image on twitter providing a terrible automated message.

If I were Stephanie, I would also find it hard to walk away from being paid well even if my employer betrayed my work so easily. I might even suggest an apology ad, even making reference to the use of Flo’s image on the Twitter feed in this instance.

Other corporations are at fault too. The other day, United revealed to the world it made a choice to not be responsible for unaccompanied children flying with them. United would not even take the child between gates to make their own connections, instead having the airport porters handle the situation. Given United’s disaster with breaking guitars and three-day delays, you would think someone would try to fix their training and culture.

And the CEO of Aetna personally authorized a claim for cancer treatment that should have been covered, but which had been denied by robotic policies. It is wonderful that he stepped up and stayed human, however, I believe a great company doesn’t require the CEO to step up. A great company hires and trains the right people to believe in the Golden Rule. A great company has employees who feel they can make a decision like that on their own, without require five levels of sign offs.

If your CEO needs to get involved in a situation like this, then she and the rest of the firm have failed to live up to their image and culture, no matter how many dollars are spent on mission statements, vision, “values”, and marketing. There is only one value, and it is to treat people the way you would want to be treated in the same situation. The Golden Rule.

When you have a Golden Rule Culture where people are encouraged to ask if their action or policy is the way they would want to be treated in the same situation, you will have far fewer inconstancies between image and action. I hate to bring them up, but Apple and Zappos keep their actions consistent with their image because of their culture.

And that is how to create raging fan.

The fastest way to ruin is to be inconsistent.

Is your firm a monolith which allows its people to treat humans the way they should? Or is it the horror monolith everyone loves to hate?

Please remember the Golden Rule when you work with your customers and colleagues on Monday.

Image: Wikipedia, Progressive, Futurama, Lamnatos

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In the past year, I have seen just how easy it is to use the Golden Rule and how often it is not used. Remember, the Golden Rule is something you use or you do not. There is no in between or try.

Recently, I recalled a few customer service situations where I was treated well as well as treated poorly. Here are a few examples from my experiences over the past few years. And be sure to share your experiences below!

Failure to use the Golden Rule:

• Accountants: I was attempting to reach the accountant I used for my tax returns. He did not return my calls for two months, so I called another one I knew. While he returned my call, he acted very insulted that I had declined to use him last time. I said, “Wait, I am offering you business now because the other guy messed up, and you are being rude about it?” Forget it. I called Jess who very kindly called me back in a day and spent 30 minutes explaining what she did, how she worked, and reassured me I would be fine. Sure, I didn’t hire her immediately, but I sure will if my business takes off.

• Dell Technical Support: In 2000, they were the best. In 2002, maybe not. I called them to fix my dad’s DVD drive. By this time, support was in India. After some wrangling over English idioms, I convinced them to send me a new drive. It never came. Don’t ever say to someone, “We will send you a new drive,” when you have no intention of doing so. While I continued to buy Dell over the years, I never called them for help again.

• Harvard Pilgrim: recently they tried to decline coverage for a prescription that was covered, yet not quite filled out the way it should have been. Since they were going to deny me, I said “Why are you punishing me for a mistake the doctor made?” They gave me the money. (We could go on for days about Healthcare service).

Organizations which use the Golden Rule:

• American Express: In 2005, I was an intern at their Phoenix offices where I had a chance to visit the call center. This was just when Jim Bush took over Global Services. Since then, Mr. Bush trained their team to work unscripted, to help have real conversations about a card member’s problem and allow the service representative to help within guidelines. When my card number was stolen twice, they took care of me, sending me two new cards overnight in a month. When I called recently to have a foreign exchange fee removed, they said ,“No,” but they were nice about it. So nice they offered me 1,000 Starwood points to make me feel better. Of course, I’ll renew my card now because they treated me the way I wanted to be treated.

• Boston Symphony Orchestra. After Hurricane Irene, I had a credit from them. When I called to use my credit for a different concert. There was some confusion over the size of my credit and the representative said he would find out what to do and call me back. I’ve heard that before, so I was expecting to have to call back. BSO is better than that, and sure enough, their representative called back, on a Saturday, to tell me they were taking care of it and sending me my tickets. They could have charged me more, but they treated me well. They treated me the way I wanted to be treated.

Now I consult with firms on the best ways to use their marketing automation systems. In working with several firms I see many are not fully taking into account how automation impacts how their audience perceives their firm. The rules you set inside your automation system should be based on the Golden Rule. When designing a workflow, ask “Is this how I would want to be treated in the same situation?” Marketing automation is fantastic only when the people who build it remember they are using the tool to better communicate with other people.

That’s how I made it to the Golden Rule and how I continue to explore it across business and life. Won’t you join me?

You are reading Continuing the Exploration of the Golden Rule by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License

In 2008, I convinced management to place me in Marketing. I honestly believed I could better help the team and our prospects by taking my knowledge of the field to improve our marketing, especially our products. When attempting to modify our brochures and our events, I often considered “How would I want to be treated in this situation?” just as often as “Here’s what our prospects were saying to me about this brochure (or event).”

There were three main areas I improved, intuitively using the Golden Rule to create valuable content to attract potential buyers to our brand while treating them with respect; in other words, the way I would want to be treated in their situation.

• Privacy Management and Automation: I built systems and workflows, which better ensured we were respecting the privacy and contact preferences of our content subscribers. Whenever I sent out promotional emails of any type, I was careful to treat people the way I wanted to be treated in the same situation. For example, I would not send follow-ups to people who already responded or avoid sending too many follow-ups. My need to have responses is not the same as a target’s need to be left alone. This is a larger issue which I will explore in an upcoming post on permission marketing.

• Product Brochures: our products were many, and the brochures not always clear. After several iterations, I was able to strike a balance between detail and sales, providing a readable document for busy people to scan quickly while providing the detail required later in the sales process. Brochures should treat people the way I would want to be treated in the same situation: be honest, show me what I get, and allow me to scan it quickly for key benefits.

• Live Events: like many firms, some of our events were focused on what we wanted: a sales pitch to senior executives. Thus, over half of a roadshow event was dedicated to the pitch. As I stumbled on to content marketing, I changed the events to be 99% interesting content, and 1% pitch. Of course, we had sales people networking in the room. I wanted people to feel comfortable so they could see our analytical approach in a live setting with real analysts, rather than taking a salesperson’s word for it.

• Content marketing follows the Golden Rule because it offers the prospect or customer deeper insight into your solutions without interrupting their day. If you create useful content, you help people. You want to be helped, right? If you offer the content your targets are keen to consume–if you help them understand solutions, industries, functions, or their careers–then you will receive valuable contact details.

You are reading Lessons in Marketing with the Golden Rule by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License

My cross section of technical, service, and business interests led me to an interesting role at eXtropia.com where I helped my programming heroes continue their work in the open source community. Building a community requires active participation by everyone. If people are visiting your site, downloading your free software, and you aren’t there to answer questions, people start to disappear. I was able to halt the slide, creating activity on the site to engage the wider programming community. I always wanted to be helpful, even if I did not know the answer, I would find someone else to help.

When I returned from Singapore, I decided to go into Sales. That surprised many people since I am not your most obvious back slapping, fast talking guy. In sales, I believed I could learn a key business skill. I was certainly right about that. I explained to my future managers how my skills in customer service and technology would help me with their clients. Since working for The Economist had been a dream of mine, my international economics understanding would also help tremendously. And I was right.

My service training had now taken deep root. I knew instinctively that I would pick up calls on the first ring as well as be an advocate for our clients within the organization. I several sales books to better understand what else I could do better to move a sale forward. What I most wanted to do, however, was help our customers. Perhaps that meant steering them to a different service, or managing the paperwork for them. Sometimes it meant working with their technical team and my technical team to resolve connection problems faster.

Our products at EIU were varied and complicated. Explaining the products to a prospect required a true understanding of what the prospect actually needed. (this also led me to believe strongly that if any person cannot easily understand your service, you are doing something wrong. It took a year to get the product pitches down.

In two years of inside sales it seemed to me that the best way to make money was to help the customer achieve their objective. Isn’t that what you would want in their situation? The best sales books explain how to help the customer explain their objectives to you so you can best explain your ability to solve that problem. Admitting you cannot solve their problem is better than taking their money, then failing. I would rather walk away from a deal I can’t make mutually beneficial than to take on a project I can’t complete. (Remember my musician client?)

Golden Rule Lesson: If you practice the Golden Rule in Sales, you will always treat your customers well if you treat them as you would want to be treated in the same situation. This includes being honest on pricing, capabilities, and timing. You only hurt yourself if you take on unprofitable projects or clients who are not good matches for what you do.

The interesting thing about practicing the Golden Rule to avoid bad projects is the prospect you worked with will respect you more. In fact, she will remember you and your capabilities very well, making it likely she will tell a friend who does need your solution.

You are reading Customer Service, Sales, and the Golden Rule by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License

I returned to EIU two years later with my MBA in hand. Quite honestly, the MBA did not help me become a better sales person in the technical sense. Few academics work with the sales process even though a company dies without sales. What an MBA did do for me was help me make new connections in my mind for what was possible in business. So I was able to ask better questions of prospects about their actual needs. What helped close deals was my focus on treating customers well. And, as I saw later, it was the Golden Rule which helped the most: I treated prospects, customers, and ex-customers the way I would want to be treated in the same situation.

Operationalizing the Golden Rule is what you came to this site for. Here are my key sales tips:

• Pick up the phone on the first ring no matter where you are. This shows you are serious about helping people. Make it easy for your colleagues and prospects to reach you; isn’t that how you want to be treated?
• If you must let a call go to voicemail, call the person back before the end of the day.
• Find out how what someone’s problem is using proper questioning techniques. Your prospect needs your help, which gives you the right to ask questions about their problem.
• Explain how your capabilities can solve that problem.
• Be honest on time lines, pricing, and limitations. You will be surprised how often customers will agree to modifications if you are up front at the start.
• Deliver on time.
• If you can’t deliver on time with the quality you promised, make sure they know that early on.
• Accept responsibility for failures and do your best to make it up to them.
• Walk away from projects before you begin if you cannot do a great job.
• Under promise, over deliver.

You now know everything that is in every sales book on the planet. Will you actually do these? Do your vendors and customers truly believe in these? How many of them know the Golden Rule? Everyone?

Golden Rule Lesson: The Golden Rule was always in the back of my mind during every call. Even when I was tired or thought the prospect was asking the wrong thing, I reminded myself “Is this how I would want to be treated? Is this the right thing to do?” I would go back to edit an email or send a thank you or do whatever it took to close a deal the right way.

The difficulty with sales roles is they are quota based. At the time, EIU operated on quarterly targets with a team approach since some of my commission was based on how well we did globally. While we had monthly calls to explain progress, I was focused on the customers. I had an eye on my quarterly numbers—because those mattered to everyone—but spent my time on helping people. Keeping my focus on helping customers saved me from worrying about my numbers, which would have led me to panic. Panic would have led me to push on customers. Pushing customers leads to bad feelings and bad deals. I don’t like being pushed into a sale, so I refused to do that to clients.

After a year or so, my efforts began to pay off with a constant stream of deals that were tailored to what the customer wanted and what we could deliver. People started to ask me for advice! If I had only told them to focus on the Golden Rule, I would have given them much better advice than I had.

You are reading Using the Golden Rule in Sales by Josh Hill originally posted at Golden Rule Now - one rule, better marketing. If you enjoyed this post, follow Golden Rule Now on Twitter and G+, and Facebook Creative Commons Post License