Jim Logan's B2B Rainmaker

And. But. Because. The purpose of copywriting

Jim Logan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:21:32 +0000

And. But. Because.

We were all taught you never begin a sentence with any of those words. It’s not proper language.

But that’s how most people speak.

I make more grammatical errors than most people and am a life-long student on the proper use of words, tense, and punctuation. I am master of the fragmented sentence.

Thanks to spell checking software, I’m able to mask further embarrassment.

Yet, I’ve been told I effectively communicate with my audience through writing. Do I write better than I think? Or is my audience as illiterate as I am :-)

Focus your customer communications on your customers – their tone, their language, their way of communicating. There is no right or wrong way to communicate as long as you’re speaking in language appropriate to your audience and speaking to them in terms they understand.

Once you’re understood, your customer is in a position to act. And heeding your call to action is always the ultimate objective.

What do you think? Is there any greater purpose of copy than to be understood? Are there limits to the use of proper grammar?

Why you should ask more questions before you give any answers

If you know what your customers expect, it’s easier to do the unexpected

Jim Logan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:33:50 +0000

The following guest post is submitted by Kevin Stirtz from AmaxingServiceGuy.com

Last weekend I was listening to a local radio station (107.1 WFMP) that targets women listeners. It’s not something I’d typically listen to, but one of my clients advertises with them so I like to tune in once in a while.

The guest they had on was talking about clothing, fashion and style, which interested me beyond belief. Actually I was about to flip back to my manly radio safe zone when the lady talking said something interesting.

She said (and I’m paraphrasing): “Having style is all about doing something unexpected, but still being you.”

That got my attention. I thought about how that fits well into the world of marketing.

Because when we promote our businesses, we want to get our customer’s attention. We can do this by being different than everyone else in our market.

But, we need to be careful.

Different and stupid is still stupid. It’s not a good way to attract positive attention or new customers. We need to be different in a way that still fits who we are (or what our business is).

So, find ways to step away from the pack. Set yourself apart from the crowd that is your competition. Show your customers and prospects that you’re anything but average. You deserve their attention.

You do this first by knowing everything you can about your competition. Then you learn everything you can about your customers. This information tells you what you need to do to be different.

If you know what your customers expect, it’s easier to do the unexpected. By knowing what your competition already does, you know what you can do that they don’t. By knowing what your customers want, you can figure out what to do that makes them happy.

The final step is to know your own business.

When you set out to be different, you need to do so in the context of your business. Make sure whatever you do aligns with your company’s values and culture. Don’t do things that conflict with the core values that make your company what it is.

Next time you’re sitting around thinking of how to get more customers, break out of your box and try something different. Add some style to your marketing!

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Kevin Stirtz is The Amazing Service Guy. He helps his customers increase profitability through customer loyalty, created by providing amazing service. Kevin can be reached at http://amazingserviceguy.com.

This may be the best marketig tip I can give you

Jim Logan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:23:28 +0000

I couldn’t begin to tell you why, but last night I was thinking about the single best marketing tip I could give someone — the best single piece of advice I could give someone to improve their story and communication with prospective customers.

The answer was immediate:

Every time you find yourself presenting, speaking, writing, or otherwise communicating with someone and you find yourself saying something like “What I mean by that is…” – stop yourself. Whatever you say afterward is exactly what you should have said in the first place.

Knowing this, listen to your conversations and watch presenters carefully. Notice how many times you hear people say “What I mean by that is…” and see if you don’t agree whatever they say next is better than what they said before.

As marketers, we too often value creativity and being cleaver more than simplicity of being direct and clear in our communications. Craft terms, feature speak, and industry jargon can get in the way of stating things as they simply are. The clearer and easier to understand we make things, the easier is it to connect with prospects and advance the conversation.

What do you think?

Now is the time to grow

Are ebooks dead?

Jim Logan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:34:28 +0000

I read on a website not long ago that long ebooks were dull and dead. The author’s premise is audio, video, and multimedia formatted content is now the way to go. The idea being long ebooks will be better accepted and reviewed if their content is delivered in a new format.

I disagree.

If you have nothing to say of any interest or value, 1 page is too many. And wrapping that same content in a multimedia form won’t make it any more valuable or better received.

A 200 page book is inherently no more or less valuable than a 10 page book – although you expect more in 200 pages.

I don’t believe length or formatted delivery matter much. Great and well communicated thoughts and ideas will be consumed no matter how they’re offered.

What do you think?

Are ebooks a thing of the past -or- Do you agree with me they remain relevant? Why?

The danger of short sales letters

10 tips to manage a customer crisis

Jim Logan — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:41:50 +0000

Not long ago I had an interesting conversation with a small group about customer service. In particular, the discussion was about managing a customer crisis.

Here are 10 tips I suggested for future reference:

Stay Focused. Every problem has three issues – how you got into the mess you’re in, how you get out of the mess you’re in, and how you avoid getting in the same mess ever again. While in he midst of the problem, keep everyone focused on getting out of the mess. You can and should address the how we got here and how we avoid this in the future as part of an after action report.

Listen. People need to be heard. Give the emotional person a chance to vent. Let them get it off their chest…once.

Communicate. Let your customer know you and your company understand the business impact of whatever crisis you’re managing. Business impact is the issue you ought to stay focused on.

Don’t Make A Promise You Can’t Keep. Nothing makes a bad situation worse than over-committing and under-delivering. If you don’t have the answer, don’t offer one. Instead, offer the time you will have more information.

Offer Alternatives. Many problems have more than one solution. While some solutions are obviously better than others, offer them all to your customer and make a recommendation with explanation why it’s being recommended. This goes a long way in letting them know you’re putting thought behind your actions and acting in their best interest.

Get The Customer Involved In The Solution. Related to the item above, involve your customer in the solution selection process. This puts the two of you on the same side of the table. Be sure to lead the conversation, you don’t want to give the impression you aren’t in charge of the resolution…they expect you to be.

Be Honest. Many fixes have associated risks. Let your customer know what’s happening next, what may happen as a result, and what you’re doing to remain cautious of their concerns.

Guard Some Information. While being honest and communicating with your customer, don’t go too far and share with them every wild and wacky idea you’re pursing internal to resolve their problem. In a crisis, sharing too much information can make your organization appear confused and haphazard. Guarding information is a balancing act. Use caution.

Coordinate Your Message. Streamline communication to a client to give them a consolidated voice from your company. Out of sequence information and mixed messages further frustrates the situation.

Set Expectations. Let your customer know what to expect next and when. This goes along way to building trust and confidence. Keep every promise you make.

There are 10 tips I shared for handling a customer crisis. What would you add to this list? Which of the above tips do you think are most important? Why?