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July 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Are Your Web Site Error Messages Turning Away Your Customers?

I was registering online for an event this week using a credit card and experienced a usability hiccup on the organization’s web site that I found noteworthy. As I was completing the final steps of the registration online, I clicked submit and instead of being greeted by a confirmation screen, I received an intimidating red error message that said “Your credit card has been declined.” Ouch! No one likes to hear that. However, I knew the card was fine so I tried to think of other reasons for the error. Then I realized that the billing address I had entered was not the one that was associated with the card. I edited my registration and lo and behold, the registration was completed successfully.

While I was able to figure out what the problem was, others might not be so fortunate. How many other customers decided to give up after the first “Declined” message and abandon the registration process? This anecdote illustrates the importance of descriptive error messages. In this particular case, a better error message might be something like:

“There was a problem with your credit card. It was declined by the processor which could be due to a number of things. Some possible causes include insufficient funds, or perhaps the billing address you entered is not the address associated with this credit card. You may want to double-check the billing address you entered. If you continue to have trouble, please call us at 800.555.1212.”

This error message is much more useful that the first one because it gives the customer some useful troubleshooting information as well as a phone number to call as a last resort for further help. It also does not accuse the customer of having a bad credit card, but rather presents some possible scenarios and does not make assumptions, thus keeping the transaction neutral. The scenario above is one example, but user-friendly error messages are important any time your site asks for user data. This same principal can be applied to social networking sites, online forums, or even simple contact forms.

Is your web site inadvertently turning away good customers by displaying cold, unfriendly error messages? Take a look and see if some improvements can be made. A few small changes can turn lost sales into loyal customers.

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: ,
July 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Effective Use of Voicemail

Effective Use of Voicemail

I recently read an article on TechCrunch titled “Think Before You Voicemail” which basically contributed to the recent bandwagon chatter of “voicemail is dead!” and so forth. Though I agree that there are sometimes better ways to communicate certain types of information, I disagree that voicemail is ineffective, dead technology. Rather, I feel that many people simply don’t use voicemail effectively. Here are some tips for getting greater benefit from voicemail.

As the sender:

Speak clearly and leave your callback number (with area code) at the beginning and end of the voicemail. This may seem obvious, but so many times I get voicemails from people who speak almost inaudibly, rush through the phone number, and only leave it once in the middle of the message so I have to replay it over and over. Usability applies not only to web sites and software, but to other kinds of information input, as well. The easier your message is to deal with, the more likely it is that the recipient will act on it.

Make your message compelling. If you are leaving a voice mail for a potential client and you leave a message that says you are just “following up” and would like a call back, what reason does the recipient possibly have to call you back? Instead, try leaving a message for your prospective client explaining that you discovered a way to save him $500 a year by using your solution and you would like to run the details by him. Perhaps you saw an article in a recent publication about his company and you have some questions about it. Perhaps you would like to invite him to be a guest on your next podcast episode. Make it interesting. Voicemails that are just “following up” will get deleted.

Give the recipient options and be specific and actionable. Some people don’t like to return calls but they will email. If you feel that an email could work as a response, leave your email address in the voicemail and encourage the recipient to use it. If you want a call back, leave some good times to reach you. If you don’t need a call back but you would like a specific outcome, say that in the voicemail. The voicemails I hate the most are the ones that simply say “call me back.” That tells me absolutely nothing about the call and gives me no way to decide how to process it. Be clear and specific and make it easy for the recipient to digest, process, and act on your message.

As the recipient:

Batch process your voicemails. Don’t try to haphazardly write notes from your voicemails every time you get one. Wait until you have the tools or materials necessary to capture the information from the voicemails into your personal productivity system. If you have 5 voicemails to deal with, give yourself 15 minutes after lunch to listen to them all at once and decide what the next actions are. Return any calls or perform any actions that will take 2 minutes or less, place the rest on your todo list, and delete the voicemails. Basically, follow Inbox Zero but apply it to voicemail.

Move beyond phone tag. If you get one of those voicemails that says “call me back” and then you get the caller’s voicemail when you call back, leave a message requesting specific information. When this happens to me, I leave a message such as “Hi, Bob… it’s Michael Reynolds at SpinWeb returning your call. My number is 866.SPINWEB. I received your message but there was no information in it about your call. If you get my voicemail when you call back, please leave a detailed message that specifically outlines what I can do to help you. You can reach me at 866.SPINWEB, or by email at michael@spinweb.net. Thanks!” This helps move the conversation forward and keeps both parties from wasting time.

Clean out your voicemails after processing them. This also may seem obvious but I’ve met so many people who have hundreds of voicemails in their inboxes that they never delete and then they end up losing track of which onces they’ve responded to. Get voicemails out of your inbox and into your personal productivity system – then delete them. If nothing else, this keep your voicemail box from getting full. Imagine how embarrassing it would be for a client to call you and be unable to leave a message because your voicemail was full. How unprofessional!

By being mindful, careful, and systematic about how we use voicemail, we can increase the usability and effectiveness of our messages, turning it into a powerful tool for sales, networking, and productivity.

Filed Under: Productivity, Technology Tagged With: ,
July 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment

5 Tips for Improving Your Email Newsletter

Having an email newsletter is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to communicate with your constituents in a positive way. However, I’ve noticed that many organizations are not taking full advantage of this medium. There are many subtle guidelines that are important to follow when publishing an email newsletter. Here are a few tips to help maximize the effectiveness of your newsletters.

1. Utilize a professional design. It amazes me how many times I receive an email newsletter that contains broken images, low-quality photos, and incorrectly formatted content. Most people get at least some spam and you want to make sure that your newsletter does not look like all the poorly-formatted spam that gets sent today. Make sure you are using a professionally-design email template that matches the branding of your company.

2. Keep the content subscriber-focused. Most organizations make the mistake of filling their email newsletters with “look at us!” promotions and “latest specials”. News flash: your subscribers want value from the newsletter. They do not want more marketing. A great way to structure your newsletter is to make the main article a useful piece of information that educates your subscribers, offers them useful information, and gives them something they can take away and use. Marketing messages will get ignored and lead to unsubscribes while useful content will get saved and read. There is nothing wrong with promoting your business in the sidebar areas but keep the main content useful to your subscribers.

3. Stick to an appropriate schedule. Another common mistake is to send out your newsletter whenever you feel like it or whenever you have something new to announce. Big mistake! The more sporadic your newsletter is, the more it will feel like spam. Pick a schedule and stick to it. We’ve found that every 2 weeks is a very good standard to follow. Once a week is often enough to be annoying but once a month is infreqent enough to be forgotten. Every two weeks is a great balance and gives your subscribers a routine to get used to. We also recommend sending on a Friday morning.

4. Give your subscribers an easy escape via one-click unsubscribe. Any unsubscribe process that takes more than a single click is absolutely unacceptable. I am always amazed at newsletters, even from large companies, that require me to “update my subscription preferences” in order to unsubscribe, or ask me to send them an email with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. This is burdensome and rude. Your subscribers may have very valid reasons for wanting to leave. It’s their choice… let them unsubscribe easily. It’s also important that your unsubscribe process is automatic and instant. Additionally, if your unsubscribe process is too difficult, your subscribers are more likely to simply flag your message as spam, which can lead to you getting blacklisted on the Internet. Very bad!

5. Keep your list clean and 100% opt-in. Adding subscribers to your list without their consent is very bad manners. It can also get you flagged as a spammer. Just because you exchanged business cards with someone at a networking event does not give you permission to add his/her email address to your list. Just because your local chamber of commerce gives you a spreadsheet of all the members’ email addresses does not give you permission to dump that spreadsheet into your list. If you add subscribers to your list, make sure your have their consent. Offer an easy way to subscribe on your web site. If you meet someone in person, ask for his/her permission to subscribe that person. It’s better to have a list of 500 people who want to hear from you than a list of 5,000 people who don’t.

These small details can make a huge impact on the effectiveness of your email newsletter. By following proper newsletter ettequitte and establishing your organization as an expert in your field, you will be able to build and strengthen trust with your audience.

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , ,
July 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Hacking Away at the Unessential

In today’s educational moment in BNI, I highlighted the concept of decreasing the amount of clutter in your life and streamlining your energy. The quote I referenced is by Bruce Lee and it is:

“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”

This concept has many direct business applications. Are you going after a client base that is too broad? Maybe you should narrow your focus to more specific verticals. Are you trying to provide too many products or services? Maybe it’s wiser to cut out the things you are not an expert in so you can focus on the things you are very good at. Do you find yourself doing too much paperwork and administrative work instead of networking ad selling your products and services? Maybe it’s time to outsource the little stuff so you can get out and sell.

By cutting out the things in your business that are unprofitable and distracting, you will be able to focus more fully on your primary business goals and will likely have greater satisfaction in your work.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Productivity