I had the pleasure of hosting a seminar at the Hive in London this past week. A lot of really great people from very different industries and background showed up, and we talked about writing for business, customer service, and social media. 

One of the things that struck me, as I was writing the content (sorry, that’s why these posts have been so few and far between) and again at the seminar, was the quality of the content. I know it’s going to sound silly, (but will probably really strike a chord with some of you) but I often forget that not everyone knows the same things that I know. Let me say that again, in different words. We all have some knowledge or experience that those around us don’t. That was originally the whole point of me starting this particular venture, on top of everything else I’m doing (Magpie Bath, volunteering with Pugtastic7 Rescue, my day job, colony contributor at the Hive, and taking care of my young family), yet I still felt like the content I was creating was both amazing and insightful, but also maybe everyone would already know everything I was planning to speak on, and it would be a waste of time. 

I have had many a great conversation with friends or family, and even some of you lovely new acquaintances about your businesses, and had tips or tricks that were new or helpful. I love giving advice that stems from my long entrepreneurial history, that might help someone else grow. I also love growing in new ways myself, and this seminar definitely fit that bill. Anyone who has met me in person knows I can be quite loquacious, but am also fairly introverted, so speaking one on one is generally my preference. I got out of my comfort zone, so that I could help more people, and I loved it!

I will be posting some snippets of content from the seminar for you all to enjoy, as well as some more anecdotes about customer service I have received lately, and my thoughts on it. 

This was just a brief update as to why I have been so quiet, but know that there is lots coming up to look forward to, including more in depth seminars on specific items! 
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As a small business owner, I often find myself wishing there were more hours in a day.

Do you struggle with the same?

While I can’t give you more literal hours, I can help you leverage your time so it FEELS like there are more. How you ask?

Simply by investing a bit of time now, which will save time in the future. When you spend a few hours now, to create template responses to your commonly asked questions for your business, that saves you precious minutes, which add up to hours, when replying. It can be very hard to take the time now, (“I have too much to do! The kids need dinner, I have orders to fulfill, and my day job too!”) but I promise the payoff is worth it.

Take 10 minutes or so to review your various inboxes, and make a list of the types of conversations you typically have with customers. I bet if you are like most people, there will be less than a dozen types of conversation. Perhaps there will be the people saying thanks for their order, those with an issue (you may find trends here as well), people asking questions etc. You can then write a response to one of each of these, and save it either in the notes on your phone, in a word document, or even as an outlook message all ready to go. This will save you tons of time, since instead of having to craft an entire message each time, you can copy and paste, and change a few relevant details. This will also allow you to reply to messages sooner, therefore improving your customer service. (People LOVE receiving responses right away!)

Hopefully you found this tip helpful, and feel free to contact me for help with these templates to leverage your time even further!

How important is proof-reading exactly?

The short answer is very.

We all make typos, mistakes, or have words or phrases we get wrong. That’s okay, but can hurt you in business. Not everyone will even notice, it’s true, but the ones who notice, really notice. I cannot count the number of times that I have seen signs for well known businesses with spelling errors, typos, or even incorrect punctuation, and asked myself why anyone would do business with someone who pays so little attention to detail.

Take a look at the above signs, and ask yourself if they instill confidence in the businesses they represent, or the message they are trying to get across. While many of these types of signs can be hilarious, that is not what you want associated with the hard work you do every day!

This doesn’t just apply to signs, but also to contracts and documents, letters to customers, replies to reviews on social media, your website, and anything written that your customers or the general public will see.

We all have a grammar/spelling enthusiast in our circle (I have several in mine), and while we may occasionally laugh at how intense they can be, they can be really helpful when it comes to your business. If you have one, put them to work! Get them to read every document before it’s printed to catch things you (or even spellcheck) may have missed. If you don’t have one of “those people”, feel free to message me for a read over of any documents you are unsure of, or just want a second pair of eye on! You will be so happy you did.

Another good option is to read what you have written out loud (to yourself or someone else) because this forces you to slow down, and really read each word, as you might not if you did a quick once-over before hitting send. I myself do this with every reply to a negative google review, because I want to make sure that I am setting myself and the company up to look professional and competent when dealing with issues that have occurred.

And- just so you don’t think you are alone, I will let you in on a secret: I have re-read this blog post twice, adding words that I missed, taking out redundancies, or clarifying points that didn’t make sense.

 

Today I wanted to write a bit about personalities. They are strange things, that make us all very different from each other, and can sometimes make it really hard to communicate. Like, REALLY hard!

For example, there is a lady that I deal with at my day job, who has decided I am “her person” and always wants to talk to me. I find her quite exhausting, and most other people here won’t even talk to her, but, I have learned that the best way is just to let her talk. Unfortunately this can go on for quite some time, but- if she feels heard, she leaves happy. This is not necessarily compatible with MY personality, which is pretty direct, no nonsense, and to the point. I want to tell the person I’m dealing with what I need, when I need it, get it dealt with and leave. For some people this would be a disastrous client/service relationship, but I have learned how to read customers and their type, and adapt my way of speaking (or listening) to match what the customer needs. And in business, is that not the most important thing, and what keeps them coming back?

I will give you another example, this time with me as a customer, to illustrate how one person can have multiple styles of communication depending on where they are in the process. As I mentioned above, when I start a transaction, I’m pretty direct about what I need. (Not all customers will make it this easy for you, and you will have to learn to read them)

I went for a service for a facial, and eyebrow threading to a new person, who came highly recommended by some people who’s opinions I value. I have had many spa facials, but never had my eyebrows done by someone else at all. The lady was friendly enough, and started. Since I had never had an eyebrow threading (a fact she was aware of), I didn’t really know what to expect. It wasn’t until she was done, that I realized my eyebrows looked just like hers. She never asked me what I wanted them to look like, what I liked about them, or didn’t. Then she started on the facial. (side note, I have worked in makeup and skincare before, and know that people can be very sensitive, and the best way to address issues is to ask the client what their concerns are about their skin etc. Don’t ever tell them what you think their problem areas are.) This was exactly what she did. I left feeling really upset and unsatisfied with the whole thing and as I was leaving she said “Don’t forget to leave a review!” I never did. I thought about writing her a private message expressing my concerns, but never did. “It’s not her fault, we just don’t have compatible personalities” I justified it to myself. (Some customers would just leave a really bad review and still not tell you, and this is where the real trouble starts)

I want you to think for a second, on why someone as direct and outspoken as myself would not express to this woman, either during or after the service, that I wasn’t happy. What reasons can you come up with?

 

The biggest reason was, this woman did not make me feel comfortable. Her demeanor (whether personality or not) gave me the impression that she felt that as a professional, she was above me. Of course she didn’t know anything about me, my background, or knowledge in her field. She felt that her knowledge was superior, and acted accordingly. Which left no room for my opinions, or feelings.

Back to the lady mentioned above: She had a conversation with another person where I work, to get some information I could not provide her with. This person hung up on her, and she left me a voicemail telling me it had happened and that she was choosing to believe that it was a bad connection. My colleague flat out told her he was going to hang up, and she still chose to believe it was an accident, because she wanted so badly to be heard, and to have her issue resolved. This woman was asking to be helped, long after many people would have given up and gone somewhere else.

Spend some time thinking about your customers, and how you interact with them. Who are your favourite ones? Are their communication styles similar to yours?

 

For more help with personality and communication styles and how to navigate them, please contact me for a one on one or group training!

When dealing with your business, it is hard to be objective. In order to effectively deal with issues, one needs to be able to remove the emotion.

Sometimes it can be helpful to have an outside party read or edit a document or message before it is sent. This can make sure that the message that is coming across is the one you mean to send.

This is where I come in.

I have extensive experience dealing with customer service, difficult customers, difficult humans, and writing.

Please enjoy browsing the site to see some of what I offer, and what people are saying about me, and feel free to contact if you have any questions or would like a quote or advice.