Tag Archives: technology

Triage and Social Media

What is “Triage?” Typically, it’s a medical term, defined as “the process of sorting victims to determine medical priority, in order to increase the number of survivors.” So how does the concept of “Triage” apply to Social Media Monitoring? The number of social posts that mention brands continually increases. In 2012, 53% of social media […]

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Service is the New Marketing

Today, millions of customers will seek help from brands on social networks. Today, your company’s public interactions on Facebook and Twitter will shape how other prospects and customers perceive your brand. For this reason, the quality of your social customer service has become a key element of modern marketing. Last week, at the Salesforce Dreamforce […]

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The Paradox of Social CRM

There’s a warm feeling you get when you walk into a familiar place. When the staff knows you by name, greets you with delight and serves up “the usual”, you feel honored, respected and welcome. This is the differentiator between the “mom and pop shop” and the mega mall; between the corner store and the […]

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Seek or Go Hide

“Hide and Seek” had screeched to a halt! My 11 year-old son had outsmarted his younger sisters by hiding BEHIND the dryer! My poor daughters had looked every place they knew. They were now wailing that he’d run away from home. It was time for Dad to get involved. With a loud shout, I commanded […]

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Why We Matter

I didn’t even KNOW I was a Technical Writer. You see, back in 1995, I’d been brought on as a TEMP to answer merger-related email for a bank. When the bank’s Online Customer Service department suddenly faced an external audit, they asked me to document all the internal procedures. A few weeks later, as that […]

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Documentation as a Support Channel

The technical communication profession collectively peers through a window of opportunity. I work at the intersection of technical communication and customer service. My digital strategy tasks focus on the efficient delivery of effective content. So when I see someone who truly understands how valuable quality content can be to a customer, I jump for joy. […]

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Renewable Service in Disposable Industries

“Please state your date of birth.” A few feet in front of me, an elderly woman looked up at a young cashier. Stunned and flustered, the elegant matron asked “Why do you need to know my date of birth?” The cashier deadpanned, “Halo 3 is rated M for Mature: I can’t sell it to you […]

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Planned Inconvenience

The Customer Service revolution is OVERDUE. This week, I called my bank to close an extra business account that I no longer needed. What happened next was stunning. Before the bank finally closed the account: I spoke with five different humans I was read a formal apology sentence by all five I was authenticated four […]

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Renewable Documentation in a Disposable World

Recently, the Lead Change Group invited me to share my thoughts on Renewable Leadership in a Disposable World. In the post, I explain how several 20th-Century organizations fixated on quarterly profits at the expense of their own long-term viability. There are many differences between the disposable and renewable organization and I won’t repeat them all […]

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The Age of Accountability

Mark Twain once quipped, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” And for so long, this was so. But something is underway, a great shift toward truth or consequences. Technology has transformed the times. Access to instant information has pulled back the curtain on the […]

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