Customer Service

As a deaf person, I love technology and it helps connect me to many people. But even I can’t believe this true story from Michael Katz of Blue Penguin Development, Inc and I disagree with the conference leader’s actions.

{Begin story}

I attended the Inbound Marketing Summit here in Boston. It promised several excellent speakers, offered lots of interesting topics, and the entire thing was blogged, twittered, flickred and videoed from start to finish. So I put on a suit (yes, I own several) and headed on down to the Cambridge Marriott.

That’s when things got interesting. The keynote speaker addressed a packed room of about 300 people. He spoke for 40 minutes or so, after which they opened it up for questions from the audience. Sort of.

Because as it turns out, the only way you were allowed to ask a question was by emailing it or Tweeting it to the front of the room. The conference leader then selected the questions he liked and read them to the speaker.

Huh? I’m sitting ten feet from the stage, but if I want to ask a question, I have to mail it in? If you ask me, this makes about as much sense as telling restaurant customers that the only way to eat in the dining room is to first have your meal delivered to your home and then drive it back to the restaurant.

And so as someone who’s been trying to follow in his wife Linda’s example of making the world a better place, I figured I ought to say something. So immediately after the session, I walked up to the conference leader and politely offered my feedback:

Me: “You know, it struck me as kind of odd that with a roomful of real, live, people, the only way to ask a question of the speaker is to send an email.”

Conference Leader: “You can also Tweet it.”

Me: “Wouldn’t it make sense, particularly at a conference whose central theme is “community,” to let people interact directly with the speaker?”

Conference Leader: “Do you have an iPhone? You could use that.”

Anyway, realizing I was getting nowhere, I thanked him for his time and promised to email him a hearty handshake.

Here’s the point. Technology, for all the wonderful things it brings (particularly to us small business owners), can lull us into missing the bigger picture. The Acres of Diamonds, if you will.

My conference leader friend, for example, was so taken by the Internet’s ability to help people connect instantly across time and space, that when offered the real thing, he chose the simulation.

That’s big. But it’s not just him, we all do it:

…We attend conferences and meetings with our laptops open, listening with one ear and typing emails with the other (not that I think you type with your ear).

…We let the phone go to voicemail every time instead of picking it up when it rings, because it’s more efficient to only return the calls that “really matter.”

…We love our E-Newsletter for the way it lets us stay top of mind with our list of contacts, but when one of those contacts emails with a question, we don’t bother replying.

You get the picture: Technology is great, but it’s no substitute for human interaction. And every time we use it to cut the people out of the equation – whether in the name of efficiency, a desire to appear bigger, or some other “too busy for business” rationalization – we miss out on a golden marketing opportunity.

Because in a world filled with unanswered emails, unreturned phone calls and unreachable corporations, sometimes just looking someone in the eye and listening to what they have to say puts you and your company at the front of the line.

{End story}

Does it seem unreal to you? I’d LOVE to have this feature if I should speak at a conference — but not to this extreme. I’m comfortable with public speaking. My fear comes in not hearing the questions asked. So this would make a great work around. Instead of taking this approach, here’s what I’d do:

1. Tell people to send me questions through a Tweet or an IM.
2. Call out the person’s name asking the question.
3. Let the person ask the question out loud while I read the question.
4. Answer the question.

This allows the person to ask the question face-to-face for all to hear while taking the fear of not hearing the question out of the picture. Hmm … makes me wonder if I should speak at sxsw where everyone brings a computer. But what would you like to hear about?

My back problems started in high school while playing volleyball. I tossed the ball in the air and motioned my left arm to slap it with my hand and send it flying over the net and within the boundaries. As soon as the hand gave a high five to the ball, my lower back on the right side (me lefty) gave out.

Since then, back pain plagued me. I learned all the tricks for dealing with it, preventing it, and coping with it. My back thought it needed to give me a new challenge and add a new chapter to the back saga.

It woke me up two nights in a row and hurt so much that a slight movement forced me to muffle a scream to avoid waking up the whole household. Obviously, this problem won’t go away in one or two days yet I need to keep the work going.

Of course, you must take care of yourself or else the problem drags on and the work piles. So work with the problem rather than against it. First, I made an appointment to get pain relief solutions while attacking the problem head on. After all, medicine only offers temporary relief.

Freelancers should have a laptop in addition to their desktop so they can work anywhere. When illness or pain sneaks in, they can say, “HA! I can just move to the sofa or bed to get more comfortable and get my work done. Nice try!”

This may not work when the pain comes from the flu. That just plain knocks out the biggest and healthiest athlete. At least, with the flu — you know the worst will pass within a couple of days. Just sleep and take care of yourself. Email your clients — one word should be enough if you can barely type: “Flu.” I think we all know that means a person will be out at least a day or two and understand. Speaking of flu, got my flu shot today while at the doctor’s.

Ack. my back took a turn when I tripped. Time to pull out the big guns (my laptop) and get comfy. How do you deal with situations when it makes it harder to get work done?

• The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period!: Indeed!
• Freelance Writers and Referral Fees: Would You Charge (or Pay) One? I tried to thank someone for referring me to a new client and she wouldn’t accept it. I also don’t expect payment for referrals as like the article, networking goes a long way.
• Signing Client Contracts: When Negotiation is Futile: Excellent points of what to expect.
• What I’ve Learned About Writing From My Friends Online: Proof that participating in the blogosphere can be valuable.
• 30 Poems in 30 Days: I used to write lots of poetry while in school. Boy, I wish I put them on my Apple ][+ computer, then I might still have had them today.
• Wikibooks: “Community for creating a free library of educational textbooks that anyone can edit.”

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Cool Hunting: Hunting down cool things.
• U.S. Paralympic Team: I wish the games were on TV!
• GuysRead: Hilarious author Jon Scieszka (and a popular one in my household) started this site to provide book recommendations to guys of all ages. His list hits all the biggies in my household (two sons).
• TeenReads: Like Guys Read only for teens.
• Book Adventure: Motivates kids to read.

Writers don’t just write. They also must market unless they’re John Grisham or Mary Higgins Clark. However, Grisham had to market early in his career. So how do writers market themselves? Try any of these activities that would benefit writers, book authors, freelancers, and small businesses.

1. Grow your portfolio. If you’re just getting started, many popular blogs and non-profit organizations might be willing to publish your article. Contact them first.
2. Contribute articles to blogs and Web sites. I helped a client get published in CIO by proposing an article that would benefit its audience without any sales speak.
3. Participate in blogs covering your topic. Most blogs let you enter your URL and some offer CommentLuv (see comments here as this one uses CommentLuv).
4. Start a blog. It must provide valuable information not sales spiel.
5. Have a Web site. Include an About page, testimonials, description of your services, and most important — make it obvious what you do.
6. Contribute to an email newsletter. Start one or write a column for another’s newsletter.
7. Collect email addresses. Of course, make sure you have permission. This comes in handy should you not have a newsletter yet. When you launch a newsletter or a column in one, let your mailing list know — but do NOT subscribe them. Let them subscribe themselves — point the way.
8. Participate in Twitter (don’t just join, you must put into it to get something out of it).
9. Subscribe to Help a Reporter (HARO). Post to it when you work on a story.
10. Set up social network pages (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).
11. Connect with people you *know* on social networks rather than accepting every invitation. It’s not about the number of connections, but the quality.
12. Read high quality marketing blogs. Good places to start: Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki. They provide valuable tips that writers can use.
13. Give a fiction story a non-fiction spin. This helps your marketing efforts.
14. Ask your publisher about the marketing they provide, so you don’t overlap activities.
15. Read books on marketing and publicity. Good ones include Plug Your Book!, Free Publicity, and Putting It on Paper.
16. Contact bloggers to request a review of your book. It’s better to contact them before sending the book. I always review books when I request a copy of a book, but if a book comes to me — it has lowered chances of my reviewing it because (1) I have too many on my list already, and (2) it may have nothing to do with a topic I cover or have interest in. Try Blogcritics.
17. Create a signature. Use it in your email and in forums. Mine mentions www.meryl.net, that I’m a writer and editor, links to my newsletter and book.
18. Offer to speak at relevant meetings, programs, schools, and conferences. If you write a book about cats and dogs, speaking at a computer conference won’t do you much good. Remember PTAs, non-profit organizations, and professional organizations look for speakers, too. My kids’ schools invite authors to read or speak to the kids. If you have a children’s book, contact your local elementary school PTAs about visiting the school. Often, the school will sell your books for signing and parents eat them up. A great time to get schools — Book Fairs and Reading Ambassadors Week.
19. Post old articles into article libraries. EzineArticles is my fave.
20. Search “marketing writers” for more tips.
21. Create a bookplate. Offer signing and sending a book plate whenever readers send you a self-addressed stamped envelope. Print the bookplate on printed labels so readers can stick ‘em right on. Cheaper than mailing the book to you and back. It provides a personal connection between reader and author.
22. Hold an event. A friend of mine created a neat book where kids get to be the author. The Stapler Caper has colorful pages with characters explained in the beginning of the book and kids write their own words on the bottom of each page. The paper the book uses makes it easy to erase and re-use. Anyway, she had a back-to-school breakfast at a popular breakfast restaurant. Every person that bought a book got a free breakfast plus she signed books.
23. Ask clients for testimonials. I always ask for a quote at the end of a project or after working with a client for several months on a non-ending project. I publish testimonials here. Sometimes you might have to help the client by asking specific questions to get a valuable testimonial. “You’re great” says nothing. It could be short for “You’re great at being late,” a way for an unhappy client to not tell the complete truth.
24. Ask clients for referrals. Your clients are your best marketing tool. They know your services and may know of others who can benefit from your services.
25. Buy ads. I bought an ad from the sports booster club at my daughter’s high school. It’ll be posted in the three programs that will go out at games. The ad serves two purposes: supports my daughter’s school’s sports (she plays on the volleyball team) and advertise my business. I’ve also posted ads in directories for non-profit organizations of which I’m a member. These don’t cost much compared to standard ads.
26. Hand out promo goodies. Swags, bribes, whatever you call ‘em. Buy mugs, calendars, pens, whathaveyou to hand out to folks with your URL, phone number, or whatever contact information. I don’t do this with client gifts. However, if you’re willing — you could send a gift that doesn’t have your company logo on it AND add a little side goodie that has your company logo on it.
27. Do an exchange. You could submit an article in exchange for an ad on a Web site. Offer to edit a non-profit’s newsletter in exchange for an ad in the newsletter.
28. Hold a contest. Contests with cool prizes bring in folks!
29. Sponsor a prize. Donate a prize for contests. I donated an Amazon gift certificate to Lifehack and they did an unexpected write up about all of their sponsors including me.
30. Carry business cards at all times. Make sure the back of them remain blank or else you or the recipient can’t write notes as I learned the hard way one year when I had the dumb idea of printing the calendar on the back. I rarely hand out all my business cards within a year, so imagine how useless they were when the year ended. I use business cards in my personal life when I meet people at meetings or tennis. It’s a way to give them my contact information and it just happens to promote my business, too. I carry them in my tennis bag and in my purse, so I always have them with me.
31. Leave business cards with complementary businesses. Let’s say you sell organic shampoo. You might leave business cards or a little postcard with beauticians and barbers.
32. Take advantage of upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Offer a free ebook or ereport for when people sign up for your newsletter. Use the ebook download page to upsell or the email with the link to the report for downloading. Take care to start small. Would you buy $500 worth of stuff from someone you just met? For example, the ebook could be a chapter from a larger book that costs $20. Give them the opportunity to buy the book for $15 if they purchase it within X number of days (gives them time to read the free chapter).
33. Focus on keeping your current clients happy. Much cheaper than doing low quality work in a hurry so you can find new customers. Take the time to do a great job so they keep coming back. No taking clients for granted.
34. Always part with clients on a good note. Sometimes things don’t work out. Face it… not everyone will like you no matter how wonderful you are. Your personality will clash with someone. These clients might talk, so extend goodwill by leaving on a good note.
35. Join an organization or association. It doesn’t have to be a writer’s related one. PTA counts. I try to find out what other parents do so I can refer business their way. After all, happy parents means a happy PTA.
36. Advertise on your car. I ordered cheap, but good quality magnets with my business on them. But I felt silly and took them down. Not everyone feels that way as I see MANY cars carrying ads these days.
37. Volunteer. You’d be surprise how your business can come up when you’re doing good. Heck, wear a t-shirt advertising your business. Get one made through Cafe Press or Vistaprint.
38. Write thank you notes. Yes, write with your hand. Write thank you notes for all occasions. Someone treat you to a meal? Someone make a referral that has yet to pan out or didn’t work out? Every little bit helps. You can easily keep stamped postcards with you so that you can drop down and give ten… I mean stop and write a thank you note any time.
39. Write reviews. I’ve gotten paid writing jobs because I wrote honest reviews of the clients’ products before we connected.
40. Do something! Marketing won’t work unless you take action. Sorry… no other way to do it without lifting a finger. Even if you have an assistant do it, you still need to let the assistant know to do it!
41. Be consistent. Spend five to ten minutes a day doing any of these. The important thing is to do something on a regular basis. Sure, you might have days when you can barely find your head much less have time to do these activities. So spend more time the next day.

What other marketing activities do you do?

When you or a kid signs up to play a sport for a season or to take music lessons during the school year, do you quit after a couple of lessons because you’re not good enough? Of course not! Most of us know it takes months (even years) of practice to get better at something.

My son would disagree. He expects to be good at something NOW or forget about it. I took up tennis three years ago because I longed to play a sport again and there weren’t any volleyball or softball leagues to be had. I was embarrassed by my play for at least a year, but I kept at it.

You see, I grew up playing sports. That was my thing. I lucked out that I turned out to be a good player in several team sports. Sports gave me confidence and made me feel like a normal person — not a inferior deaf person. To boot, I was good. So my team appreciated my efforts. It was nice to feel wanted.

Newsletters and Sports

What does this have to do with newsletters? People give up “before the season is over” and fold their newsletters. They take time to get going and once they do, they strengthen your relationship with your clients and to-be clients. They trust you more with each tidbit you give them in every issue.

My little meryl’s notes newsletter doesn’t have many readers for a newsletter that’s five years old. In the beginning of its life, it didn’t come out on a regular basis. Now, it goes out every one to two months. I don’t work hard to promote it. I focus on client newsletter’s instead and theirs grow to five or six figures.

Making the Time

Whenever we talk to a new or a “we hope to land soon” client, we take care to stress the relational aspect of newsletter marketing. In fact, we go lengths to tell people that it takes time to build a list, time to develop trust, and time for people to feel comfortable enough to make the contact to initiate a purchase.

We say this because we believe it. Wholeheartedly and without reservation. We also believe this is the only way to be effective. (Well, another way is to have tens of millions of dollars of VC and ….. wait, that didn’t work well, eh?)

We take the time to advise people how to start newsletters, get the list rolling, and begin building the relationships with prospects and customers and, over time, they reap the rewards.

Since we spend lots of time doing this, you’d think we are calm folks, sipping cafe lattes while waiting patiently (yeah, right) for our brilliant marketing strategy to work. Right? Unfortunately for our poor stomachs, the answer is a resounding, “nope!”

Patience, My Dear

Hey, finding new clients today is a rough ride. The end rewards of newsletter marketing are great after taking the time to get the ball rolling to see the effects. We like to say, “It’s like a locomotive. It can take a while to get rolling, but once it does, it pulls a lot of weight.”

The knee-jerk response to moments of slow sales, or prospective sales, is to renege on the principles behind newsletter marketing and hunt for prospects rather than maintain the farming system put into place. Occasionally, we become tempted to throw our own advice out the window and, in a knee-jerk reaction, hunt rather than farm.

Dealing with Slow Results

Here is how to cope with such moments and get our minds back into gear, where we can pay attention, once again, to our own logic:

• Look at the number of new subscribers: Nothing makes you feel better than to look at the number of new subscribers. It gives you a warm fuzzy knowing that people respond to the message and choose to opt-in to the newsletter. We think that every new reader is also a potential client and colleague.
• Look for reading patterns: Next to new subscribers, nothing gets us juiced like checking out how people are reading the newsletters. This tells us that we have done our jobs properly and people do find the newsletters valuable. (We give each other high-fives here.)
• Look at the statistics for our Web site: In the final analysis, the only stat that matters is new orders or new service requests. But farmers know that “you reap what you sow.’”We look at the total number of visits to our Web sites, see if people are visiting the “right page” (the page with our free offer), which other pages they look at, and which continents from which they come.
• Plan a strategy of attack for the next round: Two things we never lack are ideas and energy. We have them both in good supply, we constantly put our ideas out there, and suggest new ways to bring clients on board. This helps lots because — at a minimum — it distracts us and gets us working on something. Always a good thing.
• Review our current client list: We love this because it confirms that things works and more good things will come.

Tasks like these are the keys to building and maintaining your trust in the newsletter marketing philosophy. It’s not quick and easy. It’s not a marriage proposal on the first date. But, over time and through repeat contact, it does work and we build and deepen our relationships.

Lesson: When you believe something is true, and you advise others to act in accordance with that truth, make sure you walk the talk.

So I keep on practicing tennis and my son sees that. I can only hope my actions will help him realize it takes lots of practice to succeed. All of my teams have come in last place. However, when I played in a progressive league over the summer (in the end, it’s individuals who win), I came in second!

I tell my son about my teams’ losses and wins focusing on the fun I had and putting my skills to work. It paid off and I’m confident that I will see more winning seasons just like you’ll see wins from your newsletter.

You’ve probably read or heard many experts say that keeping your clients costs less than obtaining new ones. A Bain and Company study reports that boosting customer loyalty by 5 percent improves your profits by 25 percent at the very least and can go up to 95 percent. You can’t ask for better numbers than that.

I’ve been fortunate that 99 percent of my clients use my services a second time. While maintaining strong customer relationships helps keep clients, remember that marketing should always be a part of your job as a freelancer. Overbooked or not, I must keep on marketing as projects end, clients move projects in-house, or a business closes.

Here are six easy ways to hold on to your clients:

1. Listen. Sounds obvious, but freelancers might not understand the client’s request and start working on the project without understanding what the client said. It’s OK to ask for clarification. Better to ask and get it right the first time than produce something off target and have to do it again.
2. Ask for feedback. After working for a client for a reasonable time, I ask for feedback letting the client know it can be short or long — whatever works for the client as I don’t want to take up the client’s time. I ask one yes/no question and one open-ended question: “Are you happy with the work you’re getting from me?” and “What can I do to better serve you?”
3. Ask what the client wants. When starting with a new client, I ask for samples of what he/she likes so I can incorporate that into the content. A client couldn’t provide samples (they were in a language I didn’t know), so I asked for details such as word count, formatting requirements (headers, bullets, etc. acceptable?), quotes allowed, and so on. Something worked because he was pleased with the article.
4. Handle mistakes with grace. You and I are human not machines. We make mistakes. I believe how a person handles those mistakes can make a big difference between success and screw up. You could not charge a client extra for the added time to fix something, provide a discount on the next invoice, or simply apologize and move on.
5. Think of your clients. If I see a PR opportunity that fits my client, a comic strip pertaining to the client’s interest, or some other valuable resource — I pass it on to my clients. I want them to be successful and have all the knowledge they need.
6. Thank your clients. Every year I send a handwritten note to every client. Yes, it means serious carpal tunnel for my southpaw, but we don’t see enough handwriting anymore. My handwriting isn’t special, but it’s more personal than typewriting.

Ready to see your profits to soar over 25 percent? Listen well and watch out for opportunities such as customers asking for a new service or a product that your business should and could handle — get on it! How do you keep ‘em happy?

I mentioned that my son’s medical program would interfere with my business because it required a big time investment on my part along with other things. Add to that managing the usual stuff like the other kids, work (or lack thereof), household responsibilities, on and on.

After two weeks of the program, I reached a breaking point. Like, the car ran out of gas plus it needed a serious washing as it looked battered and worn despite its young age. Thank goodness, my clients understood my availability. But that didn’t keep me from feeling bad about not working full-time.

So I had to make adjustments to my work and life so I could feel less guilty, prevent stress overload, and serve my clients as best as I could during this time. Here’s what worked for me:

• Email clients: I let them know of the situation and explained I needed to make priority adjustments. All of them understood.
• Take care of quick hits ASAP: One client sends me five minute editing tasks. So when she sends one in, I do it right there as it’s as fast as reading an email. Plus, it feels great to have one thing done.
• Exercise: I stick to my tennis drill and match schedule. I had to find a sub for one match, but made the rest of them. Thank goodness I have a sweet dog. She forces me to take a walk mid-day. If I don’t, then I’ll spend more time cleaning up after her than walking her.
• Listen to music: I’ve been listening to more music in the past month than I have in the past year. As a deaf person, I don’t have a passion for music like most folks do. But I’ve put in more hours on the road than usual and my car comes with an adapter that plugs right into my iPod. Furthermore, I discovered a iTunes lyrics feature that revived my enjoyment of music. The hard part… discovering new songs.
• Stay on track with the family: Although family is the reason I’m spending more time away from the office than usual, we still have our usual daily activities and goings-on. Gotta keep moving with those as they keep things consistent. Despite the unusual schedule, I managed to work on a jigsaw puzzle and played a couple of board games with my family.
• Cut out tasks where possible. I cut back on blogging and visiting blogs (I know… I hate missing out on community), but these will always be there. The web site won’t come crashing and my blog buddies don’t take attendance. I also limit my non-profit organization officer duties to urgent and time sensitive things. The rest can wait as I have all year.

Just thinking of the week ahead (last week before school starts) overwhelms me. Meetings, registration, several gatherings, meet the teacher, and on and on. I check my calendar to see what’s on the agenda for the next day. But then I pull back and focus on here and now while preparing for whatever comes early tomorrow.

How do you pull through stressful times?

I wanted to send my clients a little something as a thank you now instead of waiting until holiday time. Every day, I’m grateful for them and I want to show it. But what? I don’t want to send food especially since I’m in Texas. Besides, you never know who has what food allergy.

Searching for business gift ideas yields sites full of keywords and little else. Should I get something in bulk and imprint my company’s name on it? Or is that vain? I use things with company names on it — it’s a matter of finding something people will use.

Still have to consider shipping costs as all clients are not local — except one. Go with the bulk thing and just not print anything on it? Because I need to send a few, it would be tough to personalize it for each person. I don’t know all of their interests.

• Baskets: I send these occasionally — not in bulk. I’ve sent them to clients who had surgery or as a special treat. Not all contain food.
• Charitable donation: I appreciate it when people do this. But usually, it’s friends and family — not business contacts. I can see the good and bad side to this.
• General business book: Too bad my Outlook book doesn’t sell in the U.S. as I think most of my clients use Outlook. Another idea: Book of inspirational quotes.
• Gift cards: How to get one place that everyone uses is the tricky part. Coffee? Not everyone drinks coffee or tea or eats the giant treats. Amazon? Not everyone likes shopping online.
• Pen: Too boring? We have too many of them? As a writer, it would be appropriate to give.
• USB flash drive: These are wonderful tools and a person can use more than one.
• Rumors has a category for business gifts and they range from $3 to $$$. I like the selection, but nothing rings with me.
• Cowboy Chuck has business cartoons that make you smile.

I like the card sending services that let you enter your handwriting. However, I don’t like their sales and pricing process. I’ve yet to find one that lets you do it on your own and not pay a service fee. I’d rather pay per card and not participate in a pyramid scheme.

What do you think? What did you like receiving? Or what did others receive that they liked? Will keep adding gift ideas as I find them.

Prizes for this entry: $450 basic WordPress customization package from Kim Beasley.  one copy of Andy King’s upcoming Website Optimization. Here’s its companion site. Just leave a 30-word comment on this post by June 29 (yes, I made it longer — through the weekend) to get an entry for a drawing.

For a long time, I knew of John Hewitt and he didn’t know me. Way back when I used to search for jobs for AbsoluteWrite.com’s markets newsletter, I relied on John’s listings. I linked to John’s site over time because he offers a wonderful resource for writers.

We got to know each other better after to my surprise and delight, he listed my blog as one of the recommended blogs for writers. It surprised me because this blog doesn’t make such lists often since it doesn’t focus on a niche (just writing, in this case — I know that’s bad… but hey, it started out as more about web design). So he made my day, week, month, year.

Then he included my blog in March Writing Blog Madness and I was hooked. Thanks to his contest, I immersed myself back into the blogosphere with fervor (I kind of neglected it because of business commitments). I’ve met some awesome folks because of John. Thank you, John.

Don’t Call 911, Call Us!

That was the gist of the ad I wrote. It ran for one day in the local newspapers. By the end of the next day, my client had been lambasted on the radio, on television, and even by the newspapers that ran the ad. There were also a few local politicians who personally called to ask just how insane my client was. Some people say that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I’m pretty sure this was the definition of bad.

But We’re the Good Guys!

To be fair, my client did have a legitimate complaint with 911. My client owned an ambulance service. He had operated that service for over thirty years, and he was being squeezed out of the market by the city. The city had decided to get into the paramedic business, and had been changing the rules of the game at will, just to suit their goals.

The kicker came when the city actually started diverting calls away from my client, even when they had ambulances that were closer and more ready to respond. The city was, in my client’s opinion, putting people at risk in order to put his company out of business. That was when he came up with the idea for the ad.

The client came to me with a rough version of the ad that he had put together himself. All he wanted from me was to clean up the text and tweak the graphics so that it looked more professional. I ended up rewriting the ad twice to make it as clear as possible that my client was only suggesting calling them in non-critical situations such as broken bones and medical transport.

The text of the ad was quite clear about that, but the headline was what caught people’s attention. Don’t Call 911, Call Us! Nothing I said in the rest of the ad was going to make that headline any less damaging.

His Problem, My Mistake

I wish I could say I tried to talk the client out of it. If I were in the same position today, I certainly would give it my best shot. At the time though, I was as caught up in their situation as they were. I knew they were being forced out of business. I knew the city was being underhanded. Plus, I kind of wanted to see what would happen.

As I said in the beginning, the results were not good. I’m not sure if there was a way that my client could have prevailed, but that ad cemented his defeat. The company didn’t quite go out of business, but that was the end of its involvement in emergency services for the city. It was also the last job I did for that client. I don’t know if he blamed me for the debacle, but clearly my work had not yielded the results he needed. I don’t blame him for moving on.

What I learned

There’s a difference between what your client wants and what your client needs

My client wanted to take on the city and reach his customers by diverting them from the 911 system that had shut him out of the game. His strategy antagonized a powerful opponent and angered both the media and potential customers. What he needed was a whole new plan (and a different goal). There was no way I could have made the ad work. I should have discussed other strategies. I only focused on what my client wanted, not what he needed.

If it feels like a bad idea, speak up

Since then, I have been much more vocal when faced with projects or clients that I think are misguided. I try not to be insulting, but I do try to give them my best advice and steer them away from self-destructive practices. I do this for them, but I also do it for me. I don’t want to be associated with failures if I can help it.

Make a choice

Over the years I have turned down several projects and partnerships. I turned them down because I either thought their plan was bad, or I didn’t trust them to follow through. I have also taken a few risky projects. Sometimes I took them for the money. Sometimes I took them for the challenge. I’ve been burned more than once, but not every risky project was a failure. Sometimes you succeed even when the plan is bad. Life is funny that way.

Move on

Whether a project is a success or a failure, once it is done you have to put it behind you. Find the next job. Look for the next challenge. Find new ways to succeed.

About the author
John Hewitt has been a professional writer for 20 years. In that time he has learned 12 Ways to Write Terrible Documentation, 10 Ways to Annoy the Hell out of Your Writers’ Group and How to Write Your Way Out of a Wet Paper Sack. You can read more at poewar.com.

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