WriteRemedy

In the early 2000s I had a part-time job at Stanford, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. While I was there, an IT networking company spent a month stripping out our building’s Internet infrastructure and replacing it for greater bandwidth and access speeds.

The owner was an amazing man. A cheerful, broad-chested Latin-American in his late forties, he was the very soul of service. He treated everyone equally well – not only the higher-ups who signed his checks, but everyone he came in contact with. Every one of his personal encounters, however brief, sent a powerful marketing message. It left us all with the happy thought: “If this guy has fair prices and does a good job, I would hire him in a heartbeat!“

His smile had no on/off switch. He wasn’t friendly merely on principle, in order to increase his business. His service attitude wasn’t a soulless CRM sales machine. It was always turned on, its light shining equally for everyone.

Although he knew that I had no authority to give him work, on the days when he rewired my office he was friendly, respectful, and cheerful. It was clear that he loved his job, because he loved service.

Notice the difference: he didn’t merely deliver service – he loved it. He had discovered the built-in joys of helping, and he was an enthusiastic player in the game.

That’s a magic thing about service when it comes from the heart: the more you give, the more you receive back inwardly. (And, let it not be forgotten, outwardly, too.)

I knew he would never lack for clients, because people love being in the presence of people who radiate expansive attitudes. He delivered all the basics his clients expected: on-time delivery, quality work, a fair price, etc. But he also made people feel that they mattered, and that he genuinely liked helping them – and it was a huge differentiator.

This was only months after the 2001 tech crash and 9/11. Yet I knew he was running his business in the way that promised the highest odds of survival. What if the economy dived into a contractive phase and his clients suddenly became tight-fisted and fearful? When they needed IT services, they would unfailingly continue to call him first, because he radiated hope.

In 2009, I believe it’s more important than ever for your website and other marketing documents to include the dimension of expansive feeling. Until now, most tech companies have found success by spouting the external advantages: “We’ve been in business 20 years, we have 400 satisfied clients, our technicians have 100 years of experience, we’re experts in X, Y, Z technologies, we’ll help you run your business more efficiently, we’ll save you money….”

All perfectly valid and good – you do need to say these things. The trouble is, in IT especially, most companies have reached a similar level of expertise and service, and they’re all saying essentially the same thing in their advertising. And today, with fewer paying clients, you must find a differentiator.

Many big, successful companies know this. They know that, in addition to the facts, their websites and brochures must radiate the right feeling. They know their customers can tell immediately if they’re sincere about service, or if they’re just mouthing the words.

Your products may be deeply technical, but capturing the right feeling will set you apart from your fact-spouting competitors.

Remember the dot-com days, when companies tried to impress clients with hard-to-understand technical terms? God help the company that tries that today! Nowadays, it’s crucial to weed your messaging of any whisper of contractiveness – of “me” focus. Today’s buyers can tell in a heartbeat if your company’s website and marketing docs are trying to impress them, or if you’re actually on their side.

(To see how big, successful companies talk to their customers, read my articles, “Plain English of the Rich and Famous” and “Plain Talk on the Web“)

It’s very unlikely that your company is self-absorbed, pretentious, or unenthusiastic. Yet there are a number of fatal flubs that can make your messaging seem so.

For example, a simple lack of clarity is a huge mistake, particularly today, when the tiniest differentiators loom large. The danger is that your potential clients may perceive unclear messaging as self-absorbed. They’ll think: “If you don’t care enough to make your website speak clearly, how much energy can I trust you to expend toward filling my needs?”

It’s also why your site’s design should be crystal-clear. You may have a wonderful message, but if it’s buried in aggravating, hard-to-read small type, in a squint-inducing gray, sans-serif font, visitors are likely to feel that you either aren’t aware of how hard they must fight to understand your message (hmm, are you habitually careless and unaware?) -  or, worse, that you’re too proud and self-absorbed to care.

Again, trying to impress buyers by bombarding them with technology is another big mistake. You can no longer expect technology to sell your services – that kind of thinking is a relic of the dot-com-daze. The danger is that your potential clients may think: “You’re overloading my brain with words. Ouch! C’mon, we both understand this stuff. Please talk to me as a human being, and tell me how you can solve my problem. I want to feel the person behind the words.”

In today’s economy, these little things can easily make or break the deal.

And they all boil down to the quality of energy that your documents project – the feeling.

It really is quite simple. Expansive communications are clear, direct, and friendly. They speak with the voice of world-class understanding of relationships.

Here’s another quick story.

When I was in college, my mother worked for a very successful Los Angeles company called California Typewriter Exchange. (Yes, I’m that old!) The firm’s top salesman, Al Silverberg, had a two-inch binder crammed with glowing customer testimonials for his excellent service. What set Al apart wasn’t that he offered good pricing and service. It was that he treated people as he would expect to be treated himself – even if, as occasionally happened, he lost a few dollars on the deal. It really wasn’t complicated: Al made everyone feel that he cared, because, in fact, he did care. And, he knew how to let others feel it.

Today’s economy is about “relationship marketing.” That is, it’s about creating win-win situations between people.  More than ever, your clients want to feel that you’re on their side – as a trusted supplier, but also as a friend and ally. And every piece of your marketing needs to communicate this attitude, from the first lines of your website, to the last paragraph of your brochure.

How Can I Help? I’ve been helping companies put their best face forward for 37 years. If your docs need tweaking for expansive energy and a cordial, friendly, objective tone, I can help.

Give me a call: (650) 209-8017 or email me. Consultations are free. And I’m happy to deliver a no-obligation sample edit up front. My rates are reasonable. I’m on your side.