Facttactic
Corporate and technical writers
I came face to face with amazing customer service at 3am on the weekend.
Ok, you may be thinking, what sort of customer service does any person need in the wee small hours?
Well, to be accurate, the 3am was in Bulgaria. At my place, it was lunchtime Saturday, and I was struggling with a dead-to-the-world website.
[Read more…] about when great customer service becomes great PR
We spend a lot of our time as a business working out ways to communicate our clients’ core values and messages in different representations to different audiences. In light of that, I enjoyed this article about a circus troupe of Colombian street kids who now tour the world and thrill people with their skills, and in particular a quote from their trainer, who said: “What we do is change the representation of these kids … because when somebody who before maybe sniffed glue or begged on a corner is suddenly doing a double somersault, you’re not looking any more at a poor, illiterate delinquent, but you’re saying, ‘Wow, that’s a double somersault.’?”
Last week, I received a text message from the man about to start building a retaining wall at the front of my house. (Yes, he’s building it now; a great wall and I would recommend him). This was the first time I had ever received a text message in a business context, and on top of that I had not received any communication from him before, so his text was his first response to my phone call asking him to do the job.
His message took me by surprise, as texting has — for me — been pretty much limited to two types of message: 1) Arranging social events (times and places). 2) Sending brief frivolous/humorous comments about random activities in my life to people in a small circle of friends who are understanding (if not always appreciative!) of the humour.
So now I’m wondering if texting is a legitimate new form of business communication (and if there are protocols for it); or if a text is simply the new email, which for me is my default mode of communication for all clients, including sending invoices and often making first contacts.
Emails can include links and attachments to make the communication richer. They can be formal or casual. The time it takes to type a text limits its length, context and overall value but they do reach people where-ever they happen to be at any given time, I guess.
They say that for kids email is already over the hill and texting is all that matters and, yes, true, the surprise of receiving a text message from my wall guy has now receded and texting has become our main way of sorting out working issues.
But whether I’ll now disregard texting as simply a way to arrange a beer or send a one-liner, I’m not so sure.
A huge sign on a hill shouting out Wellington’s high-standing in the movie industry seems a good idea but the slang word chosen — ‘Wellywood’ — has long been a slightly juvenile, throw-away and ironic term that has somehow crept into the mainstream.
And as a PR opportunity for the capital’s undoubted world-class skills and success in international move-making, the Miramar hill is a great site for incoming tourist flights, but Wellywood is an opportunity wasted. It may be familiar and humorous to some ‘in the know’ but I’m siding with the growing number of voices calling it tacky.
But at Facttactic we’re not in the business of criticising things without offering positive solutions so it was great to see the guys at online-design outfit Skull and Bones with their interactive Wellywood Sign Generator. Type in your own word or phrase and see what it looks like on the side of the hill!
A Chicago woman made derogatory comments on Twitter about her landlord and her rented property. The landlord reportedly went straight to court to sue the woman.
The citizens of cyberspace are Tweeting and blogging like crazy about it. Messages for and against both parties.
The woman may or may not have the best intentions. The landlord may or may not be the world’s best landlord. But who’s right? Who’s wrong?
It doesn’t really matter anymore. The lid has been lifted, the genie’s out. Damage control will be difficult to put in place. Take care how you project and protect your corporate reputation!
Seems like us Kiwis trust people with a medal. Similarly, if you can get external recognition for your products or services it can be a helpful differentiator in the market.
Though not, it seems, for much longer in the United States if you are claiming green credentials: 98% of supposedly environmentally friendly products in US supermarkets reportedly make false or confusing claims.