Are the numbers you track the numbers that matter? Do they tell the story of a success, of your success, or of someone else’s success?
These days, measuring is very easy. You can track basically every progress, every little step, every achievement, every moment. But are those the numbers that take you in the direction you have chosen?
Sometimes we celebrate because we feel we are connecting the dots, but the final image was drawn by somebody else. Be mindful if that is the case.
In the past four years, I have only replied to four cold outreach from sales or business development reps.
In two cases, I already knew the company. Their brand was so popular in my circle that I was just seeking an opportunity to work with them. When the sales reps reached out, I was sold already. I booked a meeting, and from there on it was just a matter of how.
In one case, the sales rep really put work and effort at personalising the outreach. I did exchange some emails with them, and the whole thing turned into a deal with another side of the organisation a few months later.
In one case, there was an offer for a €125 Amazon voucher to attend a demo. I did reply, the thing got too complex, and since I had absolutely no interest in the tool they were selling, I gave up easily and with a smile on my face.
I can’t say how many others I have gotten, but they all went to the trash bin or ended up accompanying some pungent posts on social media.
And yet, there is people that still believe that one plus one equals sale.
The internet is full of messages that try to get someone’s attention to direct it somewhere else.
Banners that link to a landing page.
Welcome emails that link to three video tutorials.
Social media posts that refer to a comment that links to a blog article.
CTA buttons that link to a short form that links to a longer form that links to a privacy policy.
It is tiring, frustrating, and there is a huge opportunity to actually deliver the value you have to deliver right where your audience’s attention is.
Messaging is the equivalent of defining. And when you define something you put a limit to it.
If I say tree, everybody understands what I am talking about, but at the same time everybody will have their own image of a tree in their mind.
If I say birch, fewer people will understand what I am talking about, but those who do will have a clear image in their mind.
If I say betula pendula, most people will not understand what I am talking about, but the very few who do will have a very powerful image in their mind, and a very strong connection with me.
Messaging is ineffective for many products because the limit is pushed further and further and further again, until the message itself loses any power to define what the product actually is. And for the fear of losing opportunities and market shares, all you end up selling is trees. Just like anybody else.
If your work involves some messaging, remember that your goal is to limit, not to expand. You can have different messages for different people and for different channels, but each one of them needs to be limited in order to resonate and actually mean something.
The alternative is drowning in an ocean of sameness.
Three reasons why this is a great customer service interaction.
05:46 PM | Me: Hi! We made a mistake when trying to change the credit card linked to our account. Basically, we put the wrong e-mail address, and now I have paid for a fully new account instead of payment for the account we already have. Messy, eh?
05:46 PM | Bot operator: If your scheduled payment failed, please, refer to attached Help article for instructions on how to re-process it.
05:46 PM | Bot operator: [App: Article Inserter]
05:46 PM | Bot operator: Did that answer help, or are you looking for something else?
05:46 PM | Me: Talk to a person 👤
05:46 PM | Bot operator: Sure thing! Ahrefs typically replies in under 4m.
05:48 PM | Person from Ahrefs: Hi there thanks for reaching out. Which email address did you pay by mistake to?
05:49 PM | Me: The original account is with *emailaddress*, I paid now with *emailaddress*
05:49 PM | Person from Ahrefs: I will check with our billing team to help move it over to the correct account
05:50 PM | Me: Thank you. Is there something I have to do?
05:50 PM | Person from Ahrefs: nope, please wait for 2-3 hours for the change to be complete
05:50 PM | Me: Thank you!
06:07 PM | Person from Ahrefs: Hi there, the switch is done. Kindly check *emailaddress* and confirm? Please let me know if you have any further questions.
All in all, a billing issue was solved in 21 minutes, and I got exactly 4 minutes of interaction with a chat bot and a customer service rep.
Note: a couple of bonus points for the tool that Ahrefs is using, that first suggested a relevant article from their knowledge base in the attempt to fix my issue without interaction, then allowed me to download the full conversation without having to ask anybody.
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