As i am changing web hosts in the next little while and re-designing my new blog site, I won’t be posting any articles. I am hard at work on another, larger more pressing project anyway.

Thank for all your comments though.

Brian

How much Flash (full motion graphics), how much Java script (coding that prompts responses to clicks), how much colour, how much graphics, how many animations, how much of what is technologically possible should a website, especially one representing a large organization, have?

Short answer: as much or enough as is necessary to convey the organization’s fundamental message or the visitor’s purpose(s) for visiting it.

A “Techie’s” Issue Calls for Education
The motivation for this post arose from a one-sided discussion with a “Techie” recently. ‘Techie’ people are technology-obsessed and are often of the opinion that more of everything is the absolute best idea for online anything, especially websites. Specifically, he was referring to Toronto’s Eaton Centre one.

Now, I admit that the site’s backdrop colour could be a little more livelier than gray but, often, hues are chosen according to a site’s purpose and-or its visitor’s goals.

Gray may not be exciting to look at but it won’t be distracting either, and it won’t detract from the user’s goals which, most likely, are to find quick information about this massive indoor mall, like:

• Its hours of operation
• Stores located there
• Mall’s layout & its number of levels
• Holidays and hours (important for those visiting the city from neighboring U.S. states)
• Promotions and special events

On these fronts, the Toronto Eaton Centre website succeeds handily. It’s well organized and I didn’t notice any personal guesswork required to find things. In “Don’t Make Me Think,” author Steve Krug writes that this is exactly how a good, well-designed website operates.

Usability Key to a Website’s Success
Sites that are easy-to-use are said to have good “Usability (use-ability),” a term borrowed from industrial design. For the Web, Usability has been popularized by Jakob Nielsen whose Use It.com has been around for 10+years. I found it in 2001 while taking an Online Journalism course and remain grateful for his informative RSS emails.

The Basis of Web Usability
In one word: research. Humans don’t read websites or perceive online communications in the same way as paper/print-based publications so research into what creates a good online experience is vital. With the trend of online everything continuing, or accelerating (just ask those who publish newspapers or run TV stations), improving Usability equates to improving the return-on-investment (ROI) for the sponsoring organizations or individuals.

Online ROI? Such a thing exists? It’s different online. ROI could be adequate time spent on a site reading and absorbing its primary message, participating in an online charity or environmental site and donating money, buying a book from Amazon, and a million other intentions or goals.

To discover how to motivate people to visit and remain on a website and provide a pleasant experience with minimal frustration, Usability research focuses on:

• Experimentation using actual company and organization’s websites
• Observation of test subjects using (or trying to use) these websites
• Analysis of test subject’s eye movements (eye scans) while they navigate the websites in question
• Research on human psychology including cognition (perception), neurology, physiology, etc.
• Experience-based research through studies of commercial/non-profit sites, profiling before-and-after ‘application of Usability principles’

I made Mr. Pure-Tech’s aware of Jakob Nielsen’s existence but he brushed off my suggestion/statement off as just “another voice of authority.”

Maybe the problem was that it wasn’t Mr. Pure-tech’s voice of authority.

“Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

He continues:
“I’m not sure this is true. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if you watch the dollars, you don’t have to worry so much about pennies.

“Big brands don’t sweat the small expenses. They don’t hassle about a return, or a little coupon fraud or the last penny per square foot on the rent in a prime location. In fact, they understand that there’s a powerful honest signal sent when you don’t worry about the tiny expenses. It shows confidence.” Read the rest of his post here.”

Mr. Godin was obviously not referring to the big brand Staples, Canada’s largest office supplies chain with 300+ stores.

The day before Seth’s post, Sunday Feb. 21, I witnessed something extraordinary that only strengthened my opinion that many Canadian companies simply do not understand the basics of customer service; instead, they operate under the misconception that their interests, their policies, and that their nickels and dimes are more important.

Ok, let’s the set the stage. It’s a Sunday afternoon at the Staples in-store Business Centre where 10 photocopiers systems are situated. I’m making a few and a couple of machines to my left, there’s a lady is making a lot more.

Using the Copiers
Requires the purchase of a certain dollar amount (minimum $1) which is “loaded” onto a Staples magnetic striped “credit card.” Customers then slide that into a chute located on the copier and the purchased amount comes up on a screen. Every time a copy is made, 7 or 12 (for colour copies) cents is subtracted from the total.

Dilemma or Service?
But what happens when the number of copies made does not use up the total amount purchased? Well, the store would simply refund the pocket change, wouldn’t it?

In Staples’ case, no, illustrating in Seth Godin’s opinion, a “powerful, honest signal” that this company lacked confidence; indeed, what was to follow in the next 20 minutes strained belief. It was a tragicomedy example of how not to operate a retail enterprise.

What Happened
The lady finishes making her copies, walks back to the counter to report that there is 20 cents remaining on the card and she would like her money back.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t give you that in cash,” says the counter lady, “You can use up that 20 cents the next time you’re in making copies.” The customer, who it turns out is a drama professor at Toronto’s Humber College, replies that the only reason she is here is that it’s Sunday and it’s too far to drive to make free copies on her department’s copier – and the likelihood of her returning to Staples anytime soon is slim to none.

De-fence, De-fence, De-fence
Counter lady isn’t budging, “This is our policy.” But neither is the customer, “I want my 20 cents back and I’m not leaving until I get it.” Both then engage in a sales-like objection (customer) / objection-handling (Staples employee) exercise with 3 go-around with the the Staples clerk firing hers out in textbook form – like she’d been coached; her body language is just as unyielding.

After 10 minutes, nothing had changed not even when the Drama professor, who couldn’t have scripted a better scene, said “Wait till I tell the department about this,” i.e. word-of-mouth & bad PR.” The Staples counter lady was unmoved. She’d been instructed on Staples policy, she was within her rights, she’d been polite yet firm and no way Jose was she opening that till for those 2 dimes – which may has well have been $1000.

A Plea for Sanity
Finally, the college professor asked to speak to a manager. Counter lady made the call and was told the “manager was in a meeting and it would be a 20 minute wait.” 20 minutes!! For 20 cents. Staples was proving to be a weakling in the confidence department.

Overriding Significance
Besides this asinine and petty (cash) No Refund policy, Staples had just proven that they don’t trust their employees enough to empower them to make a 20 cent decision! Were their wages that low that they couldn’t find decent employees with good judgment?

But this issues went deeper, of course. During that 20 minute wait – which turned out to be 20 minutes – Staples was communicating several things to this woman:

• Your time and inconvenience are of no concern to us; our convenience and time overrules yours
• You’re not worth 20 cents to us and we don’t care if you don’t come back
• We prefer compliant customers who don’t complain and because you did, you will now pay the price. This means we’re childish too.
• ‘Service’ is just a word we use in our marketing efforts; at ground level, we’re liars. Don’t bother trusting us on larger purchases because we sweat 2 dimes
• Company policies, regardless of how they affect you and regardless of the negative word-of-mouth implications, are not to be altered for any reason
• Our understanding of psychology in non-existent. You’ll come back because we have the most stores, the best selection, the lowest prices. blah-blah-blah-blah-blah……..

What Happened Next
While other customers lined up to pay for things, the drama professor and I were making light (but not really) of the situation and there was not even the hint of shame or embarrassment on counter lady’s face; she was doing her job faithfully and I’m sure this would look good on her record.

The Manager Appears
An official looking gentleman with a front shirt pocket Manager badge bustled into the area, clipboard and pen in hand. He listened to both parties, mentioned policy whereupon the customer shot back, “Well, your policy stinks!” He then opened the cash register with his key and dropped 2 dimes (20 cents) into the woman’s hand – like it was nothing, which is wasn’t. “You made me wait 20 minutes and go all through all this for 20 cents?! I am never coming back here again,” said the woman

Both the manager and the counter lady said nothing. He walked to his next errand and counter lady behaved as if nothing untoward had occurred.

Wrap-up
There’s nothing more I can say on this so I will Seth Godin close it out: “I don’t think the answer is to worry insanely about little expenses. In fact, too much worrying about cash is the work of the lizard brain, it’s a symptom of someone (or a company self-) sabotaging the work.”

And the trust.

The company name, the website domain name, the name that fails to resonate with my target audience, the name that no one gets, the name that is misspelled by potential customers in their emails to me.

The name doesn’t work even if I do.

Why Doesn’t this Clever Name Work?
Very few people outside of Sales understand what the word ‘strategic’ actually means. Well, it means planning but it also means having the knowledge and insight to put a realistic sales plan (of attack) together. Execution is another matter but, in most cases, those putting a good strategy together can pull it off as well.

And of the word, ‘content’? More confusion. Writers that work in advertising, or used to, are called copywriters. And the writing of copy has been going on since the 20s. Copy is designed to sell via print ads, brochures, 1-page sales sheets, etc. Content is web-oriented and is designed to inform.

Can content also sell? It can and I have proved it can but it does so in a completely different way than “copy” where the approach is a direct one. Website content writing relies on the principles of Transparent Marketing where superlatives (greatest, largest etc.), flamboyant verbs, adjectives, and imagery are omitted; in other words, transparent marketing writing follows a firm no-bullshit policy.

However, Jack or Jill Business Owner hear more about website copy writing due to all the former ad writers making their way online. However #2, if copy writing principles are applied to websites, what results is an online brochure geared to the vendor instead of its potential customers. But very few people know that – or care.

What Next?
I will probably leave the www.strategicontent.com site up due to its 3 years of being online and re-direct any traffic from it to the new site. This blog will also be transplanted, leaving the site as a stand alone. Or, I will just shut the whole thing down. Not sure right now.

The new site will be based on a Word Press blogging platform and it will have Spam protection built in. I’ve got 85 comments right now and 95% of them are spam because the Askimet spam blocker plug-in has never been activated. Why not? Because….getting access to the site workings has been difficult for a lot of unknown reasons.

But all this will change in the coming weeks.

That’s like 15% of my total tweets in 1 day!

It’s like i know more or I just figure I’m going to say what’s on my mind. Plus, I have fun too with my quips and observations. Plus, plus, I have a new purpose now +++ i want to impress upon my followers, my “tribe,” that i appreciate as tribe members.

Anyway, it’s a way better use of time than my (former) YouTube addiction. Now, I’m addicted to Twitter – but this time with a strategy!

Had it been that long? Evidently, yes.

I re-opened my Tweetdeck account and realized that, except for sporadic postings last fall, it had been a full year since I’d been participating actively! Yikes!

Thus far – about 18 hours – Twitter has supplied me with some terrific ideas and information that I will be applying to both my site and my Entrebahn client.

And, on the basis of Google’s new emphasis on social media involvement (blogs, Twitter, Linked In, etc.), re-involving myself in Twitter is vital to increasing my online profile.

And now that my website will be turning into a blog in the coming weeks – loaded up with all sorts of social media goodies, I’ll be able to sit down to a Boeing 747-type control panel. And, with that transition, I’ll be able to offer video, graphics, photos through FlickR and a tie-in to another blog I’m authoring. Won’t this be fun!

So, stay tuned or better: jack into Twitter and let’s share insights. The address is “thinking_again.”

I am so impressed by the richness of talent and spirit demonstrated repeatedly by our athletes and those in attendance. And felt lucky to witness the both the victories, near victories and bittersweet defeats.

Years from now, people will ask each other where they were when Sid the Kid yelled for “Iggy!!” (teammate Jerome Iginla) to pass him the puck as he made toward the net from the corner. With a guy draped all over him against the glass, Iginla feathered the pass so that Crosby stepped into it and snapped it in one motion. Then it was in. And then the entire bar I was in roared with joy and, I dear say, relief.

The American team was a most excellent blend of speed, tenacity and accuracy. And their goaltender, Ryan Miller, was phenomenal. Unlike the Slovaks, the Americans tied the game with 26 seconds left and could just as easily have won. That’s how close it was.

Come overtime, the Canucks seemed to have regained their composure and poise and were playing like it was 1st and 2nd periods. That set the stage for Mr. Crosby whose shoot out prowess also got us past the stubborn Swiss.

And let’s not forget our golden woman’s hockey team. One of girls on the Swedish team called them a machine. While watching them take it to the Yanks, I would agree. Terrific transition game, smart defensive work, a minimum of loose pucks, goalie with a lighting glove hand: a professional hockey team with no passengers.

It was a great day for Canada today; a great Olympic games as well. It was funny to hear comments from international guests who never imagined we were so passionate about things. Well, my goodness, there was so much to cheer about! Our skiiers, our skaters, our dancers, our speedsters, our heroes – and those 15,000 volunteers whose dedication and altruism made it all possible.

Congratulations to everyone! Good job.

So someday, when we meet, I’ll ask you, “Where were you when Sid did his magic trick?”

And we’ll celebrate once again.

Regardless, due to writing increasingly frequent blog posts and attracting unexpected responses, the SEO gods and goddesses have rewarded me. Plus, I admit, it’s gratifying to have people from around the Internet offer their compliments and insights.

According to Paul Coughlin of Blog for Profit, the top factor for a successful blog is content. Initially, I wasn’t sure if writing about (content) writing was going to generate enough ideas. However, I soon realized that my sales and marketing background enabled me to offer insightful analysis of both companies and their practices to readers.

The 2nd factor is Interaction or the degree to which a blogger writes replies and or exchanges information or comments with care enough to write comments on certain posts. I admit I’m sometimes tardy on this point but there is quite a bit of spam as well.

More Changes Ahead
The website designer with whom I had arranged the transformation of my website is tied up so I’ve made other inquiries. My motivation? I want to play up or showcase my thinking, insight, and writing abilities for both prospective clients and employers. A now-outdated static website forces interested parties to click through pages instead of just reading the last several posts.

A sales presentation, regardless of its form (brochure, in-person, billboard, commercial) or medium of delivery (TV, radio, Internet, in-person shopping experience) should be:

• Readily understood
• Accessible to all
• Consistent, and
• Motivate the buyer to take whatever action is desired, providing they have an identified need or unidentified want-desire for the product or service.

As Canada’s oldest company – 343 years and counting – I would have thought that they’d mastered these basic tenets of sales. In a high-touch retail environment, other factors are also important: among them: store layout, product displays, staff training, and a close proximity of check-out stations to area of purchase so as to capitalize on the impulse purchase drive.

I stress the last point because once I’d decided what to buy, I looked around for a check out station and found none – which frustrated me to no end. First thought: “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, worked here when I was 17, gone Christmas shopping multiple times and never, at no time, was a check-out station not in line-of-sight.”

It was the same with Sears, Eaton’s (when they were around), and any large department store except Wal-Mart. However, with them, you knew from the start what their check-out plan was because it was consistent.

2nd thought: “Ok, one’s probably over there near Woman’s Wear because they buy way more than the average guy.”

No deal. ‘Couldn’t spot one anywhere. Determined now – and increasingly frustrated – I did a walk-round but came up empty. And there were no signs anywhere as to where I should pay for my purchase. My remaining option? The Customer Service desk which was situated right in the middle of the store. “Strange,” I thought, “there must be a lot of complaints because there’s a line-up of people.”

I got in line because I, too, now had a complaint. My turn comes up, I walked up to the counter and pointed out that I was not there for an exchange or refund; “I just want to buy something.” There was a “I don’t get it” expression in the woman’s face, whereupon I explained my problem and bade her to inform her manager that this place was confusing. Her expression changed into a smirking incredulous one – like I was the new guy. “This is where you pay for things.” I would have addressed a manager right there had my back not been hurting so.

Conclusion? The Bay had altered their customer’s purchase process – which had been the same for decades – by centralizing it. Instead of check-out stations being distributed throughout the store, adjacent to major buying areas, now there was 1 big check-out area: a factory approach. The thinking? Maybe, to reduce headcount, encourage on-the-way-to-the-checkout-station impulse buying (although i saw no buggies and no one with buggies), or to increase product capacity with the saved floor space.

Problems:

• Re-Definition of Customer Service area Perplexes – For decades, ‘Customer Service’ has been where customer issues (exchanges, refunds, billing issues) were dealt with: a practice duplicated across the continent. Re-defining it – without any signage assistance – alienates customers, especially infrequent ones like me.
• Alteration not in Accordance with Confirmed Male Characteristic – Couldn’t I have asked someone? I could have but I am a man and as such I do not ask: I find, I hunt, I discover, I stake out new territory. (Actually, I always ask but my back was killing me and pain tends to focus one). But really! Why would a 343 year old company hide its cash registers? I didn’t think to ask as I was on a quest and growing increasingly dissatisfied with each non-find.
• Under-trained Counter Personnel – Had the woman who served me been properly instructed, she would have voiced empathy for my plight and apologized for her company’s lack of orientation. In direct sales, from whence I came and will soon again be immersed, we call this type of action “stepping up” and/or “being accountable.” Would I have requested some type of compensation for my wasted time? No, because I could have asked for help. What I wanted, more than anything else, was an apology, and an explanation which would require management to have thought ahead and built that eventuality – the infrequent shopper – into staff training. My shopping experience would then have turned into a positive one.

Lack of job-related training and poor service habits has long been a pet peeve of mine. I’ve always a noticed a big decline in both, retail-wise, when I cross the border from the U.S. back into my native country. It’s also been a failing in professional services, particularly sales. This is a future post so I will end this tangent here. The only thing I will add is that Canadian business is (finally) waking up as these Canadian government statistics indicate. (Source: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada)

Ultimately, the crux of this issue is poor Usability, also called:

• Ease-of-Use
• User-friendliness
• Smart industrial design
• Providing a nice shopping experience, and/or
• Thinking ahead and addressing blind spots before customer consternation sets in.

All of these, in their respective environments, are often the difference between a one-time customer and a returned, enthusiastic one who passes on favorable – and profit-aiding – compliments to their friends.

For The Bay, ‘making it easy to do business’ would have meant posting signs with an explanation as to how the changes would benefit me – the buyer – and the listing of a person’s name to call or an email address to write to with my ideas or opinions.

That’s “Service in the 21st Century.”