10 THINGS TO AVOID : EMAIL FAUX PAS, ETIQUETTE ET AL

Part 1 of 2

Email is so pervasive in our lives that many people, I’m sure, wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if someone pulled the Internet plug. A few short years ago, email was considered an “unreliable” delivery mechanism, meaning that if you had something of importance to say or send, you’d better use a backup plan to be sure your recipient got it.

No more. Email is routinely subpoenaed in legal cases. It’s considered in many courts to be as good as a written contract and there are several “contract” sites that rely on email for contract execution.

People now receive mail on their cell phones and blackberry’s. While some predicted that SPAM would be a major detriment to the email infrastructure, we’ve managed to handle it pretty well, both from a legislative and technical perspective.

Yet, I never cease to be amazed by what people “do” in email. Whether it’s forwarding something inappropriate or including a vast number of people on a “CC” list or replying to “all” instead of “one”…the list goes on. So, here is the current “Dave Segrove list of things to do and not to do” when it comes to email. Some are just ideas, some are common sense and others are…well, I’ll let you decide.

“DO NOTs”, “GOTCHAs” and other things(in no particular order)

1. WORK AND PLAY DON’T MIX

Do not confuse business and pleasure. In my mind, this has got to be the most ignored and fundamental “rule” when it comes to email. There are several “sub-categories” under this heading.

• Chain Emails

  I may be on your mailing list for some reason and I’m happy to be. But if my relationship with you is business-related, I do not want to see your chain emails. A “chain email” is one that you must forward to 10 or 100 people in order to get the message out, for good luck, to avoid bad luck, to sign a petition…the list goes on. SPAM still accounts for over 90% of all email traffic and chain emails are a big part of that.

  That’s not to say there is no place for some very good chain emails, but consider the recipient. Send it to your friends and family perhaps, but not your business colleagues.

• Jokes, Cartoons Etc

  I’m always amazed at the number of these I get from people I’d never have expected to. I like a good joke or cartoon as much as the next person, and if I get one from a friend or family member, that’s very different. I don’t expect (unless perhaps in rare cases) to receive these from business associates.

  Bottom line: you don’t know whether you might offend the recipient and you don’t know what that might result in.

  Many companies prohibit this sort of traffic as part of their policy, but I see it all the time.

• Pictures, Family Stories Etc

  Sorry gang, but business is business. If we’re friends, then by all means add me to your Facebook list or send me your photos or stories. As a colleague, client or vendor, I shouldn’t be copied on these.

2. DO NOT ASSUME PERMISSION

We may have communicated in the past. I may have received your business card from you in a meeting. Please don’t assume I gave you permission to add me to your mailing list. If you want to add me to your mailing list, send me an email or call me to ask.

In most cases, people are quite happy to join your list, but don’t take it for granted.

3. DO NOT BE CASUAL

If your email is business-related, keep the language thus. Don’t assume a “tone” you would not use in conversation. Email is very subject to misinterpretation, specifically because you cannot hear the voice inflexions of the sender.

4. NEVER EVER USE PROFANITY

’nuff said.

5. DON’T ABBREVIATE

Email is not texting. Sure, you may be emailing from your cell phone or portable device, but that’s your problem. Abbreviations are subject to interpretation. Don’t assume that someone will understand what TTYL or L8R means.

6. BIG ATTACHMENTS

As Internet “pipes” get bigger, so do email attachments. Unless someone’s expecting a big file, either give them some notice or find another way (FTP for example) of getting it to them. Many corporate firewalls and routers will block big messages. You run the risk of not knowing whether it was received or not. Not all email systems will tell you.

Big attachments also fill up mail boxes and may cost money in bandwidth, for either you or the recipient.

7. SHOOTING FROM THE HIP

“Flaming” is an Internet term for an attack on another. While these tend to happen in forum settings, they can happen in emails too. It’s very easy to take offense at a message, type a quick reply and hit send before you’ve had time to take a breath.

Now what?

Remember, in most cases you cannot take it back. You cannot “un-say”. If something upsets you, be careful before replying. In my case, I’ll often type up what I want to say in a word processor. That way, there’s little chance of me sending the message by accident (or on purpose). After I calm down, I can edit or delete what I’ve typed and then copy and paste it into an email.

8. IT WILL OUTLIVE YOU

Copies of email messages are stored all over the place. Don’t assume an email conversation is just between you and the receiver. Don’t send something that might come back to bite you later. Email is legally admissible in many places as evidence. Just because you deleted it from “Sent Items” doesn’t delete it from the Internet.

9. REPLY TO “ALL” / FORWARDING

This can be amusing when it happens. It can also be deadly (business-wise). You receive an email from someone who has copied a group of people. You reply with a comment intended for the sender’s eyes only. You hit “send”.

Hang on, did you replay to “all”…? Uh oh…

I received an email recently from someone who forwarded an email from someone else and I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t supposed to see the original because it wasn’t very nice. In fact, it’s what prompted this article.

Be careful when replying to messages that were sent to a group. Ditto, be careful when forwarding a message to one or more people. Is there something that wasn’t intended for general consumption in there?

10. AN ADDRESS THAT ISN’T “PORTABLE” OR APPROPRIATE

Now, this last item may be determined by your company. If you work for a corporation and use their email system, you are probably expected to send and receive work-related emails with a company address. In nearly every case, you can’t take this with you when you leave.

So, if you are using your company address for something else, you might want to stop doing so. This may be against company policy to begin with, but if you can’t take it with you, are you going to have a problem if you leave?

Use an email address suitable for your business. If you want to use AOL or GMAIL or YAHOO, then do so, but use an address that works and that is appropriate. onehotguy@[emailsystem.com] may be cool for your personal life, but does it work for your new legal practice?

So, there you have it. I’m sure there are many other things that could be on the list. As email evolves, we need to as well. It’s no longer the casual tool a few years years ago.

If you made it thus far, you have my complete admiration. This wasn’t supposed to be a novel when it started…if you email it to anyone, you might want to just send a link…I think that’s appropriate

A GOAL A DAY…

What is it about that "Friday Feeling"? The anticipation of two days of no work? Having survived another week of the rat race? Sleeping in? Happy hour?

What ever the underlying cause for that slightly excited 4pm sense of excitement, many people feel a sense of accomplishment; and many wish they could feel that way every day. While this post comes under the broad heading of "marketing", it can apply to other aspects of personal or professional life.

The old proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor (or dentist) away" has some conventional wisdom within. Take the proverb and substitute "goal" for "apple" and "apathy" for "doctor" and we’re on to something.

Last week I posted an article comparing a marketing campaign to a military one (see VENI, VIDI, VICI). In the article I illustrated that, like it’s military counterpart, a marketing campaign is comprised of a series of goals, each building on the former to achieve the ultimate goal.

Okay Dave, but what’s this got to do with-

Hang on – I’m getting there.

Take a look at your marketing campaign plan. Hopefully it’s broken down into strategic milestones, monthly or weekly goals. If not, perhaps you could consider doing so, and while you’re at it, break into daily goals too.

That’s a lot of work, Dave…

Is it really? The more detail you can break a plan down to, the easier it is to adjust the smaller components. But most importantly, you can set daily goals. This might be something as routine as "complete 10 marketing calls" or "5 ideas for flyers", but at the end of the day, it can be something you can put a line through and say "done". It’s a part of your campaign. You’re a step closer to reaching your goal and getting where you want / need to go.

Is it a "Friday Feeling"? Perhaps not quite, but you can look back at the day with a sense of having achieved something relevant to you and your business.

Happy Friday.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

VENI VIDI VICI : MARKETING ACCORDING TO JULIUS CAESAR

"VENI, VIDI, VICI"

Julius Caesar is attributed with saying these immortal words (translation "I came, I saw, I conquered") in 47 BC. The Romans, for a many years, quite literally conquered the world; and they did it one battle at a time.

A marketing campaign is like a military campaign: there’s a short-term goal and a tactic for achieving it. Notice I said "short term". A war is (alas) medium or long-term and a marketing program likewise. A marketing program (like the a war), is made up from a series of campaigns, each leading to what is an ultimate objective.

VENI

Now, this is "marketing according to Dave Segrove", not something I read somewhere else. While I consider long-term marketing strategies okay, I think they belong in the realm of larger companies or, preferably, nowhere.

Ooh – he’s picking a fight…

Not really, and here’s why.

I see this particularly with small companies, but the marketing plan (or campaign), becomes another word for "vision" : In two years, by doing this and that we’re going to achieve….

In order for a marketing plan, like a military campaign, to stand a chance of working in a small company (in my humble opinion), is should:

1. be short term (less than six months);
2. have clearly stated and immovable and tangible goals;
3. have a start and end date;
4. include a method to measure success;
5. have a plan to get there;
6. includes the necessary resources;

VIDI

The immovable and tangible goals should be engraved in stone. Again, I go back to the military analogy. The campaign to conquer a city will help win the overall war. Once the objective has been stated, is should not really be changed. The other parts of the plan may change, heck, plans do all the time, but if the goal changes, then a new plan must be called for.

When I work with clients, we often have to go back to basics, determining what their business goals are for, say the next couple of years, from which we can develop a marketing strategy, which is broken down into short-term plans. If plan A succeeds, we develop plan B. More often than not, we run several at once, building fail-over and backup into our game plan.

A marketing plan can be one page, but (in the Dave Segrove method), must include all 6 items. If you cannot develop a plan that includes all six, then perhaps you should question then plan idea and take a step back and look at your overall strategy.

VICI

With the proper planning and goals, you’re all set to go-a-conquering. Hail Caesar – and steer clear of anyone called Brutus.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

MARKETING FOR MARKETING

An advertisement idea for a new marketing campaign about marketing.



© Copyright 2009 JDE LTD. All rights reserved.

LEGACY MARKETING

"Oh boy, what’s he doing now?"

Excellent question and I’m glad you asked. Let me answer with another question: how do you want to be remembered?

"You mean….?"

Yes, when you get to "the end".

Kidding aside it’s a serious question. Personally, I want people to look back and think "there was a good person, who delighted in helping others".

So, the second question is: are you practicing your legacy in marketing now?

"Uh-oh, sermon…"

Actually, it’s not.

If you think about it for a moment, if you want to be remembered, or look back one day and say "wow, look what I was able to do," consider what you’re doing today in order to be able to have that vision to look back upon.

Are you building pyramids using the strengths of others, or are you building pyramids with others?

If you truly want to be remembered as a good person who helped people realized their dreams, or someone who dedicated their lives to a cause, or a committed individual who just wanted to see people grow, then consider putting that philosophy into practice now.

You only get one pass at this life, and you’re the driver. You may not care what you think in 20, 30, 40 or more years from now. You may care even less about what others may think. But you know something? I’ll bet it shows…

A GUARANTEED WAY TO GENERATE INTEREST

If you’re reading this, then it worked. A thought-provoking or challenging "hook" is the first step in getting attention. What you do with it after than, of course, is up to you.

In social media, products like Twitter rely on interesting "tweets" in order for people to converse. Tweets that are considered good are "retweeted". There are even awards ("Shorty Awards") for the best one-liners.

A captivating lead-in can make a huge difference, no matter what product or service you’re offering. Sometimes, the difference between you and your competition might just be getting someone to stop at your store or website and not the next guy’s.

For example, which sounds more interesting?

• EXPERIENCE IS AS IMPORTANT AS QUALIFICATIONS




• YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR : ASK ABOUT EXPERIENCE

Now, perhaps these aren’t the best of tag lines, but if you are trying to stand out from the crowd by virtue of your experience, both are adequate. However, in my opinion, the second tag suggests a slight "challenge", possibly that cheap isn’t always good…? Both articles or websites, blogs, flyers, brochures or whatever could have very much the same contents, but giving the prospect something to think about could be the margin you’re looking for.

When you’re writing your next article, blog post, advertisement, web site…etc, consider asking a question that people might not have thought about. Take a different view on an everyday subject. Be controversial. Stimulate discussion. Make them wonder what mysteries are inside

Bear in mind, that the content is important too.

I’ve written about being #1 on the major search engines (see SO YOU MADE IT TO THE TOP OF GOOGLE). Have a great seo-friendly site that gets you placed is important, but it’s no use if people aren’t staying on the site.

Ditto anything else. The content is as important as the title, but having a good lead-in certainly helps.

IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE, WHY SHOULD I?

To quote a line from the Oliver Stone film Nixon, "nothing sells like sincerity".

Some can fake sincerity. In fact, I know people who take pride in their ability to fake it. This, in my opinion, is as dangerous (if not more so) than not caring at all.

We’ve all been in situations, most likely in retail stores, where we’ve encountered the stereotypical "bored" employee who is just there because "it’s a job", and really doesn’t give a hoot about anything, least of all you.

Now, that’s not necessarily insincerity, but it’s a lack of concern or even "light caring" about a job or responsibly, and it shows.

As a marketing person, I work with many clients. More often than not, we work on projects to "jump start" their marketing efforts. Perhaps this is a "makeover" of some kind, a new approach or a different take on an existing one. What I see across the board is that once we’ve stoked the fires of imagination, excitement heats up, passion brews and the rest follows is so much easier after that.

If you care; if you’re passionate; if you believe in what you are marketing, whether that’s a product or a service, it will show.

Marketing begins with you. You have to believe in the product. You have to market it to yourself and then, as the customer, you have to believe it’s a good thing. If you don’t believe it, then why should your potential clients?

Imagine if you don’t believe you’re doing the right thing…it’s just "a job"…"I hate it, but it pays the bills"…do your (potential) clients deserve that? If you answer "yes" ask yourself why they deserve it.

I write about different marketing strategies and techniques, both traditional and non in my online newsletter Webby’s Updates which you can read at www.JDELtd.com and subscribe to if you so choose. You can download this and other articles from by Small Business GENetics site, www.sbgenetics.com

f2p=f4m : A LITTLE PLANNING GOES A LONG WAY

f(2p)=f(4m)

where

f=failure
p=plan
m=motivation

A simple little formula, a variation on the better-known “failure to plan is planning to fail”. Yet many small business owners do just that. As a small business owner, whether you’re a single (self) employee or a small group, you have all the responsibilities of a Fortune 500 company, with a smaller headcount. You still have to consider:

• Human Resources
• Sales & Marketing
• Accounting, Payroll and other “Back Office” functions
• Development and Training
• Business Planning
• Support
• Infrastructure
• Etc

Larger companies have plans and forecasts. You barely have to watch TV to know that such-and-such company’s stock lost value because it didn’t “meet analysts expectations”. But the fact that a huge behemoth of an organization can predict (within a certain target area) how much it’s going to make per share is pretty amazing.

Look a little deeper and you’ll see it’s not magic, it’s just about planning.

I meet different business owners as I ply my trade. Sometimes the conversation goes something like this…

“Hi Joe”
“Hi Dave”
“How’s business?”
“It’s okay. I’m getting by.”
“You sound a little uncertain.”
“Yeah…we’re in a bit of a slump. Somehow this wasn’t quite what I’d planned.”
“Where did you deviate from the plan.”
“Well I didn’t mean an actual plan-”

If there is no actual plan, first of all, how the heck can you deviate from it? Many small business owners make this mistake. They’re intentions are pure and they know they want to build a business, but they set off with a vague notion and little more.

Many of these fail because they didn’t plan. Something doesn’t work out. Money doesn’t come in. Second-guessing begins and it goes down from there.

Your business plan doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t have to contain lots of words that you’d need a dictionary to look up. It should have a goal or two, a method for getting there and a way to measure success. (See A SIMPLE G-A-M-E PLAN)

It really is that easy.

When setting a goal, make it tangible. “This is where I want / need to be in 12 months.”

Okay, you have a goal. How do you quantify it? Do you have to do a certain amount in sales? Yes? How many? How much? You’ll probably need some clients…yes? Alright, how many prospects can you realistically turn into sales?

You get the idea. With a goal and some simple thoughts, put down in writing, you now have map. Of course, there is more you can do. Budgeting is always a good idea. Ditto marketing ideas. I work with people to help them flesh these things out.

Now, if you’re not happy because you’re not meeting your plan goals, we have something to work with. Where are you deviating from the plan?

You can change a plan. You can’t change “nothing”. You can get back on track.

Failure to plan is the first step towards losing your motivation.

YOU’RE A “PROFESSIONAL”, WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU “DON’T KNOW”?

As an true "professional" in most fields, people feel as though all the answers should be right there at their fingertips; they should be a walking encyclopedia in their field, quicker than a Google search with even more relevance.

The simple fact of the matter is that the secret to being a "professional" is (in my opinion):

1. the wisdom to acknowledge that one can never know all the answers
2. the humility to admit this to oneself (and a client)
3. the intelligence to know where to look for the answers
4. the confidence to reassure oneself (and a client)
5. the desire to improve oneself

As a famous quote says (something like), "he who knows everything knows nothing". Beware self-proclaimed "experts".

You’re good at what you do. You can be even better. Professionals never stop learning and growing. That’s what careers are all about.

As a marketing "professional", I can never have all the answers. Every one of my clients is different…but between my client and myself we’ll come as close as we can and find as many of the answers as we are able. That’s what makes my work fun. People are amazing and wonderful! Admitting you don’t have an answer there and then is a small act of heroism, a big act of humility and will gain you respect in the long-run.

If we had all the answers already, what would be the point?

I say this all with true humilty…and I’m still looking for the answers. Who knows where today will go? Have an awesome week!

“I’ll GET BY”

"I’ll get by," said a colleague the other day when we were discuss business cards and following a newsletter article (link here) I’d written on the subject titled "10 ways say it with cards". The conversation was about what I refer to as "marketing makeovers", reinventing oneself. This colleague had approached me with a simple request, "I need to change something because what I’m doing isn’t working."

In the current economic climate it’s easy to feel that way. There is an undercurrent of uncertainty in so much of what we do in our personal and professional lives. Business has suffered across the board. What was once taken for granted is now an uncertainty (just look at GM, AIG or Lehman). Everyone is treading carefully because no one can afford to take a risk any more.

But, back to my conversation. We looked over my colleagues marketing material, and discussed how we could "tune" a few things here and there. One of the recommendations I made was a "makeover" of some of the marketing materials. She responded by saying "oh it’s okay, I’ll get by". What I was proposing was not expensive, I hasten to add, and my colleague knew that. But such is the economy that she wasn’t willing to take even that small chance.

"Do you want to get by or get ahead?" I asked her. I explained that she knew she needed to try some new things, hence our conversation, but a change in approach coupled with a "make do" feeling on the supporting materials is a recipe for failure. As Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back, "do, or do not, there is no try". If you want to change, then decide to change.

As a marketing person, it’s my job to be honest, otherwise, we would have parted ways and her positive feeling about her new strategy would have lasted a day or two at the most. It was my feeling that the "makeover" was need to shed the "old" image. People like new things. You start a new job, you get a new suit. It makes you feel good and that shows. Yes, money is tight, I can attest to that, but if you want to try and remake yourself, don’t settle for "getting by".

Decide to "get ahead". It doesn’t have to be expensive and, to paraphrase a well-known proverb, "a small change is as good as a huge rest".