Are you struggling to create and keep profitable customers? Columns for Sales and Marketing Management who wants to build business relationships.
Friday, July 25, 2003
BACK-CHANNELING AND MULTI-TASKING IN BUSINESS MEETINGS. The process of carrying on secondary 'side-bar' conversations via IM, email and other written media while someone holds forth at the front of the room.. [Roland Tanglao: KLogs]
Dave Polland has some interesting comments about multi-tasking and back-channeling in meeting environments. I humbly disagree that this type of communications is constructive, but found his article has some great background on the topic. Side conversations during a meeting or any other forum isn't constructive to a meeting objectives-- but could be in rare situations.
Points I'd like to make on this topic:
- Side conversations are less constructive the more real-time a conversation becomes. Side discussions between a group of individuals participating in an only forum is more appropriate than speaking on your cell phone during a private meeting. Back-channeling and multi-tasking may have their place, but not in real-time communications, unless incorporated into interaction, feedback, or response.
- When someone is speaking, you should pay attention or excuse yourself. Often these sider conversations start when the topic material isn't of interest to the audience or presented in an uninteresting way. If you don't need to be at the meeting, then go, if you have a more constructive use of your time then excuse yourself. Interrupting those around you is rude.
- Order contributes to a groups experience in multi-way communications. For thousands of years we developed parliamentary procedure that insured all parties got equal time to present and approve decisions. While todays meetings have broken down in value, some method of discussion improves the audience experience.
- You can't pay attention to any one thing doing many things. Just as people are less capable of talking on a cell phone while driving, if you pay attention to multiple interactive tasks, then each task suffers. I often wonder if Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) was a result of humans trying to do to many things or having the expectation they should accomplish many things.
- Multi-tasking is being unorganized and unfocused. There is a difference between doing two things at the same time, and alternating between two things. You should always be working on your most important task, unless you are delayed on that task, then work on the second most important. It's one or the other at any moment, not both.
- Interruptions of any type are unproductive to delivering value. Like children talking in the back of the classroom, side conversations disturb others who are interested in the main topic. Practice restraint and carry on these activities on your own time.
- Age is not a determining factor when it comes to task complexity. Older people are just as capable of doing more than one things at a time as young people. They also have better discretion to do what is most important than be worried about doing everything. (Differences can be found in life exposure to environmental noise i.e. television, video games, ... as a percentage of life.)
Where this type of communications can be constructive:
- When the speaker invites feedback that can be reviewed after the event by the speaker and audience,
- When an audience member has questions and a response is built into a predefined time during the presentation,
- When such by-directional communications is presented during frequent breakout sessions or workshops, often discussed after these small sessions,
Justin Hitt teaches executives how to create strong business relationships that can increase profits while improving customer loyalty. To learn more about business relationships visit Inside Strategic Relations or call +1 (877) 207-3798Following the methods of the 8 Relationship Realms, you have hundreds, maybe thousands of opportunity for first impressions in business relationships. As an executive it sets the precedence for how employees respect you, or customers take you seriously.
Not all these first impressions are set by you personally. In fact, each interaction your employees have with customers, business partners, or the general community around them constitutes a first impression on your company's good name.
Managing first impressions:
(Special note: An interaction can include face-to-face, a written communication, a visit to your website, event attendance, or any other means exchanging information with a customer, employee, or strategic partner.)
- Plan to make the interaction a positive experience for those involved. Make sure you do your homework and that everyone on your team is ready for meetings, sales calls, and other company engaged interactions. A properly trained staff is a secret weapon of great first impressions, arm your weapon with a payload that will get the job done right.
- Be prepared for the interaction with necessary facts. Not only should you know what to do, but you should understand what a customer wants to provide only those facts relevant to them. If you are truly knowledgeable of your industry, you'll also know where to find the information you don't have available to you. If you overwhelm them at the first impression, they will assume you are difficult to work with.
- Seek feedback from existing relationships to improve methods. "It was probably awkward the first time we met, was there anything I could have done to improve the experience." Your existing customers will share their opinion and you can learn from it. Be warned if they don't remember the first time your company was introduced, it means your first impression wasn't positive enough.
- Make it easy to approach you or ask questions. Often executives "sit in the ivory tower of business, away from all the workers." The truth is, many executives want to be approached with profitable suggestions, customer feedback, and other forward thinking measures. Set some time in your schedule to wander around being available to your staff and customers.
- Invite the other persons objective for the interaction to be your own. While you might want a customer to buy your products, the customer may want to solve a specific problem facing their business. Until you make solving their problem an objective of your interaction, they won't even consider what you have to offer. Work from the customers wants and desires.
- Promote open communications even if it isn't something you want to hear. It is better to hear bad news from the customer, than about the customers interaction with you (in popular media.) Attentively hear out customers, employees, or strategic partners who have problems with your organization. You don't have to say anything or even agree, just make sure you understand what they are saying.
- Focus on the wants of the other party with a single objective. Often a first contact with your company will be distracted by a hundred questions, unfamiliarity, and other stumbling blocks that interrupt communications. Look for common themes and address each objective in logical order. Get right to those points considered most important to the other party.
- Give choices within bounds set by the interaction objective. All customers and employees want choices, but give them too many and they won't choose anything. Select two key actions to be taken next, offer them, and work from a base of decisions structured around achieving the objectives of the interaction.
Justin Hitt teaches executives how to create strong business relationships that can increase profits while improving customer loyalty. To learn more about business relationships visit Inside Strategic Relations or call +1 (877) 207-3798
Your website is important to sales. While this report regards retail shoppers, one has to assume some carry-over to B2B sales. Retailing: Shoppers Demand Decent Design [B2Blog]
Dave over at B2Blog brought this report to my attention, he's got a great point that much of the report could translate to improvements in B2B website sales. I really enjoy his comments on B2B websites and appreciate his technical insights.
According to Robyn Greenspan's original article (abstracted here), "First impressions are very important to on-line shoppers." This shouldn't be a surprise, first impressions are very important to every aspect of a business relationship.
While the original article is from a retailing prospective, these factors apply to the B2B world. Consider these facts in your website design:
- Consumers will forgo low prices and brand-preference if they have a poor on-line experience:
- 65% of the 1,100 US Internet users surveyed would not buy from a poorly designed site. These findings were consistent even when it was the site of a favorite brand. Brand is nothing if you treat a customer badly.
- 30% of that same group reported site design was more important than a great product. Everyone has competitors, if your product is considered "the same" as someone else, then this could be a huge factor.
- Very low prices only persuaded 4% to shop on a poorly designed site. It seems even being positioned for low price didn't change many opinions. People buy for more than just price, it's the experience of the purchase as it contributes to their desired solution that makes the most difference.
- In addition, 30% stopped buying from their favorite offline store if the on-line experience was poor. I've seen similar numbers for experiences with on-line technical support verse offline support, customers don't differentiate between the web experience and those with your live staff-- to them it's all a experience with your company.
- "Higher income levels appear to be less tolerant of poor site design," sites the original article:
- More than 70% of those earning US$ 75k per year would not shop a poorly designed site and may even stop purchasing offline based on the on-line experience. Again, customers don't differentiate between on-line and offline, it's all dealing with your company.
- This compares with the same response for 60% of those earning less than US$ 50k on the same study. It seems the more affluent your customer (even into levels of management) the less time they have for a poor experience with your organization.
- Statistics were included about age differences, that 75% of those between 25 and 34 said site usability is a very or extremely important factor for on-line/offline purchases, compared with 64% of those aged 45 to 54. This may or may not be applicable in the B2B world, I'd be interested in your findings.
This article continues to compare these findings with those of other reports looking at similar factors. The overall consistencies were staggering, you don't need a slick site as much as one easy for visitors to find exactly what they want.
One participant described their preference for sites designed "by people who want to get you the information that you need." Most respondents preferred a polished, professional look that creates a trustworthy feel (not overly slick.)
Justin Hitt helps executive build stronger relationships that can increase profits and create loyal customers. For more information visit Inside Strategic Relations or call +1 (877) 207-3798
Planet PDF: Adobe's Robert McDaniels responds (again) to Nielsen criticisms of PDF. "Many of the "PDF Usability Crimes" you cite have nothing to do with Acrobat or PDF but are the result of poor design choices. [elearningpost]
When experts disagree, they both can get positive news coverage. Always consider how constructive dialog with those who put down your products or services can be turned into something to promote your organization. Especially when the media is interested, often they will give equal coverage to both sides of the story as you hash out the point at hand.
Note the Orbitz website crash blamed on Oracle, that whole situation could have been handled better. For Orbitz to have this problem so soon after a change in IT leadership and to blame everything on Oracle, it makes both parties look at fault. All this happens while Oracle presses forward with heavy bidding for PeopleSoft.
How would you have handled either situation? Oracle just pressed on, warning of an unrelated security flaw and posting more news about their PeopleSoft adventure-- they didn't do anything out of the ordinary to address the situation. McDaniels pointed out common failures in other document formats and published a point-by-point bulletin addressing concerns.
It doesn't matter as much what they do for the media, but what would you do for your customers?
How to turn poor media coverage, a difference of opinion, or a major product failure into a gold mine:
- Get facts together right away, have a clear picture of the situation. Contact the customer who is having problems, anyone involved in the situation, to gather as much information as possible. You want to know who, what, when, where, and why-- get all the details you can before coming to an opinion of the situation.
- Accept responsibility for the situation publicly. "While there were a number of things our client could have done to prevent this situation, it is ultimately our responsibility to lead them toward training that could have helped them better handle this situation." Demonstrate how this issue could have been prevented, and that you didn't push hard enough for the end-user to properly train their user. (Works better for software or safety related issues.)
- Make a knowledgeable individual available for media questions, be useful to anyone reporting on the situation. Address the concerns from reporters, be prepared with statement on how this effects other news worthy events currently facing the company. Nothing is worse than "no comment", at least acknowledge the situation and make an effort to look into it. This event could create new relationships with reporters if you handle yourself correctly.
- Issue technical warnings to other customer who might experience the same. Make sure you don't get a rash of the same problem, have your key people personally check on customers who could experience the same situation. Offer technical assistance (in a cost effective way) to make sure other surprises don't come up while the media is ripe.
- Point out how the failure is common to failures seen with competing products. Demonstrate how under similar circumstances your competitors products handle the same way, however, then point out what sets your product apart. You don't have to mention any names. Just, address the customers problem with what makes you the same, and face the publicity with what makes you different in respect to the customers desires.
- Check on the needs of existing customers addressing any concerns. Turn this unfortunate event to find out what else customers need. If they have any concerns it is better to address them now, than a competitor addressing them later. Check up on your major accounts, "You may have read about the situation with X, we're still looking into it, and wanted to address any concerns you have."
- Counter with an appropriate second opinion. Make sure your point of view is expressed when it is appropriate to the situation. "We're not sure what happened in that specific situation, but sometimes these precautions can prevent this type of situation." Without blaming anyone, educate the readers on how to prevent similar failures.
Justin Hitt teaches executives how to create strong business relationships that can increase profits while improving customer loyalty. To learn more about business relationships visit Inside Strategic Relations or call +1 (877) 207-3798
Last update: 04/08/2004; 2:32:59 PM.
