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You Can Do It

From Full Sterne Ahead


Full Sterne Ahead contains the mostly monthly musings of Jim Sterne, author, speaker, and Web marketing consultant to business and industry.




April, 2002

Yep - I'm doubling up this one. It's so simple and you've
heard it dozens of times. It *is* a big idea, but it's
repeated here because you *can* do it, and you should.

After a meeting with a rather high ranking mucky-muck
in a very large organization, my wife received a hand-
written note. I found it in the stack of mail that had
piled up while we were out of town for the weekend and
separated it out. (I didn't have a silver tray at the
ready, or I would have delivered it to her in white
gloves.)

The contents were sparse; two sentences. The reaction
was profound. What does this have to do with the
Internet? Simple - the more email we send, the more
powerful the impact of a hand written note.

Go ahead - you can do it.

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March, 2002

I received two interesting messages aimed at cleaning
up internal databases. In spite of the draconian warning
that: "Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or
distribution of this email message or its attachments
is prohibited," I decided to reproduce it anyway.
Call me a daredevil.

   From: Jason Pfannenstiel
   To: Jason Pfannenstiel
   Subject: Database Maintenance
   Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 13:45:52 -0800
  >
  > Good afternoon---
  >
  > In an attempt to bring our database up to speed, I
  > am asking you for the following:
  >
  > 1. mailing address so you may receive our 2001
  >    Annual report
  >
  > 2. preferred phone number/email address
  >
  > Note: If you are no longer interested in receiving
  > news about Keynote Systems, please specify.
  >
  > Warm regards,
  > Jason

Straight forward, honest, and no fluff. Well done.
And *yes,* I had originally opted in.

I'm sorry I deleted the other message before realizing
it was even more thought provoking. Sad to say, I can't
even recall which firm sent it. But I remember it because
the gist was abundantly forthright.

It said that I had opted in to their list - that was
true. It then said that if I did *not* reply to their
message, I would be deleted from their database. It
was a single-drop-out. If I didn't confirm my interest -
poof! I'd be history.

One side of me says this is a brilliant way to hone
your internal list down to just the core players. The
other side of me says this is a wholesale dumping
of people who aren't 100% on board, but might be.
I can see the value for a postal mail list. But an
email list?

What do you think?
      You Can Do It.
         But would you?

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February, 2002

Janet Kalbhen was
kind enough to point me to those bubble-gum-packing
folks at Topps with an FAQ answer that says, "We're not
set up yet to handle customer email. We hope to be able
to respond to your emails in the near future.
http://www.topps.com/AboutTopps/faqs.html#q2

I wrote back to Janet:

  > We haven't figured out how to answer the phone yet -
  > But we're working on it. Do you push the flashing
  > button or the blinking button???

This morning, she replied:

  At 06:11 PM 2/25/02, Janet Kalbhen wrote:
  > Actually, funny you should say that. I tried their
  > 800 number, and ended up having to push all 4 options
  > several times. The first call I was disconnected after
  > pushing one of the options, and the second time I was
  > on hold for about 20 minutes, and then sent into
  > someone's voice mail. What a disaster.

Dang.

So here's a request and an imperative:

  Request: If you spot other companies that don't accept
           email (like the one's below), please send me a
           link at I'll publish it in the communication
           hall of shame.

http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/luvbook.html (bottom)
http://www.traderjoes.com/tj/signup
and http://www.lays.com (but their server is down at
the moment).

  Imperative: Answer your email!!

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December, 2001

You can increase customer satisfaction, increase sales,
improve profits and make the world a better place if
you'd pay more attention to the words on your site.

Nick Usborne (check out many of his articles at
ClickZ) has now written a book called "Net Words".
Read my brief but heart-felt review at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071380396/targetingA
Three thumbs up.

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November, 2001

  > From: "Katharina Krummel"
  > To:
  > Subject: Post aus Deutschland

    Message from Germany

  > Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 20:29:06 +0100
  >
  > Hallo Jim,
  >
  > ich habe deine mail-Adresse von Tobias Gärtner von
  > den Argonauten. Der hat mir die Mail unten geschickt
  > und von dem Newsletter berichtet, in dem er meine
  > Adresse gefunden hat. Ich finde das ganz toll, dass
  > ich da genannt werde.

    I got your email address from Tobias who sent me a
    message telling me about how he found me through
    your newsletter. I think it's really cool that I was
    mentioned in it.

On the Homepage of a 9-year old girl from Germany
http://www.katharina-krummel.de we found this
great example of how simple a Legal Disclaimer can
look and why children are sometimes better
communicators than we are ;-)

  > Wir basteln hier gerade an
  > einem Videokonferenz-Projekt
  >      (www.videokonferenz-page.de.vu)
  > in dem wir Kinder über WebCams zusammenbringen.

    We're tinkering here with a video conference project
    that brings children together using WebCams.
    www.videokonferenz-page.de.vu

  > Bislang haben wir nur Leute aus Deutschland,
  > Österreich und der Schweiz. Es wäre super, wenn wir
  > auch Kinder aus anderen Ländern dazu bekämen, die
  > müssen nur deutsch können (ich kann noch kein
  > englisch ...)

    So far we only have people in Germany, Austria and
    Switzerland. It would be super if we could also
    get children from other countries. But they have
    to know German (I don't know English yet...)

  > Vielleicht kannst du uns ja etwas helfen ?
  > Schreib mal zurück

    Perhaps you can help us a little?
    Write me back

  > CU Katharina

I did write Katharina back (with only a *little* help
from http://babel.altavista.com) and I'm happy to help -
if only to show the adults of the world what's possible.

When Tobias Gärtner pointed me to this site and
complained about feeling old, I told him to hire these
girls at once!

Viel Glück, Katharina!

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Octomber, 2001

This just in from my business partners at Omaco in
Switzerland:

  > On the Homepage of a 9-year old girl from Germany
  > http://www.katharina-krummel.de we found this
  > great example of how simple a Legal Disclaimer can
  > look and why children are sometimes better
  > communicators than we are ;-)

   "Legal Disclaimer
   The judge of Hamburg has decided in his judgement
   from May 12 1998 - 312 O 85/98 - "Legal Responsibility
   for Links", that it is possible that the owner of a
   website is responsible for the content of the linked
   sites. The only way how to prevent this is to strongly
   dissociate from content of linked sites.

   Herewith I strongly dissociate from all content
   on linked sites that I publish on my homepage."

Says Chris Peter of Omaco, "eKids - the future..."

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September, 2001

You can advertise almost anywhere these days:
http://www.sponsormymelon.com/

I wonder if Brandon has given much through to how he's
going to track his clickthroughs. Ouch.

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August, 2001

If you're good, you can win friends and influence people
with humor. Take for example, the approach taken by
Despair, Inc. with Permission Harassment:
http://www.despair.com/subscribe.html

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June, 2001

The reasons I like this segment is that it reminds me
to think of those of us who do not have multi-million
dollar budgets, who do not have corporate support
infrastructures, and who do not have giant datawarehouses
of customer information to sift through. You Can Do It
is intended for everybody.

But the key ingredient required to accomplish the things
you *can* do, is the discipline to get them done. So this
month, I point you to www.ihavegoals.com where you can
identify what you want to do (be it in your business, your
career, or your life), plan to get it done (step by step)
and get help getting it done (motivation, tricks, tips,
advice from coaches).

You can do it - - - but you have to do it.

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May, 2001

Phil Dourado is Director of Web Content & ICOBFAOIC
(In charge of buying Friday afternoon office ice-creams)
at eCustomerSeriveWorld.com. In one of his newsletters,
Phil offered a white paper I wanted to read and I was
required to send an e-mail asking for the paper.

When he sent it to me, I asked him why he put members
through the extra step. Why not just have a link in
the e-mail pointing to the download - or even to the
HTML page?

Phil:
1) SHORT ANSWER: I hadn't written the paper yet.

Jim:
That's a perfectly acceptable and realistic
answer and I intend to steal it and use it frequently.

Phil:
2) LONGER ANSWER: I'm gambling that there's something
more 'bonding' and 'gratifying' in an exchange that goes
"I thought you might like this: interested?"
"Yes please, I'd like one"
"Here it is: hope it's useful"
"Thank you"...

In the customer's mind, it becomes more of a tangible
'freebie'/'packaged piece of value' sent personally.
Part of the sense of 'value' comes in knowing someone
took the time to send it personally.

Jim:
Yes, I've experienced this after speaking at
Internet World. In one case I tell people they can
download the handouts from my site and I give them
the URL. In the other case, I tell them to send an
e-mail. When they do, I e-mail them the URL.

In the latter situation, the number of resulting
downloads is higher. Lesson? People like to communicate.

Phil:
So, it gives people a sense of "I asked for something
and it was sent to me" (an interaction that forms more
of a 'relationship' in the customer's mind than 'click
on this link', I think.)

Jim:
I think I agree. It would be interesting to try
it different ways just to measure the reaction.
My example above is based completely on the
the memory of an impression I might have had.
Not what you'd call statistically significant.

Phil:
Our proposition to Associate Members is that they're a
privileged club that gets material before it goes up on
the webite, so they're ahead of the game/inside track/
get to see stuff before everyone else.

Jim:
Well done.

Phil:
Final benefit: when people ask for a report like this
at least a couple of them add to the note a personal
message like: "Love the email/website" and then give
details of what they like, which I add to the list of
"Why you should advertise in our email/on our website:
because we've got raving fans. Don't take my word for
it: here's what they say" that I'm compiling - 3rd
party/customer accreditation and all that.

Jim:
Cha-ching!

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March, 2001

I frankly forget why I wrote to Mercata Customer Service,
but I got a typical autoresponse:

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received
  > your e-mail message. We appreciate the opportunity to
  > address your question or concern.

[stuff about their wonderful customer service snipped]

  > Thanks again for writing. We'll be sending you a personal
  > reply shortly.

I wrote back and asked what they meant by "shortly".

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received
  > your e-mail message. We appreciate the opportunity to

And then I got a reply that said:

  > Thank you for contacting Mercata.
  >
  > Upon sending this message to customer service, you
  > should have received an automatically generated message
  > indicating that it may take up to 24 hours to get a
  > response.

I wrote back

  > I did, indeed. Thanks. And since I write and give
  > seminars about online customer service, is there
  > somebody there I can talk to about how you go about
  > it? Tools, reporting, staffing... that sort of thing?

They said:

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received
  > your e-mail message. We appreciate the opportunity to

I wrote back:

  > Houston, we have an infinite loop problem...

They said:

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received

Then they said:

  > Hi Jim,
  >
  > I'm glad to hear the system is functioning as it
  > should.  In response to the problem Houston is
  > having (ha ha), each time you respond to Customer
  > Service via email, you will receive that message.  
  > It may appear that you're caught in an endless loop,
  > but it is really just recognizing that you've sent
  > another message that we'll answer within 24 hours.

I retorted:

  > And it really shouldn't do that.
  > Looks like it's time to invest in
  > an e-mail management system that
  > recognizes the difference between
  > a first time contact and a follow-up...

They said:

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received

Then they said:

  > I have directed your inquiry about online customer
  > service and your contact information to our VP of
  > Customer Relationship Management.  

I replied:

  > Thanks Wendy!

They said:

  > Dear Jim,
  >
  > Thanks for writing to Mercata. This is an automatically
  > generated reply just to let you know that we received

So what is it that You Can Do? Think like a customer.
Simple to say. Hard to do. Seldom accomplished.

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February, 2001

Do you sell things off your Web site? Then make your
shopping cart as easy to use as possible. Check out
these best practices for designing checkout interfaces:
www.dack.com/web/shopping_cart.html

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November, 2000

Sometimes the simplest marketing really hits the spot. Simple
to present, simple to read, simple to understand, but very
hard to dream up.

Kudos, then, to Big Red Wire for displaying a simple "diary"
of one of their "customers." It delivers their Unique Sales
Proposition without garnish. Nifty. www.bigredwire.com

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October, 2000

Rebecca Robertson really touched a nerve when she spouted off about not being able to send things from dot-coms to APO addresses.

Greer Bohan spent 12 years selling orchids.

  > I shipped thousands of orchids world wide. Many of my
  > customers were military people in very remote places. The
  > USPS always came through for me. They never had a problem
  > getting the package to my military clients, often faster
  > than I thought possible.
  >
  > My company only ships via the USPS, unless requested by
  > the client.
  >
  > I find Mrs. Robertson's attitude toward dot-com and brick
  > and mortar companies that have forgotten the concept of
  > customer service, completely justifiable.

David Jemison wrote:

  > When I was a contractor working for the U.S. Army in South
  > Korea (and thus entitled to APO mail services), I also
  > found many companies that would not deliver to APO
  > addresses. The only reason I could figure was that it caused
  > them too much trouble to actually take the package down
  > to the post office to manually mail it (as opposed to
  > automatic pickups by UPS/FedEx).

Anybody from USPS.gov listening? Smells like a business
opportunity to me!

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September, 2000

I've been very impressed with National Semiconductor for
handing some of the reins of Web power over to their sales-
people. National sales reps can create pages for each individual
client and update it as often as they like with whatever they
think will help the customer find, buy, and use National
products. This is taking the idea of extranets and making it
personal.

Now you can do it too - with a little help from Agillion -
www.agillion.com  They decided small and medium sized
businesses could use an ASP approach to support their clients
this way. I say they should knock on larger doors as well. So
many corporate Web efforts happen in small, isolated groups
without the solid foundation of a Web-dedicated IT contingent
nor the laser-focused energy of an all-hands-on-deck, techno
start-up.

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August, 2000

   Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 19:15:44 +0800
   From: Daniel Tay
   Organization: RNE Computer Solutions
   To: jsterne@targeting.com
   Subject: Symantec!
  
   Jim, I'm one of the Internet Billionaire Home
   Study Program participant. It's very lucky to know
   you in this way. Definitely, you got my vote for
   the most excellent, content-pack, presentation.

Aw, shucks Daniel - Thanks! (The Billion Dollar program
was the result of a Jay Abraham seminar at which I presented.)

   I could not disagree with you on the rude attitude
   of huge American corporate who try to get away
   from their customer. If you conduct a real world
   business with telephone & fax, you must conduct
   the web business with an e-mail. Don't they know
   about this?
  
   Recently, I've a very bad experience with
   Symantec.  Although they have a feedback link, I'm
   reluctant to use it because I sense it's a trap.
   As such, I tried to find the contact us button but
   do not find one.
  
   Since I do not see one, I have to go on with the
   feedback link. I've been writing more than 20
   sentences in it. To my surprise, after about 5
   minutes, an auto feedback come back and saying
   they'll not answer any e-mail from the feedback
   column. They offer an alternative link. I tried it
   out but it's no better than a pure rubbish.
  
   What really upset me is that my original message
   was not attached in the email. As such, I've lost
   my message. This clearly showed their effort in
   trying to avoid their customer. And what actually
   happened is I'm trying to contact them about bulk
   purchase of PcAnywhere. Maybe, they don't need my
   purchase. And I'll not recommend their Norton
   Antivirus to anyone either. They forgot people
   like us have a big influence on my customer.
  
   Thank you for your attention.
  
What you can do: Customers want a record or their communications. Web forms don't provide that record. Offer up an e-mail address -the customers you offend might just be resellers. Thanks, Daniel!

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June, 2000

Building a Web site for a small business is not easy. Here's
a cry for help that sounded all too common:

   > Dear Mr. Sterne-
   >
   > This is really a shot in the dark, I need information
   > regarding my web site and I don't know where to turn.  
   > I just bought your book from amazon.com and I saw your
   > email address listed and.... there you go!

I replied:

  And here I am!

   > I checked out your book from the library but I haven't
   > had time to read it and it's late now (they are calling
   > me so I have to give it back).  

  Uhm... seems you need some time management help.
  Something I am notoriously bad at  ;-)

   > From what I did read, it seems like it's going to be a
   > big help to me but I really need more information on
   > 'What to do when you had a website designed for your
   > business and it stinks and they won't help you'.  Does
   > this happen a lot?

  Yes. Sorry - but it's true.

   > We paid over $7000.00 for our site and it really stinks!  
   > Feel free to check it out.

  Believe me when I say that I've seen a lot worse and for
  a lot more money.

   > I am no expert on computers believe me!  But it just seems
   > so wrong that we could pay so much for a shoddy product
   > and we have no rights as consumers.  Maybe that's the way
   > of the game.  I don't know.  But where can I find out
   > if it is?

  Well, you could ask me. And if you ask me, you have a site
  that will carry you until you get something you line better.
  Although, the list of your products that link to broken
  graphics and the bare minimum of information is pretty lame.

   > Please don't think I'm just whining here

  Uhm...

   > (I guess I am)

  Yeah, well...

   > but I want to fix the problem

  Great!

   > and I need to know the best resources.  I also need to
   > fix the problem ASAP since it is my families business.  
   > Am I going to have to go back to school or is there a
   > book out there that I need to get.  

  There are books, Lee, but you have to read them.
  Sorry about that.

   > Or do we need to hire a web master?  Or how do you learn
   > to be a web master?  I don't think I will ever be allowed
   > to have access to change my HTML format.  They certainly
   > haven't suggested that, and we never have received a copy
   > of our contract.  Oh Calgon, take me away!

  Ha!

   > I really appreciate any feedback what-so-ever.  Even if
   > it's "buck up buttercup, that's the way of the game so
   > shut up and start reading my book!"  

  No, I wouldn't say *that*. Well, maybe. Well, I'd have to
  know you better before calling you buttercup, anyway.

  OK - my advice:

  Hire another company to build your Web site.
  Tell them in detail what you don't like about
  the one you have and what you'd like your Web
  site to do for you. Then get ready to spend
  about twice what you have so far.

  Hurts, doesn't it? You can chalk up that previous  
  seven grand as tuition to the school of hard knocks.

  How do you find reputable Web developers? Find
  a site you like of a local company and ask them
  who did it and would they recommend them. Then
  check to make sure there isn't a brother-in-law
  connection there somewhere.

  And best of luck!

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May, 2000

This newsletter is brought to you by Sparklist. No - they're
not underwriting my musings and I'm not getting free services
by plugging them. They're running the listserver that I'm
using to send you this missive. So it is *literally* brought
to you by Sparklist.

So where's the You Can Do It in that? You can write your own
newsletter. Open up the conversation with your constituents.
Fire up the customer relationship management machine and get
it into first gear. Think outsourcing at every turn and you
too can take advantage of all the different tools that are
out there.

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April, 2000

If you're a Dot-Com and your burn rate is high because you're
building your customer datatbase - fine. Have a good time.
But at some point, the following paragraph from The Industry
Standard has to wake you up from your G1992 Nicolas Feuillatte
Grande Cuvée Palmes d'Or(three-liter) wishes and Beluga dreams:

      Less than 5 percent of e-commerce site visitors buy
      something. But companies spend an average of $250 on
      marketing and advertising to acquire one customer. The
      gross income from a typical customer (after operating
      costs are deducted from the money the customer spent)
      is $24.50 in the first quarter and $52.50 in every quarter
      that he or she is a customer. But two-thirds of buyers don't
      make a repeat purchase - so the typical e-commerce firm
      doesn't make money off of the average customer.

www.thestandard.com/research/metrics/display/0,2799,13016,00

What can you do? Determine how much you can afford to spend
to acquire a single customer who acts, on average, like your
other average customers. Then figure out the best way to buy
those customers. Here's a hint: It might be through direct mail.

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February, 2000

Everybody has a story of woe dealing with Network Solutions.
Just the word "Internic" tightens the muscles in my neck.
So make sure somebody on your team stays on top of your
domain registration details.

At the end of December, like many other hapless Hotmail
users, Michael Chaney couldn't get his mail. Unlike many
others, Michael discovered Microsoft's authentication site
named Passport.com was unreachable because it's domain
registration had expired. So he paid the $35 and was able
to get his mail the next morning. Microsoft thanked him
and, yes, paid him back.

You don't have millions of faithful, tech-savvy customers?
Then you're going to have to keep an eye on it yourself.
Just don't forget to add this annual task to your list.

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December, 1999

Aside from the passe and somewhat derogatory picture of the
nerd with the pocket protector on their homepages, Dynoform
www.Dynoform.com provides one of those it's-so-easy-
everybody-should-be-doing-it, application services that make
the Web that much more powerful.

As UnityMail www.messagemedia.com/sc/um_express.shtml
has done with e-mail newsletters (like this one), Dynoform
has done with data collection.

"Dynoform lets you create personalized "opt-in" e-mailing
lists, sweepstakes, opinion polls, sign-up forms, order forms,
customer surveys, help wanted  ads, warranty cards, message
centers and more. Plus, Dynoform is entirely Web-based --
there's no  software installation and set up takes only a  
few minutes!"

Enough said.

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November, 1999

I frequently come across people who want to describe their
company history on their home page. But people don't care.
Sorry - it's true. All they want to know is what you do
for a living, how they can contact you, and what they can
do on your site.

Do - as in activity. Do - as in learn, see, configure,
price, order, resolve, and whatever brilliant things
you can come up with.

The best way to communicate your brand and the benefits
you offer visitors on your Web site is to embed that
information in your links.

People are not reading your site, they're busy scanning
the links to see what they can click on. So don't go on
for sentence after sentence. Just give us buttons that say:

   Products for the Relaxing Bath
   Products for the Refreshing Spa
   Products for Healthier Skin
   Products for Beautiful Hair

Branding and navigation are one.

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June, 1999

Tenagra (www.tenagra.com) is a web development company in Houston that recently went up against some big guns in a
bid for Web design and development for Unisys. It won.

Besides understanding all facets of the Web business, Tenagra
put its knowledge where its empty wallet was and built a
proposal Web site. Breakthrough? Not really. Mind bending?
Hey, it's a good idea, but I wouldn't go that far. Winner?
Yes, yes, and yes.

Why? Because it was able to communicate in the medium it
purported to know something about. It communicated really well.

When the people at Unisys saw the clear, concise and *complete*
presentation of information on the Tenagra extranet, they could
only wish their site was that crisp and clean.

Remember, the Web is a tool. Anytime you need a tool, think
about how the Internet can help solve the problem, collect
the information, present the pitch or simply make it cheaper
to communicate.

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March, 1999

You can implement live chat on your site in one day. Really -
you can. Just outsource it.

I had to think twice when I first learned that some companies
outsource that most sacred activity: talking to their customers.
Takes a little getting used to, doesn't it?

But once I got used to the idea that having a team of people
talk to your customers was just as valid across the hall as
across the country, I became intrigued by the ability for
anybody to have live chat on their Web site - twenty-four
by seven.

If you're leaning toward this sort of service, you're going
to head to the sites run by companies such as www.LiveAssistance.com,
www.LivePerson.com, www.LiveResponse.com, and www. PeopleSupport.com and test their ability to chat with you about their offerings.

You're also going to have some serious conversations with their
reference customers to see how well they train their operators.
But one thing you *must* focus on is the quality of their
feedback loop.

Some are happy to send you a copy of every so you'll know what
your on-line customers are thinking. PeopleSupport lets clients
log in at any time and see relevant statistics about customers'
inquiries, buying habits and preferences, as well as statistics
such as session duration, customer satisfaction, etc.

The folks at 1-800 Flowers found that online chat lowered their
e-mail costs by 50% and increased customer satisfaction my 20%.
Not bad. Maybe you can do it too.

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