Actual Intelligence

If you've ever spent time with a group of people from the same industry which you're not a part, you begin to sense the have their own sayings, short forms, and acronyms. It’s almost as if they are speaking another language; their own language. 

Years ago, I was consulting a large pharma company and on one of our conference calls, I asked them to translate into English. At first, they were confused, but then they laughed and understood. 

 What do You Mean? 

We think we’re being clear, but we have to understand that our thoughts may not align with others’ understanding. When we take the time to step back, breathe, and gain more insight into how others are perceiving us, we stand a better chance of understanding each other and at times ourselves. 

 Technical speak and industry specifics are often needed, but sometimes boiling things down to the most basic level is the best way to avoid misinterpretation. If we take a moment and suspend our beliefs to check for understanding, conflict can be avoided and teamwork can be improved. 

Data in. Data out.

One idea is to find someone outside our circle to ask their opinion. Their lack of industry knowledge might unlock some questions we hadn't considered. As the AI frenzy continues, this may become a larger issue. Someone asks you to write a technical document on your work. 

You plug in what you can into the AI generation interface. It spits out what you think is a well-crafted piece you can share with the team. Then you realize self-creating data works best when the data that's fed into it is actually accurate. The real issue is when a human being starts asking questions about the content you didn't write or understand. 

Good luck!

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Sliced Bread

We are living in a Snapchat Instagram patience of a three year old world. We want the thing to work. We want to make quick touches. We rely too much on technology. Sometimes we just want to buy a loaf of bread and have a sandwich.


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Breaking the Customer Promise

You need camping equipment. So off you go to the internet to start your journey. As with most online shopping experiences, choices are overwhelming, the interfaces are varied but you seem to be getting somewhere.

Then the critical event occurs. You need an actual human to answer an actual question. Oh look, there’s a customer service toll-free line to call. Perfect! Two rings, three rings and you’re on hold with an antiseptic message that assures you something about you being important and they’re really busy.

Is Help on the Way?

While on hold, you notice their site also offers an online help option through a chat interface. Well two fronts are better than one so while you’re enjoying some Pearl Jam on the xylophone you click on the link. Open, good, it appears that Janice will be serving you today.

As you watch the blinking cursor awaiting Janice’s swift and helpful response, another insipid message says something about them being sorry and they’re receiving an unusual volume of calls, and back to a snappy instrumental version of Lady Gaga booms through your handset. Janice has yet to answer your inquiry. You click the window closed and hang up the phone.

Why so Impatient?

You've been on hold for 10 minutes. What’s the big deal? Well, you have already found three other sites with more selection and this one offers free shipping. The fact that Janice’s company could be the superior choice has become irrelevant.

Some would claim they can’t serve every customer in seconds and they're right. But unfortunately, customers and potential customers don’t care. Make it simple for your customers to interact with you. No amount of SEO or marketing will help the moment someone hits a dead end.

Is my Business Important to You?

Some companies think that a handy contact us form is the best way to manage the volume of requests. It is a form featuring several boxes and a small section at the end for comments. If someone would rather use their email system, there is a sales@ or info@ or contact@ option at the bottom.

Here’s where that strategy falls flat on its face – most (all?) visitors think these emails go into a large heap of unanswered inquiries never to be seen again. I tried this recently with ten well known brands through their website and received three auto responses and no actual answers. If you've ever shopped for residential or commercial cleaning companies, this becomes an exercise in frustration.

Can You Actually Help Me?

You need camping equipment but you don’t want to drive all over town hoping to find a helpful sales person who will solve all of your needs. You want to have a plan of attack but you seem to be lost in a never ending loop of technology and no answers.

It all begins with strong leadership ensuring a minimum requirement means responding when someone wants to spend their hard earned money with you. We all want good service. Not someone to shine our shoes and make us king for a day, just good service. Yet we often have trouble finding it.

This week, I counted 11 instances where I inquired about services for my business, myself or a client and the provider lost the sale before the work even began.

Some of us are giving bad service.
Few of us would admit to being a culprit.

Kneale Mann

image: flickr

Making Digital Simple

I was chatting with a colleague this week and we talked about how often technical glitches happen when we're using gadgets that are supposed to improve business and communication. Bad phone lines, email problems, servers down, weak cell patches, lost files, the list goes on.

We know that a web presence is important. Online, social and mobile purchasing continues to increase so it's imperative that companies have a digital interface for their customers. And there is ample data to prove connecting with a vibrant and active customer base helps drive better service and increase revenue.

However, it’s crucial not to let technology hamper your customers' ability to interact with you. 


Kneale Mann

visual credit: youtube | google

Sifting The Interface

We spend a great deal of online, digital and mobile time talking about online, digital and mobile. There are tools to outline how to use tools, blogs on how to blog, opinion on how to have an opinion, yet at the root is our inherent need to interact and share.

David Merrill and his team have taken it right back to our desire to create and customize our world to our needs.

David explains in his TEDTalk from 2009.


Kneale Mann

visual credit: TED

Geek Vanity

The hour drew near. The tweets were heavy. What would happen as the clock struck midnight and millions of Facebook users hurried to change their long annoying address to a much easier and cleaner vanity URL.

Some looked on how like race fans hoping for a pile up on the chicane. Would the Facebook servers crash? Would they get their address? John Smith and Bill Jones were most nervous.

The nonchalant seem to have the fastest thumbs on their way to secure their first choice. I too sat there like a moron as the clock ticked 0days 0hrs 0mins and quickly grabbed mine.

Rules & Regs

Facebook reserves the right to disallow your choice if - for instance - you choose an expletitive or a brand that isn't yours, general terms like "social media" and "marketing" will be be taken back but from my unscientific research the experiement went better than the last big door crasher launch.

There's a Bit of Geek In All of Us

We geeks can be tough when it comes to things like vanity URLs and web interfaces. If you haven't done so and here's hoping your first choice is still available, simply visit http://www.facebook.com/username and good luck!

So, now what?

@knealemann
http://www.facebook.com/knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com