Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Navigation Bar

  • About
  • Services
  • What Clients Say
  • Contact

Does Your Marketing Have a Clue?

August 21, 2013 by Dennis Fischman 3 Comments

Clue Board Game

 

My wife Rona owns a small real estate agency. The people who try to market to her continually amaze her–and not in a good way.  I told you before about the phone solicitor who lied to her.  Here’s a story about an email marketer who never told her the truth.  In fact, never told her anything.

The subject line of the email that showed up in Rona’s Inbox was Two tips to finding a better way.  Rona told me, “I clicked on it to answer the question ‘a better way to what?’  I got cutesy graphics…but still don’t know what [name changed to protect the clueless] does.”

That made me curious, so I looked at the email she’d been sent.

Sure enough, there were the graphics.  Each was supposed to be a clickable link to a video about the company.  But only one of the links worked.

That link led to an engaging little 90-second Youtube video about running your real estate office with less paperwork.  Very nice–except it didn’t include a phone number, an email, or any way to get in touch with the company.

So, let’s see: the company expected a mysterious subject line to get Rona to open the email.  Then, without telling her why, it expected her to click on a link.  Then, it assumed she would actually watch the video.  After that, it apparently expected her to go to her favorite search engine and type in the company name.

Rona’s a busy person.  Frankly, I was amazed she even opened the email.

Please, don’t be clueless.  Don’t make your marketing a mystery.   If you want people to view, read, or listen to something, tell them what’s in it for them.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Share of Mind, Share of Heart, by Sybil F. Stershic: a review

August 12, 2013 by Dennis Fischman 3 Comments

Sybil Stershic

Sybil Stershic

Sybil  Stershic wants you Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: the employees, volunteers, and Board members of your nonprofit organization.  In her new book, Share of Mind, Share of Heart, she explains the top two reasons why.

 

“Your service is your brand.”  Think about it: there are a lot more points where people touch your organization than just the newsletters and emails you send them, or the social media you want them to see.  Every time a client or stakeholder walks up to your reception desk, calls on the phone, takes advantage of a service, attends an event, or volunteers for one of your programs, they are forming their impression of your agency.

That means that the people who represent your organization the most often are not the Executive Director, the Communications Director, the Development Director, or the Board chair.  They are the employees and volunteers who face the public every day.

“Connection is the key.” People who work at your agency for love or money must feel connected to the mission of the organization (and know how they are helping to move you forward). They must connect with your customers (or clients) to stay dedicated to a high level of customer care.  They want and need to connect with other volunteers, and with employees. Indeed, that may be the reason they came to work for you in the first place.  It certainly will be key to keeping them coming back for more.

Stershic calls this concept “internal marketing.”  The term focuses  attention on the fact that employees, volunteers, and Board members are also customers, and they need to be motivated to keep buying what you’re selling: the good name of your organization.

What happens when employees don’t feel valued?  They disengage and leave the organization.  Or worse, they disengage and stay.

Don’t let this happen to you! Share of Mind, Share of Heart is full of examples, tips, and “action plan starter notes.”  The book is slim enough that you can read it through in a couple of hours, then go back and put the suggestions into practice that best fit the way your agency functions now.  That will help you make your organization a better place to work, improve your customer service, and at the same time, communicate to the world what you are all about.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33

Yes, I’d like weekly email from Communicate!

Get more advice

Yes! Please send me tips from Communicate! Consulting.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Copyright © 2025 · The 411 Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in