The Cart Blog

Friday, March 14, 2008

Reducing your suck index

Filed under: Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 5:06 am

Want to know how many of your customers think you suck? Google “<your company name> sucks” and see what the hit count is. The Wal-Mart number is half a million; chances are yours is lower. Business Week has a suggestion about what to do:

“Now don’t get mad at these people. Instead, help them get even with you. These angry customers are doing you a great favor. They care enough about your product or service to tell you exactly what went wrong. Other customers may just desert you and head to the competition. But these are telling you what to fix. Listen to them. Help them. Respond to them. Ask their advice—and they’ll give it to you.”

Don’t just process them – validate them. Affirm them. Let them hit you with a clue-by-four. In general, if they’re complaining, they still care and want to be engaged.  Take advantage of this.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Writing is the basis of all wealth

Filed under: Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 7:11 am

Scott the Nametag Guy loves this meme.  Want to get rich?  Write more.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Clients who are unhappy from the start

Filed under: Communication,Entrepreneurship — thatsoftwareguy @ 6:38 am

Jeremy’s advice: send them to someone else.    There’s a tendency that some people have to want to jump in  and save the day; to show them how much better you are than the losers they hired before.  You’re better off passing on this business in reality; it’s going to be more trouble than it’s worth.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Dale for Dummies

Filed under: Books,Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 7:07 am


How to Win Friends and Influence People


The Positivity Blog posted a great summary of Dale Carnegie’s most important tips for improving your social skills. By the way, if you haven’t read this book yet, it’s one of the best selling self-help books of all time – it might be worth your time to give it a look.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Shoemoney: Customer Support Doesn’t Matter

Filed under: Buyer Behavior,Communication,Sales — thatsoftwareguy @ 6:47 am

I’m not sure I agree with Shoemoney’s argument, but it’s interesting food for thought. I’m normally very open to the reasoning that “Amazon has trained us that this is the way it should be,” but there are so many things that require handholding that I don’t think you can apply Jeremy’s rule universally. But I may be biased because That Software Guy is a service provider.

What this question ultimately resolves to is, “is your relationship with your customers transactional?” If you’re selling commodities, then it is whether you’d like it to be or not. But if you’re not selling commodities, perhaps service can become a differentiator for your business.

One thing is for sure: service is expensive. You must have a model for charging for it, or you’ll lose your shirt.

Monday, February 4, 2008

MMM: The Power of Praise

Filed under: Communication,Management,Motivation — thatsoftwareguy @ 6:14 am

My boss never misses an opportunity to praise someone in public. And I’m not talking the typical butter up, either – he’ll be saying “Scott this” and “Scott that,” and I’ll be looking around making sure there’s not another Scott in the room. He is, in the words of Charles M. Schwab, “hearty in his approbation and lavish in his praise.”

So why is this so rare? I’ve only worked for one boss who delighted in criticizing people in public; all the other ones have been completely silent. Is it insecurity or a limited pie mindset that makes people hesitant to praise their subordinates? Is it just laziness?

If you have staff, take some time to praise them. Publicly and sincerely. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

10 Commandments of Business Blogging

Filed under: Blogging,Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 5:44 am

I really enjoyed this post from HubSpot about business blogging. Because cultural norms in the blogosphere are so permissive, it’s easy to get drawn into what amounts to “unbusinesslike” behavior and language. This is obviously something you’ll want to guard against. Simple rule: if you wouldn’t say it on a conference call, it’s a good bet you shouldn’t be saying it on your blog.

Update: the Chimps share their thoughts on business blogging here.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Reducing web “purchase anxiety”

Filed under: Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 5:29 am

Some tips from Entrepreneur Magazine. The usual ideas (use seals, SSL, show testimonials, provide your contact information), plus a new one:

8. Follow up after the purchase. Purchase anxiety doesn’t end with the purchase. There’s another syndrome called “post-purchase anxiety.” You can alleviate it by keeping your customers informed until your product is in their hands.

I’m a huge fan of post-purchase follow up, but I have never thought of doing it during the order-to-delivery interval as a comforter for the customer. Another good reason to do it!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Zenning Sandy

Filed under: Communication,That Software Guy,Zen Cart — thatsoftwareguy @ 5:53 am

sandy.gifI wrote a few weeks ago about how much I enjoyed using the electronic assistant Sandy. You can also use the delayed reminder feature of Sandy to remind you to follow up with your Zen Cart customers a few days after a sale. Just use my SMS on Sale mod; instructions are provided.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Do you provide enough information for your buyers?

Filed under: Cart Design,Communication — thatsoftwareguy @ 6:35 am

Here’s a lesson in what not to do from clickz.com:

When looking for shoes to buy her daughter, [she] measured the toddler’s foot and then looked for the site’s size chart. None existed. She wrote to the retailer asking them for a size chart, but was directed to go to a nearby store. “Not only did they not address my question, they directed me to the channel I tried to avoid shopping in the first place,” she said.

Simply amazing. “Just go to one of our competitors – they’ll be happy to help you!”

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