What do we measure in Tech Comm? (part 2)
In a previous article, I talked about some typical things we measure in Tech Comm and technical writing. I suggested that the traditional KPIs were often stupid. And some interesting suggestions came out of that in the comments. In this article, I’m going to start talking about tech comm in the business context and why that matters. Let’s start with Marketing and Sales. What does Marketing care about? I’m the first to admit I used to call the people over in marketing “weenies”. I was wrong. I didn’t...
read moreContent development and storytelling
In the world of content development and marketing, storytelling is huge. To attract people to your brand, the thinking goes, tell good stories. Good stories keep people interested in your brand and associated products. Your content development efforts need good stories. This is being presented as a new idea. In fact, this is a very old idea in a shiny new wrapper. Information transmission In non-literate cultures, some things are learned by watching and being actively taught – for example, learning the right plants to eat or how to make...
read moreWhat’s clear communication and how do you get it?
We all know that content is King, or Queen, depending on your point of view. But regardless, content that communicates a message that resonates with the audience is critical, pre- and post-sales. All content is not created equal, though. Content that powerfully gets the message across in a way that makes sense to the receiver is the best content of all. This content is typically clearly communicated. Clear communication doesn’t happen by accident. And it’s too important to hope and wish it happens. Clear communication webinar...
read more5 ways to improve your message
I present the 5 ways you can improve the message about your products and company, in no order of importance, regardless of how you’re communicating it. 1. Pay no attention to the details. Details don’t matter, so don’t worry about them. If it would make your product look better, lie in your marketing materials. Especially about the competition, if possible. No one checks details. It always makes your products look good and people want products that look good. You can also lie about what your product does. Research shows that...
read moreTaxonomies and folksonomies
While I was at Lavacon a while ago (a great conference if you can possible do it), I listened to a talk about taxonomies. How understanding the words that perhaps your content development group uses to talk about things improved the content. Understanding the taxonomy and simplifying it can reduce customer confusion and, if you localize, reduce localization costs. The speaker recommended identifying the main term and the current alternates and then deciding the relationships between them and what term you might standardize on. While this was...
read moreAre you killing your marketing efforts after the sale is made? Yes you are.
Your company puts a lot of effort in marketing – from advertising, social media marketing, putting engaging content on your website, and making sure the product sheets are shiny and attractive. And the effort is paying off – you’re probably meeting your sales numbers this year. It costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one – Bain & Company What is your upsell/resell rate? Are your existing customers purchasing more of your products? How hard are your sales people working to make that...
read moreDear Sears
Dear Sears, (This is an open letter to Sears and, in italics, places where the experience did not meet the audience needs and why. We in the tech world and in the communication world can learn from this. All of this is only my thoughts and opinion.) —————————————————————————– We recently needed a minor repair on our dishwasher. Although we didn’t purchase it through you, we thought...
read moreHow do people find help for products?
As you may know. I have a small poll running, asking 5 questions. As of this date, 111 people have completed the poll. The results are interesting so far. This is preliminary summary. Question 1 When you can’t figure out how to use a product, do you: Question 2 If you find the information you are looking for, do you typically get the help from: Question 3 Do you prefer product instructions as: Question 4 If the information has a few misspellings or other small errors, do you feel the information is less trustworthy or less...
read moreMost companies don’t understand their customers
In my experience, most companies don’t understand who their users are, what problems the company product solve, and what challenges the users are facing. And it turns out, I’m right. Asking questions and thinking it through When I ask most of my clients who their users are and why they want this product, I get everything from blank stares to a litany of basic demographics. Typically, I nod and then start asking specific questions and making general statements, extrapolated from the data and other things that seem obvious to me....
read morePerceived quality of product instructions
On a lark, I ran a poll asking what people thought of either the product instructions they use or they create. I’m curious if there is a difference. I asked both groups to select from the same keywords – 5 of which seemed negative and 5 seemed positive to me. I asked each group to chose 5 that resonate. There results are in. With 182 total responding, we see (click the pictures to see them larger): Consumers Consumers (n=77) chose helpful, incomplete, confusing, accurate, and logical as the top 5 words that apply to product...
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