Rembrandt’s Blog

Have you ever called a potential vendor to ask a question only to have your ear talked off and never really get an answer?

Or have you ever left a voice message for someone with a great opportunity, and that person never calls you back?

This is customer service 101, and it amazes me how many people lose out on a sale or a great opportunity just by their follow-up skills.

Stop Talking and Listen!

For example, I recently contacted a big communications service to open an account for a new client. And instead of contacting me directly as I requested, they went straight to my client.

Now, my client didn’t expect the call and had to waste time talking to the “customer service” rep. He was not impressed and decided not to use the service.

Then, when I called the representative to clarify the situation, she didn’t apologize. She just went into her sales pitch and talked and talked. Too bad. She lost a huge account.

Follow-Up.

On another note, I interviewed a well-known expert for a big feature story that will be seen by thousands of small business owners. And I’ve been trying to get in touch with the expert’s publicist for several weeks now in order to get some more information for the story.

Without the information, my editor can’t run the story. Well, my deadline is approaching and still no word from the publicist. Big, huge missed opportunity for some free publicity!

Do You Need a Customer Service Check-Up?

This is not the time to let your communication and customer service skills slide. After all, other businesses  are pushing their service levels to the max to win new customers and stay afloat during this tough economy.

Now, if you are one of the great business owners out there who puts customers first, please ignore this blog entry. But if you haven’t listened to your customers lately, or returned important phone calls, it’s time for a wake up call. With just a few changes, you just may see your sales and positive word-of-mouth grow fast!

Do you need help with your SEO copywriting and publicity to help boost sales, awareness and credibility? Please send me a note below or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!

When was the last time you reviewed the copy on your website? Did you update it recently?

If not, you are probably losing out on sales and building relationships with new customers.

Take a quick look at your site and ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the information stale?

2. Does it look like our business is aware of current industry trends?

3. Do we solve a site visitor’s problem within seconds of opening our home page?

4. Do we let visitors know they are in the right place right away?

If you answered these questions negatively, it’s time to make some changes to your site. And even if you don’t have the money for a complete, site revamp, you may want to consider hiring a professional, SEO Web copywriting to help you.

After all, Web copy is the most important element on your site – not the graphics or the cool videos. And if your copy is not optimized for the search engines, good luck bringing in new customers who are looking for your services online.

So if you are worried about staying afloat in today’s competitive world, don’t delay. Get your website copy in shape. Optimize it for the search engines and give site visitors the information you are looking for. You’ll stop losing sales and increase your bottom line.

And if you have questions about SEO copywriting, or don’t have time to optimize your site for the search engines, please let me know. I’d be glad to help!

I just got back from a Web Copywriting Intensive conference in Austin. And while it was fantastic to learn new, online skills to help my clients grow their businesses with SEO, PPC, e-mails, etc., the real insights came from the people of Austin.

Lately, I’ve been hearing so much “doom and gloom” that it was refreshing to meet so many nice people. Without hesitation, the Texans offered a friendly smile everywhere I went.

And don’t even get me started about the Austin airport — hands down the friendliest airport I’ve ever been to. I was actually treated like a customer or guest rather than a commodity! — I know, amazing.

It just goes to show you that you can still offer a friendly smile to make someone’s day…even when yours may not be going so well. This small gesture just may have a profound impact that helps boost your attitude, increase sales, find a new job or new clients, and more.

So with this in mind, when is the last time you shared a smile?