Which Online Retailer Does E-Mail Best?
Months before the hectic holiday shopping season, we decided to conduct an experiment to find out which online retailer does customer service e-mail best. We sent the same e-mail query to seven...
View ArticleIf I told you to containerize your branches, would you know what to do?
After the destructive storms in our region last week, the streets were a mess of downed branches and scattered leaves. Residents were ready for a plain language update about storm debris pickup, but we...
View ArticleThree e-mails that prove my inbox is weirder than yours
Recently, I was doing a deep-clean on my inbox (also known as "taking a break" from a demanding writing project), and I came across some e-mail objets d'art I'd saved. I thought I'd share these three...
View ArticleAre 6 exclamation points too many? Punctuation’s gone wild in live chat with...
I recently had simple, direct, live chat with Susan, a helpful customer service representative at Crate and Barrel. My question: "Do you sell bird baths or bird feeders?" Crate and Barrel's answer "No,...
View ArticleSeven Must-Have Elements of Your Social Media Emergency Kit
It can strike any time with any brand. Chick-Fil-A, Nestlé, and Domino’s have experienced a social media crisis. If a similar crisis hit your brand, would you be prepared? Just like the emergency kit...
View ArticleHow well do the world’s airlines answer a simple e-mail question from a...
To prepare for my trip to Kuala Lumpur to speak at the annual conference of the Worldwide Airlines Customer Relations Association, I conducted a customer service e-mail experiment. I sent the same...
View ArticleThe Seven Traits of Better Web Content
Want to do web content right? Make sure your web writing has these seven traits: Doable, Scannable, Readable, Findable, Clickable, Personal, and Deep.
View ArticleEffective E-Mails, from Subject Line to Signature
E-mails are so much a part of our daily communication that we often dash them off without much thought. But thoughtful, effective e-mails accomplish what the writer intended. Read these tips for...
View ArticleCleaning up our language: A never-ending campaign
We know that changing environmental habits isn’t easy; neither is changing writing habits. However, the good news is we are improving. Read this plain language guest post by Elaine Blackman and learn...
View Article3 Ways to Cut Through Writer’s Block
Writing is a realm of agony and ecstasy. I once struggled for hours to rewrite some straightforward web copy. Another time, I whipped out a blog post without a moment’s hesitation or anguish. What made...
View ArticleSix Things that Won’t Change About Writing to Customers
Recently, almost everything about writing to customers has changed. The number of channels has gone from 3 (letters, faxes, and e-mails) to at least 7 (letters, faxes, e-mails, texts, live chats,...
View ArticleUsing Twitter for Customer Service? Answer the customer’s dang question
I recently read "The Great Social Customer Service Race," an experiment by Software Advice, Inc., which put 14 top consumer brands to the Twitter support test. As you might imagine, some brands, like...
View ArticleWriting for the Web: Register for this course on March 15, 2013 in Silver...
This course will provide you with what you’ve often said you need: practical guidance on writing web content, examples of effective content, and the opportunity to practice your writing skills. This...
View ArticleIn live chat, don’t argue with customers who are trying to pay
This year, I've been helping customer service agents learn to write high-quality chat to customers. If I had to give them or their managers just one piece advice about chat, it's this: "Writing good...
View ArticleHow to Use LinkedIn to Your Best Advantage
Want to use your LinkedIn profile and connections to build a strong business community? Read this guest post by my friend and colleague Hilary Marsh, Chief Content and Digital Strategist of Content...
View ArticleWhy a 280-Character Customer Service Tweet is a Bad Idea
Read this tale of social customer service in which Bluehost sends me, the customer, a 280-character response that's broken mid-sentence into two 140-character tweets. Read my explanation of why writing...
View ArticleWrite Better Chat to Customers: Download Chat Transcripts from Customer...
Download our newest whitepaper, "Write Better Chat to Customers," and you'll get real chat transcripts from companies like Norstrom, Comcast, and Zappos plus our comments on each transcript. You'll...
View ArticleCustomer Service E-mail from Clinique: The Bad and the Ugly
A few weeks ago, I got fed up with my eyeliner, so I sent a complaint e-mail to Clinique. When I finally received Clinique's reply, I just wanted to crawl back in bed. You see, I spend a lot of time...
View ArticleJan 30 Webinar: Five Ways to Write Great Chat to Customers + a Plan for...
Customers love using live chat for service. It’s immediate. The chat agent can look things up or take control of the customer’s browser. Chat allows for the back-and-forth of a phone call without the...
View Article10 Writing Skills Agents Need to Chat With Customers
Chat may be popular, but doing it right isn’t easy. Writing high-quality chat is a lot harder than it looks. (There’s way more to chat than typing fast and pushing links!) Whether you’re planning to...
View Article
