Recently by Greg Carter

Calling in Sick

Feb 26, 2010 @ 5:02 PM · Greg Carter

We all hate to do it.

Okay.... Strike that. MOST of us hate to do it.

If you're like me, something drastic must be happening in order to pick up the phone, call the office and tell them that you're not coming in because you're sick. The last time for me involved kidney stones, waking up screaming because of the pain, and being driven over pot-hole ridden streets to the emergency room. And I only called in sick because I wasn't allowed to drive while taking Vicodin.

The thought of staying home, away from the office, always fills me with a sense of dread. I worry about who's going to handle my duties while I'm out, or that I'm going to fall behind on this spreadsheet that really needs to go out so maybe if I suck on a cough drop long enough, the hacking will disappear so I can answer the phones before my voice disappears completely. I worry about letting my co-workers down by not being there.

Trust me: calling in sick is doing them a favor. First, germs aren't flying around the office, potentially getting others sick. They'll thank you for that. Second, no one will be subjected to hacking, sneezing, blowing your nose, walking around the office telling everyone how terrible you feel while they spritz their hands with sanitizer. They'll really thank you for that.

Staying home is also doing yourself a favor. Being sick affects concentration, performance, and customer service. Add to that the ringing phones, trying to talk with a scratchy throat, being bombarded with emails and questions, and the body doesn't stand a chance. Taking yourself out of the stressful office environment will give your body a chance to rest and to work on healing.

When you return to work, your body and mind will perform better.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Down Time

Feb 18, 2010 @ 12:02 PM · Greg Carter

Heavy traffic on the way to work. Answering phones. Creating spreadsheets. Conference calls. Client meetings. Trying to remember if I paid the credit card/cable/cell phone bills. Keeping the office organized. Keeping the desk organized. Keeping myself organized.

I put myself through so much stress during the daylight hours that once work is over, I need to switch the brain from work mode to relax mode. Otherwise, I'd drive myself and my partner crazy.

Fortunately, I've discovered a few ways to leave the office at the office.

EXERCISE

I hit the gym at least three times a week. Nothing better to beat the stress out of the system than to spend a few minutes lifting weights or walking on a treadmill. Obstacles from the day may be on my mind once I begin exercising, but they fade for the most part as I focus on my breathing, the heft of the weights to keep myself from injury, the pace of walking so I don't travel too fast. I may be exhausted by the time I'm done, but I also feel as though I've worked the stress away.

MUSIC

During the drive home from work, when freeways in Southern California morph into parking lots, I tend to tense my shoulders, hunch my neck, grind my teeth. I've suffered from neck problems from the stress and even bore a whole through a crown. Something that helps me on these treks is music. Usually not from the radio. The DJ chatter and constant repetitive overplaying of some songs can get to me just as much as the traffic. Instead, I slip a CD of Debussy or All India Radio into the player, and the quiet instrumentals slowly ease away the tension, my teeth cease their grinding, my neck stretches back into shape. No voices to focus on, only a solo piano or subtle electronic mix, and I'm good to go.

READING

A good story also helps me to de-stress. My bookshelves overflow with tales of haunted houses, of humans struggling to survive after a zombie apocalypse, of life in a world in which everyone suddenly goes blind, of ups and downs, of worlds among the stars and neighborhoods just down the street. I somehow loose myself in these stories and enjoy tagging along as the characters wend their way through the pages. An hour or two will pass by without my even knowing it, without a single thought of the stresses of the day. Some nights, these stories will even lull me to sleep.

We all need to de-stress, and these are some of the ways I deal with it. So tell me....what helps you after a day at the office?

Image of treadmill from normanack

Linchpins

Feb 12, 2010 @ 12:02 PM · Greg Carter

The standard definition of a linchpin, according to The Free Dictionary, is "a pin placed transversely through an axle to keep a wheel in position". Without the linchpin, a wheel could shake off the axle, spinning into oncoming traffic, undermining the stability of the entire vehicle. Just think of it: one small piece of seemingly insignificant metal is actually more important than it seems.

That's one idea which stuck with me after attending a lecture last night from best-selling author Seth Godin. For companies, every person is essential to running of the business -- from the clerks in the mailroom to the person answering the front desk phone to the Vice Presidents and the CEO. Without the mailroom clerk, incoming communications, letters and junk mail might never reach their intended destinations. Without the front desk person, calls might not be transferred to the correct people or a potential customer may drive himself mad trying to mine his way through the automated directory. And so on.

But simply being a mail clerk or a Vice President isn't enough. Anyone can do those things -- another point brought up by Mr. Godin. Since the advent of Henry Ford's assembly line, workers have become interchangeable. To paraphrase an example from last night, the cashier at the local grocery store who scans the items, reads aloud the total, takes the money, makes change, up and quits. For the store, it's not a big deal. Finding a replacement shouldn't prove too difficult because most people learned those basic tasks and not much effort is required to do them. Chances are, not too many customers would even notice the change in cashiers.

Now, take that same cashier. As you approach the checkout, he or she greets you by name, tells you that one of the items in your cart is on sale that day, counts the change rather than simply handing it to you, wishes you a good day as you leave the check out. None of those things are written in the company manual; the cashier decided to do something different, something outside the normal routine. The result might be a happy customer who will return again, or who will recommend the store to friends. Which in turn makes the store more profitable. By doing something different, that cashier has added value to his or her position, making her indispensable to the company.

Another example Mr. Godin used was the release of Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic" album in 1974. Releasing a mix of pop vocals and extended instrumentals (Wikipedia), the music was unlike any other sound on the radio at that time, and the album became a critical success and a classic for music lovers. If they hadn't released that album, if they'd succumbed to self-doubt and fears, if they'd stuck to the music mold of the time, would they have been just another pop band of the 1970s that faded into history?

That's what workers should do. Rather than sticking to the same old routine, why not look for a new way to finish a task that might use less time or expenses? Why not take a risk and put a different idea out into the marketing or design ether?

To become indispensable is to take those risks, to ask questions, to go that little extra step even though it's not necessary. Even though it goes against all the information that's out there. Be creative. Be innovative.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Design Eye for the Non-Design Guy (or Gal)

Jan 6, 2010 @ 12:01 PM · Greg Carter

I am not a designer. (Shocking, I know.)

That doesn't mean I don't use design in my work. Newsletter subheads will get a bolder font than the rest of the text. Paragraphs are separated by a line of white space rather than indenting the first word. Rows or columns in a spreadsheet are filled with different colors. Very basic, very easy, yet I always want to take it that extra step, to make it stand out just a bit more.

Robin Willams' (the author, not the actor/comedian) The Non-Designer's Design Book provides a decent introduction to the design world for someone who, like me, has some idea of what good design is but doesn't know how to use that information. Her book presents four design principles that everyone already uses subconsciously, giving them names and making them easier to understand and to identify. Contrast, making items or text that are different really stand out from one another on a page; Repetition, using a visual element over and over to create continuity; Alignment, connecting items and text visually on a page to create good flow; and Proximity, placing related items near each other on a page. And rather than simply stating that these are the principles, Williams includes dozens of everyday examples to re-enforce their usage.

The second section of the book deals with typefaces -- the Oldstyles, the Moderns, the Scripts, the differences between Serif and Sans Serif and Slab Serif -- and how to use them effectively to make a newsletter or invitation more eye-catching. Taking the image to the left as an example, those four typefaces look too much alike. Combining them onto a single page makes them almost indistinguishable from one another. Why not increase the size of one typeface to show how different it is? Or change the weight (or boldness)? Or how about a different color? The eye will be drawn to it and then want to read what comes immediately after.

It all seems pretty simple after reading Williams' book. Not that I'm going to drop everything to create a 20-page, 4-color catalog any time soon. But at least I can make my newsletters a cut above the rest.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Someone Called Me....

Oct 16, 2009 @ 11:10 AM · Greg Carter

The phone rings. I give my non-patented spiel thanking the caller for calling. This is the response:

"Yeah, uh, someone called me from this number."

I resist the urge to repeatedly bang my head against my desktop.

With most people now using cell phones, these calls occur more and more frequently. The cell phone rings, a number displays on the screen, and instead of checking for a voicemail, the person hits re-dial.

I am not a mindreader, and chances are, most people answering phones aren't. (Unless you happen to be "Radar" O'Reilly.)

Take the time to identify yourself.

Using the call response above as an example, don't assume the person answering the phone recognizes your voice or that he/she is the original caller. In an office environment, incoming calls are most likely routed through a Receptionist (or Office Manager or Administrative Assistant or Gatekeeper) who deals with hundreds of calls a day.

Listen to the voicemail BEFORE returning the call

I loathe clicking on the intercom and asking if anyone in the office called "John Doe" in part because I have to stop a project on which I'm working to interrupt the entire office. Think of the impression it leaves about the return caller. Not to mention the potential ire being raised by the original caller who spent all that time leaving the message in the first place.

Many a headache can be prevented simply by listening to the recorded message. Be informed before returning the call. Who called, why he/she called, special instructions, driving directions, answers to questions -- all could potentially be mentioned in a voicemail. The message might not even warrant a callback, saving an extra call (not to mention potential charges on the cell phone).

Basics of Social Media ROI

Sep 10, 2009 @ 12:09 PM · Greg Carter

Return On Investment (or ROI) when it comes to social media isn't easy to measure. How many consumers used the coupon you tweeted last week? Sure, the company's Facebook page looks neat, but what kind of dollars is it bringing the business? Thankfully, Olivier Blanchard, a Principal at BrandBuilder Marketing, created this humorous little presentation to go over the basics of measuring ROI.

Ah, '70s sci-fi never looked so groovy....

I'm a Twit

Aug 20, 2009 @ 11:08 AM · Greg Carter

I didn't really dive into the whole Social Media movement until late last year. Up to that point, I wrote on my personal blog and invited as many people as possible to join my LinkedIn network, and that's about as far as I waded in. In December, my office started a Facebook group so I joined in and quickly became addicted, to the point at which I monitor and update the office's group.

Then, I discovered Twitter and after a few tweets, I was hooked. 140 characters from my favorite authors, links to listen in while a musician crafted her new album, friends tweeting about their work day, co-workers posting jobs (and me re-tweeting them), and my own messages about design software, social media articles, music, books, and ideas/stories that interested me. Soon enough, others began following me, and my little social network blossomed.

Late last week, I finally had the opportunity to put this little network to the test, to see if Twitter was more than just an inane time waster, as I've read in many articles around the internet.

To preface this, we use an online tool to create some of our newsletters and e-mail campaigns. I was recently granted access to work on some newsletters for our market and began tweeting about my learning progress. After the first few tweets, I noticed that some of my new followers worked at the online service I was discussing so I followed them in return.

Another market called on Friday around 3:30 PM (PST) wondering if I had noticed a problem with outbound links in our newsletters. The newsletter was forwarded to me, and I confirmed the same "Cannot find server" message associated with each link. The market already e-mailed our IT Department, but I had this crazy idea. I searched through my Followers list and found the CTO of the online service. And I tweeted a Direct Message to him, somehow managing to squeeze the basic information into 140 characters and not sure if he would respond.

Imagine my shock and surprise when 15 minutes later, he tweeted back with his e-mail asking to take a look at the newsletter, which I forwarded. (I instant messaged the shocked emoticon to my contact in the other market and told him what had happened.) Within 15 minutes of that, my phone rang with a technician from the online service on the other end, and we discussed problem and the steps taken to create the newsletter. It took some time, but we discovered the issue and fixed it.

Not too shabby for a medium which a few detractors called inane chatter.

I'm a Twit and proud of it.

Image from Damien Basile

First Words

Jul 25, 2009 @ 7:07 PM · Greg Carter

True story....

Mrs. Morin, my sophomore English teacher, made the entire class read William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, then write an essay examining the characters, the story, how close it resembles historical fact, anything that would amount to at least six hand-written pages. I spent a good portion of a week with the book in one hand and a blue ball point pen in the other crafting page after page of what I considered the most perfect essay ever about the play. I hit all the major plot points, compared the fictional characters to the real historic figures, made certain that each paragraph made a point, proved it and concluded the point. Never had I been more proud of a school paper than when I handed those pages to Mrs. Morin, and I expected one of the better grades in the class.

Imagine my shock a few days later when she returned the essays to us, and at the top of mine was a gigantic red C with a note to speak with her after class. The first sentence had also been circled in red, but after scanning and re-scanning my pages, that was the only red mark I could find.

After the bell rang, I dejectedly approached Mrs. Morin's desk, crunching my horrific essay in my fists. "Greg, I want you to re-read your first sentence." I did quickly...then a second time only a bit slower. My mouth dropped open as I smacked a palm against my forehead. That very first sentence -- the first words from my pen -- turned out to be a run-on sentence, all subject and no predicate. "Your essay was wonderful, very thorough, you proved your points. But that first sentence.... I couldn't give you a grade higher than a C because of that first sentence."

That first sentence set the tone for the rest of the essay. You might even go so far as to say that it was the first impression, and I most certainly learned that day how important that first impression is.

In today's job market, that first impression is created not from at first meeting with a prospective employer but with the résumé. Without a decent presentation of your skills and accomplishments, you may not make it past a company's first hurdle.

Don't rely solely on spellcheck. Most writing programs nowadays come equipped with some form of automatic spellchecker, highlighting misspelled words or improper grammar as you type. Some programs will even correct the spelling as you go! But how many times have you typed there when you meant their? Or two instead of to? Or my favorite, stationary rather than stationery? A spellcheck won't catch those because they're not misspelled.

After composing your résumé and using spellcheck, set it aside for an hour or two, or even a day. Come back to it with fresh eyes. Better yet, ask a friend or partner to read it. A different set of eyes might discover something you missed the first time.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Leave a Message After the Beep....

Jul 15, 2009 @ 6:07 PM · Greg Carter

Voicemail has been around since the 1970's, when IBM Executives used a prototype message system to store recorded messages. Almost 40 years later, it's still one of the most used tools in business. The messagee doesn't have to worry about being able to answer multiple lines at once, while the messager still has the ability to leave important information without having to keep calling back thanks to busy signals.

And yet....I'm still surprised at the quality of some messages I've received. I've gone so far as to tweet a few tips about my own experiences and decided to share that wisdom with you.

Voicemail Tip #1: mumbling incoherently into the phone does not make for a good message

A few weeks ago, I pressed the blinking voicemail button on the phone, input my password and was greeted with 20 seconds of what I think was a man speaking. No static on the recording. No kids yelling or dogs barking in the background to interrupt. Just an apparent rambling voice that ended - quite clearly - with "Call me back."

Speak clearly when leaving a message. That may sound like a no-brainer, but if the message is garbled or unintelligible, it gets deleted.

This holds true for the outgoing message, as well.

Voicemail Tip #2: Your outgoing message shouldn't sound like you just woke up before hitting record.

That's what immediately came to my mind when I heard the outgoing message. Quiet, slow and with words running into one another, almost bordering on disinterested. You need to think of the outgoing message as your ambassador to the world. What if one of the callers happens to be a co-worker or manager or even a Vice President from your company? Just as someone calling in wants to leave a good impression, you should present the caller with the same.

Voicemail Tip #3: when leaving a message, your name is kinda important.

I retrieved a voicemail a few days ago from a woman interested in a job posting she'd seen online. The message was clear, describing the posting, highlighting her background and experience, ending with a phone number and a click. I rewound the message to make certain, and not once did she identify herself.

Again, it's all about the impression given, and not leaving a name may come across as a lack of real interest. So don't let it happen! Get into the habit of introducing yourself at the beginning of the message.

Voicemail tip #4: when leaving a phone number, don't rush through the numbers like a hamster on speed....

This is all too common. The message is easy to understand, the voice speaks at a decent pace, very clear, complete with a name...and then the phone number zips by so that I have to rewind the message more than 4 times to understand the entire 10 digits.

Speak slowly. Give the listener a chance to write down the numbers. You want the return call so make sure the listener can note all the information without the frustration of constant rewinds.

The final tip:

Voicemail Tip #5: Your message shouldn't last longer than the entire Ring Cycle from Wagner

Keep your message short and sweet. Name, number and a brief message about why you're calling is sufficient. Lengthy messages are more likely to be deleted before the listener reaches the end. And think about it: you don't know how much time you'll have before the final beep sneaks up to cut you off. Tell yourself you have about 30 seconds, and your message should be fine.

Many people don't realize that the voicemail is the first contact with a customer (or potential customer). If the recipient doesn't understand the message, why would he or she call back? As the saying goes, you only have one chance at making a good first impression.

Book Review: "Web Analytics Demystified"

Jul 13, 2009 @ 4:07 PM · Greg Carter

I know, I know.... The word "analytics" makes people cringe. Thoughts of miles upon miles of spreadsheets filled with an almost never-ending string of numbers and equations can make even the hardiest of us cower in a corner and pull our hair out trying to understand what they all mean and how they relate to a website and why so much money was spent on a flashing banner ad. But it's important information to know, especially if you want to understand how the money spent on a particular online ad campaign generates revenue.

In Web Analytics Demystified author Eric T. Peterson takes all that information and explains it in plain terms: going through the lifecycle of a consumer (reach, acquisition, conversion and retention); what the difference between a "visitor" and a "unique visitor" is and why a company wants both to check out their site; how to determine the cost effectiveness of an on-line campaign; and the many other metrics that show the relationship between money being spent on marketing and the people that visit a website. Peterson takes each bit of information, shows what it's used for, how to find it and also how to interpret it, offering both the pros and cons associated with each type of metric or report.

Peppered throughout the book are "Web Analytics Tips", ways to make your Website work better for you. One tip provides a good way to ask visitors for information while another explains a good process for increasing your purchase conversion rate (getting someone who puts an item in an online shopping cart to complete the buying process).

The book also acts as a guide to help marketers and analysts trek through the many Web analytics software packages and companies out there. With the hundreds of possible reports that can be compiled, you should find something customizable, that allows you to pick and choose which reports will be beneficial to your company. Not every report or metric is necessary so why should your company be forced by a software package to wade through all the extra paper.

Unless you happen to enjoy miles upon miles of spreadsheets and a room full of analysts tearing their hair out.

Photo by writetoreply

« Errol Velinor | Main Index | Archives | Catherine Wiggett »

SoCal AMA events: Nature Networking Night

18 March 2010

At the rustic Bigfoot Lodge, we will gather 'round the warm campfire to swap compelling marketing stories and business tales. We will enjoy their distinctive wilderness-themed drinks including the ...

Marketing During a Recession: 17 Strategies for Organizations, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

18 March 2010

During this fast-paced, information-packed session, you’ll discover specific recommendations and strategies you can use like...

What prospects are responding to best: Messages that b...

More Events

Recently by Greg Carter

Calling in Sick

Down Time

Linchpins

Design Eye for the Non-Design Guy (or Gal)

Someone Called Me....

Basics of Social Media ROI

I'm a Twit

First Words

Leave a Message After the Beep....

Book Review: "Web Analytics Demystified"

Authors

Events

SoCal AMA events: Nature Networking Night

Marketing During a Recession: 17 Strategies for Organizations, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Aquent Webcast: Going Mobile: A Practical Guide

DMA: Best Practices and Current Trends in Email Marketing

SXSW Interactive

Categories RSS Feed