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Is Customer Service Dead?

Is Customer Service Dead?

Several weeks ago, ongoing problems with my Internet service forced me to call my cable company. Dealing with this company is painful: from call centers outsourced around the globe to technicians — a term I use loosely — who are unable to fix a basic problem, every interaction feels like an exercise in futility. And it’s not […]

Tales from the editorial trenches: Why dictionaries are (still) beautiful things.

Tales from the editorial trenches: Why dictionaries are (still) beautiful things.

Irregardless. It’s always among the Top 5 terms in the sorry-that’s-not-an-actual-word versus well-it’s-most-definitely-a-word-because-it’s-so-frequently-used follies.

All of us who spend a portion of time vetting others’ copy have tales from the editorial trenches that go beyond the occasional irregardless.

Life Science Marketing: Don’t Be A Clone!

Life Science Marketing: Don’t Be A Clone!

Make it creative, engaging, and original — essential directives for developing any successful integrated marketing campaign. And, with companies becoming increasingly more receptive to the color-outside-the-lines approach, some truly fresh work can be found across the marcom landscape. And then there are certain niche industries that still feel most comfortable with a realistic (and dare […]

Got high website traffic but low conversions? Time to retool.

Got high website traffic but low conversions? Time to retool.

Not all website traffic is created equal. As much as business owners don’t want to hear that, it’s true. When it comes to visitor traffic, quantity does not necessarily equate to quality. Now, I realize this isn’t breaking news, but it is a subject that continues to perplex. If your visitors are coming from the […]

Entrepreneurial success: Lessons from my father-in-law.

Entrepreneurial success: Lessons from my father-in-law.

Having just celebrated his 93rd birthday, my father-in-law, Don Wither, is still the best salesman I know. And, while he has grudgingly accepted that complete retirement is knocking (okay, perhaps pounding) on his door, he still brokers relationships and closes deals. He’s been his own boss for 27 years, deciding later in life to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit. For the record, he’s been very successful.

Want successful customer engagement? Just listen.

Want successful customer engagement? Just listen.

As Ernest Hemingway said, “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.” I think if I had to sum up successful customer engagement into one succinct sound bite it would be just that: listen. Unfortunately, for most companies that’s easier said than done. Successful customer engagement in today’s world requires […]

So you want to write a book? An insider’s experience with publishing.

So you want to write a book? An insider’s experience with publishing.

Have you noticed how many people want to be writers? Some are happy to flex their scribbler sides with daily social media updates, others hope to write a novel and, out here in Los Angeles, the number of wishful screenwriters increases yearly, almost but not quite exceeding the numbers of aspiring actors. In October 2012, […]