I wasn’t able to make it to LaunchCamp Boston today, but was still able to virtually participate via the live video and Twitter streams. During a discussion on Twitter with two great marketing folks, Bobbie Carlton and Rachel Levy, I made several remarks…
Best practices in lean business operations, technology, and other areas pertinent to success of startups, small, and mid-market businesses.
Category Archives: Best practices
We don’t need marketing – we need customer anthropology
Customer service in the age of the social media
I can’t claim I was early social media adopter, but I have been on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a while now and built a following. I have met the majority of my followers in person. I am also not shy about reviewing businesses on Yelp and other sites, because I believe both positive and (especially) constructive negative feedback can improve businesses.
We have seen some massive changes in the last decade as the impact of word of mouth has grown exponentially as each new communication platform became mainstream. While a story of poor customer service experience used to rarely travel beyond a close circle of family and friends, everything has changed now that we have entered the age of social media. The tables have turned and the transparency and the accountability levels of the businesses are way up (intended or unintended). If you screw up, there will be video parodies of your business on YouTube and Yelp reviews containing the gory details – your (now former) customers will freely share their displeasure with thousands of their friends and followers before the dust has settled. Talk about a ripple effect!
Why I LOVE critics and why you should too
I am absolutely honored to hear comments in person or via social media. I enjoy knowing when my answers to a question on LinkedIn (or Answers.onstartups.com) or another blog helps someone. But the world would not advance anywhere if everyone agreed! Therefore, I also highly value feedback from those who disagree with me (as long as it is presented in civilized manner). My critics and detractors keep me on my toes! No one is right all the time and I often advocate that being wrong often helps us move our companies forward faster.
Here’s why I love my critics and why you should too:
My boss does not answer my e-mails! What do I do?
Everywhere you turn, someone is typing away on their Blackberry or iPhone. While more and more of us are plugged in 24/7, since smartphone technology has become easier to use and cheaper to acquire, you’d think people would be responding more quickly to all their emails. But, I’m actually not surprised that one of the most searched terms on my blog is: “boss does not respond to e-mails,” because the person sending the message often forgets that they are responsible for making sure the message AND the method of delivery encourages the receiver’s response. I have already written an article on how to write e-mails to your boss or an executive, but now want to focus on a different angle, because many times it is not the message, but in the way it was delivered that keeps it from being read.
Here’s what you can do…
Subscribe
About THE FOUNDER
Apolinaras is a business operations leader with 12-year track record of building scalable and capital-efficient operations for technology and professional services companies.Read More About Us »