You're in a seminar.
Oh, the seminar's interesting.
The content is great. The presenter's outstanding.
But you aren't paying attention
You're fidgeting in your seat. You're kinda brrrrrrrrrrr.
As in coldbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
And the seminar drones on.
Drones on, did you say?
So we're pretty clear that the seminar was interesting and outstanding, and all that jazz. How did the seminar get to be such a drone all of a sudden?
The answer lies in the ‘bug'
No matter what you sell, there's going to be a bug.
A bug that stops the customer from moving ahead.
A bug that causes the customer to think a little less highly of you.
A bug that drives a customer to distraction.
Like, this line; for instence
See? That bugged you, didn't it?
First you noticed the crappy grammar.
Then you noticed the incorrect spelling of the word ‘instance.'
And then suddenly your reading (and your perception) hit a speed bump!
You'd be lucky if your business could get away with a speed bump
It's more likely that your business has a minefield instead. A minefield of bugs just sitting around, waiting to be fixed. And it's not just grammar. Or spelling.
It could the air-conditioning at your seminar.
It could be the missing paragraph in your book.
It could be the lack of introduction to your product.
It could be the fidgety way in which you shift from side to side, when making a presentation.
It could be the font size in your brochure.
It could be the colours on your site.
It could be just about any thing.
And you're not super-human
But your customer doesn't car. (See, I made that mistake on purpose?)
But you don't care. You want to see the word ‘care' and not ‘car.'
And the more I bug you (without wanting to, of course), the more irritated you get.
To the point where you concentrate on the bug, the whole bug, and nothing but the bug!
Luckily, there's a way to get rid of the bug
It's called, “What Bugs Me.”
If you look at the website at Psychotactics.com, you'll see a little cigar-smokin' bug. (The cigar may bug some people)
And right under the picture of the bug, is a “What Bugs Me” link
The link says: Website Bug
Does anything on this website bug you? If there is something we can fix, we'd love to know. In fact, we will give way free product worth US$50 for the best BUG OF THE MONTH! Nothing is too small or too big.
Click here to report a Bug!
There are, as you see, more than one component to that bug
Component 1: The bug himself
The illustration is meant to draw your attention. You see the bug. And you know you have recourse.
Component 2: Product Worth $50 for the best bug of the month.
You know what this tells you, right? It tells you that not only can you…um…complain, but you might actually be rewarded. Holy, moly!
Component 3: The terminology of ‘What Bugs Me'
Why not something like ‘complaint box?' Or ‘Feedback Form?' Why use the term ‘bug?' Because bugs are bugs. You feel the power over a bug.
You can squash the darned thing if you like. Or reach for a can of Raid, and spray the heck out of the bug.
A complaint is (gulp) formal.
Feedback forms are forms (and you don't care for forms)
A bug is easy. It's non-threatening. It's downright friendly. So customers don't hesitate to use the ‘bug' frequently.
Component 4: Nothing is too small or too big
How would you know what's big or small for the customer? Your customer who's freezing her you-know-what in that seminar room, thinks it's a big deal for the room to warm up a bit.
But she also thinks that she can't slow you down. So she brrrrrrrrs her way to distraction–till she can't take it any more.
But she won't/can't bring herself to complain, because she thinks ‘air-conditioning' isn't a big deal for the others in the room.
So you need to tell your clients that nothing is too small or too big to report.
Let them decide what's small or what's big.
Which of course, brings us to the fixing the bug
Oooh, the Pandora's box has opened sesame!
At Psychotactics, we get about three bugs sent to us almost every day. That's about 700-900 bugs a year.
That's 900 times we don't have to check our own stuff with a fine-tooth comb.
But it's also 900 things that we may need to fix.
And is that a problem?
Is it?
First of all, bugs slow down the selling process. If a customer is distracted, they ain't gonna listen; let alone buy.
But more importantly, you're giving the customer a chance to interact with you. Moreover, when you fix a problem, you're telling a customer that you actually care.
Both for your own business. And for the customer's problem.
So look around your business today…
You can either go over your entire website; your entire products; your entire services.
Or you can put in the ‘What Bugs Me.'
Not a hard decision to make, eh?
Next Step: Want to learn more about website marketing? Find the entire website marketing series in text, audio with cartoons!
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Ben Glass (Great Legal Marketing) advocates getting a book written quickly, if imperfectly, then sending copies to all your friends. They will do the final proofing, way more quickly then we would. Same concept, no doubt.
Yes, but it does not involve the customer if they are unable to use the Bug system.
That is not to say that you shouldn’t use Ben Glasses’ clever technique.
Even when things are proofed, you can make a mistake with final delivery, or they can suggest another angle you’d not thought of.
I said last time I heard this idea that I ought to do something about it…