RyanShell.com - Page 5 of 76 - Marketing, public relations, social media... and a little of this and that.

During a Crisis Communicate with Your Customers

Does your business have a contingency plan for when a crisis hits?

Specifically, if you had to quickly shutdown operations, do you have a plan in place to communicate the shutdown to your customers?

I ask this because a new vendor I’ve been working with – I’m the customer – has been problematic this month and owes me a chunk of money, and quite frankly, they’ve already made me pretty anxious due to their previous behavior. So, when a very important email I sent them on Friday went unanswered, the anxiety only got worse.

Customer Service: Relieve Anxiety Before it Turns to Frustration

By Ryan Shell

One reason people get frustrated is because they get anxious.

And they often get anxious, as related to business, because they don’t have information.

With that said, start to keep an eye out for your customers anxiety.

When you notice they are getting anxious, do your best to alleviate it before it turns to frustration.

Why I Would Hire Nicole Spears

By Ryan Shell

Let me be clear in saying that I have never seen Nicole Spears resume.

Nor have I ever met her in person.

But I’ve had some interaction with her online, and she appears to be extremely driven, which is something I value.

From what I know she’s a Junior PR major at Ohio University, and she’s clearly learned a thing or two along the way.

My first encounter with Nicole was when she sent a tweet to @KetchumPR, an account I manage. To make a long story short, that tweet led to a series of tweets that prompted her to do something that allowed her to meet the CEO of Ketchum at an event. That experience then gave her the opportunity to write a guest blog post for Ketchum titled, “How a College Student Caught the Attention of Ketchum’s CEO.”

Did you catch that? She managed to not only meet the CEO, but also scored a guest blog post for one of the largest communication firms in the world.

If you’re in PR, or are in the general business world, you know that relationships are crucial. And Nicole could be teaching Relationships 101 or Business Networking 101 with her eyes closed.

I knew she was different, but when I received her holiday card that pretty much sealed the deal.

She sent a card in the mail. [Bonus points.]
It included a nice message, and also a reminder about previous interaction. [Refreshed my memory about the relationship.]
It also included her business card. [A professional touch.]

Again, I’ve never seen her professional work outside of the blog post previously mentioned, but she’s good. I just know it. And if you have the opportunity to hire her, do it. She’s going to be great.

Don’t Let the Fear of the Unknown Stop You

By Ryan Shell

I went to eat lunch at deli near Times Square on Wednesday, and it happens to be a place I’ve frequented quite often given its proximity to my office. While I ate, the manager came over to say hi, and as we chatted I glanced at a homeless man standing in side the deli that had locked eyes with me.

Once the manager left the homeless guy came over to me and said, “Were you talking about me?” I of course said no, but then he kept repeating himself, all while getting louder and more aggressive in tone and body language.

I’ve been around tons of homeless people, and have been in my share of vicarious situations, especially while helping clean up depressed neighborhoods, and these situations don’t normally make me nervous, but this one did.

Maybe it was his tone. Maybe it was how close he was to me. Maybe it’s the random acts of violence that have been all over the news. Who knows. [Read more…] about Don’t Let the Fear of the Unknown Stop You

Are You Overlooking this Aspect of Delivering Great Customer Service?

By Ryan Shell

My start up t-shirt company, The Home T, has been a ton of fun thus far. I’ve learned a little along the way, and also had the opportunity to put a lot of existing knowledge to use.

But the one thing I’ve focused on the most is customer service. To be clear, customer service is impacted by a massive amount of behind the scenes actions, so don’t just think it’s face to face or face to email/phone interaction.

I’ve preached before previously blogged about how customer service isn’t so hard, and to be honest, it’s not. You have to be attentive. You have to respect people. You have to deliver on what you say you’ll deliver. And more importantly, when something goes array, you have to be upfront with people and reassure them that all will be well.

It really is that simple.

Hi, I’m Ryan.