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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

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What a week this has been and it’s only half over!

On Monday I get an email from a client who has been neglecting to protect her online reputation by neglecting her blog.  She’s now busily meeting with lawyers to try to trademark her branding elements – something I suspect would be easier to do had she been maintaining her blog under the domain name she registered.  At least she would be ranking #1 on her term – which is what started the fuss.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Truly Nolen telling me that they’re sorry for the “misunderstanding” and that my account will be removed from collections.  Ah, the power of social media.  Don’t let ANYONE tell you that your blog is worthless.

I give Truly Nolen props on two issues.  First, they were obviously “on top” of managing their online reputation.  They came, they saw, they replied and they followed up with me.   I’ll also give them props for handling this over the phone.  They really didn’t have ANY defense and it was truly wise to handle this situation “offline” – because if they had sent me an email with the absolutely LAME excuses I was given on the phone for why it happened,  I would NOT have been able to resist posting it here.  But, they picked up the phone and it ended amicably.

So it’s been an eventful week thus far.   I’ve got not one but TWO great “blogging and social media are da bomb” stories to share.

However, this morning I got to see the ugly side of the web. I got an email this morning from another client – this one is asking me to look into a website I did for her about 4 years ago.   When I go to visit the site, I see this:

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – there is NO SUCH THING AS A SET IT AND FORGET IT WEBSITE!!!

This is especially true if you’re running a website with a popular and “easy to use” CMS system such as WordPress.

If you’ve been ignoring the beg screen in WordPress – you know, the one that asks you to upgrade your installation to the latest version – allow THIS to be your wake up call!!!

If you think no one is visiting your blog – if you think it’s not “worth” hacking – check out how busy Askimet has been on your behalf.  I tell my clients that a busy Askimet is a sign of a blog that is hitting the mark when it comes to targeting attractive keywords. Even if visitors aren’t commenting – if the spammers are trying to get comments from your site – then someone who knows how to set up a spambot thinks your site is worth a try at an incoming link.

If Askimet isn’t working hard protecting you from spam comments – then MAYBE you don’t have anything to worry about – and instead you should get to work creating a blog that spammers WANT to hack!  Seriously, if you’re not the bell of the blogging ball – you should be!!!  Pick up a copy of the 8 Week Power Blog Launch. On a positive note, I got another email last week was from a client who’s been using the system and who had to upgrade her hosting package to get more bandwidth to handle all the traffic she’s been getting!!

NOTE TO SELF:  I should start posting POSITIVE emails instead of just the negative ones!!  Though I must admit, I don’t think my client thought it was a positive email when she sent it.

Waking up to a message that you’re over your bandwidth is a GOOD thing – assuming you’re not using Bluehost as your hosting provider.    Waking up to the message above isn’t!!!   Make sure you don’t EVER see the message above being displayed on your URL –  go ahead – bite the bullet.  Upgrade your WordPress installation NOW!!!

An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

When Someone Steals Your Branding

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One of the biggest problems with being a “service provider” is the you deal in intangibles – a world removed from the confines of the physical.

When you’re selling the intangible, the manner in which you describe and SELL your services is equally intangible.

As a result, many professional service providers rely on creating catch phrases to describe what they do  and how they do it.  They build their own personal “brand” around such “catch” phrases.

I have a client who did exactly that.  She literally crafted a unique term which richly describes exactly what she does and she created a thriving business providing those services to business owners.

Fortunately, and I do breath a HEAVY sigh of relief around this one, she did make the minimal investment and actually REGISTERED the domain name for this unique term around which she’s built her personal brand.

However, while she registered the domain name containing these keywords and even launched a blog on this domain name, she hasn’t had the time or desire to begin populating her blog with content – so the blog has sat for a while, sporting as its only content the “Hello World” post that comes standard with every brand new WordPress installation.

This weekend, this client did a Google search on her keyword term and saw something which made her physically ill and with good reason.

Someone else is ranking #1 on her beloved keyword term.

To make matters worse, this competitor was a client of hers from several years ago.  She worked with him as he was launching his own consulting business and he, in turn, decided to return the favor by offering services under her branded term.

The dirty thief stole her brand!

In her email to me, the pain was evident.  Here was someone with whom she had “performed her magic” and now he was not only offering “her” services but he was doing it using the keywords she thought she “owned”.

Unfortunately for her, he published an article on a PR4 site and now his article is beating her empty blog for her beloved keyword term.

It’s hard enough when you’re an expert in your field – bearing all the battle wounds and scars that come with earning such a distinction – to watch someone launch a competitive service.

It’s harder still when you’ve actually BUILT hundreds of boats to watch someone who read your book on “How to Build a Better Boat” promote their seminar on the subject.

If you let yourself – you can drive yourself insane with that kind of stuff.  “It’s obvious he’s never even HELD a hammer in his hands!  Look!!!  Not a single callous!  Who does he think he is?”  Who does he think he’s fooling?”

Well, he’s fooling everyone who’s never built a boat and signs up for his seminar – that’s who he’s fooling.

He may have read your book – but I’ll bet that even he would rather face the high seas in the craft YOU built rather than the one he keeps meaning to build.

I’ve had more than my fair share of “clients turned competitors” over the past 12 years.  One of the things I embrace in my life is trying to learn important life lessons from mistakes – preferably the mistakes of others!!!

PAINFUL BUSINESS LESSON #1:  IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

I don’t care how innovative your product or service is, if it’s even moderately successful you should expect imitators.  Someone is going to do it faster, cheaper and better if you’re not actively involved in learning how to deliver your goods faster, cheaper and better.

PAINFUL BUSINESS LESSON #2:THE VALUE OF BEING FIRST DIMINISHES OVER TIME

There’s a lot of value in being first with an idea – but if you don’t stake your claim then someone else will.  Bill Gates wasn’t the first person to create a way for computers and “regular” humans to communicate more efficiently – but he was the first to promote the idea to business owners.

As I said earlier, the one bright spot to this story is that my client registered the domain name containing the keywords of her personal branding phrase back in 2005.  She didn’t trademark it – but at least when the branding thief tried to steal her thunder – he couldn’t steal the domain name.

Unfortunately, being first with this phrase is losing it’s luster.  Now there are competitors who are taking this phrase and running with it.  Because my client owns the domain name – when her competitors use the term, they will be promoting HER blog – but that only works if she can get the blog populated with content.

PAINFUL BUSINESS LESSON #3: BUSINESSES ARE EITHER GROWING OR THEY’RE DYING

There is no such thing as being “stagnant” in business.  As I stated earlier – if you’re not actively involved in making your products or services better, faster and cheaper – then your business is not growing but is in the process of dying.   How long it takes for the final bell to toll is simply a function of the size of your business.  If you’re a US automaker, that death can take decades.  If you’re a small one person show – that process can take just a few months.

PAINFUL BUSINESS LESSON #4: WHEN YOU’RE SELLING INTANGIBLES – IMAGE IS EVERYTHING!

When you’re selling professional services – image is EVERYTHING!

I have complete and total sympathy for my client.   She was actively involved in PRACTICING her craft rather than promoting her image.  I get it.  She had more clients than she could possibly handle and has been struggling for the past two years on ways to expand her practice without sacrificing the quality of the work done.  Since so MUCH of the practice is predicated upon her “magic” – this has been a difficult undertaking.

She was busy practicing her craft rather than protecting her image.

Now, she’s discovering that even though her practice was full, she still should have been out there “protecting” her brand.   She’s discovering that a thief has been quietly working to steal her “thunder”. While she’s been struggling to protect the integrity of the services provided under her name – someone’s been stealing her “branding” term.

In my client’s defense – she knows what terms are important to her and she is aware that she needs to protect her “online stake” in those terms.  That puts her MILES ahead of many, many business owners today.

So now I’ll ask – what do YOU do to protect your branding?  My mind goes to registering domain names and launching blogs for protection…. while my client is contacting a trademark attorney.  Are there any other tactics I’m missing?

When the Pest Control Company is your most Annoying Pest!

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There are times when, if it wasn’t for the media telling me how HORRIBLE the economy is – I wouldn’t know it. This is not one of those times. This is a sad tale of a business obviously struggling to survive the great recession of 2008 and features my former pest control company – Truly Nolen.

Back in 2007, I contracted with Truly Nolen to provide pest protection for my home and yard.  I paid to have my yard treated despite the fact that I pay a monthly fee to my homeowner’s association and their guy rides around spraying what must be water on my lawn every 4 months.

My complaints about my homeowner’s association are legion but they can wait until another day.

Today, I’m telling the tale of Truly Nolen – how I came to choose them as “my” pest control provider – why I decided to NOT continue that relationship and most importantly, how I have become involved in almost a “Fatal Attraction” style “service provider breakup” with them.

Why I chose Truly Nolen as my Pest Control company

I chose Truly Nolen as my first provider of pest control in southern Florida because of the car. In a word – it’s ADORABLE!!! It’s a yellow VW Bug outfitted with ears and a tail.  You used to see it driving all over town. Looking back, I realize it probably wasn’t the most REASONED buying decision I’ve ever made.

Truly Nolen’s Performance as my Pest Control company

I signed a one year contract for pest control for my home and my yard – because I actually SAW a grub on the sidewalk. When I complained to the guys hired by my homeowner’s association – they told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. Those brown spots in my lawn weren’t from insect damage – they were because I needed to water more often.

I hate being lied to!

So I call Truly Nolen.  The Truly Nolen guy comes out and makes a BIG production about the infestation of cockroaches living behind my dishwasher.  EWWW!!!!  My home is less than 3 years old and I’ve got cockroaches!!!  EWWWW!!!!

I’m thinking, “Boy, am I glad I signed a year contract with these guys.”

As the Truly Nolen dude pokes, sprays and heads merrily upon his way –  I feel safe and protected.

Three days later, I am confronted with one of said cockroaches on my front door. EWWWW!!!

So I call and tell them to get someone out IMMEDIATELY!!!  They say they can’t get anyone out until next week.  

Wait – I’m not feeling so safe and protected anymore.

When the Truly Nolen guy finally arrives,  he is obviously having a bad day.  Obviously, Truly Nolen must not PAY their technicians when they have to go back out to retreat a house.  Or maybe they treat him as badly as they’re treating me.

This scenario plays out repeatedly over the next year.  I see bugs – I call – they apologize, stall and then give excuses.  I anxiously await the call to renew my contract.

Truly Nolen never calls. Instead, my doorbell rings as I’m getting ready for church one Sunday morning (yes – Sunday morning….) and my teenage son answers the door.  As I’m getting ready, I see a Truly Nolen guy walking the perimeter of my house.  Before I can get my clothes on, he’s gone.  I ask my son who was at the door and he told me it was the Truly Nolen guy.  He told me the guy had asked if it was ok for him to treat the house and my son said, “Sure.”

I am now officially upset and sure enough, they follow the treatment with a bill for ANOTHER year’s services.

I call and tell them that not only do I NOT want their sub-standard services for another year but the services they provided were based on a verbal contract with a minor which is a HUGE problem for THEM not ME!

Truly Nolen becomes my most annoying pest

Actually, I think I’m being QUITE nice about this with the young lady from Truly Nolen.  She replies, “Oops!  Let me have you talk to my manager.”

She puts me on hold – 15 minutes later, I hang up and call back.  She answers, and I ask to speak with the manager.  I’m now told that the manager is on vacation and he’ll call me when he gets back.

A few weeks later, I get another bill from them – which I call and am told that the manager is STILL not available to talk to me.

I ignore said bill.

Yesterday, I got a collection notice in the mail.  I call the “collection” agency and get an answering machine that loops endlessly telling you to wait for the beep and it never does.

I feel extorted.  Of course I’ll pay the bill.  It’s not worth it to TRASH my good credit over this amount.  Truly Nolen will have won.  They will have gotten to a little bit MORE of my cash.  [NOTE:  After this blog post was published- Truly Nolen representatives contacted me.  Not only did they promptly remove me from collections and credited the account – they also assured me they would be making the auto renewal of the contract more visible in the future.]

The real pity here is Truly Nolen is selling a SERVICE.  They may think they’re selling pest control, but you know what – I can’t SEE pest control – all I see is the surly Truly Nolen tech.  In her post You May Not Be Doing as Badly as You Think, Cath Lawson writes:

Selling a service, especially a more costly service, to your first few customers is far harder than selling a product, because you’re selling the invisible – they can’t see what they’re going to get.

Truly Nolen “got me” the first time with clever branding and effective advertising.  They won’t get me again no matter how cute the mascot or how effective the marketing message.

That’s the way this whole “customer service” stuff works.

When you please a customer – if you’re lucky-  they’ll tell 3 people.  If they’re pissed or disappointed – they’ll tell 16.If they have a blog – they’ll tell thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – as long as the blog post stays “alive”.

Over at the Ignite Social Media blog there’s a GREAT post on Your Customer’s Hierarchy of Needs. You have to get  passed the “satisfied customers” tier – before you can begin to achieve customer advocacy.

So here I am – pissed off and feeling really abused.  It’s not the money – it’s how they’re GETTING my money – via extortion.   It’s the accumulation of multiple bad experiences with several different technicians with the final straw being a hidden renewal clause.

All I can do is wonder what in the world they’re thinking.

What are YOUR customers saying about you online?  Are your customers blogging about your piss poor customer service?  Are your customers pissed off enough to contact a blog which specializes in airing poor customer service?

You build your business reputation one customer service contact at a time.  If you’re a business owner – protecting your online reputation should be a high priority.  Is it?

Authors note:  Over the course of the past three years – this blog post as served as a “lightning rod”  for people who are upset with their pest control company – or looking to find a reputable pest control service. 

In response, I’ve finally launched Florida Pest Control Reviews. as a place where consumers can leave their authentic experiences with various pest control companies throughout Florida. I’m going to close comments on this post – and ask that you head over there to share your experiences.

Bugs are just a part of living in Florida – but they shouldn’t be the lesser of two evils when it comes to dealing with your pest control company.  Feel free to share your experience at

Florida Pest Control Reviews

Authenticity and Social Media Transparency

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Social media is all about being AUTHENTIC and sometimes being authentic isn’t about being “peppy” or “optimistic”.  Being authentic is all about being REAL!

Who are you really?

In this age of increasing transparency – it’s a question which, if it hasn’t already – will soon be reaching out to either move you forward – or haunt you!

A few months ago, one of my client’s “dropped” me and I’m certain she was surprised by how cooperative I was in turning over files to her new agency.  To say the breakup was “mutual” would be an understatement.

The other day, I went to visit her new “carefree” site which is how she was “lured” away from my stable of clients.

I was amused because she had totally embraced the whole “blogs are website magic” and had obviously insisted that her new agency include a blog on her otherwise static website.  The problem – her blog is as “static” as the HTML pages on her site.  She ported over the three posts from her previous blog and now has a beautiful shell style website filled with the same empty words you can find on every other media consultant/trainer’s static website.

A crippling fear of authenticity and transparency

This client lived in constant fear as we were converting her previous HTML website into a blog.  She worried that her former clients and former employers would find her and – gasp – communicate via her blog with her prospective clients.  (Let me reiterate – this woman bills herself as a communication professional!!!)

While my client never actually spoke the words out loud, there was definitely a thread which ran through virtually every conversation which revealed that her greatest fear wasn’t death or taxes – but rather total and complete transparency.

In hindsight, I should NEVER convinced her to convert her static website to a blog.

Her new web site is really sad if you ask me.  Not only has it dropped over 8 million spots in Alexa’s index, but the new website embraces the “cookie cutter template” look with a passion.  The content contained within is nothing special either.  It is virtually identical to her competitors and former employers website content.

Then, it hit me.  The whole “pursuit of the cookie cutter” is just a symptom of the true disease – this client is desperately cloaking herself and who she really is.

Is there an antonym for authenticity?

What’s really sad is I watched this fear of transparency absolutely DESTROY another promising business she tried to launch shortly after we began working together.

After I created her consultancy’s web presence, she hired me to develop the website for her newly launched greeting card company.  The cards were titillating, captivating and cute all at the same time and I thought she was going to be a HUGE success.  Unfortunately, she was TERRIFIED that her “corporate” clients would discover that she was the CEO of the new company and creator of the cards.

That crippling fear colored everything she did with the card company.  A PR professional – she never EVER promoted her business herself.  She hired sales reps to hit the streets with a single bit of marketing or PR to break the ice.  As a result, her business died a slow and agonizing death.  It was truly painful to watch.

The cards really did reveal a side to her I didn’t know existed.  It made me like her even more – but she could never ever let go of the plastic “barbie doll” image she had constructed in her professional life.

Authenticity takes the fear factor out of transparency.

To contrast the crippling fear of transparency my former client suffered, I’d love to direct your attention over to Tom Volkar’s blog Delightful Work and his most recent post “How to get on the right track.

I wish I were better at “deconstruction” right now because I wish I could break down all the elements in this post which “work” and document them.

But then I realized that perhaps – if this is your first time to visit Tom’s blog – you may not be as blown away by the post as I am.  Maybe the reason I’m blown away by his post is I’ve been reading his blog for about six months now and the real “beauty” of this post is how it ties into previous posts.

Or maybe – just maybe – it’s because the post really resonated with me.  For example, Tom writes –

Successful business building is not an exact science.  Opportunities present themselves in unexpected ways.  Discoveries and realizations often occur in the pursuit of other objectives.

As a 12 year veteran of the self employment wars – I can fully embrace the truth in this statement!!!  The entire posts resonates with a ring of authenticity, passion but most importantly – EXPERIENCE.

There is no “hiding” going on over at the Delightful Work blog – as is evidenced by some of Tom’s other recent posts.  Tom blogs about being angry, pissed off and off kilter – yet that while that transparency and authenticity weren’t always “pretty” they were always more than “real” enough.

If you’re in need of  “some raw truth and fresh direction” you might want to stop over at Tom’s blog.  He dispenses plenty of both for free at his blog.

By embracing authenticity – Tom has nothing to fear in the 100% transparency zone which is social media.

Social media is communication on steroids.   It removes the conventional barriers to communication of time/space/distance.

Social Media is communication that moves at the speed of thought.

Is it any wonder that authenticity is a requirement in these oh so transparent days of social media?

Social Media is Simply Communication on Steroids

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Having trouble explaining to your “non-blogging or non-techy” friends, family and co-workers what the fuss about “social media” is all about?  You’re not alone.

I remember reading a while back that 5 out of 6 people are classified as “casual” users of the internet.  Chances are if you’re reading this blog, you’re one of the 1 in 6 who are “in the know” about social media.

As a result, you’re probably seen as the “social media expert” in your circles.  When someone asks you about blogging or social media, you may be more than willing to share your passion for “blogging” and it’s role in social media.

If you’re having a face to face conversation – there may be some point where watch the listener’s eyes glaze over and their mind “check out” as you try to describe the intricacies and complexities that make up this ever changing thing we call “social media”.

This is a common problem – not only when it comes to describing social media but  when it comes to trying to describe exactly anything that isn’t currently “mainstream”.  Believe it or not, before it became “mainstream”,  there was a time when you had to explain why Google was better than Yahoo for search.

Several conversations offline recently have me trying to come up with a quick and easy explanation of what social media is and why it matters.

Social Media is Simply Communication on Steroids

Social media is simply communication – bigger, faster and stronger than ever before.

Trying to communicate the unusual and unique is not new to me because I am the proud owner of a Field Spaniel.  Unless you live in the UK, you probably don’t know what a Field Spaniel is.  In describing what a Field Spaniel is, I could share what it’s like to share your home with one of these quirky and “very vocal” dogs. I could regale you with an in depth explanation of how early breeders wanted to create a “better” spaniel.  I could also tell you how the breed was created in England in the early 20th Century by crossing Basset Hounds with Cocker Spaniels.

Chances are that you probably don’t care to know all that.  That’s why when people ask, I tell them that a Field Spaniel is a Cocker Spaniel on steroids. People know what a Cocker Spaniel is and they also know what steroids do to an athlete.  The result is a fairly accurate and strong word picture. This does a MUCH better job of conveying what a Field Spaniel looks like and doesn’t give the the listener a chance to “check out” during the explanation.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the word picture is as strong in the case of describing social media.   I think part of the reason it “falls down” is many business owners don’t recognize that the main “component” of marketing is communication.  Without that understanding – an essential element of the word picture is lost.

If social media is going to go mainstream, we need an quick, easy explanation of what social media is and why it matters.

The Blog Herald announced yesterday the new b5Media has been revealed. The 32 individual health and beauty blogs are being “re-packaged” as a single site known as Splendicity, taking the relatively unfamiliar concept of “a blog network” and creating an easy to understand “word picture” of a single site.

Instead of trying to explain to advertising agencies how the b5media network offers advertisers a specific demographic audience scattered across 32 different blogs… b5media can now say – “Splendicity offers this many eyeballs who are part of this target audience.”

It’s a quick, easy explanation of the b5Media product “formerly known as loose collection of 32 health and heauty blogs.” It’s a “rebranding” which allows you to easily tell someone who isn’t in the know what Splendicity  is and most importantly – why advertisers should care.

Ad agencies no longer have to explain to their clients the intricacies of a blog network.  Instead they can say, “Splendicity has the attention of the very people we want to reach with your marketing message and THAT is why we’re buying space there.”

What’s the simple, easy to explain word picture illustrating why social media is important?

While most of the Blog Herald readers nod knowingly as they read the post- there’s still a whole WORLD of people out there who still don’t know the difference between a blog and a website.  Many of these people are business owners willing to invest their hard earned money to place their marketing message in front of their target audience.

They just need to know WHY a blog is such a great place for that ad.

Social media is defining the direction of communication from national news to the latest viral video – but the average person don’t recognize the impact blogs and social media are having on our culture.

They won’t know until we come up with an easy to understand  word picture.  Once we have educated “the 5 out of 6 casual internet users” why social media is important – then the rest will be easy.

The magic sauce in social media is that it allows publishers to influence audiences more deeply.  Social media, in the right hands, is an important part of engaging your audience instead of talking at them.

Until we come up with a simple, powerful word picture which communicates this essential truth about social media- the rest of the world still won’t get what the fuss over “social media” is all about.

With this in mind, how do YOU explain this whole intricate and complex entity known as “social media” to your friends, family and colleagues?  What word pictures do you use to communicate the intricacies of social media to the 5 out of 6 casual internet users?