2 Percent Creativity - Marketing and Advertising Insights from a Connected Perspective

Decker on Communicating

It is continually exciting to me when checking out the thirty plus RSS feeds that I subscribe to, that I find a new nugget. Bert Decker's blog is just such a discovery and is now feed number thirty-one and a new recommended blog on the 2 Percent roll. I found two great posts today that you must check out.

First, there is the Top Ten Best & Worst Communicators of 2006. Quite the list for sure and very little argument I am sure on most of his choices for each list. I particularly agree with his #2 Best choice of Pastor Rick Warren and #7 Guy Kawasaki. On the Worst list I can certainly agree with his number one choice. She has turned the debate about justice into a really nasty affair.

Secondly, there is his post on the Five Key Principles to Great Communicating. If ever there were a need for better corporate, political and social communicators, the year ahead would be a great time. Bert clearly outlines five keys that can help anyone, even those deathly afraid of public speaking, to effectively communicate what they know or care passionately about.

Another great resource comes to mind. Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication, by Andy Stanley, is one of the best I have read on preparing a message that moves people to action. Although it is primarily a book about preaching (in the biblical sense), don't miss the opportunity to see how the 7 steps outlined in this book can make any CEO, entrepreneur, business person, coach, teacher or anyone who plans to speak to a group, become a great communicator.

Let's make 2007 our year to become better communicators in every part of our lives.

Happy New Year!

Great Uses of Host Avatars

Blogger B.L. Ochman points us to one example of how some companies are using host avatars to enhance the customer experience on their websites. The Visa/MSN example she points us to uses javascript and flash to create a very compelling if sometimes slow experience.

Another example that we have liked for some time is a credit union (bank) in the Vancouver, BC Canada area—Coast Capital Savings. Be sure and check out this very simple use of flash and a woman avatar named Julie. As you view her, be patient and wait for her to go on to a few chores as she waits for you to decide what you want to do.

Now for the real fun.

First, in the 'or other products' question box, type in 'mortgage' and watch her response. She will play a game with you to encourage you to ask her for more information.

Secondly, here's a real hoot. In the same question box type in 'wanna go on a date'. Wait for her response ;-)

The use of real people or actors on corporate websites is a great way to create a remarkable and memorable experience, especially if the experience involves useful information.

Introducing ChirpMill: We Get People Talking

As I previously promised in Glenn's Career Update, I would update my 2 Percent blog when the new venture was ready for prime time. Well, the incubation process has taken only a few months and now we are ready to introduce our new venture to all our friends, associates, customers and the online community.

Introducing ChirpMill.

We have been very busy developing our new identity, the corporate website and working with some of our new customers. In addition, we have started development on our first web-based application.

Please be one of our first guests and visit our new ChirpMill.com website and read all about our new ideas. Be sure and check out the ChirpInn Blog and subscribe to the RSS feed. We'll be posting all kinds of regular news about our web app's progress and some good articles on designing websites that provide remarkable customer experiences.

Here's a quick rundown on what we are all about...

First and foremost, our focus will be on developing websites that provide truly remarkable customer experiences. From website tweaks, website redesigns, to developing brand spanking website design, we have a lot of expertise and are dedicated to getting people talking about our customer's websites.

Secondly, as a result of our experience in developing real estate websites over the past 6 years, we have a completely unique service—customer experience website usability evaluations.

We start with an extensive study of your website’s usability, functionality and navigation. Sounds simple until you realize that we perform the evaluation from your customer’s point of view . What does that mean you ask? It means, we look at what your customer wants to do and where they want to go, NOT necessarily what you want them to do and where you want to take them.

Truth is, your customer's needs and requirements are often not the same as yours. When your website strategy is based on forcing the customer down a certain path, the customer experience usually suffers.

Next, our online Portfolio displays a good outline of our recent work in the three key categories that we specialize in: Marketing, Identity & Web Design.

Finally, we developed a new blog entitled ChirpInn for the development of our new web-based application and to pass on our insights on effective website design, customer experience and usability evaluations and much more. Our goal is to turn our focus to helping build remarkable and effective websites for B&B's, Inns, retreats, resorts, camps, adventure and eco-tourism providers. Our web app which is being built with Ruby on Rails, will be an effective tool to help our clients better engage their website customers.

That's it for now. Be sure to visit our website and new blog for more information.

Glenn