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You’ve heard the old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”, right? I was reminded today just how true it is. I attended the launch of the Aged & Community Services WA (ACSWA) Aged Care Jobs Portal. I developed the content for the website, which is the focal point for a strategic initiative to attract aged care workers to WA. Let me back up a bit.

I spent five years selling software in the international market. Most of it was call face selling in countries where I didn’t know anyone. Cold calling was a necessity and I developed a very thick skin while honing my international business skills. Using sales jargon, I was a “hunter”, but always considered the grass was greener on the “farmer” side of the equation.

Guaranteed Sales
When I was offered an appointment to the board at Braemar Presbyterian Care, I was delighted to be in an industry where no one worries too much about sales. The aging population in Australia guarantees a steady stream of clients. While each organisation is acutely aware of their occupancy rates, the problems usually lean towards managing a waiting list, not finding potential clients.

Combating the Resources Boom
Arguably, the aged care industry is facing a much tougher issue attracting staff. The resources boom at the beginning of the last decade made it extremely difficult to find anyone to work in the sector. Young people have abandoned the opportunity for satisfying careers in lieu of high-paying jobs in the mining industry. The Minister for Training and Workforce Development, the Hon. Peter Collier, eloquently expressed his concern about the trend. Mining is suited to young people but doesn’t impart lifetime skills or long-term employment prospects for their unskilled employees.

Creative Marketing
The aged care industry in Western Australia knows it is facing another resources boom. The new website is a way to encourage people to choose careers in the aged care sector. They’re effectively using video clips of aged care workers on the jobs portal to demonstrate how rewarding it is to pursue work in a diverse and expanding business. Many more initiatives are being planned. It’s an exciting time to be in aged care.

Now that I’ve had a look at the other side of the fence, it’s obvious the grass isn’t greener at all. Hunting for new clients is far easier than trying to service a sector where the benefits are not as obvious as a fat pay packet. I’m impressed with the creative and professional approach ACSWA is taking to combat this looming problem. While no one likes to consider the possibility of life touched by aged care, I certainly want it staffed with the best people when my time comes. I encourage you to broadcast the link to the jobs portal and consider how a career in aged care could help you or someone you know. Personally, I can think of no other work more important.

When did you discover the grass is not always greener?

Have you ever walked away from a customer service situation and felt scammed?

In a recent Problogger post, Darren Rowse addressed a common problem. Titled What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back?, he goes on to list all the reasons why he hasn’t tackled an eBook he planned to write. One thing he worries about resonated with me precisely because it’s a pet peeve of mine.

Is it a gift or is it a marketing ploy?
Among his fears, Rowse includes, “fear that people would critique me for selling something and not giving it away for free”. Personally, I believe it’s irrational for people to expect something for nothing. Rowse knows it, too,  but he worries about it. Bloggers, like everyone, expect to be paid for their expertise and charge for their products. If something is free, then the tacit understanding is it will generate goodwill and, usually, contribute to a marketing database. My problem is if a business gives me a gift when, in fact, they’re trying to make a sale.

The Not Happy case study
If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll be familiar with an ongoing service problem I’ve had with a new car purchase. I’ll restrain myself for your benefit. My friends, family and followers on Twitter are all sick of hearing me complain about it. I’m sick of complaining about it. Suffice it to say a resolution was reached and I’m happy with the result. What I’m not happy about, however, is what has become the final nail in the coffin of my customer relationship with the car dealer.

At the end of the service appointment that finally rectified the problem with my car, I was presented with an envelope. It didn’t have my name on it but the person from the service department said it was for me, for my trouble. The envelope had been around awhile and had been stained with water as if it had been left in the rain. Since we’ve had no rain in Perth for weeks and weeks, it was obvious the envelope had travelled a bit. Inside was a preprinted letter on heavy cardboard saying:

Thank You!

We just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being a valued client of SUBURBAN CAR DEALER. (I’ve changed the name, to protect the guilty in this case.) Without you and others like yourself we wouldn’t be the success that we are.

To express our appreciation, we would like you to accept this very special gift certificate.
This certificate is valued at $200 with one of Australia’s leading studios NEVERHEARDOFTHEM PHOTOGRAPHY. This certificate will cover your photo session, an 8×12 inch portrait and you will also have some remaining credit for any further prints.

It goes on with a sales pitch for the photography studio, then lists the obligations I’m bound to if I want to take advantage of this “gift”, including registering my details. It’s signed, “The Team @ SUBURBAN CAR DEALER”.

So what is my gripe?
The first thing that went through my mind is “Who in SUBURBAN CAR DEALER has an interest in NEVERHEARDOFTHEM PHOTOGRAPHY?” I’d have to be daft to consider this a gift. The “thank you” ploy is an obvious attempt to get me to spend money somewhere else. Nothing about the letter was personalised. There wasn’t even a name on the outside of the envelope. I have to leave my details with a company I have no interest in doing business with in an obvious effort to help build someone else’s marketing database. And, because I’ve done business with a professional photographer before, I know if I do take them up on their ludicrous gift, I’m going to be pressured to buy more than the $200 gift certificate.

What would have worked?
If SUBURBAN CAR DEALER WANTED to appease me, it would have been a simple undertaking. A personalised letter of apology, on company letterhead and signed by the manager, would have convinced me someone cared about my experience. If they felt the need to reimburse me for my trouble, a discount on future service or even the offer of a free car wash would have impressed me. My concern, as their (formerly) loyal customer, was no one cared about my problem or me. I still feel that way.

The Take-Away
Make sure your motives are true when dealing with your customers. I expected transparency and attention. Instead, I was fobbed off with a clumsy attempt to provide marketing for an unrelated company. My fury about poor service was compounded with an insulting “thank you”. I won’t be doing business with SUBURBAN CAR DEALER again. I will suffer the inconvenience of future service at CITY CAR DEALER. One thing is for sure, my next car will be from a different automotive company altogether.

Do you get upset when a vendor’s focus is on marketing and not service? How do you deal with it?

Earlier in the week I wrote about an invitation I received to contribute to an ebook. ClickPredictions: Content Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2010 launched last night. I’m really excited to be involved in this project for a couple of reasons.

I didn’t know if I’d be included in the final book. When I submitted my prediction, I expected a rejection. My piece speaks to the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which isn’t part of the traditional marketing bag of tricks. It was a bold move, but I did it knowing I might be squandering a good opportunity to be involved in an important project. Still, CSR is something I feel passionately about. I was delighted to be accepted. It tells me that CSR is becoming a mainstream interest. Hopefully, my prediction will come true. Check out page 17 to read exactly what I have to say.

When I saw the draft copy of the book, I was humbled to be included. It’s an amazing assembly of talent, including many of the people I look to for guidance and inspiration including Mike Stelzner, Joe Pulizzi, Michele Linn and Stephanie Tilton to name just a few. I can’t wait to dig into it. Have a look to see how many faces you recognize.

I’m going to keep this short today. I’d rather you spend your time reading ClickPredictions. You can also download a version of ClickPredictions. Best of all, it’s free.

What bold move have you made?

Late last year, I was asked by Ambal Balakrishnan to contribute to a crowd-sourced eBook dealing with marketing predictions for 2010. I regularly write for her ClickDocuments site in the capacity of subject matter expert on white papers and case studies. I jumped at the chance to be part of her distinguished mob.

The ClickPredictions eBook is launching on Wednesday, 20 January 2010 at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. In Australia, we should all be asleep when the time rolls around.

I’ve seen the final copy of the eBook and I’m incredibly excited. Here’s why:

• ClickPredictions eBook contains over 100 recommended resources from top marketers including 39 of the best content marketers, B2B marketers, email marketers and social media gurus. Check page 17 for my prediction.
• ClickPredicitions eBook is also an Inbound Marketing project for Marketo. Each link in the eBook opens a website with a StumbleUpon-style toolbar promoting Marketo’s other eBooks and white papers and providing even more marketing resources to every reader.

• An awesome SlideShare/Twitter integration on each contributor page allows you to Tweet a specific page instead of the whole book. Did I mention page 17?
• The project was designed and developed by Stresslimitdesign in Montreal, Canada. I’m impressed with the final product and have been inspired by some of their ideas. It’s a wonderful example of the effectiveness of ebooks as a content marketing tool.

It’s going to be a long week waiting for the ebook to launch. My prediction deals with content marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to speak about two seemingly diverse passions. I’m deeply honoured and humbled to be included in such esteemed company. The advice and insight in the ClickPredictions eBook is amazing.

I’ll post the link once the book is launched – if I don’t expire from anticipation before then.

What are you anticipating this week?

Is it too late to talk about resolutions for 2010? I’m asking because my resolution was to get my blog more interactive. It’s been a busy start to the year for me at Global Copywriting. Being late with my first post of the year isn’t a great start to my resolution.

I know I’m not the only one to have blogging on their agenda for 2010. Most of my clients are implementing a blog feature on their websites or are becoming more active on the blog they already have. I haven’t met anyone who isn’t considering a blog for their business.

Blogs come with two problems. 1) You have to keep them regularly updated. (Yes, that’s a blush creeping up my face.) 2) You have to get people to read them. Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t full-time bloggers. Few blogs enjoy massive reading audiences. That’s okay with me as long as I’m reaching the people I want to.

Mike Stelzner, founder of the Social Media Examiner, addresses the second problem in his excellent book, Writing White Papers. He warns not to “Post and Hope”. It’s good advice. Just because you’ve written a post and put it on your website, doesn’t mean anyone is going to come looking for it.

What can you do to promote your blog and attract more readers?

• Update your LinkedIn status telling your network you have a new post and including a link.
• Send a tweet announcing your new post. Send the link 3 or 4 times throughout the day to ensure it gets to everyone in your network.
• Add your post as a news article to your relevant LinkedIn groups. Better yet, start a discussion on LinkedIn using your blog post as a reference point.
• Refer to your own post in comments you leave during the week.

(You’re following my advice from Spin Your SEO Web, right?)

• Advertise your blog in your newsletter and update the links to recent posts.
• Include a link to your new blog post in the signature line of your email account.

[*]Digg yourself.

Writing the blog isn’t enough. You also must think like a publisher and make sure people are showing up to read your content. With a little persistence, you can build a following without spending any money.

How do you promote your blog?