(This is a repost of my guest blog for New Zealand’s WriteMark plain language advocates) I worked on U.S. Government websites for 10 years; and I learned there’s one principle that trumps all others: if you don’t communicate effectively, you can’t serve effectively. If customers come to your website and cannot understand what you offerRead… Read more »
(This is a repost of my guest blog for New Zealand’s WriteMark plain language adovcates) I worked on U.S. Government websites for 10 years; and I learned there’s one principle that trumps all others: if you don’t communicate effectively, you can’t serve effectively. If customers come to your website and cannot understand what you offerRead… Read more »
I’m often asked, “Do you know someone we could hire for our web team?” Of course, they want the full package – someone skilled in plain writing, customer analysis, strategic planning, usability, search engine optimization, design, social media, mobile apps, marketing…oh, and can they code? Do these super beings exist? Yes – they are you!Read… Read more »
Plain language is critical to great customer service. You may think that “plain language” is all about getting the words right. Well, words are a big part of it. But there’s more to it than that. “Plain” means information you can find, understand, and use quickly and easily. So, in addition to choosing the rightRead… Read more »
No matter who wins the election in two weeks, change will come. If the President is re-elected, we’ll see some new political appointees coming onboard and certainly new initiatives. If Governor Romney is elected, we’ll see wholesale changes in political personnel and plans; and transition teams will move into agencies quickly. In either case, newRead… Read more »
This is National Customer Service Week, and I hope you (yes, you!) take a few minutes to think about what you’ve done to help your customers lately. Did you do a great job answering that email? Super! Did you suggest an improvement to the website that made it easier for customers to find a topRead… Read more »
How many times have you sat through a training session or read a study and thought, “Well, duh – I already knew that. It’s just common sense?” How many times have you been assigned to do something that you know is doomed to failure because it just doesn’t make sense…yet no one speaks up. TooRead… Read more »
I’ve been quiet on the Digital Government Strategy because – well, OK, I’ll be honest…while I think there’s a whole lot of good in it, I also have some problems. First, it didn’t look anything like I expected it to look, after all the issues we discussed in the National Dialog on Improving Government Websites.Read… Read more »
The internet is an amazing advancement in our do-it-yourself world. We all love being able to go to Amazon or Google or a government website and get it done ourselves, without human intervention. When we go into a store, we don’t like that salesperson who asks, “Can I help you?” We don’t want anyone toRead… Read more »
The recently-released federal Digital Government Strategy lays out many promising initiatives that will, no doubt, improve the technology and infrastructure behind online services and, thus, enhance customer experience. Many talented people worked hard to develop this Strategy, and they will continue to work hard on its implementation. But we still don’t have a clear planRead… Read more »