Email Tips – Call to Action

Working as a technology consultant (specifically data warehousing) a few years ago (6 to be precise), my laptop always had an active Toad window open. Having moved to a client engagement / business development role, Outlook has replaced Toad – whenever I am using a laptop. Considering that I deal with an average of 125 incoming & 50 outgoing mails per day, I must be some kind of an email super user!

Naturally, I read about email tips & tricks all the time. And I thought about listing a few tips that have actually helped me tame the beast & be more effective with emails. Here goes the first of them.

# Call To Action

The number one thing that separates business communication from any story is a call to action. A story is to be enjoyed. The former is intended to get the audience to do something: follow up on an opportunity, hire someone, make organizational change, enrol into a training, get some information, etc. As an email sender, you need to focus on this part of the message that calls for action of the readers.

Question Yourself – What do I want my audience to do after reading my email?

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/silverman/2009/03/4-tips-for-better-business-wri.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a38:g4:r2:c0.000000:b0

I read this good post on Peter Bregman’s How We Work HBP blog that made a lot of sense to me on multiple dimensions. 
Some of my take aways :
  • More often than not, the secret to customer loyalty lies in the little wows that you can generate across the customers’ experience of your product or service. 
  • The web of little wows across the experience life cycle involves contribution from across your workforce – thus making it harder to implement. And harder to copy & replicate too – thus a sustainable competitive advantage. 
  • A CIO I recently met was explaining about how his IT service help desk is the entry point for new IT graduates into his organization. Questioned on how he attracts top quality graduates into a help desk role, he answered that he looks at candidates for what they could be in the future – technical architects, business analysts, etc. – rather than just their fit into the help desk role. This potential based perspective also governs the way these candidates are treated & groomed at their first job. Sounds quite similar at Four Seasons too – potential to grow, potential to move to another resort, etc. 
  • Great way to build trust – create an opportunity to fulfill a commitment, even when one doesn’t naturally exist, and then fulfil it. This can so effectively be used across the experiential lifestyles of a customer. And when not practiced consistently, could just as easily build mistrust too. 
Nice article. 

Bloom time in Bengaluru

Its been bloom time in Bengaluru for a few weeks now. 

These flowering trees are an absolute pleasure, if one cares (or dares) to lift their gaze away from the traffic & the roads. 

Though I have captured only the pink ones, there is a riot of colours up there. 

A pity that they last only for a few weeks.

Moviez – Madhur Bhandarkar

About a couple of weeks ago I happened to see Madhur Bhandarkar’s Page 3. Enjoyed it thoroughly & got me interested enough to order in for Mr. Bhandarkar’s other movies over the next few days. 

From Page 3 → Traffic Signal → Fashion ….its been only downhill for me. Fashion – with great difficulty I managed to sit through the movie. 
Page 3 was good!