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Yesterday I went to see Mamma Mia – yes I know I must have been the only person in Australia who hasn’t seen it until now!

Anyway, there was one part of the movie that really hit a chord with me. It is the scene where the former wild child and now single mum (20 years on), weighed down with debt and responsibilities was reunited with her former inner spark by her two girlfriends.

It was set to the song “Dancing Queen” and we watched as first the mum and then all of the women of the Greek village (where the movie was set), reconnect with their deep soul longing of being beautiful, young, sexy and  confident.

The piece that had me in tears (yes I cry at movies) was watching the older, more pudgy Nonna’s for a moment rediscover their inner 17 year old – to reconnect even for a moment with their inner beauty, joy and confidence. Just for that moment they were not someones wife, mother or employee – they were standing strong in the essence of who they truly were.

Every woman can relate to that deep soul longing to once again be who they truly are. To once again be beautiful, independent and in control of their life.

In marketing, the most powerful messages are the ones that tap into deep soul longings. Services and products that help customers recapture even for a moment that spark are the ones that are the most popular (and profitable).

Does your product or service meet those deep soul longings of customers – for inner beauty, belonging, confidence, love, respect and independence? Does your marketing help your customers reconnect with their deep soul longings?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

We have all heard about comfort food – that lovely sugary and starchy food people eat when they are flat.

Well a study in America from 4 universities has found what we have long suspected – when people are sad they buy more and spend more when they shop. Merely watching a sad video made people pay 4 times for for an insulated water bottle than the control group who watched a nature video.

The lesson is if you are sad (and want to save your money), do something else other than shop.

From a business perspective I wouldn’t suggest running videos of kittens being hurt on the way into your store, but stocking a premium product that will help people feel better if they are having a bad day may be a good investment.

I can see coffee shops stocking “bad day buster” hot chocolates, soft mohair jumpers “because you deserve some softness in your life” and  packaging your services in a way to help business owners deal with feelings of defeat. You can also look at touching that demographic in your words if your product matches that need (think of McDonald’s old slogan “You deserve a break today” and you get the idea).

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Copywriters

A heads up that a colleague of mine from Soul Talk Consultancy Services is running a one day workshop Wed 15th Oct from 9-4.30pm on dealing with difficult customers.

The content curriculum looks brilliant – giving an opportunity to explore what triggers us and why, as well as learning strategies for dealing with the angry, distressed, untruthful and even unappreciative customer.

Raelene Bann is a qualified counsellor and mediator, and really knows her stuff so this should be a great workshop. For more information contact Raelene on 0402 247 459.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

Spring has well and truly sprung here in Brisbane. If you are like many of us you have started to rattle through your cupboards at home and started to tackle those home renovation projects that have been gathering cobwebs during winter.

I admit no cupboard in my home has been safe these past few weeks. 1/4 of my entire kitchen cupboard contents are now at St Vinnies and a whole pile of other things are listed on Freecycle to find good homes. I still can’t work out how I ended up with 5 potato mashers over time! It is a great feeling to see everything fresh, clean and organised.

Spring is also a great time to tackle a business make-over, to refresh your image and your brand, update your website content and marketing brochures.

If you are feeling stuck in your business the best thing to do is get out and clutter clear, refresh your image and update your words to better reflect who you are now and where your business is heading.

Every few years do a major business makeover. Not updating your image is like wearing a safari suit to work – it may have been good at the time but it the image is dating you and costing you clients.

I have been working with Jo Pollard from Wild Dog Designs as part of her total business rejuvenation package. My business cards have had a major spring clean, my logo updated and refreshed, my letterheads redone and my brochures have undergone a total revamp … and they look amazingly brilliant!

It is funny how updating your business image can breathe new life into your business and give you a fresh perspective on the  world.

So – make the most of the energy of spring and tackle a business makeover.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

Customer satisfaction used to be a USP for business, now it is a given – which means unless you are satisfying your customers needs, you are losing business.

But how do you satisfy customers?  Over at the Neuromarketing blog they covered off three scientific studies across very different groups of people to determine one of the key features of customer satisfaction.

Convicted felons were asked to rate the fairness of their legal process. Not surprisingly those with shorter sentences rated their process as fairer than those who were issued longer sentences. What was surprising though was the impact of the time their lawyers spent with them throughout the process. Those whose lawyers had spent more time with them considered the process fairer than those whose lawyers just made the essential contacts.

Venture capitalists were also surveyed about their satisfaction with the companies they are supporting. Those who had detailed and timely feedback from their companies had greater trust and support for their companies, no matter how they were financially performing.

Finally, a study was done on patients who were injured by doctors to work out why some patients sued the doctor and others didn’t. They found that malpractice cases came about when the patient felt they had been rushed or their views ignored or they were treated poorly. If the patient was treated with kindness and respect they tended not to sue the doctor who had made the mistake.

So what does that mean for business? The simplest take-away is that spending time with your customers is vital. Communicate effectively, listen and treat people with respect.  Do this before things go pear shaped (as they will sometimes do in business with missed deadlines, poor quality or mistakes) and you have a greater chance of retaining the customer rather than heading for a problem.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

Is it just me or did anyone else notice there was a Paralypics on? I mean the Para-Olympians Australia sent over won more medals than for the “other” Olympics, but coverage on the news and all of the other TV channels was limited to 10 seconds at the tail end of the news bulletin. Cats stuck in walls of houses got more coverage than these brilliant athletes!

All I can say is congratulations to these men and women who have overcome the odds twice – once with their disability and once winning or simply competing in these events. Well done!

As for the media – you have totally missed the point by not covering their successes. The inspiration they provide by their lives is the stuff of golden front pages!

I see this in many businesses who don’t look at giving people with disabilities a go. We still discriminate against people who are different. We don’t look at their abilities instead of their disabilities and in doing so we rob our businesses of potentially highly successful employees.

The next time you have a vacancy, consider a person with a disability. Who knows you may end up with a paralympian on your team!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony -Freelance Copywriter

In business as you start to grow you have two choices – work longer hours to keep up (but if you are already doing 14 hour days this isn’t really an option if you also want a life), or put in place systems to manage some of your day to day tasks.

The sort of systems I am talking about are systems for things such as:

• Business proposals – creating a template so you can write business proposals in half the time
• Client nurturing – so you can follow up prospects and clients automatically
• Thank yous to clients and referrers of business – if someone has been generous enough to send business your way, you need to say thank you. A good system can help you manage this
• Feedback and testimonials – systems to regularly gather feedback and testimonials from your clients

As your business grows you need to revisit your systems. What worked when you were a sole operator may no longer work as your business grows.

I have been doing precisely that in my last week – working out which of my systems need a “refresh”, which ones can now be delegated and which ones need a total overhaul. It is challenging, but a critical part of growing your business.

Where are your systems falling down in your business?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriter

My kids and I have a standing joke – in my office I have 3 different printers, and I am currently eyeing off a fourth. For me it is like some blokes with cars – I just love a great printer!

When I was reading Donna-Marie Coggins blog post about what to look for before you go hunting for printers I had to smile. Yes – of course you can buy on logic, but then again there are people like me for whom there is no true logic when it comes to office equipment.

So for my printing confession time … I bought my first Lexmark multi-function centre because I wanted something that scanned, faxed, copied and printed. The only problem is that you need to mortgage your house to keep up with the costs of replacing the toner cartridges, not to mention how slow it is! I didn’t do enough research on my first major printing purchase and 5 years later I am still paying for it!

So then my HP Laserjet joined the family. Super fast, economical to drive and goes for miles on a full toner drum (see there are parallels with cars!)

But then I wanted to print in colour, on CD-ROMS, so my Canon Pixma came home. Have you seen the ads where a lady is raving about her Pixma and all it can do? I swear the advertising company followed me home and listened in on my conversation. The Canon Pixma is brilliant and my favourite of the three printers …

… so why am I looking longingly at other printers again?  Well … I would love something that printed in colour on A3 and that could replace my now ancient Lexmark multi-function centre to stop it eating my faxes and copies.

To make it worse, my office cat Dalai Kitty has also taken a massive dislike to the Lexmark – and stalks it when it tries to print, so if the Lexmark doesn’t eat the paper, the cat does!  (If I call you to say your fax didn’t come through, now you know why!)

So I will look at Donna-Marie’s list when buying our new printer … but in the end I am a sucker for a great looking machine with all the bells and whistles (and hums and whines). I can feel a trip to Officeworks coming on!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

I was checking out Jenni Markham’s blog and found this great quote:

The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.

Dee Hock

This rings true to me.

As my work relies 100% on my creativity, anything that blocks my creativity is a problem. There are days when I sit at the computer and face writers block – those are the days when I know I need to go back and work on my systems and processes, clear physical clutter in my environment or read an inspirational book to change my mindset.

What do you do to clear your mental clutter?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

I had coffee today with my favourite corporate portrait photographers - Fullframe photographics. These guys are superb – with each photo an iconic image of the person, event or building. That’s why I have chosen them to do my next photo-shoot.

As we were scouting locations for the shoot it reminded me of the time it truly takes to create art. There is the time working out the intent of the shoot, how the photos will be used, the personality of the person and how to bring that forward.

Then  you add in the location – how to reinforce the message and not overwhelm the subject (all at the same time), clothing and make-up and of course lighting. (It is not unusual to need an hour to set the correct lighting for each shot for maximum effect). Next comes the computer magic where the additional aspects are added in, reinforced or removed.

I can really see why these guys are the corporate photographers for South Bank, many of the major constructions across Qld and the elite of the business world.

It also amazed me while we were talking how many people don’t understand or appreciate the time and work it takes to make their client look good. The number of clients who give them 5 minutes to obtain an iconic image for their annual report or marketing is fascinating.

It also amazed me of their stories of being hired for their creativity only to be met with limits, boundaries and restrictions on their shots.

The message for me in all of this is that it takes time to create quality products, and if you hire an expert listen to their advice and allow them to guide you on the ways to get the best out of their services.

I have placed myself in their hands next week and although slightly nervous, I know and value their skill enough to let them do what they do best. Watch the newsletter in a few weeks when I share the shots with you!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter