NPGA ScholArShiP
Is your child headed to college or in
college? Apply now for the 2015-2016
NPGF scholarship today. Completed
application must be submitted by Feb.
15, 2015. Also, on February 8-10 at the
Winter NPGA Meeting in San Diego,
Calif., there will be a silent auction
where all the proceeds from the auction
will go to the NPGF scholarship fund.
To learn more about the scholarship
and auctio n contact: Joanne Casey,
NPGA Scholarship foundation man-
ager, at 202-355-1328
cuStomer eNGAGemeNt: the
Next SteP iN the cuStomer
Service evolutioN
Now that people are openly sharing their
good or bad experiences with brands
online, the customer service bar has of-
ficially been raised. Small business own-
ers looking to differentiate themselves
from their competition must continue
to evolve their communication practices
and avoid online behavior that discour-
ages customer engagement. Successful
client engagement can be achieved by
avoiding the following:
• Don't overlook what the client is
looking for. While a leading-edge web
design may help set your site apart from
the rest, if you are not providing the ba-
sic information your client is looking for
they will most likely take their business
elsewhere.
• Don't complicate the user experi-
ence. Providing too little or too much
information can trigger client disen-
gagement. Content should be persua-
sive, easy to skim and informative.
• Don't try a blanket approach to
social networks. Attempting to build
a presence on all social networks will
only set you up for failure. Determine
the social network your audience most
frequently visits and concentrate your
efforts there.
• Don't indulge in self-promotion.
Continually telling your followers how
great you are on social media will never
lead to successful customer engagement.
Avoid this when necessary.
• Don't argue with clients. Acknowl-
edge a problem when it occurs and at-
tempt to resolve it in public as soon as
you can. Your customer-focused ap-
proach should project respect for past,
present and future clients alike.
For further discussion on the five
digital communication "don'ts" view
the article of Peter LaMotte, SVP at
LEVICK, on PR Newswire's Small Busi-
ness Toolkit: http://bit.ly/1vlOGdy
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