Invite People to Come Back

You might have new and interesting content on your web site. Your customers might be raving fans. You might offer daily specials or monthly coupons. And yet...

People get busy. They get distracted. Life happens. They aren't necessarily unhappy about anything; they just forget that your site exists. They need a tap on the shoulder. If you know who they are and have their permission to stay in touch, you can invite them to come back. Some of the most effective messages impart a sense of urgency. A sale is about to end! Free shipping until midnight! Hurry, or you'll miss out!

Remember, to be able to send these reminders, you need email addresses and permission. Because few are excited about clicking an "email sign-up" present this as an enticing opportunity, such as "become an insider." And be sure the content has real value for the reader. Make people happy to continue hearing from you. Take advantage of any additional communications, too. Include information on a new special when you confirm that you've shipped a customer's order, or invite customers to view new products when confirming their email subscription. This is just like the warm "thank you for coming in, and remember to stop by next week when our big sale is on" that you might get when shopping in person. Make people feel appreciated and welcome to return.

Once people stop by, we want them to stay -- but why would they? We need some sticky content to keep them around, but what makes content sticky? What is sticky for one person, at a particular moment, will not be sticky for another -- or even for that same person at another point in time. But there is one universal truth in this regard: Sticky content fulfills some need for the visitor. People are strongly motivated to get their unmet needs met. Websites obviously can't meet all our needs, but when a site does offer something we really need, it is very easy to get caught up in it and hang around. We could be drawn in by the prospect of being admired for our taste in clothing, promise of finding meaningful work or by having a place where we can belong and feel understood. Let's look at a few of the many needs that could compel visitors to spend time on your site.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

1. The first dysfunction is absence of trust amongst team members. If team members are not genuinely open with each other about their mistakes and weaknesses, it is impossible to build a foundation of trust.

2. Absence of trust creates the circumstance for the second dysfunction, fear of conflict. Teams that lack trust are incapable of fully and honestly debating issues as they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.

3. The inability to openly discuss issues leads to a lack of commitment. If team members are unable to fully air their views, it is unlikely that they will be fully committed to the decisions of the group.

4. If team members are not fully bought into the decisions of the group, they will inevitably avoid accountability. How can they stand up and be counted on issues if they were not completely committed to them in the first place?

5. Failure to hold one another accountable creates an environment where the fifth dysfunction can thrive. Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individual needs (such as ego, career, recognition or reward) or even their division above the collective needs of the team.

by Patrick Lencioni (San Francisco; Jossey-Bass, 2002).

Networking: The Beehive Game

Networking: This activity is great fun and is called the Beehive Game:

1. unlimited total number of people
   
2. everyone brings tons of business cards
   
3. break into small groups of four or five people
   
4. 3 rounds of activity
   
5. for each round, every participant is given an envelope and a blank recipe card
   
6. participants write on the card a need that they have. Could be a business need i.e. I want to get in touch with potential audiences of x type - or a personal need i.e. I need a good real estate lawyer, or I want to get in touch with people who can give me ideas about where to go on my next trip
   
7. for each group and each round: Queen Bees, and Worker Bees.
   
8. each person in turn gets to be the Queen Bee, and someone else represents him or her as the Worker Bee.
   
9. the Worker Bee "buzzes" around the room with the Queen Bee's request and collects business cards that match that request
   
10. time the rounds to keep a sense of energy and urgency.
    
11. this activity can be processed to whatever degree you wish. The game can take three hours or a couple days. For the shorter version, people go away with tons of leads to explore on their own time.F or the longer version, you can ask people questions about which role they felt most comfortable in, what new things did they notice about themselves, how did the teams work etc.