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Transform Your Brand’s Customer Experience

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Have you figured out that bringing a new customer into your business and keeping that customer as an active member of your roster are two different marketing functions? I’m sure you have! Freelance professionals must build and guide the entire arc of the sales process, from reassuring prospects who’d like to discuss follow-up questions about the capabilities of your service or product, to developing an efficient and welcoming onboarding procedure for new customers, to devising post-sale services or training that anticipates the type of support that will be helpful. Really, B2B selling is about presenting a positive customer experience at relevant (but not necessarily every) touchpoint.

It is well-known that B2B customer expectations are rising as they become more selective about vendors they trust and where they spend their highly scrutinized budgets. It may be too harsh to say that B2B customers have become jaded, demanding and fickle, but many are confronted with dozens of sales pitches in an average week as vendors compete for attention. But there is good news: 1.) You know that a well-designed and implemented customer experience matters to those with whom you do business; and 2.) It’s possible to distinguish your brand from competitors by delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). In fact, a first-rate CX, as your market segment defines it, is one of the most powerful business growth accelerators and brand builders available today.

As products and services become more indistinguishable, and proliferate into a mass of “me, too” offerings, Freelancers and other business owners are in search of meaningful competitive advantages and CX has emerged as a potential deciding factor that can impact either customer loyalty or customer churn. Freelancers will do well to examine how your customer experience operates in real time, so that you can identify any lapses, improve efficiencies and create a consistently reliable and seamless experience that represents the best of your brand. Read on to learn the steps you’ll take to devise a successful CX transformation.

Planning: strategy and blueprint

Break down the steps of your typical buyer’s journey as lived by a prospect, starting with determining how most prospects find you. A Word-of-Mouth referral from a colleague has been revealed as the beginning of most B2B buyer journeys—have you determined who are your most enthusiastic referral sources?

It’s also been revealed that B2B prospective buyers prefer to avoid interacting with vendors until a particular service or product appears emerges as a strong candidate. At that point, the prospect will contact chosen vendors and confirm impressions about the product or service, Finally, a decision will be made about which brands will be added to a short list for an assessment by the decision team. CX marketing experts say that in the planning phase of your CX transformation, you should answer three questions:

  • What do you want customers to feel or how do you want them to react at the most important moments in their buyer’s journey your brand?
  • What behaviors or decisions influence those feelings or reactions?
  • How can you amplify or reinforce those factors that positively impact how a prospect feels or reacts to pivotal moments in your buyer’s journey?

Finally, as you devise an implementation plan blueprint for your CX transformation, keep at top-of-mind the following objectives:

  • Attract: Win more customers through distinctive value propositions and smarter targeting.
  • Serve: Deliver seamless, experiences.
  • Retain: Engage customers meaningfully at moments of genuine need to promote loyalty, repeat business and Word-of-Mouth referrals.
  • Grow: Drive sustained growth by meeting more customer needs that stimulate repeat business and referrals.

CRM Platform: the foundation

Using a Customer Relations Management platform provides many benefits, such as the ability to effectively and efficiently manage decisive aspects of customer behavior— which can reveal a better understanding of customers and give you insights into which buyer journey factors are most relevant to prospects, so that you can upgrade and transformed those experiences. With CRM, you can manage customer relationships more effectively and build a more customer-centric business. The primary benefits of using CRM include improved customer satisfaction, enhanced customer retention, increased sales efficiency, streamlined business processes and better data insights.

CRMs with AI capabilities include intelligent automation, predictive insights and AI agents that can take autonomous actions to further amplify these benefits. That data will show you a 360-degree, comprehensive view of your customers and guide you to build a personalized customer experience that will resonate. You’ll also can be positioned to develop stronger customer relationships and drive business growth—repeat business, enhanced customer lifetime value and brand advocacy that promotes loyalty.

Process: the operational aspects

What process transformation actually requires is an operating rhythm that’s advantageously timed to support each phase of the CX transformation rollout. You’ll verify the timing with performance outcome metrics, that are ideally powered by AI, so that you can evaluate customer responses. Weekly monitoring of key touchpoints such as customer engagement and drop-out rates will keep you on top of the process. When an effective process is in place, CX transformation benefits multiply. When it isn’t, you can quickly make the correcting adjustments.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Disney Food Blog. Riding the teacups at The Mad Tea Party in The Magic Kingdom Walt Disney theme park, Lake Buena Vista, FL

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How To Encourage B2B Referrals

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When it comes to influencing B2B buying decisions, few marketing resources are as powerful as a referral made by a customer who had a good experience working with your organization and is happy to recommend those in his/her business network to investigate your brand if there is need of a service or product that matches yours. Customer endorsements, also known as Word-of-Mouth referrals, are a crucial ingredient of an effective customer acquisition strategy. It’s been documented that Word-of-Mouth referrals positively affect 20% to 50% of purchasing decisions and 84% of B2B buying decision-makers report that their buyer’s journey typically begins with a referral. Foundational to Word-of-Mouth referrals are good customer experiences and good relationships.

The term Word-of-Mouth marketing refers to an informal sharing of opinions, experiences and recommendations about a brand, product, or service between colleagues and friends. Whenever people speak about a business, they are participating in Word-of-Mouth marketing. Long before social media marketing existed, business owners and sales professionals relied on the trusted opinions of business colleagues and other reliable sources to guide their purchasing decisions. Word-of-Mouth endorsements continue to be sought after and trusted, even as business (and personal) communication has gone beyond telephone or face2face conversations to encompass digital formats, including social media, online review sites, webinars and podcasts and/or online professional communities.

There are few marketing strategies that are as potent or as cost-effective as endorsements made by satisfied customers and the power of Word-of-Mouth referrals is supported by metrics. According to data published by ThinkImpact, a platform that provides business and career related information, 78% of B2B referrals create viable customer leads for the business and 63% of B2B revenue comes from existing clients and referrals combined.

Credible, verifiable and sharable

In the increasingly complex B2B marketing landscape, Word-of-Mouth referrals are considered credible and verifiable business intelligence. In spite of, or maybe even because of, the dominance of professionally produced marketing materials and campaigns, prospective buyers are acquiring a growing respect for boots-on-the-ground, real world user experiences—and that evolving perspective has caused some to look skeptically at corporate-concocted marketing messages.

In stark contrast, Word-of-Mouth referrals are seen as unquestionably real and born of bona fide knowledge and/or experience and they have the power to significantly amplify your brand reputation and annual revenue. The problem is they are an unpredictable gift. Waiting for personal endorsements made by satisfied customers to materialize leaves too much to chance in a hyper-competitive marketplace. It should come as no surprise that a Freelancer must take charge and devise a strategy that will keep positive Word-of-Mouth opinions circulating through your networks.

The key driver of B2B Word-of-Mouth customer referrals is trust that is the outcome of consistently providing an excellent customer experience, encouraging customer engagement and inspiring brand loyalty that advances into advocacy and culminates in Word-of-Mouth referrals. Encouraging customer feedback through various channels and touchpoints, such as surveys, polls and calls-to-action that invite customers to produce a testimonial that describes an example of customer service or customer experience that they found especially meaningful—can put your customers on the pathway to making Word-of-Mouth referrals on your behalf.

You will find it useful to expand your Word-of-Mouth referral network to include professional colleagues. Cultivating a reputation as a thought leader by developing relevant educational marketing content, combined with taking an active role in local business associations, can become a launching pad for establishing thought leader credibility. Devise a strategy that thoughtfully showcases your subject expertise and capabilities as it subtly promotes your unique value effectively and generates a positive buzz that results in Word-of-Mouth referrals. See below to find possibilities to expand your visibility to customers and colleagues who can become your brand cheerleaders and reward you with Word-of-Mouth referrals.

  • Social media and online review sites and communities.  Social networks are ubiquitous and enable participants to make many business and social connections. Invite your happy customers to share their enthusiasm for your product or service by posting user generated content that explains how your product or service made their life easier, enabled the company to achieve an important goal and what factors motivated them to choose your company instead of a competitor.
  • Case studies. Particularly if your service or product resolved a particularly vexing pain point for a customer, invite him/her to tell the story in a written or video format case study. A good case study allows prospects who are making final selections to envision the problem-solving capacity of your product or service and demonstrate thought leadership.
  • Webinars and podcasts. Laying the Groundwork for Word-of-Mouth Success for your webinar or podcast appearance by developing content that listeners will consider to be valuable. Address and offer effective solutions to problems that your listeners are likely to encounter—identify themes that your audience already has problems with and is searching for better ways to solve them. If you are the program host, your speakers should be someone who has proven credentials in developing valuable content. Finally, like an email subject line, create a catchy title for your webinar or podcast, it’s important to both communicate the benefit while creating curiosity.
  • Speaking engagements. Getting involved with local business associations such as the chamber of commerce, is a great resource to help you build your way to thought leader status and receiving Word-of-Mouth endorsements. If you haven’t done so already, get to know the leadership and membership by volunteering to manage programs. Volunteering to introduce a featured speaker or moderating a panel are pathways to an invitation to present a workshop that you’ve developed. An incubator for testing the reaction to a topic you’ve developed, or to polish your public speaking ability, is to explore speaking opportunities at your local library (where you may find a less demanding audience).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Deposit Photos

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Content Gets Competitive

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Freelance friend, you are a working professional who knows the environment in which you work. You know all too well that the B2B marketplace continues to become more saturated and, as one would expect, more competitive, as the years go by. B2B buying decision-makers, who are your prospects, have also become more demanding. The 2026 B2B Global Pulse Survey by McKinsey found that today’s buyers expect …consistent information and immediate access to expertise. When those expectations are not met, research shows, they move on.

In order to reach the planned revenue target, Freelance professionals, as well as small business owners and other marketers, must keep up with the growing expectations of prospective customers and get smarter about the strategies devised to promote and explain the case for using your product or service. As you do, keep in mind that your prospects have begun to consult B2B influencers to guide their buyer’s journey, as posts in this diary have recently indicated. The influencers are perceived to be both highly knowledgeable and independent. That’s a trend that will no doubt inspire you to create more authoritative content. Memorable and impactful will be your guiding stars.

B2B brands are investing more in editorial excellences, in-depth guides, and contributions from subject matter experts to provide real value.

Thought leader level content

Buyers want substantive proof of the business case that supports your service or product; enthusiastically delivered promises are not enough. Buyers are in search of informational marketing resources that ensure they’ll be able to make informed decisions when evaluating potential purchases. As a result, expectations continue to rise, making it more difficult for Freelancers to stand out as a professional who has a solution that has the potential to solve the problem or facilitate reaching the goal. Measurable outcomes and Return on Investment are prioritized, making case studies, industry reports, and original research the drivers of engagement and trust in your marketing content. Letting the quality of your supporting data confer to you thought leader style expertise is now a must-do for B2B Freelancers, because your prospects are being seduced by influencers. However, the research you quote is most likely to have been sponsored by a well-respected marketing research platform. As long as the data refers to the point you’re making, you’ll be taken as credible.

Interactive

Here’s the blistering truth—B2B buyers don’t want to talk with salespeople, as confirmed in a 2025 sales survey conducted by the business and technology research platform Gartner; 67% of B2B buyers indicated that they prefer a rep‑free experience. They’re up to here aggravated by avalanches of cold -calling mass marketing emails. Prospects on a buyer’s journey do like the opportunity to evaluate products or services anonymously by using digital tools before they engage with a vendor. Interactive explainer videos that include embedded clickable hotspots that adapt to the prospect’s learning path are a favorite resource, as are webinars that facilitate live chat and interactive infographics.

As the buyer’s journey heats up, prospects are happy to speak with a vendor (maybe you!), to confirm the self-guided research and discuss negotiable matters, such as the possibility of customization and price. To help reel in your sale, Gartner recommends the following:

  • Provide content that demonstrates your brand understands the pain points, goals, priorities, concerns and questions that prospective buyers need to make the right decision—
  • Help buyers quantify the benefits of your product or service for their organization (e.g., including solution performance data and other details). Consider creating free DIY interactive digital tools, such as interactive images, infographics, or surveys, that will help you present a memorable user experience for prospects who are on a self-guided buyer’s journey.
  • Help prospects feel confident and in control of the purchase decision (e.g., by providing a choice of tailored recommendations based on prospect input).
  • Encourage prospects to advance step by step as appropriate through their buyer’s journey by including compelling calls-to-action.

Brand storytelling

Humanizing your organization by inviting customers and prospects to get to know you is the reason to develop a brand narrative. Sharing customer success stories, divulging your motivation to become a founder and other mission-driven details can make your brand feel more relatable and relevant to current and prospective customers. Sharing relevant backstory details about your company—starting with what inspired you to launch your entity—can have enormous benefits for your business, including capturing consumers’ attention and helping you truly connect with customers. Ultimately, a strong customer relationship can help drive growth and increase sales. Brand storytelling is a marketing strategy that involves using authentic narratives to connect with your audience and build genuine emotional connections. It’s more than just promoting what you sell — it’s a way to share your values, purpose and background in a way that resonates and sticks. A company’s brand story should include certain key factors: 

  • Company mission statement: Your company mission and vision statements must be included in the telling of your brand story. You want people to support and feel connected to your company and what it stands for; not just the products or services you sell, but for your values. Ensure your company’s vision and mission statements are visibly accessible on your company website. 
  • Specifics: Include customer testimonials to verify how highly customers think of your brand. All-purpose, generic statements such “many people love our products” are just empty platitudes. Your storytelling will ring true when you mention a customer’s (first) name and describe their review in specific terms, such as, “This product saved me money and made my life easier.”
  • Simple and meaningful language: Potential customers should be able to easily read and understand your brand story in all its forms. Don’t exclude your audience by using words or phrases that are buzzwords or jargon that may not be understood and therefore will not resonate or show your authenticity. Instead, use meaningful language designed to evoke emotion and build brand intimacy.

Redesign/ reuse

Marketing experts call this “recycle-repurpose,” but I think redesign – reuse illustrates the task better. You might like to think of content creation like a traditional Sunday dinner that many American households probably still adhere to. When I was growing up, most American mothers would put a roast of some sort into the oven, peel potatoes or cook macaroni or rice, trim the spinach, shell the peas, or whatever and if energy allowed, or if guests were expected later in the afternoon, a cake or another dessert would be baked—from scratch. The kitchen would have a hunger-inducing aroma!

Like content creation, a big, traditional Sunday dinner is expensive to produce in terms of creativity, time and money. To maximize ROI, my mom cooked extra food on Sundays so that leftovers would be available for our Monday night supper. The Sunday dinner strategy can also be used to maximize the ROI of the marketing content that you create. For example, take a look at at the case studies you’ve developed. It’s almost certain that some clever editing will give you two or three sentences that can be dropped into your next newsletter or email marketing letter or become a social media post on its own. Effective repurposing of your long form content. Meaningful quotes that were first heard in a podcast, webinar, or panel that you participated in can be included in a video that gives an overview of one of those appearances. Recognize that your content is a valuable resource is an important aspect of your marketing strategy that is worthy of repackaging and is an enabler of the consistent publishing that prospects expect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Breya Jones. Bridge tournament in Louisville, KY (2024)

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Spice It Up In September and Beyond

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Happy August! I hope you are enjoying summer, whether the season is a busy or slow one for your business entity. If taking a vacation is on your wish list, I hope that it has, or will, achieve its purpose, and allow you to see new sights or return to familiar places, have fun, recharge your energy, and lower your stress level. I also hope that you’re finding time to read at least one business book that’s helping you to sharpen your business acumen.

September and the fourth quarter will soon arrive and now is the time to consider how you can successfully position your organization to achieve a strong year-end finish. Selling a product or service is usually a challenge, especially for Freelance professionals and small business owners. B2B marketplaces are nearly always crowded, typically consisting of a handful of market leaders that are trailed by a passel of “me, too” offerings. Unless your company has a sizeable marketing budget, it can be a struggle to build and sustain marketing or branding campaigns that will heighten the perception of your value and make your product or service appear more appealing to prospects. In short, today you can begin thinking about how to identify for your business a new competitive advantage.

The time is now to assess potential strategies that can position your entity to generate higher sales revenue in the coming months and it’s entirely possible that your preferred strategy can be carried out at a comparatively modest expense. Listed below are strategy possibilities that are accessible to Freelancers and SMB owners. Keep in mind that your promotional messaging must address urgent buyer pain points. You must do more than merely being clever as a way to get attention. The purpose of whatever new strategy you implement now is to leverage the competitive advantages you plan to highlight will result in customer roster that has a higher value, increased sales revenue and an enhanced customer lifetime value.

Read on and consider what you might have the means to do to fulfill the important goal of optimizing your brand visibility and image and maximizing sales revenue and profit as we look forward to the waning days of 2026.

I. Dare to be different

How can you clearly communicate to current and potential customers that your product or service will effectively address worrisome pain points and solve problems, enable them to achieve mission-critical goals without expressing those very important strengths in boring and predictable text? Useful information should not be ignored but…brands that are competing for the same target customer group can all sound alike. Target eyeballs cannot help but glaze over. The curse of commodification can creep in as prospects wade through sound-alike sales funnels that echo chamber repeat the same sales pitch. Isn’t it time for you to dare to be different and take a brave step forward?

Caution must be exercised and controversy is to be avoided for sure. You cannot afford to turn off the potential or current customers. But by choosing the right product attribute to showcase and then creating a cheeky tagline—or short video, or catchy image—that cleverly and succinctly describes your lead attribute, you can steal the thunder of competitors and propel your brand to the head of the class. If the Boston Red Sox can win 15 games in a row during July and escape an early death that had fans and sports announcers talking about “next year” sometime around Memorial Day, you can claim the spotlight for your brand and leap to the front of the pack. The suggestions below can stir up your creativity. Just do it.

  • Use humor to reframe the perception of your offering and your entity and escape the constraints of commodification
  • Align with a cause, such as climate change or animal rights (but avoid getting preach-y)  
  • Choose a unique visual branding style. Think 1950s retro, or find inspiration in the work of well-known artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Peter Max, or Yayoi Kusama.

II. B2B influencer marketing

Another strategy that has the potential to help you separate your entity from the congested marketplace is to align with a B2B Influencer. While originally a strategy used by your B2C counterparts, competition for billable hours in the B2B sector has stimulated the acceptance of influencer marketing by those in the B2B sector, including Freelancers.

B2B influencer marketing is not a means to showcase your services or products—that’s a B2C strategy. Freelancers and SMB owners work with B2B influencer marketing specialists to increase the stature of their brand and use that professional capital to build credibility that facilitates trust and relationship-building with potential customers who, if all goes according to plan, will become paying customers. The goal of B2B influencer marketing strategies is to align your organization with recognized and respected industry thought leaders—the influencers— whose industry knowledge, reputation and loyal followers can be leveraged in your target market sectors.

The most effective B2B influencers are well-known and respected experts and regarded as thought leaders in their field. B2B influencers aren’t celebrities, but they are trusted members of influential online communities. They are also respected speakers who are regularly on podiums at industry conferences and other business events. The knowledge and experience they’ve acquired gives the influencers great authority and credibility that’s enabled them to build a sizeable, loyal and often activist following.

Based on that authority and credibility, the best B2B influencers are able to build trust and enthusiasm for brands within their community of followers. They are also known to make endorsements that can stimulate purchases made by decision-makers within the community. A brand endorsement can result in a significant number of positive reviews posted on social media platforms that are capable of creating a word-of-mouth campaign that can spread to the general public and stimulate still more purchases of your brand’s services or products.

The influencer phenomenon is a growing trend in B2B marketing. Apparently fueled by the entry of Millennial and Generation Z into stakeholder and decision-making positions, prospective buyers are increasingly more trusting of the recommendations of independent thought leaders, that is, influencers, than in the marketing content you provide. Millennials and Gen-Z are comfortable with influencers and that preference is starting to impact purchasing.

  • Increase brand awareness. By aligning with a B2B influencer with a large following in your target market, your brand will have access to a new audience of highly-engaged prospects.
  • Enhance credibility. B2B decision-makers increasingly trust industry thought leaders, sometimes more than marketing content. This trend is becoming more common as Millennial and Gen Z buyers move into stakeholder and decision-maker positions that impact purchases. Millennial and Gen-Z stakeholders and decision committee members are comfortable with influencers
  • Increase leadgen and sales. Selecting an influencer who is closely aligned with your brand values can help you reach specific groups of prospects who are highly likely to become your customers.

III. Get strategic about social media

You may not have the bandwidth to undertake a major overhaul of your presence on social media platforms, but if you take just three steps, your social media ROI will become more significant for your business.

  •  Define prospects: Successful B2B social media speaks to specific customer personae and post content that addresses their specific pain points and how your service or product will solve the problem or help achieve the goals. Enhance your leadgen and site engagement by posting content that helps decision-makers for your service or product. Make your marketing content speak to their pain points, goals
  • Meaningful messages: Create content that speaks to the value that prospective customers are looking for. Clarify your understanding of why prospects feel they need your product or service? How does your offering make their life easier?
  • .Create a content calendar. This will solve two problems for you: 1.) If there are specific times of the year that you want to post, you’ll remember to do so; and 2.) You will post consistently and give your audience fresh content that drives engagement.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Stock AI image

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Don’t Get Too Personal

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Personalized marketing defines the future of marketing. Personalized marketing has not delivered on its promise. Got it.

Personalized marketing was supposed to revolutionize how you communicate with prospects, build and strengthen relationships with customers and promote your services and products to target market segments. Its purpose is to tailor your marketing messages, customer experiences and other communication with individual customers based on their unique attributes, purchasing history and preferences. Higher customer retention rates, increased sales revenue, increased customer lifetime value and decreased customer churn are among the most valuable benefits associated with personalized marketing.

Marketers were highly enthusiastic. But then came trouble in paradise, as consumers signaled concern about the privacy of their personal information and browsing behavior, which caused some turbulence in the digital sector. A reset occurred, as certain leading internet browsers instituted a ban, or allowed users to restrict, the use of third-party cookies, the mechanism that enables tracking of online behavior. As a result, marketing leaders (and that includes Freelancers and small business owners) have had to rethink their marketing personalization strategies, just when they were wrapping their heads around Customer Relations Management software and how Artificial Intelligence capabilities refined and optimized the effectiveness of personalized marketing strategies. Sigh.

So, it was necessary for brands to go back to square one marketing and shore up collection of first-party data that customers were willing to share. That information is more valuable than ever now—-and isn’t it better that you own and control your customer data, that customers and prospects know what you know about them; and they also know that you won’t sell their personal data? There’s a lot of upside that results from expanding your collection of first-party customer info—the process helps you strengthen relationships, because you’ll have more opportunities to better understand customers and you’ll be better prepared to improve their experiences with your brand.  You can apply personalization on any digital channel if you have access to customer data — often unified through a customer data platform put into place by your CRM service, which will use AI and algorithms to tailor customer experiences based on his/her data and behavior.

Realize that your customers expect and appreciate a personalized experience from the brands they regularly engage or do business with regularly. A McKinsey research study found that 76% of customers are more likely to purchase from brands that personalize. Customers want to know that the brand understands who they are and their needs and does not bombard them with unwanted sales offers.

The benefits of successful marketing personalization

  • More consistent and relevant customer experiences. Personalizing customers’ experiences shows that you understand their preferences and interests. This makes them more likely to engage and remain loyal to your brand, since they know you won’t pummel them with unwanted info.
  • Increased sales conversion rates. The more relevant your offers, the more likely that prospects and customers will value and accept the call-to-action you’re prompting them to, whether that’s purchasing a service or product, signing up for a subscription, or scheduling a consultation. Personalization enables you to entice customers with offers based on their past purchases, interests and real-time behaviors, since you’ll know what matters to them.
  • Higher customer loyalty, retention and lifetime value (LTV). Personalization sets you up to deliver relevant marketing messages and content, as well as the context in which to make recommendations for services or products, add-ons or upgrades, that are likely to resonate. When your organization demonstrates to customers that you are paying attention to their priorities, customers are more likely to give you repeat business and extend the customer lifecycle, which is vital for retaining customers in the long term.
  • Maximized marketing efforts and budget. Personalization ensures you’re always targeting customers with highly relevant offers. This means you’re not wasting your (and your customers’) time and resources. Coupled with the increase in conversion rates and revenue, this makes personalization an incredibly powerful tool for maximizing marketing spend and return on investment (ROI). It can even apply to your broader branding efforts, such as choosing the best name for your YouTube channel in order to engage a specific niche audience and earn more returns from your multimedia content.

 Types of personalization

Marketing personalization can be expressed in different ways, depending on what you want to achieve. For example, some personalization is one-to-one, meaning it’s directly related to the customer’s specific information — a technique increasingly powered by AI personalization. Think email marketing, from blogs or newsletter to special offers or events. Other times, personalization is applied using a targeted approach through customer segmentation, where you choose specific characteristics or customer attributes for a customer group based on their buying history or other interaction with your brand puts them into the segment receive a certain personalized experience.

Personalization can be as simple as having a person’s name in an email rather than an all-purpose general greeting, or as detailed as including the details of a customer’s recent purchase or web browsing in that email. It could also include showing particular product promotions on a website based on a person’s past purchases, or sending special promotions via SMS or a mobile application. Customers expect personalization on every channel, a continuity across website, mobile, SMS (text) and email communications.

Other examples of personalization include:

  • Product recommendations based on past purchases or online browsing
  • Product promotion info based on the website pages visited
  • Email offers to a segment of customers who own a particular product or receive a certain service
  • Communicating with a customer post-purchase to ensure they are happy and have no difficulty using the product or service and accessing its benefits

Boundaries matter

While there is no doubt that customers and prospects expect and appreciate personalization, they want to ensure their privacy. When, where and how much your brand personalizes the customer experience deserves consideration. It is imperative that you avoid making those who’d like to engage with your brand feel that you’re getting too personal, that they’re being closely watched. The feeling that business owners and marketers want to communicate is “I matter to this brand.” Build your personalization strategies around that thought and avoid activities that may feel like a violation.

When inviting those who engage with your brand to share certain info, you can take an important step in relationship-building by demonstrating that transparency is a policy you live by. Customers worry about brands collecting too much data, using information in unexpected ways, or creating experiences that feel too close for comfort. How data is used, confirming that it will not be shared with third parties and demonstrating that cybersecurity measures have been installed to discourage data security breaches will go a long way toward earning the trust of your customers and prospects. Clearly stated privacy policies, explicit consent mechanisms, giving customers control over their data and only personalizing in ways that genuinely add value to the customer experience you provide are must-dos.

Tools for effective marketing personalization

To effectively personalize your marketing efforts, implementing data analytics tools is necessary. Analytics tools track customer behavior that reveals website interactions and email responses, for example, so you can accurately tailor your strategies in response. Utilizing a marketing Customer Relations Management platform will optimize those capabilities by centralizing customer data to facilitate targeted, personalized communication. N.B.–maintain the quality of your customer data by taking steps to ensure that it is updated and accurate.

CRM analytics serve as the foundation for both customer journey mapping and sales forecasting by providing the behavioral data needed to understand how prospects move through your sales funnel. Every touchpoint, interaction and transaction recorded in your CRM becomes a valuable data point that reveals patterns in customer behavior and purchasing decisions.

Customer journey mapping relies heavily on CRM data to identify which channels, types of content and engagement lead to conversions. This info helps you understand which activities are most likely to indicate a purchase, or make the prospect more likely to make a purchase. You’ll also learn where in the buyer’s journey prospects are prone to abandon—or accelerate— their buying decisions.

Finally, your marketing CRM platform will greatly improve sales forecasting and ensure the data will be accurate when you analyze historical CRM data to predict future performance based on current sales funnel activity and even seasonal trends. CRM reporting tools enable you to track every interaction across the customer lifecycle, providing the comprehensive data needed to create reliable revenue projections and identify which touchpoints contribute most to creating sales.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Everett Collection. Jean Porter and Jimmy Lydon in the film Sweet Genevieve (1947)

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Why They Aren’t Your Customers

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A business owner is always on a mission to attract potential new customers, to introduce them to the company’s products and/or services and pique their interest by helping them to envision how using one (or more) of your offerings will make some aspect of their life or work better—-solve a problem, save time or money, achieve a goal, or enhance the company brand, for example.

You are aware that the answer to most sales appeals is “no;” but have you ever unpacked the deal-breakers that cause prospects to turn you down? Respectfully, I suggest that you explore this uncomfortable question. What you learn may surprise you, but I’ll wager that it will not discourage you, even if you discover a lapse that you should have anticipated. Being all things to all potential buyers is not a goal for the vast majority of business entities. If you’ve made a couple of mistakes, you’ll have a chance to fix things. As for non-customers, they can be grouped into four categories that describe their relationship with your brand:

  • Prospects who are unaware of your company, service, or product and may also be unaware of your product or service category.
  • Prospects who are aware of your company and its offerings, but they are uncertain that your service or product is an effective solution for their needs.
  • Prospects who are aware of the category of services or products that you provide, but your company is unknown to them.
  • Prospects who are satisfied with the services or products provided by a competitor company and they are not motivated to change.

Every now and again, fortune will smile and a non-customer will decide to investigate your online marketing funnel and become an active prospect. This individual could enter into active engagement and request information that leads to a chat with you. As you answer questions and position your solution as a preferable alternative to what s/he uses now, you may spark a level of trust and confidence that convinces the prospect that there is something better—and that better mousetrap could be your product or service. Make the most of what could be a good opportunity and listen for cues that subtly reveal a prospect’s niggling dissatisfaction that, with skillful handling, could blow up to become the motivation to abandon ship and buy from you.

Engagement

The most immediate way to assess a prospect’s feelings is by noting the level of engagement s/he demonstrates. A serious prospect will actively participate in discussions with you, either directly in conversation or by way of interactions with your online sales funnel. S/he will make comments, ask questions and solicit recommendations for how to use the product or service in specific situations. Serious prospects want to understand how your product or service will perform; will the results and outcomes justify the purchase? Will your product or service address specific pain points, solve a formidable challenge, or help to achieve an important goal? These prospects will be engaged with you every step of the way. Their responsiveness is typically swift; they are happy to follow-up on emails or to take meetings.

By contrast, prospects who are merely browsing are not prepared to become a paying customer anytime soon. They may need to obtain the support of higher-ups in their organization; they might be waiting for budget confirmation and timing. Prospects who are just looking around are inclined to be casual about their communication with you or your team. They might be motivated by curiosity to comparison shop; or maybe there’s a missing element in what they’re using now, something that was not a deal-breaker when they bought from your competitor. So, your commitment phobic prospect will occasionally search for a product or service that could become a potential replacement and mentally entertain a comparison. But will the prospect change horses?

For this prospect, there is no rush; s/he might take days or weeks to respond to your follow-up attempt. Casual prospects may postpone meetings without requesting a reschedule date; the feedback they give is likely to be vague and noncommittal. If you’re chasing someone for a response, or repeatedly trying to reestablish contact, it’s almost certainly indication that s/he isn’t fully invested in the conversation—or, worse, they’re simply not that interested. Ask yourself: which prospects make an effort to stay engaged with you and which respond only when you reach out—if that? When it’s the latter, you may find that the prospect is even more unreliable than they let on.

Urgency

Prospects with an immediate need for your product or service are usually far more likely to convert. They’ll have a specific problem that requires timely attention and they’ll make that clear early on in your interactions. Whether they’re on a tight timeline or under pressure to resolve a pressing business issue, serious prospects will express a desire to move quickly. You might get questions such as, “How soon can we start?” or “We’d like to get a solution in place by X date.” These statements indicate that the prospect is motivated and ready to move forward and make a purchase.

By contrast, a prospect who is merely browsing will not exhibit urgency. S/he might express interest, but when it’s time to take the next step, there will be hesitation. Commitment phobic prospects push timelines into the future or claim that they need more time to think things over. The lack of urgency may signal that the prospect isn’t prioritizing the purchase or, worse, that there is no plan to move forward. As a rule, when prospects are serious, their enthusiastic and consistent engagement communicates that they are eager to do the deal. If you detect only lukewarm interest, expect that prospect to disappoint you.

Decision-maker

One of the most frustrating experiences in sales is trying to mid-wife a buyer’s journey with a prospect whom you discover doesn’t have the authority to make purchasing decisions. Serious prospects usually have the power to buy, or they’re closely connected to the one who does. If your prospect must refer decisions to higher-ups, or is unclear about who will make the final call, this could be a red flag.

Early in your conversations, smart Freelancers ask the prospect questions about their decision-making process, such as “Who else will be involved in the decision?” or “What steps do we need to go through for final approval?” It’s critical to know if the person with whom you’re communicating has sole authority to make the buy, or if s/he has one vote on a decision team of five people, for example. Or maybe your prospect is doing the legwork for the sale because the person(s) who can green light the sale don’t like getting directly involved in sales (it happens). Whatever the protocol the prospect’s company follows, if s/he is serious, that person will give you accurate info about the purchase approval process and will fill you in on the internal steps and timelines needed to make a decision.

Uncommitted prospects, on the other hand, tend to be ambiguous, if not evasive, about who holds the decision-making power. If the prospect repeatedly tells you s/he needs to consult someone else about the sale, but never seems to move the process forward, that individual is most likely wasting your time. Without clear authority or a transparent decision-making process, it will be difficult to determine when, or if, the sale will be approved.

Moving forward

A serious prospect will move through your sales funnel with consistency and purpose. S/he will ask questions, including those intended to obtain information on the service or product delivery and implementation timelines and pricing specifics. Even if discussions and negotiations take time, there will be clear forward momentum.

Commitment phobic prospects, as you might guess, tend to stall. It’s possible that what appears to be genuine interest is demonstrated early on as the prospect engages in preliminary discussions. But when it’s time to progress to more concrete steps—such as proposing a delivery and implementation timeline, or reviewing a proposal—you find that communication becomes opaque and slows down, it does not bode well for the possibility of consummating the sale. This stalling tactic is manipulative as it traps you in uncertainty and denies you from good faith business practice. Such prospects may be unable to guarantee an adequate budget, or they may be in serious negotiation with another vendor and merely using you as a bargaining chip or a Plan B option. You are advised to be circumspect.

It’s important to recognize the potential significance of persistent delays and face up to the possibility that the prospect may not be willing and able to make a decision. If the prospect habitually postpones meetings, this could surely indicate that this individual is unreliable, probably because the authority to make the purchase is not in hand. Do yourself a favor and monitor how quickly and smoothly prospects move from one step to the next in your sales funnel; any unusual delays are worth questioning.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © MoustacheGirl for Getty Images

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Predictions: Which Freelance Skills Will Be Most Valued In 2027?

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As we enter Fiscal Year 2027, demand for the expertise, experience, energy and enthusiasm that Freelance professionals bring to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations around the world continues on an upward trend. Hiring rates of Freelance professionals climbed 44% above the average demand predicted by leading Freelance labor platforms. The market is projected to grow from $8.9 billion in 2026 to $21.97 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.32%.

To state the obvious, the steady growth of Freelance labor has largely been fueled by the digital revolution, that has touched all aspects of how we live and work. Artificial Intelligence is the center of the universe now, generating a big demand for Freelance talent. In fact, there is a shortage of talent that possesses the necessary capability to evaluate AI readiness assessment, has a command of AI development expertise or machine learning engineering, or owns the desired fluency in prompt engineering. Other technology sectors that remain a magnet for Freelance talent are programming, from mobile app to software and web development, plus user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) specialists, cybersecurity and sustainability experts. These lucrative niches are predicted by leading Freelance labor sources to reach a CAGR of 16.32% during 2026 – 2031.

Niche to watch: supply chain and logistics

Another industry that has the potential to provide a strong demand for Freelance talent is the supply chain sector, which is expected to play a prominent role in hiring rates of independent labor in FY 2027. The global supply chain industry is entering a period of growth in FY 2027. After several years of sluggish hiring, companies are again expanding their capabilities across logistics, procurement, planning and manufacturing. Hiring managers are especially interested in Freelance professionals who have strong data analytics proficiency and environmental sustainability skills, along with sustainability and logistics experience that includes cross-functional expertise.45% of supply chain and logistics companies currently work with Freelance talent.

The quick acceptance and implementation of AI powered digital tools have enabled the use of robotics and workflow streamlining, for example, but there is an AI talent gap in the supply chain work force. These urgencies have compelled industry decision-makers to take advantage of the global, scalable, agile workforce available by way of the Freelance talent pool, which also delivers a cost-savings of 30% – 40% vs. full-time employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11% growth in supply chain management jobs through 2030 .

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The New York Times/ Federico Rios Escobar. The container ship ZIM Newark (Germany) sails through the Panama Canal in July 2024

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10 Titles: Good Business Reads for Summer 2026

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The U. S. Chamber of Commerce highly recommends that owners of businesses of any size, from single owner /employee entities to chief executives of global enterprises that employees thousands, should regularly undertake the professional development activity known as reading. In particular, how-to entrepreneurial business books contain a wealth of knowledge and actionable advice that’s supported by the author’s examples of hands-on business leadership experience, along with encouragement and guidance to inspire you. Reading presents opportunities to learn from others’ successes and disappointments; however, in the age of information overload, it can be difficult to make time for reading while simultaneously juggling the demands of operating a business—sometimes on your own.

To make it easier for Freelancers and other business leaders to find books that grab your interest, I’ve curated a list of business reading possibilities. The books have been well-received in the business sector but they are only suggestions, and intended to encourage you to consider subjects that you’d like to explore. Below are recommendations for curating a reading list that will support your knowledge building objectives:

  • Choose topics that interest you. You may need to address a challenge for which you’d like to obtain some insight. A subject or author may pique your interest. There are many books to choose from within the business category; the prospect of taking a deep dive into a topic that tempts you will supply ample motivation to start reading.
  • Schedule time to read.  Similar to reserving a block of time that will be devoted to an important task, dedicating time for reading reinforces its value. Your reading sessions can be longer or shorter; for instance, you can allot mini-blocks of time to give yourself brief but focused reading sessions at the beginning and end of your day. You can create a reading habit that quickly becomes part of your routine and motivates you to find more books to read.
  • Incorporate audiobooks and podcasts. Listening to podcasts and audiobooks allows you to learn while working out, commuting, doing laundry, or tackling other routine tasks.
  • Abandon books that aren’t resonating. If the author’s message or writing style leave you flat, move on to one that captures your attention as it provides the lessons you’re looking for.
  1. Real Time Leadership (David Noble and Carol Kauffman, February 2023)

The best leaders are able to assess pivotal, potentially game-changing situations when the outcome matters most and respond in the most effective way possible to move forward—or not. Authors David Noble and Carol Kauffman are best-in-class leadership coaches; they advise that the most difficult aspect of leadership occurs when you must control the inevitable high-risk, high stakes challenge. Whether you’re faced with a split-second decision, when your business is reeling, or could be soon, and your mind is racing to determine the best strategy to navigate business-critical long-term circumstances. An effective leader must be able to step up, seize the reins and guide the organization to a successful landing. Noble and Kauffman show you how their innovative leadership development framework trains you to excel at tactics that slow down high-stakes situations before they speed you up and pull you under like a rip tide. Instead, you’ll learn to confront and master the moment, so that you can calmly generate response options and quickly evaluate those options before acting.

2. The Science of Scaling (Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Blake Erickson, July 2025)

Are you generating only modest annual growth in your business, frustrated and wondering why a pathway to scale your entity seems out of reach? Authors Blake Erickson and Dr. Benjamin Hardy deliver the outrageous truth—lackluster growth isn’t just slow, it’s a sign your business is sliding toward stagnation. Research shows that businesses that are unable to scale quickly usually fail. But why? Because most leaders are focused on the wrong priorities, operating from the wrong assumptions and setting the wrong goals.

In The Science of Scaling, organizational psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Blake Erickson, co-founders of Scaling .com, reveal a revolutionary framework that helps companies scale bigger and faster than they ever thought possible. In fact, companies that apply this framework routinely grow 10–100x within just three years.

If you’re satisfied with small wins and incremental gains, this book isn’t for you. But if you’re ready to stop optimizing what shouldn’t exist―and finally build a business that scales―this is your playbook. When you read this book, you’ll experience a paradigm shift that will cause you to change your perspective on how to operate a business entity. You’ll realize that you’ve been playing small and trapped by fear. Now, you’ll finally understand how to scale the right way: with bold, ambitious goals, extreme honesty and the true “focus”― defined as filtering for only the people and paths that align directly with your highest vision.

3. The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers (Rob Fitzpatrick, September 2013)

When you decide to learn something about your customers—what you’re on a mission to figure out what they like and would like to see more of, or get the details of what isn’t working for them and why—the standard advice given to every marketing or sales leader, Freelancer or business owner, is to ask them. Talking to those who buy your services or products is considered a foundational skill of sales and marketing. We all know we’re supposed to do it, but no one wants to admit that it’s not so easy to do it right and make your customer feel comfortable enough to give you the info you need, but it can be all too easy to screw up and say the wrong thing—-or say the right thing in the wrong way.

The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers by Rob Fitzpatrick is a practical guide that helps entrepreneurs navigate the crucial task of talking to customers in order to confirm a business idea, or ask questions about an existing service or product. Fitzpatrick illustrates how sensitive conversations can go wrong and shows you how to keep them on track, so that you’ll get the info that you need to move forward. Now you can reduce the risk of building products nobody wants and make informed decisions based on real customer behavior rather than on polite feedback.

The author is an entrepreneur who co-founded the education agency Founder Centric, taught at top universities including Harvard, MIT and University College of London (UK), co-wrote the book Workshop Survival Guide, which describes how to design and run effective and engaging workshops. He also managed to learn enterprise sales, skill that fuels his current vocation of gathering unbiased customer learning and taking an idea from nothing through to its first dozen or so paying customers.

4. Financial Intelligence: A Manager’s Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean (Karen Berman and Joe Knight, February 2013)

This is an excellent book for anyone who doesn’t have a traditional business administration background. Financial Intelligence is a comprehensive guide that’s meant to help managers at all levels understand the often intimidating world of finance and shows you how to make sense of financial data and use that knowledge to make better decisions and develop more confidence.

One of the best things about the book is how clearly authors Karen Berman and Joe Knight simplify and present complicated financial ideas into terms that are easy to understand and to the point. Even those who have never studied business before can understand the core ideas and use them in real life. Berman and Knight stress how important financial knowledge is for all managers, no matter what area they work in. The fact that financial information can be used in any situation is very interesting. It changes the way we think about financial knowledge so that it is no longer a special skill but a core skill that is essential to good management.  The book isn’t just about figuring out what the numbers mean; it’s also about how to use that knowledge to make good business choices. It is a must-read for any boss who wants to make their company successful financially.

5. Inside the Box (David Epstein, April 2026)

We live in a world that gives us seemingly infinite choices and values freedom above all else. We have an unprecedented number of options regarding what to do, who to be, and how to spend our time. All that choice is wonderful; it is also overwhelming. The irony is that total freedom can be paralyzing, and unlimited resources don’t necessarily lead to the biggest breakthroughs. In fact, overvaluing complete freedom can be disastrous for everything from starting a company to harnessing creativity to finding personal satisfaction.

Author David Epstein argues that all of us—individuals, businesses, institutions, even societies—can benefit from narrowing our options. He dives into the science and practice of constraints, exploring exactly when and how guardrails can be beneficial, whether we’re working with limited resources or using self-imposed boundaries to tap unexpected wells of focus and innovation.

6. Build Your Dream Network (J. Kelly Hoey, January 2018)

Acclaimed business columnist and networking expert J. Kelly Hoey offers a fresh new approach to mastering this timeworn skill in a world where everyone is posting, liking and friending fast and furiously, but are mostly failing to leverage their connections successfully—because they’re not really connections. Hoey’s book presents innovative strategies for developing strong and healthy relationships–the genuine, mutually beneficial, long-lasting kind–by using all of the social tools at your disposal. She also reveals creative and surprisingly simple ways to harness the power of your network to accomplish any ambition, from landing your dream job, to signing a coveted account or client, to successfully crowdfunding a new business venture.

J. Kelly Hoey cuts through the noise of traditional networking and provides strategies for creating authentic, mutually satisfying relationships. She emphasizes that real networking is not about attending dull cocktail parties or gaining a large number of connections online. The book is packed with innovative strategies to help you make the most of both in-person and digital networking opportunities. One of the standout aspects of Build Your Dream Network is its focus on turning “closed-door” conversations into solid business opportunities and personal relationships. Hoey provides advice on how to approach and follow up with contacts in an authentic and strategic way.

 7. Atomic Habits (James Clear, October 2018)

 Are you struggling to build some useful new habits that you will actually incorporate into your life? Atomic Habits by James Clear breaks down the process of developing a useful new habit and serves it up in four simple steps: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy and make it satisfying. If you truly want to live a “successful” life (placed in quotation marks here as success is subjective and its definition is up to you), then you need to put in the time and effort daily to build healthy habits that support your goals and productivity. James Clear shows us that habit-building can be easy and fun. It’s not as boring or arduous as you might think.

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. 

The book will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

8. Rework (Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, March 2010)

Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, ad nauseum.
But for many aspiring entrepreneurs, you’ll be better off if you stop talking and start working; authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson show you how its done. You’ll learn why a multi-page business plan will not necessarily help your mission, why you probably don’t need outside investors and why you could do better by ignoring the competition.

The truth is, to build a successful business entity, less than can be more. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t always need to hire staff (especially not with artificial intelligence powered tools). You definitely don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. Those are all just excuses that block you from seizing the moment.

You’ll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank and the value of more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire you. It’s Keep It Simple Strategies make Rework the perfect guide for anyone who’s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs they hate, victims of downsizing—Freelancers!—will all find valuable guidance and inspiration in these pages.

9. Future Fit: How to Stay Relevant and Competitive in the Future of Work (Andrea Clarke, March 2019)

The future of work is about talent, not technology, says Andrea Clarke, author of ‘Future Fit: How to Stay Relevant and Competitive in the Future of Work. Clarke points out that if we want to outrun the algorithm to stay secure in the future of work, we need to upgrade our own capability in ways we may not have considered. As artificial intelligence is adopted into the workplace and traditional employee arrangements transform, we’re heading into a far less structured era of work.

For organizations, it means re-imagining talent models, re-skilling the workforce and re-defining business practices for a digital age. For individuals, it means the responsibility for finding, securing and delivering work lies with us more than ever before with the individual. That sounds like the Freelance sector to me! The book will equip you with eight critical human skills we’ll need to invest in for a new working environment. From Reputation Capital, Communication, Adaptability and Creativity to Networking, Leadership, Problem-Solving and Continuous Learning.

10. Start With Yourself (Emma Grede, April 2026)

Start with Yourself is a game-changing, no-nonsense guide for seeking meaningful success on your own terms. It’s an essential framework that will give you the tools and mindset to unlock your full potential in life and business—straight from a woman who defied all the odds to become a serial entrepreneur, most famously as a founding partner of SKIMS with Kim Kardashian and co-founder of Good American, a maker of denim clothing for women, with Khloe Kardashian. Ultimately, this is a book for everyone tired of feeling like a bystander or passenger in your own life. Author Emma Grede offers tangible and applicable-right-now solutions to create a mindset, an overall system of thought to manage emotions, clarify ideas and illuminate the right next step—while always staying positive.

Above all, Grede offers a new vision for work and life that encourages readers everywhere to take responsibility for their own thinking in order to achieve personal and professional success at the highest levels. It’s about gathering yourself after failure. It’s about being accountable but also forgiving yourself. It’s about not expecting shortcuts while never being bashful about grabbing them when they appear. It’s about pushing hard for wins and never apologizing for your dreams.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Walther Firle (Germany, 1859-1929) Three Girls Reading, circa 1900

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And the Winner is User Generated Content!

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Human beings are, most of us, risk averse. Before trying something new, many of us will do a background check to find out how those who’ve had occasion to use the service or product feel about the experience; and how do those who’ve used the whatever rank the degree of satisfaction it delivers? How does it look, feel, sound, taste, operate, or entertain you? Was the level of satisfaction 5-star excellent, a 10? Or was it 3-star not bad, a 6?

Before committing to try something new, many prospects are inclined to feel safer when they learn how those with user experience feel. So they find the book review, watch the movie trailer, see the celebrity chef cook during a TV guest spot; they’re on a decision-making mission. Similar behavior occurs in the B2B sector, with Freelance professionals, business owners and marketing specialists working on the creator side to manage responsibility for delivering informative, persuasive and memorable experiences to current or potential clients and others who visit company websites, social media accounts, podcasts, newsletters, or other marketing platforms that can influence a buyer’s journey decision-making mission. First person user experience reports can be influential when they are memorialized in comments or stories on social media platforms or as ratings on ranked reviewing sites; and their reach is long. It was recently reported that approximately 98% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase—meaning that first-person user experience narratives can contribute to the decision-making process associated with the B2B buyer’s journey.

The level of website page views and social media site visits and engagement have long been a reliable barometer of audience interest and approval. Ranking sites such as Angi’s List, Google Business, Amazon or Facebook Reviews and Yelp that invite users to express how they feel about the service or product by awarding (or withholding) stars and/or personal comments have been another trustworthy barometer of audience approval. Not long ago, those who seriously contemplated doing business with a particular company were sure to check in with a go-to ranking site to obtain what they considered trustworthy feedback. But that was then and this is now.

You may have noticed that “grade inflation” has infiltrated popular ranking sites? Prospective buyers have become increasingly suspicious. How many of you have heard rumors about companies that pay advertising agencies to generate untrue reviews that award 5-stars for experiences that never took place? Furthermore, it was recently leaked that Artificial Intelligence-generated “customer” reviews are tainting ranking sites and diminishing trust. According to data from Pangram Labs, nearly 74 % of AI-generated reviews are fabricated 5-star fantasies. As you would expect, the credibility of review site rankings is dropping, the outcome of an unusual number of reviews on some sites that have received 5-star rankings. Freelancers and other marketing leaders are waking up to the fact that they must restore the credibility of user reviews. Enter User Generated Content.

UGC is original, from-the-heart, content that’s created by real life users of your service or product who are motivated to express what they consider an important assessment or other message about doing business with you. The primary creators of UGC are long-term clients and brand cheerleaders. Usually posted on social media accounts, UGC communicates deep admiration and trust for the product or service. It’s most often expressed in reviews or testimonials and presented in text or video format along with images.

In a B2B buying environment that a growing number of prospects don’t quite trust, thanks in part to the misuse of AI to create fake product reviews, plain-spoken UGC is like a breath of fresh air. Its presence can drive up to a 137 % higher purchase likelihood than slick and scripted agency produced content—because UGC is unquestionably authentic. In today’s digital marketplace, UGC has demonstrated that it is an effective component of brand credibility and capable of influencing buyer journeys and purchases for as long as it remains posted, establishing trust that stimulates positive word-of-mouth endorsements, repeat business, referrals and an increased customer lifetime value.

That’s why right now, Freelancers, business owners and marketing leaders would be wise to press the start button and introduce UGC reviews to your digital marketing strategy. What follows are tactics that digital marketing experts recommend to build a UGC campaign that will not only persuade your current clients to share their UGC success stories, but will also help participating clients to tell a story that resonates with site visitors who appreciate UGC content.

Make UGC seem easy and valuable to clients

It’s possible that a couple of clients will, without prompting, post UGC that is useful to your product, service and/or organization; but the impact will be more persuasive when there are several UGC posts that describe the positive and trustworthy experiences that result when doing business with your brand. To move things forward, you will benefit from outreach—specifically, a UGC recruitment campaign that invites happy clients to share the good news about your product, service and organization.

You can explore digital marketing agencies to discuss the scope and pricing of their UGC services, or you may choose the Do It Yourself option to build and manage your UGC marketing campaign on your own. Marketing experts recommend that a successful UGC campaign be presented as email marketing and that the most effective recruitment tool is a UCG review request, which is attached to the email. Develop a list of clients with whom you’ve recently done business and that you are fairly certain have had a positive experience with the product or service that was purchased. Ride the wave of good timing by inviting requests from those whom you expect the memory of their good experience with your brand is fresh, making the motivation to talk about the experience strong. A detailed, clearly expressed and enthusiastic narrative that is presented as text plus an image or two, or in video format, has the potential to become a powerful marketing asset for your brand.

Moreover, a good UGC recruitment strategy must be personalized and designed to make the client’s participation efficient and even empowering. Be certain to use a mobile-friendly, customizable UGC review response form that is easy for participating clients to complete and submit to you. Devise a simple but elegant email and review request form that enhances successfully completed and submitted responses.

You probably guessed that successfully persuading a client to participate is a thrill, but it’s only half the battle. The submitted review must tell a persuasive story in order to influence prospective clients. To create enthusiastic and clearly expressed content, it will be a smart idea to provide participating clients with editorial guidance. Define expectations by including some content suggestions that could enhance the quality of reviews. You don’t want a slick and polished description of the experience; rather, you want to help clients to remember and clearly express what mattered most to them. Consider suggesting the following:

  • Beyond the stars: Instead of a bland question to use as a suggested client response starting point for the UGC, such as “How did you like using (the product or service)?,” suggest instead a more personal and specific question, such as  “Did the product/service resolve your problem?” or “Did the product or service help you achieve your goal or fulfill your purpose?” Good questions help clients recall specific details that can demonstrate the credibility your future clients are looking for.
  • Visuals: Nothing is more powerful than seeing a product in a real-time setting. Client photos and/or videos are highly desirable and known to build trust and demonstrate authenticity. Client videos and images are significantly more effective than photos or videos produced by advertising professionals. Your review collection process should actively encourage the inclusion of visuals and simplify their uploading.
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount or loyalty points for contributing a review can increase participation in your UGC campaign. However, be transparent about it. The goal is to encourage feedback, not to “buy” positive reviews.
  • Reminders: Many clients intend to leave a review but may forget to complete the process. Who among us doesn’t need follow-up? A single, polite reminder sent 5-7 days after your initial email request can significantly increase the total number of reviews collected.

Review, manage, moderate

Once the reviews start rolling in, you will need a management system. Effective moderation gives site visitors, whether new clients or a devoted brand cheerleader, a trustworthy resource for current, prospective, or returning lapsed clients while enabling you to engage directly with your clients and build relationships. Avoid the mistake made by AI-powered reviews and post more than just 5-star reviews that are received. Displaying honest criticism that may arrive shows that you’re a transparent brand. The key is to have clear internal guidelines for moderation. You should publish nearly all legitimate reviews and only edit out spam or reviews that are off topic.

Display UGC reviews for maximum impact

  • Integrate social proof at every key touch point of the buyer’s journey. Don’t make prospects hunt for it.
  • Product pages: For e-commerce, product detail pages are must-have locations for UGC review visibility. Your product detail pages must feature a prominent reviews section. Key placements include a star rating summary directly under the product title and a complete review plus widget further down the page.
  • Homepage: The homepage is your digital storefront. Use a review carousel or a gallery of visual UGC reviews to build immediate trust with first-time visitors and showcase your most popular products through the eyes of customers.
  • Category pages: When a prospective client browses a category with dozens of options, reviews can be the deciding factor. Displaying star ratings directly on product listings on these pages helps users compare items and click through to products with strong social proof.
  • Checkout & cart pages: Even a small display of your overall site rating on the cart or checkout page can provide that final nudge of reassurance, helping to reduce abandonment rates.

Responding to reviews: Turn feedback into relationship-building conversations

Your job isn’t done when a review is published. Engaging with positive and negative feedback is an essential component of responsive, exceptional customer service; transparency and the willingness to address what needs to be improved builds relationships and loyalty. Responding to a negative review, while perhaps stressful, can turn a dissatisfied client into a loyal advocate.

  • Acknowledge promptly and publicly: Respond directly to the negative review so others on the buyer’s journey can see you’re willing to engage.
  • Apology and empathy: Show that you understand the client’s frustration. A simple “We’re so sorry to hear about your experience” goes a long way to overcoming disappointment and repairing a rift.
  • Offer a reasonable solution: Don’t just apologize; make it right. Offer a refund, a replacement, or a discount on a future purchase.
  • Take the conversation offline: Provide a direct contact email or phone number to resolve the specific details of their issue privately. This shows you’re taking it seriously while keeping sensitive information out of the public eye.

Finally, search engines love fresh, relevant content and what’s fresher than a constant stream of new client reviews? UGC is an excellent, often updated source of Search Engine Optimization goodies like long-tail keywords and natural language that real people use to search for products.

Thanks for reading and Happy Independence Day (July 4) to those in the US!

Kim

Image: © Alamy

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Vacation: Planning Your Restorative Recess

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Labor performed by Freelance workers continues to exert a significant influence on the global economy. Freelance professionals play a central role in leading industries on every continent, as demonstrated by the prevalence of Freelance professionals working in software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, human resources, graphic design, marketing, business consulting and in creative industries, from photojournalism to landscape design. Many of you in the U.S. and around the world have built rewarding and lucrative Freelance solopreneur entities. However, it is not an exaggeration to acknowledge that many Freelance workers struggle with one ordinary, but integral, facet of working life—taking time off.

Culture and customs

Unlike W-2 employees, Freelance workers are self-pay all the way—health insurance, holiday, personal, or sick time, retirement fund and vacation time. While there can be exceptions, such as retainer clients or ongoing projects where billable hours are front-end loaded, in many cases a day or a week without work can mean a day or a week without revenue. Revenue income is directly linked to billable hours, deliverables to the client, or project milestones. It can be difficult to step away from billable hours and risk diminishing your income or, heaven forbid, undermining your relationship with a coveted, but high-maintenance, client. Precarious circumstances can instill a fear of professional risk that can override what is, or should be, a normal part of working life.

On top of that, when working in the knowledge economy, whether you participate as 1099-NEC or W-2 labor, clients or employers may have developed an “always on” expectation of the help, a custom that is common in the U.S. and parts of East Asia and is taking hold in some sectors in the Middle East. Rapid response times enabled by a constant digital presence have become the norm in some industries and, increasingly, the practice now defines the preferred client relationship. Email, instant messaging and video conferencing make it easy for clients to expect immediate feedback from their Freelance collaborator, regardless of time zone differences or observances of local holidays. Unfortunately, the 24/7 always-on business culture can erode the boundaries between working hours and personal time, particularly for Freelancers who already operate without the advocacy of a multinational corporation that can enforce fixed work schedules.

Adding to the Freelancer’s stress is the awareness that platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, or Toptal give prospective employers instant access to your potential replacement—a talented individual who may reside in your own country or on another continent, and is ready to service those who were once your clients. Under those anxiety-producing conditions, even established Freelancers may hesitate to go off-line and take a break that exceeds a long weekend, so worried are you that even a long-standing client might explore alternative providers while you are out of the office.

Health and wellness

Still, there are persuasive health and even professional benefits associated with incorporating vacations and holidays into your Freelance work schedule. Health care professionals point out the direct links between chronic overwork, cardiovascular risk, anxiety and depression and diminished productivity associated with the neglect of taking time off to relax and refresh your energy and focus. For Freelancers, who must, on your own, juggle client acquisition, deliver excellent project results and outcomes, perform administrative duties such as invoicing and project proposal submissions and conduct strategic planning for your business entity, the risk of burnout is typically higher than for traditional employees who have team support. Your long-term success depends on it.

Rest is not merely a wellness concept; it is a performance driver. Research from organizations such as Harvard Business Review  has consistently shown that cognitive performance, creativity and problem-solving improve after periods of genuine disconnection. Vacations and holidays contribute to building resilience and even creativity. You owe it to yourself to periodically step away from the grind and allow your mind and body to rest and recover.

Budget and schedule

Because you must finance your extended holiday, build projected restorative recess expenses into your company’s annual budget. Your annual Freelance business revenue (your income, that is) should cover your non-billable time, from the administrative duties you perform to standard and local holiday observances and your personal vacation days. Step One of your time-off enablement strategy is obtaining a reasonable estimate of the amount you can afford to spend and when you can afford to do it.

Begin by forecasting your revenue (what you expect to earn), cash-flow (when accounts receivable should arrive and when accounts payable expenses are due) and calculate a reasonable vacation budget. You might feel comfortable setting up a dedicated savings account and depositing 5% – 15% of monthly revenue received to create for yourself “paid leave” fund. Over the course of a year, you may be able to finance perhaps three to four weeks of non-billable time.

Remember also that retainer agreements are an excellent system for guaranteeing your revenue stream and can preserve your cash-flow during holidays and slow periods. Client retainer agreements can accommodate time off for holidays by front-loading your client work, or even reducing the scope of the work you perform, perhaps by yourself and the client negotiating a specified number of hours you will be available.

As for when you choose to schedule a vacation, you might simply confirm the slowest business periods on your calendar—maybe the last week of December or sometime during July or August? Few key clients are in the office during those blocks of time. You will also do well to reframe your approach to holidays; they can be more than random disruptions in your weekly workflow. Open yourself to recognizing a holiday as the foundation of a week’s vacation, for example.

Tech enabling

The rapid evolution of digital tools has significantly transformed what it means for Freelance workers to take time off. Automation and artificial intelligence powered assistants and agents can now play a pivotal role in maintaining operations continuity while the human overseers step away to take a recess. Your newsletter and other marketing emails, monthly invoices, monthly financial statements and sales funnel CRM follow-up can automatically be set into motion. Project management platforms such as ClickUp, Asana and Trello make it possible to monitor progress and status, assign responsibilities and set timelines to ensure that time-sensitive projects can move forward while you are away. If you must take a (brief!) meeting during your vacation, there are numerous videoconferencing platforms that allow anyone with internet access to check in and participate.

If maintaining data security is a priority for you (and it should be), particularly for Freelancers who will travel and also monitor client work from multiple locations. When grabbing internet access from hotels or co-working spaces, the risk of experiencing a data breach or other attack grows. Security-conscious Freelancers will use a virtual private network (VPN), two-factor authentication and encrypted password managers to protect data—their own and the clients’. When travelling, it is imperative that you protect your data, especially if you’ll log-on from remote work environments.

Communication plan

So can you get the ball rolling on a vacation you’ll take sometime before this year ends? A carefully designed financial plan and a date range that can be expected to cause minimal disruption to your work schedule are all good—but will not please your clients if a sloppy communication process causes them to feel blindsided or abandoned when you, their Freelance collaborator, announce a hiatus. Timely information must be the cornerstone of your communication strategy. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and imagine how much lead time would be useful for you and your team?

For example, if you decide to add a couple of days to a holiday long weekend, giving clients four to six weeks notice should suffice; but giving clients eight to ten weeks advance notice if your out-of-office time will extend to a week or two will be much appreciated. The longer your absence, the more advance notice you should give. Freelancers who value professionalism and good manners typically inform their currently engaged clients of planned absences well in advance (depending on the nature of the work). In your communication to clients, be certain to provide precise out-of-office dates, a summary of deliverables and/or milestones that will be completed before your departure and, if applicable, response expectations you will fulfill during your vacation, along with any contingency arrangements developed to preserve workflow that will be put into place.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © AlikaObraz for Freepik. A healing hot springs soak in Loutra Edipsou, Greece.