The Myth of the Quick Copy Ask
Whether you’re a copywriter, UX writer, content strategist, or some radical combination of all three, the scenario is a familiar one: You’re sitting quietly by yourself when a product manager sends you the most casual of causal slack messages:
“Hey!”
In your heart, you know the exclamation point is a bad sign, but you gamely write back:
“Hey! What’s up?”
…because you’re super chill, even as you dread what is inevitably coming next.
“I have a quick copy ask for you.”
The quick copy ask. Just a few words thrown together! Just a sentence (or two) to round out a project! Just a tiny fix before a product launches! No big deal, right?
But it IS a big deal. Because words need to have meaning, and meaning is only determined by a message. And a message can only be determined with research and data. And research and data? That take time.
But being a good content strategist/copywriter/UX writer/new-cool-job-title-tbd means finding a middle ground to collaborate effectively with product partners. So, when my product manager brought me into a “quick copy ask” for a SMS test, I wanted to deliver within the tight deadline…but also produce the best possible work. The answer was reducing my normal process into an express version.
Here’s how it went down:
The Project
What: Write an SMS that anticipates delivery anxiety and serves up solutions utilizing two text prompts:
- TRACK (for a link to track package page)
- CONTACT (for help center and contact information)
Why: To decrease“Where is My Stuff?” contacts, which are currently 31% of all customer call to customer service agents — even when there are no delays or problems.
When: End of day!
The Process
Hour one: What are the customers really asking?
Since I was operating within the SMS world, I spent my research hour reading over our SMS conversation history lists, which documents customer responses to triggered, order-related messages. (These messages are not answered, BTW.)
I pulled dozens of quotes like:
“Uhhh, where’s my product?”
“Could you make sure the address is correct. Thanks.”
“Thanks I cancelled that order. It never should have been shipped.”
“My friend gave you guys the wrong address.”
“Can delivery guy call me about 30 minutes before arrival so I can be home to receive it?”
As patterns began to emerge I bucketed the quotes into three action categories customers want to take during this post-ordering stage.
Fix
Change
Confirm
Hour two: Empathy maps
Armed with the actions and quotes, I was ready to build empathy maps. By striving to understand what our customers might think, do, say, and, most importantly, feel, I’d be better equipped to craft the correct conversation based on…well…empathy!
Here’s my empathy map based on the “Change” action:
Hour three: Job stories
Job stories help us focus on the actual problem to solve. Happily, for this project, I was able to work with real examples gleaned from the SMS responses. I wrote these out and then tracked the action, current emotion, and the counter emotion that I hope to achieve with the amazing SMS I’d eventually get around to writing!
Next, I stripped these job stories to their most basic, neutral versions that focused on the MAIN problem to solve for each of my actions (change, confirm, fix):
When my situation changes, I want to be able to make a change to my delivery so I can receive my item.
When I’m unsure about delivery details, I want to confirm that everything is still on track.
When I notice a mistake, I want to be able to fix it fast so I can have my item delivered correctly.
Armed with all of this, it was writin’ time.
Hour four: Writin’ time
I used three different writing tricks to incorporate everything I’d learned into 140 characters, and fast.
1) Boil Down The Message
I asked myself, what’s the most basic version of the solution to each of the three job story problems? And I came up with:
Here is how you change your order details…
Here is where you can track your order…
Here is how to fix any incorrect information…
2) Tone Variations
My favorite trick! This is where I play around with this basic message in a variety of tones, like very bland, conversational, or over-the-top. Although I think I prefer the way Wayfair Content Strategist Connor Doherty puts it: mild, medium, and spicy.
3) Throw Spaghetti at The Wall (and Hope Something Sticks)
This is the stage where I write approximately 600,000 versions of the same message in increasingly panicked and surreal tones. No one will ever see these notes (including you) but let’s just say phrases like “Order confusion??? Not on MY watch!” may have been thrown around.
Hour five: Refinement
Finally, I came up with four messages that were clear, concise, conversational, and constructive.
Your order’s on track! Text TRACK for estimated delivery or CONTACT to make changes.
Looking for order info? Text TRACK or CONTACT. To view all items on your account: <<My Account>>
Getting excited for your order? Track your package here: <<TRACK PACKAGE PAGE>>
Stay up to date with your order. Text TRACK for estimated delivery or CONTACT to make change.
I presented these to my product manager, and together we decided on the winning message:
Your order’s on track! Text TRACK for estimated delivery or CONTACT to make changes.
We liked this version best because it checked all the emotional boxes while conveying trust and giving our customers clear actions to take. Content win!
Quick copy ask? Not so much.
The SMS test launched a few months ago and the results so far are promising, with a 3% reduction of customer service calls for engaged customers. Which is good! But even better? I got to show my product manager how much work goes into a “quick copy ask” while still delivering the work he wanted.
Because anything worth doing is worth doing with as much content strategy as you can cram into it.
