Frequently Asked Questions About Writing FAQs

General

Q1. What is an FAQ?
A1. An FAQ, or document that elucidates Frequently Asked Questions, is a tool that can be used by anyone who is trying to explain, or add context and details to, an event or process.

Q2. What are the benefits of FAQs?
A2. FAQs have good internal and external benefits. The process of building the FAQ can

·        Bring to light outstanding questions

·        Tease out issues that need to be resolved

·        Get everyone on the same page, with the same information and the same way of articulating answers to questions they might be asked

Publication of the FAQ can

·        Save time and money (as when an FAQ is used in the capacity of customer self-service)

·        Help influencers gain understanding of your organization’s products, services and/or goals

Q3. When is an FAQ needed?
A3. An FAQ is most useful at the time of an announcement, and/or as a reference document if and when specific questions can be anticipated in the general course of business (for example, technical people use them all the time, and frequently publish them).

Q4. What are some specific examples of this?
A4. FAQs are very good for

·        Providing technical support

·        Enabling customer self-service

·        Preparing for media conversations (press conferences, interviews, etc.)

·        Supporting internal announcements that affect groups of people

Content

Q5. What is the FAQ format?
A5. This is a good FAQ format. It is a set of questions and answers, divided into categories and numbered for reference sake.

Q6. What should my FAQ contain?
A6. The FAQ should include any or all questions that you feel need to have answers in order for you, or your organization, to be prepared for an event or process and/or to support others interested in the event or process.

Process

Q7. How should I go about writing the FAQ?
A7. Think about your subject from the point of view of others who will be on the receiving end. What have you told them? What else would they want to know? Don’t discount the importance of reaffirming the former, and thinking through the latter in a lot of detail. You can always edit what you write.

Q8. What if all of the content does not relate to the entire audience?
A8. Try putting all of the content into one master FAQ, and then parse it out for different audiences and make separate FAQs for each. Note that there will likely be overlap between the FAQs.

Q9. What if I am not comfortable making all of this information public?
A9. You do not need to publish all, or any, of the questions and answers. The FAQ is a good platform for stress-testing your preparedness, and for getting everyone on the same page with consistent answers. Once you have a good list of questions and answers, you can decide what, if anything, to make public.

Q10.What should the review cycle be for an FAQ?
A10. Make a list of stakeholders—individuals, teams and/or other groups who have a vested interest in the content of the FAQ. Ask each to review the FAQ. To make the process efficient, ask any groups to consolidate their feedback. For sensitive information, include legal review. In these cases, especially if the FAQ is to be published, it’s a good idea to have attorneys involved in the beginning of the process and then again at the end of the process, during the final review.

Q11. What if the stakeholders perceive the questions to be critical of them?
A11. This happens. It’s useful to explain up front that the point of circulating the FAQ is to gather information. Any question can be re-worded once there is an agreed-upon answer. In fact, the answer may inspire a different question.

Q12. When should you update an FAQ?
A12. You should update an FAQ any time you get a good new question, or the answer to a question changes, or you think of a better answer to an existing question.

Q13. How many times have you updated this FAQ?
A13. Four Five.

Happy 15th Anniversary, City Square Associates!

On Friday I had the pleasure of joining my friends and business associates City Square Associates to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their company. Over the course of two projects at two different organizations, the team has made major contributions and, along the way, has modeled the best of what market research is meant to do.

It's very important to scope research accurately so that you get what you need. In the first instance there was a hypothesis, and we hoped that the study would confirm the hypothesis and provide additional direction and insights. In the second instance we simply wanted to learn more about a customer base and their needs and interests. The first study was quantitative and national; the second qualitative and local.

In my remarks on Friday, I noted that the City Square team treated both projects, important to us but small in scope relative to what they usually do, with the same integrity and respect as they would have one of their really big studies. This, in addition to the fact that they are incredibly smart and deeply committed to doing things that matter, makes them great to work with. (Endorsement complete!)

And that counts for a lot. But what about outcomes?

One study concluded in the publication of a paper that described survey results, suggested next steps, and brought renewed attention to a critical nonprofit sector need.

The second revealed opportunities to engage individuals with meaningful content in the context of both study and entertainment, culminating in the creation of a unique lecture series that has been critically acclaimed for its subject matter, quality of participants, interaction with the audience, and the civility and respect with which opposing viewpoints are aired and discussed.

I will be writing a lot about market research, not only because it represents opportunity but because sometimes the results are surprising. In both cases described above, the results were edifying. We used them to instruct program design—and fund raising activity. In both cases, in addition to learning a great deal, we were able to take the content and create something tangible and useful. Of course, in both cases that was a stated goal.

Lesson learned: it's not enough to know what you want to know, although that's where it all begins (or ends). The potential lies in being prepared to interact with the knowledge, and to looking within it for new possibilities. 

Just When You Think You're Perfect ...

I promised to use this space to talk about lessons I've learned as a marketer. Sometimes I have a source, in which case I will cite it. For this one I don't, but it's a great story and I'm sure there is some basis of fact in it.

The Pyrex(R) measuring cup is a kitchen staple. There are, of course, competitors. But it's probably safe to say that this is one product that is owned by almost everyone who bakes or cooks, whether or not they own other measuring cups as well.

The story goes that the Pyrex people had found a way to improve the measuring cup, but before rolling out the new design they wanted to test it with consumers. In the focus groups, cooks and bakers confidently declared that they could not conceive of any way in which the measuring cup could be improved. They loved it just as it was.

This is what they pledged undying loyalty to ...

 

... until they saw this, the version made stackable through a change in the handle.



The new version solved a classic kitchen problem: space. But it's not a problem that the focus group respondents were focused on (sorry) because the topic was the measuring cup, not the kitchen. In that context, they couldn't recognize the opportunity until they saw the solution.

Since then, Pyrex has gone on to make many other improvements to the iconic measuring cup. For example, it now has read-from-inside graphics. (You can read about the latest here, if you're interested:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-kitchen-continues-to-inspire-home-cooks-by-adding-innovative-products-and-a-new-brand-to-the-mix-117516373.html)

Two insights:

1. Great marketing focuses on benefits. It reveals understanding of underlying issues and needs of consumers, even if the consumers don't at first recognize the problem(s) at hand. (Context is also vitally important. It seems to me that this is a topic for a different blog post so I will take that up soon.)

2. If you think you're perfect, or that your product or service cannot be improved upon ... you're wrong. There's ALWAYS an improvement, large or small, out there, waiting to be claimed.

Why a Blogsite and Not a Website?

Many of my most absorbing projects over the past 15 years have been website design and development initiatives. Before social media, websites represented wholesale change in how organizations were called upon to represent themselves, probably the biggest change since the introduction of television advertising. They still do.

But the real, fundamental difference, of course, is something that has been said since the beginning of website fever: websites are ubiquitous, 24/7, available for all to see.

So every choice matters. A lot.

Websites say a great deal about how the organization thinks about itself and about how it regards its consumers. If you give a website more than a cursory look, you will notice which comes first (is it information about the organization itself, or something of value to you the visitor?). You will most likely have some reaction to the navigation provided (easy to find what you need, absorbing in a way that you didn't expect ... or not?). And, of course, you will be delivered a brand experience.

All of this is very exciting for a marketer, and I thought it would be great fun for a marketer looking to market herself. So I was surprised that when I began to sketch out a website for this next era of my business, I found myself stymied. I looked at a lot of sites and frankly didn't feel that I could do better.

More than anything, I want to be inspiring and useful. (Don't we all?)  When you visit here, my goal is for you to find something interesting to think about, and feel that there will be something we can do together that will change, or at least fundamentally help, the trajectory of your organization. That is, I hope to be more about you than about me. I'm not just being self-effacing here. That in a nutshell is my theory of how organizations compel constituents, add value, and grow.

I'm still a big fan of websites, and I hope to do many more of them. So why, for me, a blogsite and not a website?

Because this choice does three things. One, having a blogsite forces me to verbalize more of what I have learned and what I observe, because the blog-front-and-center format requires constant updates. If my value proposition is that I have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, and it is, then this format should help me demonstrate that.

Two, the blogsite gives me a platform for writing, which I love. It also allows me to deliver more information in less formal chunks. I've always wanted to write and publish articles and papers, and I'm planning to do that too. But this is more immediate and that is very appealing.

And three, having made the decision, I can convey to you in a real-life example that the expected solution is not always the best solution. And that the process of thinking that through can be powerful and beneficial.