New Starters and WA Badges
So, I have noticed when I am helping people, whether it be in Live Chat or elsewhere, that some members are offering advice, but haven't taken the time to look at a person's profile first. Doing this can give you lots of clues as to the best way to help them.
Let's start with the most significant aspect which can help you direct somebody - are they a starter or a premium member? This is very simple to spot - a premium member has a green star on the circle surrounding their photo.
Why do you need to know this? I have often seen starter members struggling with a problem and others are advising them to contact Site Support. Unfortunately, they can't do this, not even during their first 7 days, as some people wrongly believe.
Why else would you need to know if they are a starter member? A typical question from them is "how do I change my URL"? Well, most of us know that you can't, its not possible. However, people often tell starter members, they will have to buy another domain. Now, 99% of the time, a new starter member will be using their free SiteRubix site, so this advice will mean nothing to them. Instead, you should be telling them to delete their site and start again.
What can we learn from the badges on their profile page? How about the "First Website" badge? This shows that a member has sucessfully built a website. And further along, you can see their Certification badge. This shows which level of the OEC training they have reached.
New members may often ask, "what do I do next?" when they have reached a certain point in their training. So, don't just say, "start with the training" or "build your website". Have a look at their profile to see if they have already done this.
On a similar point, new starters often ask questions within the first lesson of training. And the reply is usually accompanied by a link to the training. But they're already there! They are asking the question directly under the lesson. So, before giving them a "helpful" link to the training, take a glance at the top of the page, to see where the question has been asked.
We can all help new members with the best possible advice, by taking a little more time. Cheers!
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Well said, Diane! I like to check profile pages to learn more about who I'm talking with. Your suggestions are right on target. No need to tell someone to do the OEC training when they may have already completed it. Instead, we might want to suggest "reviewing" the training on a particular topic or something else that's appropriate. All it takes is a few mins to check their profile. Thanks for the post! :)
Continued success to you!
Colleen