This is another tail from my post box, again related to a mailing from a government agency. This time it is the Internal Revenue Service and the notice is a review of a 2007 tax form filed by a family member. The notice in question claims to be a CP2000 notice, but I have no idea what they think that means.

I am picking on this notice for several reasons.

1. It claims to have been mailed on the same day it was received. Neat trick!
2. It provides a telephone number to call for assistance, but if you call the number (and I did) there is no way to get to a person. The assumption of the IVR system is that you don't understand something on the document, not that you have a question about how to get the correct information into their hands.
3. It doesn't provide a way to respond to what must be a common situation.

Let me say that in terms of design this document gets high marks. It is well formatted, the text is readable, and key areas have navigation hints that make the form easy to follow. Where it falls down is in information content. And, as we know, style without substance is simply not acceptable!

It starts by highlighting when the response is due. Well formatted and easy to understand.

It then tells me why I am getting the notice, and provides a box with proposed changes to the tax filing. My quarrel here is that it assumes they are right. In my case, we don't agree with their proposed changes and this is where it starts to go off the rails.

The next item tells me what steps I should take. I should review the tax filing, compare the return to what they have provided, determine if their information is correct, complete the response form, and complete and return the payment plan. Wait! What was that last item? What if I don't owe anything?

The response form is easy to read and navigate, starting with Option 1: Agree with all changes. Option 2 is that I don't agree with some of the proposed changes, and Option 3 is that I don't agree with any of the changes. I don't agree, so I mark that.

Going on to the next step I only have three options: Pay in Full, Partial Payment and Payment plan. None of these apply! There is no option for my situation, which was a missing dividend form which will cause us to submit an amended 1040.At that point they will actually owe more money back to my family member.

The moral to this story? If you are sending notices to your customers and they need to take action, be sure you give them the ability to select all appropriate options. Allow for the exceptions where a checkbox will not do. Last time I talked about ensuring that the basic "What, Why, Who, When, What to do next" information is covered and that the customer is given appropriate means to communicate. It's more important now than ever!

Need to know more? Let me know!

As all my colleagues in the Marketing Communications group of EAMER, I gave a hand for the preparation and organization of the truck tour. I was thus very happy to have the opportunity to see it "life" in Ratingen where the truck made its first stop in Germany at a customer site, DocuPoint Rhein-Ruhr GmbH.

The day started with some generic presentations of the products and solutions offered by Kodak. These served as an introduction for the afternoon sessions, visit of the printer facilities and unforgettable tour in the truck.



All visitors could spend some time at the Kodak NexPress 2100 Plus Digital Color Production Press. They could see it running and get a flavour of its capabilities. Although I've seen it already several times in action, I still take any chance to see the sheets going in and around when the press is opened.

In the truck, many stopped at the digital print bar where they could "feel the difference" with the Kodak NexPress Dimensional printing samples. It clearly showed their interest in this new application that can give finished printed jobs a unique appearance.




Customers and prospects could get the latest information in whatever technology was of interest for them, be it the latest APEX system, the Magnus 4up, the Workflows or Kodak NexPress M700. The Kodak staff was there to help and make sure a personalized attention was given to each of them.

Still many destinations to go in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, so still plenty of opportunities for you to go and visit it. I can tell you, it's worth the trip.
Tschüss!

If you grab your post from the postbox and find a letter from a government agency, what's your first reaction? Does your stomach go into a twist? DO you rip it open immediately, or set it on the desk and hope it was a figment of your imagination?

I have to admit to being one of those people that has to take a few minutes before I open it. Just this week I found a letter from the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation in my box.

My first thought - "What did I do?" I just couldn't think of anything. Taxes are always filed on time, or early. No crimes I know of. What did they want with me?

Reluctantly, I opened the envelope. It's all black, no color at all. This cannot be good. The top right has the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI-New York and the address and a phone number.

My first question here is once they said Federal Bureau of Investigation, why take up a line for FBI-New York, but that's just me being picky.

It identifies me as PC McGrew, which is a bit odd. For some reason the FBI doesn't actually know my first name. Maybe that's good?

My address is correct, but only the five digit zip code.

The subject line says that it is regarding a case number that identifies it as owned by the NY office. Then, it says "Dear PC McGrew:"

Clearly, they aren't sure if I am male, female or alien.

The letter follows with, "This letter is to provide you with updates to the case by which you were previously referred to the FBI's Victim Assistance Program."

Interesting, but I've never had any communication from them before!

It goes on to say they have closed the investigation and tells me I made an important contribution. Finally, there is a phone number to call if I have any questions related to this matter. Oh, and no signature. It would have been easy to decide this was some sort of hoax or phishing letter.

Well, who wouldn't have questions? This two paragraph letter from the government provides no semantic or informational content. It directs me to a phone number to tell me that the letter refers to a case where customer data went missing from a credit card provider and that I should put a fraud alert on my credit files. The recorded message also tells me that I should call all three credit bureaus and provides the phone numbers to call, as well as information about a website I might want to go check, but it doesn't tell me why.

Think about the notices you get, and the notices your company sends. How many are guilty of the three deadly sins:

1. Fails to provide the reason for the letter using basic "What, Why, Who, When, What to do next" information.
2. Directs you to a second information source when the basics could have been in the original notice.
3. Fails to demonstrate that it should be taken seriously.

As we start to see the government chime in on regulating our bills and statements, it is reasonable to expect that they would regulate the content and presentation of regulatory notices. I wonder if they will take their own advice and force their own agencies to communicate more effectively.

Need to know more? Let me know!