Let’s look briefly at the various parts that make up SNAP. We will then look at each part in more detail, sharing a bit more insight into how you can best use and leverage SNAP.
SNAP stands for —
– Status
– Next Steps
– Approximate Timeline
– Planned Outcome
A SNAP statement is made up of four parts. A great SNAP statement is approximately two to five simple sentences — put together they deliver the SNAP message. Don’t measure your SNAP statement quality by how many sentences are in it — two to five sentences is just a guide. If you write statements that are longer, look at them to make sure that, for your needs, longer is better. I find that shorter, to the point, is better. That way you can deliver a SNAP message in 30 seconds.
Here, a word of advice: keep the tone of your SNAP message conversational; keep it consistent with your customer experience. You know what is best here. I find that conversational, normal, informal, and using everyday language works best.
Let’s revisit the fast food lunch order from earlier in the book.
“Excuse me sir, I know you just placed your order, however, right after we put your order through we also got slammed with a very large order from a tour bus — some really famous country star, they won’t tell us who it is, but, I think it will be on the news tonight. Anyway, your sandwich is being made right now and will take a few minutes longer. Usual wait time for us about two to three minutes, we should be able to get your meal out in a little over five minutes. I hope that is not too much of an inconvenience. Will that be ok?”
Yes, this statement is five sentences, including the closing question. I admit, the first sentence does run on, however, it fits the tone and circumstance for the customer. The tone is conversational and comforting.
Here is some other advice — what not to do. I have experienced some SNAP users walking through a SNAP message just like they were reading a script. You have heard that, too, at times when ordering a to-go order at a restaurant.
“I would like a burger, fries and soda to go.”
“Will that be for here or to go?”
There you go, that is a script. Auto pilot. You don’t want your SNAPs to be auto pilots. Here’s another approach to avoid.
“Ok, so I need to tell you about the status of _____. Now let me tell you what the next steps are; they are _____. Now I will let you know what the approximate time line is; it will be ____ for us to follow up. The planned outcome at the end of all this is _____.”
Don’t laugh. After reading this example, you might be saying to yourself that you would never deliver a SNAP message like this. However, the example above is drawn from my personal experiences in coaching others about SNAP; I can’t make this stuff up.
This is a good SNAP message:
“Your request to post a full time analyst has been approved today and was posted today. Jobs are posted for five days, after which we will refer the top 10 qualified candidates to you. Your recruiter for this job is Bob.”
Three sentences.
Here’s another way I have seen less than perfect statements. We do use email a lot, and the above message will easily go into an email. See the sample and please don’t do this:
“Status: analyst posted
Next steps: candidates will apply; will send over to you
Approx time: will send applicants after job closes
Planned outcome: you fill the job”
Once again, this is taken from real life. Please don’t do this. You may be able to check off a box and say to your boss or team, “Yeah, I used a SNAP message,” but this type of message does not help you.
As you put the parts of SNAP together, don’t settle. Push yourself to write and use purposeful, conversational and meaningful messages.
You will notice in the example of good SNAP statements that the words status, next steps, approximate timeline and planned outcome are rarely used. We can tell these things to our customer without being blatant about it.
Let’s look at the four parts of SNAP.
Status. Mention the status of:
A request
An order
Current wait times
Next Steps. Mention what specific next steps the customer can expect. Mention more than just the immediate next step; mention two or three steps that follow.
Approximate Timeline. Mention how long the current status will exist, how long it will be until the next step is completed, the due date for the planned outcome. This timeline might be in minutes if you are selling burgers, and might be days or weeks if you are doing custom work or building software solutions.
Planned Outcome. Mention what the customer can expect to see, get, receive, have delivered. It doesn’t matter if they know what they ordered or requested, tell them anyway. And, many times, we have customers, especially internal customers, who may submit requests and not really know what they are going to get. Tell them.
A quick start approach to SNAP is to draft out ideas for each of the four parts of SNAP. Then, just put them together. To ensure a highly effective SNAP, as you draft and compile these four parts remember this axiom: less is more.
These four parts of SNAP all work together. One does not work well without the others. Let’s look at each part in greater detail.
© 2012, Philip Espinosa. All rights reserved.
