Corporate Social Responsibility- “Greenwashing” or True Blue Communication

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been used or abused by various corporations in hopes of boosting their public relations, reputation and image, amongst other things. It wasn’t long ago when many believed that the “business of business is business”. Over time, we have seen businesses being forced to adopt the altered version of James Bond’s favourite phrase. What we now have is the “licence to operate”. More relevantly, we are looking at a social licence to operate. Consumers are demanding greater accountability to make informed choices. Companies are under greater pressure to undertake non-financial reporting and communicate their internal findings in a way that is both ethically and socially acceptable to the general public. In a sense, gaining a social licence to operate is not unlike trying to attain a driver’s licence, albeit at different stages. In the context of companies, this is how the analogy goes:

• Basic Theory Test- Proposal on ethical and green practices. Increasingly so, this proposal includes, in writing, the “extra mile” the company is willing to undertake.
• Practical Test- The realization and practice of a company’s values and the portrayal of this to the general public by the media.
• Final Theory Test- The annual/bi-annual publication of an organization’s non-financial report.

Basic Theory Test- Making or Breaking the First Impression

The initial step is as simple as publishing your core values and key social initiatives on the website. Once considered the dormant page on any website, it is increasingly becoming one of the most important and popular segments in any company website. Not just for consumers, but for potential employees as well. The impact of such basic measures can be likened to that of “first impressions”; it leaves a lasting albeit malleable impression on anybody the organization approaches.  CSR is an integrative and long-term commitment. As a result, media releases of a company’s activities in previous years are also included in the information utilised to make that first impression. A progressive growth graph must be achieved in order to remain relevant and credible.

Practical Test- Integration and Execution

This stage is the true test as to whether CSR goes beyond “greenwashing” or a form of marketing. The common error made is to equate corporate social responsibility with philanthropy.  Sure, philanthropy is a part of CSR initiatives but that is all it is, a part. CSR is about integrating your desire to do good with your business practices in a way that is mutually beneficial to all stakeholders, including the company. Many companies view CSR most generously as an investment but for most, it remains an expense or worse still, a liability – in that CSR is inefficient and eats into profits, especially in bad economic times. And so the list of criticisms goes on.  However, what many fail to consider is a relatively new phenomenon known to most as natural capitalism.

Natural capitalism implies that any method of production, distribution and all other facets associated with a company’s operations are not economically efficient if they are not environmentally and ethically so. This means re-inventing entire business processes. It may be costly but yet, it is a necessary evil. For better or for worse, companies today are extremely vulnerable to media representations and with consumers demanding ethical and environmentally-friendly products, ignoring this may result in poor sales, and in some cases, as employees relate less to a company’s goals, a drop in productivity. Ultimately, in any case, the result would be a drop in profits.

So even if you are sceptical and believe that “the business of business is business”, the fact remains that ignoring CSR is not an option. “Greenwashing” or not, it forms the basis of strategy and communication in large multinational corporations; it is a new, active and engaging form of doing business.

Reports- Relevant or Redundant?

CSR is a little like social media – it is here to stay. The best move to make is to harness and utilize it to the best of your company’s ability and in a manner that maximizes results. When you think about it, is the power of social media responsible for generating interest in CSR? After all, no company wants to see itself being shamed, least of all, contagiously across newsfeeds and via tweets. Social media provides a platform for companies to highlight their initiatives and make them known to consumers and stakeholders. Reports are increasingly being used as an indicator of credibility with international certifications and standards forming a major segment of these reports. Reports indicate and assess how much companies harness and align their specialities, and contextualize the magnitude, quality and commitment to CSR.

CSR is about communicating an image and a corporation’s values as much as it is about doing good. In its true sense, CSR is far from being a liability; it taps on the one intangible segment of any business and that is social capital.  It is a form of communication as much as it is a way of doing business. To label it “greenwashing” is to neglect the mutually beneficial relationship that exists between businesses and society.

Posted by Tara Kishin, PR Executive, Corporate Media Services

A Good Communicator is a Good Listener

In the endeavour to become better communicators, we tend to neglect the other half of the battle – listening. Now, this is much more than just hearing.. Listening is an active process; it demands a conscious effort. Although effective listening leads to an improvement in most aspects of human interaction, it is vital in corporate life.

Even if you are an expert in your field, you can always learn more. Do you find yourself really listening to what others are saying when they are giving you information or do you find yourself waiting to speak? Dominating every conversation is an unattractive quality and it devalues your credibility, even if you are an expert on a given topic. People like to feel like they are in a reciprocal conversation, so talk with people, not at them.

When you meet new people, do you talk about yourself or do you learn who they are by listening?   Here are some tips to get your started on the right track:

1.     Pay Attention

The most obvious point may just be the most difficult to pull off. No matter how mundane or irrelevant the topic may feel, do not permit yourself any distractions. Letting your mind wander, getting distracted by buzzwords, or forming rebuttals in your head are huge no-nos in active listening. Not only is giving the speaker your undivided attention polite, it is also an acknowledgment of their message. This may provide them with greater confidence, allowing them to relay their ideas in a more effectual way

2.     Keep your body language in tune

Our actions prepare us for and keep us in check during the listening process. Fidgeting, picking at your nails or shaking your legs can be terribly distracting both to you and the speaker. Maintaining eye contact without staring, an open or inviting stance to the speaker and nodding appropriately are just some ways to make sure that we are listening attentively.

3.     Empathize

We all have different life experiences and preconceived notions, so it is very easy to lose sight of the message, especially if it carries emotional weight. Although the speaker’s style of delivery is important, try not to let it take away from the message conceived. Be aware of and put aside your own biases – your purpose is to learn something from the speaker. It is perfectly fine to come in with opposing views and interests, as Voltaire put it so eloquently, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.”

4.     Don’t interrupt

Interrupting or finishing the speaker’s sentences provides more harm than good, especially since it can distract other listeners. Let the speaker finish what he or she has to say before asking questions or rebutting them. This lets you get the whole picture, which may entail a completely different message than if you only paid attention to a few specific points.

 5.     Don’t try to impress or influence the speaker

In the haste of communication, many people forget that it is not a competition. You do not earn brownie points for trying to push your own agenda, or trying to be ‘helpful’ to the speaker. Doing all these not only interferes with what the speaker is trying to say, it also prevents you from potentially learning a new point of view.

6.     Clarify

As an active listener, you are more than welcome to ask for clarification. Bear in mind, this should be done in the least interruptive way as possible. You may ask for the overarching framework or for specific examples. It is more helpful to the speaker if you ask open-ended exemplary questions, instead of close-ended ones, as speakers may interpret a close-ended question as a voicing of view. For instance, ask “may I have an example of that?” instead of “is this an example of that?”  Clarification is particularly useful when the topic may be of an emotional or cultural nature.

7.     Provide helpful feedback

Again, being an active listener does not mean you have to stay mum. It is appropriate and supportive to give candid and constructive comments. There is nothing to be gained from attacking or putting down the speaker, except a reputation for being disruptive and perhaps even rude.

8.     Paraphrase the speaker’s message

This is an extremely useful tip and is usually done when providing feedback. It forces us to really pay attention to what the speaker is saying. The easiest way to do this would be to jot down what the speaker has said in your own words.

Effective communication is a two way street that requires the synchronization of the speaker and listener. The speaker may have the most powerful ideas and views, yet these are ultimately useless when there is no attention given.

Posted by Wei Wen Sng, Public Relations Executive, Corporate Media.

Think Before You Tweet

Think Before You Tweet – Bad News Travels Fast!

If you believe the results of a small survey conducted out of the University of Salford in the UK, more than half of the 298 people polled in the study claimed their lives have changed for the worse since they started using sites like Facebook and Twitter: They feel depressed after comparing their achievements to their friends’, they find it hard to relax and sleep, and despite the apparent negative side effects of social media — feel stressed when they can’t access it.  So what’s all the noise about?

Twittering on the Edge

Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we’ve had time to stop and question it. In every home, on every desk, a smartphone in the palm of your hands – this is the world we live in and what our 21st Century existence has become.  Our grip on reality is shifting. We have access to all the information in the world, but no brain space left to absorb anything longer than a 140-character tweet.

When you think about it there isn’t a corner of public discourse left that Twitter does not touch upon these days. Anything goes, it seems. But just how dangerous can the social networking site be, both to you and your business?

There are many incidents of damage done to businesses or reputations caused by careless tweeting. Those who fail to grasp the scope and range of the network often fall foul of the unforgiving community early on. A thoughtless tweet can spread like wildfire in a matter of minutes, and before you know it you are all over the news – and sometimes not it a good way!  The rich and famous, notably celebrities are prone to harsh attacks by trolls on TwitterSphere, and their experience should serve as a warning to every business or individual whose reputation is their livelihood.   And have we not heard enough horror stories of employees posting to the wrong handle?

Twitter has exploded in popularity over the past few years, offering businesses a way to listen to and reach out to their target audiences. While Twitter was built on a platform of simplicity, it’s by no means an easy marketing tool to grasp.  A few misconceptions about how to use Twitter can land your business in a minefield of negativity and bad PR. It is important for us to be aware of the fundamental “rules” of Twitter etiquette before you take the plunge.  In other words, “Think Before You Tweet!”

Here are some tips to help you tread carefully and stay out of trouble.

Listen Carefully and Listen Good

It happens to the best of us, at some networking event or party.  That one idiot who won’t stop talking – even when you try to get a word in, he cuts you off and talks over you.  Think about how annoying, and rude that behaviour is. You don’t want to be “that guy” on Twitter or any social network for that matter. Twitter is a medium where you can push your brand into the open but pushing too hard has its limits and you’re likely to rub people the wrong away.  So rather than push, practise social media listening.  Here’s where you get to identify and assess what is being said about a company, individual, product or brand on social media. It’ll help you to subtly put the right message across to the right audience at the right time.

Engage your Audience

Twitter is a great way to interact with customers.  It tells you what your customers want to know and what you need to know from your customers. Is there a right and wrong way to engage on Twitter?  For starters, in terms of business, your main focus should be on engaging your core target group, not random people. This doesn’t mean you should be rude or ignore others.   Your time should be spent wisely on seeking interactions from those who are likely to seek your services and/or those to whom you have something to offer.

Turn Off the Shame

Most people don’t want to be talked at and that includes your customers!  They want to be treated like people; they want to be listened to; and they want to be presented with solutions that best fit their gap needs. If your Twitter timeline consists of always shouting about how unbelievably fantastic your product is, you’re doing it all wrong.    Do it once, and you may be forgiven, do it twice and you’ll never get through that virtual doorway again!

Break the Monotony

Variety is the spice of life! Sharing links to blog posts is helpful but frequently changing the type of content you tweet is key to keeping your followers invested and engaged. Spice it up with visual content. Graphics, videos and Instagram, for example, can get your tweets noticed quicker and grow your followers.

Hashtag Overload

In Twitterspeake, you have to make sure your message fits within the 140-character limit – enter Hashtags.   Although an effective tool used to filter through tweets, Hashtags have the tendency to be “overdone” – so it’s important to come up with new and exciting ways to implement them.  Use Hashtags sparingly to avoid being viewed as spam.

Give and Receive

Obviously, you’re on Twitter to better connect with your customers, so always take advantage of the opportunity to monitor feedback about your business.  Twitter is interactive and people expect a certain level of communication between themselves and the organizations they follow.  But learn to listen first before you respond. Your brand’s reputation is at risk if you keep the issue in the open for everyone to see.  One misstep can lead to an unnecessary PR disaster.  And don’t ignore the fact that competitors are also lurking around the same target group  – waiting to jump in and offer your “not so happy” customer an alternate solution.

Last word: Twitter has its nuances, but at its heart, the site is like any other social network. Put in time and effort—both with what you share and say, and with whom you connect—and you’ll find a vocal, engaged audience that can add to your online network of resources.

Posted by Irene Gomez, Chief Inspiration Officer, Corporate Media Services

Communication: Boon or bane to the bottom line?

Effective communication is essential for a company to function well. In all its forms, this statement is one that we have repeatedly heard. It seems unclear as to what it actually means; this sentence says so much and yet nothing at all.

Communication is imminent, imperative and of utmost importance in all segments of a company’s arms, wings and operations.  What we don’t realise is that communication is segmented by these very divisions. Let’s start with the most obvious department; the marketing and PR department. This department is in charge of communicating to the public what the company stands for and how they can be of service to them.

Internal Communication: The Divisions

Then, there is internal communication within organizations. There is great misnomer when it comes to the understanding of internal communication. The most common understanding of this term is employee engagement. While that may be true, it is a simplification of the term and excludes the roles of individual divisions. For instance, a company’s human resource division conveys to potential and new employees what is expected of them, their roles, standards and other basic protocol. The accounting and financial departments relay financial information to all relevant stakeholders of the organization providing a layman’s view to the financial health of the company. The strategy department conveys inwardly the market position of a company relative to the outside world, and in so doing, works towards ensuring that this position remains strong and unshakeable.

These separate divisions within an organization all contribute evenly towards internal communication. Any exclusion would severely handicap the operations of a company. Communication is not limited to the traditional description of active or passive, one way or two-way; particularly in organizations, it is a multi-way street. Any characterisation otherwise would not only handicap its operations but also directly impact its bottom-line.

Meetings: Effective or not? 

The most common tool of choice in internal communication is meetings. A recent study has shown that the average office worker spends around 16 hours in meetings each week, and that around a quarter of this time is usually wasted. That goes to say that over a career, the total is even more alarming with the average worker sitting through around 9,000 hours of needless meetings – a full year and ten days spent wiling away precious time. It cannot be efficient for any company’s bottom line to take away their best workers from work for inefficient meetings. Bad meetings are not only a productivity drain, but they also can cause a decline in morale and a lack of confidence in leadership.

What makes a good meeting? 

A meeting should only involve those concerned; no more, no less. Other than major meetings and events, meetings should be limited to 10 or fewer attendees. Not everyone can, needs or should attend a meeting. Don’t invite people to a meeting who have nothing to contribute, and don’t hold a meeting unless the key contributors can be in attendance. At this point, it is also necessary to state, that a sort of differentiation should occur. The meeting should be facilitated in a manner most relatable to the particular division, department or people involve. Content covered needs to be differentiated; not everyone needs to know everything. General meetings should be clearly sectioned to ensure that communication occurs most productively and in a way that ensures retention.

Advertising: The walkway to consumers

The bottom-line is certainly affected by more than just efficient internal communication. Consumers too play a huge role in determining the profits a company makes. And increasingly, what we are seeing is that consumers are turning away from the traditional qualities of products as well as advertisements and more to the values a company holds. There has been a shift in demand by consumers from solely corporate communication to more inclusive and relatable communication. One such example is the increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility and other such initiatives. The content that needs to be communicated through advertisements and other likened mediums has and continues to change drastically. Companies now need, what some have termed, a social license to operate and by extension remain profitable.  

Communication tools are indeed a bane to the bottom-line when mobilized effectively and when constantly adjusted to suit the ever-changing business climate. Failure to differentiate and authenticate communication mediums, both internally and externally, will lead to adverse consequences on any organization’s bottom-line.

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg: Pricing Lessons from the Rolling Stones

Earlier this month the Rolling Stones kicked off a brief 2013 tour celebrating their 50th anniversary. The Stones have always been aggressive in setting ticket prices, and it appears they’ve pushed too hard this time. With arena seats reaching $600 and general admission packages in the “Tongue Pit” (close to stage) topping out at $2,000, ticket sales are reportedly tepid. As a result, tour promoters are on the verge of a “19th Nervous Breakdown.”

I have a particular interest in this topic, because I attend concerts frequently. (Over the last thirty years, I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett nearly 120 times.) I also have a professional interest because concert tickets are a great way to understand pricing — whether it’s the role of scalpers, the use of dynamic pricing, or concerns about whether high prices hurt a musician’s brand. In fact, I wrote my PhD dissertation on rock concert ticket prices.

The situation faced by the Rolling Stones — sagging sales due to high prices — is one that all companies are susceptible to. Quite simply, sometimes you overshoot. When this occurs, the challenge for a premium company is how to discount in a manner that doesn’t damage their brand nor anger customers who paid full price. Here are some tips to help front man Mick Jagger, as well as managers in the same situation, profitably navigate out of this mess.

Add Value. The most common remedy to this malady is to maintain price but add value, so customers feel they’re getting more for their money. Guitarist Keith Richards could casually drop in an interview that this may very well likely be the band’s last tour (the “hedge” in the wording is intentional). Or, as the band did at its opening gig in L.A., they could bring in special guests such as Gwen Stefani and Keith Urban. These additions make the experience more memorable, so customers value it more.

Lower Value to Justify a Lower Price. At every tour stop, the Rolling Stones made available a limited number of “for the fans” $85 tickets that instantly sold out. The catch to these discounted tickets is you don’t know where you will be sitting until show time — you could be in the “Tongue Pit” or row ZZZZ. This hurdle was designed to identify price sensitive customers. Fans who are willing to pay more (those entertaining clients, for instance) are less likely to purchase these tickets due to the chance of ending up in nosebleed seats. Now, as seats remain unsold, promoters can release more of these $85 seats, explaining that additional seats opened up due to production issues. This could be true or, of course, an excuse to make available more discounted tickets.

Manufacturers and retailers play similar games to lower costs without creating a perception that the product is less valuable. For instances, high-end appliance manufacturers can deliberately inflict cosmetic blemishes on excess inventory to then discount at a “scratch and dent” sale. While this tactic sounds strange, it can make sense by preserving the value of the brand while finding a justifiable reason to lower prices.

Sell Via a Different Distribution Outlet. Why not use scalpers to sell excess inventory? To avoid tarnishing their brand, bands often sell the best seats via scalpers (so that fans blame scalpers, not the bands themselves, for inflating prices). In a different twist, the Stones could offer bulk discounts to scalpers — who would then sell at low prices — thus shielding the band from looking weak. Analogously, this is why premium brands often sell discounted merchandise at outlet stores.

Tell a White Lie. Within each ticket price category, say the $600 one, there are thousands of tickets that vary in quality. The remaining tickets in each category (thus, the less desirable ones) can be discounted under the guise of “newly released seats.” Similarly, salespeople can tell clients that they have been “authorized” to offer loyalty discounts to their best customers.

Tell the Truth. As long as there is an explanation, it’s possible for premium companies to discount without damaging their brands. The Ritz Carlton in the Cayman Islands, for instance, drastically lowers room prices during the summer because of hurricane season. This rationale doesn’t damage the Ritz’s brand, and it allows the company to charge hefty premiums in-season. The Rolling Stones should simply admit: “We blew it.” Following this admission, prices can be cut for less desirable shows held on Sunday to Thursday evenings. This discount could lure in aging boomers who had refrained from purchasing due to the pressure of working the next day.

Offer Mixed Bundles and Volume Discounts. Customers expect discounts if they buy a mixed bundle (a lower price for buying 2 or more products: a McDonald’s Value Meal, for instance) or in large quantities. Discounts can be offered for buying, say, a Rolling Stones/Paul McCartney bundle or a Family Pack (buy 3 tickets, get the fourth for free). In this case, the rationale for employing these tactics is to provide an explanation for the price drop.

The funk that the Rolling Stones are in the midst of is yet another reminder of why pricing is such an important strategy for companies. Aside from being a key driver of profits, a misfire can have serious ramifications. The Rolling Stones invested 50 years of hard work to be crowned the “greatest rock and roll band.” It’s a shame that due to poor pricing decisions, the Rolling Stones are closing out their career amidst allegations of greed, headlines reporting on poor sales, and the taint of desperation from employing tacky discounting methods.

Posted by Rafi Mohammed for Harvard Business Review.

 

Enough with the Evils: The Power of Social Media

The average individual living in a city is exposed to close to 5000 images every single day. Just think about it- 5,000 images! Consumers are saturated to the brim and over with ads. To the extent, that they are almost desensitized as a result of this monotonous and homogeneous display of images.

Understandably, people walk past desperate attempts at handing out fliers with increasing ease. It’s no wonder why people come ten minutes after a movie’s scheduled starting time. The primary function of Smart TV’s appears to be very smartly forwarding past the ads.

Social Media and Advertising

With the onset of social media, ads are implicit in almost everything. Social media has mobilized and given a new form to the world’s oldest marketing method: good old word-of–mouth. A simple picture taken on a smart phone of a dish at a restaurant, edited via Instagram and uploaded on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr well falls within the definition of an ad. Yet, people don’t consider these newsfeeds as marketing mediums. Ironically, though social media is rated as one of the most effective forms of advertisement. It has given rise to a very different form of advertising; one which allows for dialogue and feedback about products, corporations and even politicians.

Traditional Media- Redundant or Not?

This is not to say that traditional media has no bearing on communications. Press releases, TV commercials, newspaper and magazine ads hold their own against social media. They are often seen as a source of credibility and are essential to establishing and maintaining, reputation and image.

Advertising with a Difference

Where social media differs is in its provision of an informal and highly relatable setting for communication to occur. More importantly, this setting is an active one that allows for opinions, for example, individuality amongst homogeneity and, for perception and interpretation. Social Media embraces creativity and imagination.

Social Media- The Practical Solution

We’ve all heard the term valued consumer and valued feedback. Well, it’s safe to say that social media embodies these terms; not only valuing feedback but facilitating it. And with over a billion people active on social media sites today, that’s a wealth of information for corporations and organizations, which may in many instances, be more reflective of the population and demographics  than any research or survey could possibly be.

At this point, critics of social media would say that it intrudes privacy and increases risks of defamation. On the other end of the spectrum however, it is also necessary to emphasize that social media allows for a mechanism of self-regulation. With every irresponsible act in the use of social media, come criticisms, which most are eager to avoid, particularly on a public forum.

Young adults using their laptops to watch, ironically, TV shows at their convenience, is not an uncommon sight. Today’s rule is efficiency and accessibility. In a highly wired community, social media helps to strengthen relationships, in great part due to the demands of modern city life and the time it takes away from building relationships. Particularly with young people, by far the most important source of technology is the computer and by extension their smart phones, all of which are used to access social media. Why should this tool be limited to personal relationships? Social media can and is, by all means, increasingly being extended to the relationships between corporations and consumers, governments and citizens.

Integrating Social Media into Advertising

More traditional forms of media still remain imperative for mass communication particularly in corporations’ desire to establish credibility. Social media cannot do without traditional media. The relationship between the two is not that of substitutes but rather a complementary one. Social media enhances and amplifies the messages delivered by traditional media in a way that is both cheap and effective, a plus point for most corporations.

Social media is not without its risks but increasingly, these risks are being reduced. Why? To ensure the longevity of this obsession with social media. Social media is here to stay and embracing it is an imminent and necessary step forward for almost every organization albeit for different purposes.

Posted by Tara Kishin, PR Executive, Corporate Media Services

Client Engagement – Mind the Gap

Most businesses today are familiar with the term “Customer/Client Engagement” and are doing various forms of it on a daily basis. Very few, however, are taking the time to properly implement it into their communications plan.  It can be hard to exaggerate the impact of engaging customers and yet so many businesses are failing to place the importance on customer engagement that it deserves.

Customer or client engagement is one of the most important aspects of your business. When the content you put out starts creating conversation and momentum among your clients and prospective clients, you know you’ve hit the jackpot that so many businesses strive for.

Ongoing, meaningful contact between you and your client not only helps to bridge the gap – it actually drives revenue.

The rise of social media has led to a shift in the way businesses engage with their customers. It’s no longer about using those “touch points” during the marketing and sales process.  Businesses are using social technologies to form meaningful, ongoing relationships that involve online interactions.  You just can’t run away from it.

Research shows that companies that engage with their customers through social media have more loyal customers; and customers who engage with a brand online report spending 20% to 40% more on that brand, or on that company’s products.

So what does this mean for you and your business?  For starters, you need to expand your concept of customer service. It’s no longer an isolated section of your business model but part of a larger, customer engagement strategy.  Responsibilities that traditionally fell to the marketing and product teams now fall within the realm of customer service. Your bottom line is dependent on your ability to deliver excellent service while actively engaging customers.

In order to build loyal relationships throughout the business life-cycle, you need to understand some basic principles of the new definition of customer engagement and put them into action.

Building Positive Interactions

Customer engagement is an ongoing dialogue. Companies need to keep their fingers on the pulse. What this really means is listening to customers who are already having conversations about brands (yours and others) in traditional channels as well as over social media platforms.  So join the conversation!  This is a great way to build trust and form relationships through open interactions over time – interactions that create positive experiences and outcomes for your customers. Whether it’s answering questions, solving problems, sharing perspectives, and yes, even learning something new, these interactions can benefit both you and your client.

Interacting on social media helps you build relationships quickly and expand your client base. More than the relationships you have with your clients, they too form relationships with others through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.  So while this approach may not directly sell your product or services, you get to facilitate and build an active, passionate online community around your product. If and when a customer decides to purchase a product, they are likely to go with one they know and trust!

Be Purpose-Driven

Although communication with clients is an ongoing dialogue, you can’t just indulge in everyday chatter for the sake of it.  Ask yourself “What is the point of the conversation?”  Perhaps you’re looking for feedback on a product or increasing sales or nurturing brand loyalty.  While the product team is responsible for development, marketing is responsible for increasing brand awareness and driving sales, and at times the lines can be blurred. Nurturing an ongoing and genuine relationship with your clients will naturally have a major impact in both these areas.

Anytime, Anywhere, Any Place

Company-customer interaction usually happened in isolation in the past. Customers relied on phone calls, emails and sales letters.  That’s all changed now – we live in a hand-held “wired” world ruled by our mobile experience – apps, apps, apps – just seem to appear every day.  A mobile survey conducted in 2011 found that customers were using mobile apps 10 times a day, and a growing number of customers have used an app to buy a product.  An astounding 78% used mobile apps for customer service purposes!

In short, if you’re not engaging your customers on-the-go, you’re essentially neglecting them, or are at least missing an opportunity to nurture the relationship through open, honest interaction.

Win-Win for All

Any customer engagement strategy should feel less like a marketing and sales campaign and more like a well-developed friendship founded on the basis of inter-dependent needs. The feedback you get from your customers isn’t just important for you, it’s important for them as well. If you can listen to what your customers are saying and improve the product and their experience, everybody wins.  After all, relationships are a two-way street.  On one hand, your customers feel heard and they can see the ways you’re actually contributing to their company. At the same time, you get free feedback, and have the opportunity to improve your business and are likely to attract more customers.

Stay Customer-Driven

Remember the days when cold-calling was part of a marketing strategy?  Today, it is all about customer engagement and positive interaction. Your customers decide if and when to communicate. Your job is to give them the tools that make the interaction and communication easy and accessible. Do they have a question?  Do they want to shout about a new product? Are they experiencing a technical difficulty? Present your customers or clients with an intuitive tool for communicating with you, and let them initiate.

When you put control in their hands, you’re more likely to be able to meet their needs.  More importantly, you also win their trust, and ultimately, you build the loyal customer base you need to grow and succeed.

 What about you – how do you actively engage with your customers?  We’d love to hear from you!

 Posted by Irene Gomez, Chief Inspiration Officer, Corporate Media Services

What We’ve Learned About Communicating with Employees in an Emergency

On Friday, with the Boston metro area on lockdown, many folks stuck at home were running an experiment in how much information can be consumed at once. I maxed out with a laptop streaming video coverage, iPhone full of tweets, TV blaring footage, and radio providing analysis — all simultaneously. (I’d have been using the iPad too, but was limited by having only two hands, dangit.) While we do live in an era of great access to information, this proliferation of devices only made it that much more obvious that the river of information had slowed to a frustrating drip.

But the inability to communicate clearly and quickly didn’t just affect how much the public or the media knew. Employers, too, ran into this challenge as they tried to notify employees that they don’t need to come in to the office — and in fact, that they should stay home, as offices were closed. At 5:45 Friday morning, Harvard Business Publishing sent a mass email telling employees to stay home. Staples sent a message to their staff at 7 am. One PR firm emailed its employees at 6 am, while an environmental nonprofit emailed at 8.

But not all the messages got through. A simple technical miscue can mean that not all employee email addresses make it on to the “everyone” email list. For others, the timing can be wrong. For instance, our early morning security guard found herself in the office before the message had gone out. Because our offices were at the heart of the locked-down zone (you probably saw them on television) she was then stuck here all day, while law enforcement used our parking lot as a staging area. Similarly, at Staples, Mark Cautela, a PR manager, mentioned that a couple of employees who had left home before receiving their 7 am message had ended up at their Harvard Square store, and ultimately decided it was safer to stay there than try to get back home. While the store remained closed, the employees hunkered down inside.

And as with the rest of the week, miscommunications and tempers both flared. In the absence of the information we want, we’re overreacting to what little information we have. Cautela mentioned that they’ve been actively quashing online reports that Staples told employees to report for work despite the lockdown, saying those resulted from misunderstandings. A person who works in health care tweeted angrily that her employer was going to charge her vacation time for staying home on Friday. As it turned out, a supervisor later called her to assure her that that was not the case — while that would have been their usual policy, given the severity of the situation they’d decided to make an exception.

Of course, not every employer did tell employees to stay home. On Friday, I heard reports through social media that some employees were either explicitly told to report for work, or felt pressured to do so. Then there was the too-perfect the story that police had allowed Dunkin Donuts to remain open to serve first responders.

But some companies did get it right, safely shutting down their businesses for the day, communicating that shutdown effectively to their staff, and pre-emptively answering any concerns about lost wages or benefits.

Making sure employees know what to do in a fast-breaking emergency isn’t as easy as just sending a text or an email. It takes preparation as well as rapid execution. One Cambridge-based company, HubSpot, talked to me about how they coordinated their response, with people in IT, security, and HR all working together to first identify employees in the Watertown area who might be in harm’s way, and then reaching out to those people “to make sure they had heard the news and didn’t plan to go outside,” said Katie Burke, from the company. They phoned, texted, and as a last resort, emailed them individually. Then, says Burke, “Our Chief Security Officer notified all employees early [Friday] morning that the office would be closed so people wouldn’t drive or try to train into work and get stranded.” Finally, they made sure everyone knew there’d be no penalty for staying home, and encouraged them to reach out if they needed help.

Another company for whom this situation struck very close to home was athenahealth, which offers cloud-based services to health care providers. Carolyn Reckman is VP of athenaEnvironment, the function that covers everything to do with the firm’s physical environment, from facilities to security. “As a HIPAA-regulated organization, we have a heightened sense of responsibility for business continuity and crisis management,” she told me. Their crisis plan was enviable.

Every employee, when they first join the company, is handed a wallet card with Reckman’s phone number and other emergency contact numbers. At 4:30 in the morning on Friday, Reckman was awoken by a Watertown-based employee who’d called the number on that card to tell her that he had heard gunshots outside his home, and was now following the unfolding events on the news and listening to a police scanner. It sounded, he said, like this might go on for a while. Reckman jumped out of bed and activated their emergency notification system. The first alert went out to the firm’s crisis-management team, a group of about 15 or 20 people from around the company. Closing for the day “was a no-brainer,” Reckman said. So within another few minutes, they’d activated the automated emergency contact system that goes out to all employees — reaching their home phones, cell phones, work phones, work email accounts, and personal email accounts. They got the message out by 5:30 am.

“I was asleep until 6 a.m.,” said Amanda Guisbond, who works in the communications department. “I woke up and had a voicemail on my cell phone telling me the offices were closed, and I also had an email in my gmail account, which was good because I wouldn’t have been checking work email right away.”

Looking at the successes and the mistakes here, some simple best practices emerge:

First, email isn’t the best way to get in touch with people in an emergency. This seemed especially true in companies whose employees were hourly workers who generally don’t have employer-provided smartphones. It was also especially true for anyone in the immediately affected areas of Cambridge or Watertown, where bullets and home-made bombs were flying and time was essential. SMS text messages were a quicker way to push information out to people, although this approach was less common among private employers and more common at universities. For instance, both MIT and Emerson College used text messages to push alerts out to members of their communities. Emerson’s alert went out at 5:10 Friday morning. And MIT’s first alert went out at 11:01 pm Thursday night, shortly after a member of their campus police was found shot. As Reckman told me, “Really, I think the only way to do it is to hit people’s personal cell phones.”

Second, make sure it’s a system multiple people can activate, from any location. At athenahealth, any employee can call a senior manager and alert them to an emergency, because of the wallet card they’ve been asked to carry. Moreover, there are 15 or 20 people on the crisis management team, any one of whom can activate the alert system. It shouldn’t be a system that relies on people being able to access their work email, or that you can only log into from inside the office.

Third, when the crisis is over, ask what you could have done better. For instance, when Reckman first initiated the emergency system — the one that went to the 15 people on the crisis team — it said “this is a test.” Obviously, it wasn’t a test, and that’s something she said they plan to figure out when they debrief on the incident this week.

But finally, the companies that got this right realized it wasn’t only a technological challenge, but a management challenge. Not only did they communicate in human, empathetic terms, but they also addressed practical concerns up-front, such as assuring their employees that they wouldn’t lose time off or pay. Unfortunately, the number of companies that did this seems small. Those who didn’t not only created publicity problems for themselves when employees began venting on social media, but also generated anxiety in employees who wondered if they were going to take a financial hit for the time spent obeying the lockdown. Companies who have refused to pay their hourly workers or have forced salaried workers to take a vacation day are no doubt creating sour memories in their staff, perhaps saving a few dollars in the short-term, but fostering bitter feelings in the long-term. The policy at athenahealth is again admirable: in the event of an emergency office closing, everyone still gets paid. And Nordstrom confirmed over Twitter, after the fact, that all employees who had been scheduled for Friday shifts at the Boston store will still be getting paid.

The companies that got this right anticipated the questions and concerns that all of their workers would have — no matter what mode of communication they’re most likely to use and no matter where they sit on the salary scale. It’s understandable, perhaps, that an executive who does the daily email “prayer” — check it first thing when you wake up, and last thing before you go to sleep — might assume that was the best way to reach all workers. It’s understandable that in the heat of the moment, giving reassurance on pay and benefits might just not have occurred to those executives, either. They may be worried about their own safety, or just, as highly paid professionals, unlikely to worry about a day’s pay or a day’s vacation here or there. But that’s why it’s so essential to have a plan for these sorts of emergencies ahead of time: to cover the fact that, in the moment, you probably won’t be thinking clearly.

If you wait until the bomber is on the loose, or the hurricane is barreling down the coast, or the need to evacuate your building has become only too clear, you have waited too long.

Posted by Guest, Sarah Green for Harvard Business Review

SOCIAL MEDIA – FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Ok, ok I admit it!  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – they are my guilty pleasures!  Scrolling down Facebook and reading about all of my friends’ activities and aspirations lets me believe that there are many great things going on around me.  Reading celebrity tweets and checking out music videos provides a source of entertainment.  Everyone does it!

Facebook helps me stay connected with family and friends.  It is definitely a place where most people go to get updates and news on daily activities.  I remember seeing an article in the New York Times that reported on a new study showing social media to be a source of good news rather than bad news.  The study also indicated that psychologists have found that good news can spread faster and further than disasters and sob stories. In short, people tend to say more positive things when they’re talking to a bigger audience, rather than just one person.  That is the power of social media!

Social Media – Like, Dislike?

All of the social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc) are meant to be used for people to express themselves, show admiration or share motivational quotes and travel pictures. People feel like they have to share these amazing stories with their friends in order to show off the great things that are happening to them. They are encouraged to share more and more of their accomplishments once they start receiving likes, shares and retweets.

Let’s face it, how often do we find people talking about their failures on Facebook?  Just doesn’t make sense right?

So, is social media a good thing or a bad thing? That is the question of the day.  There are always two sides to every story; it depends on your perspective on how you perceive it. The same goes for social media, most people admire it as a revolutionary invention while others regard it as a negative impact on the society.

Let’s check out some positive and negative traits associated with social media.

The Greater Good

Staying connected:  Social networks initially started off as a great place to connect with friends and in real time.  We were able to make new friends, connect with old college mates and yes, even locate long lost lovers – all thanks to social media.  Social networks provide the opportunity to connect and build better relationships with people.

Communicating to a wider audience: Through social networks we are able to communicate our thoughts and views over a diverse range of topics.  The share feature allows us to venture our opinion with a huge group of people like-minded individuals with the same interests.  And it doesn’t stop there; we are able to widen the reach to friends of friends who may have similar interests.

Networking for business:  Social networks have become so much a part of our lives that it’s the first thing we do when we turn on our computers or mobile devices. We subconsciously click on to our favourite social network just to check for updates.   Businesses have been quick to recognize the value of social networks and are using different tools to sell ads and promote their products. Social marketing is pretty cost-effective – it enables you to shout about your product in the digital marketspace, with the ability able to reach a wider target profile in a relatively short time.

 The Not So Good

Getting addicted: Many studies have shown that the extensive use of social media can actually cause addiction to users. It is very common for people to post something on their pages or check out other posts.  In fact, it has become so much a part of our lives, that it’s almost as routine as brushing our teeth each morning!

Lost and alone:  Too much time spent on social networks can also result in anti-social behaviour.  The constant need to update and check updates is changing our behavior in such a way that there is little time for human interaction.  This not only leads to isolation but more importantly, without face-to-face communication, honesty becomes an issue as well.  Can you trust a person online – how much of what they say about themselves (mostly to impress) is actually true?

Not quite productive:  Many employers complain about their employees spending too much time on social media, resulting in poor productivity and missed deadlines. It is sometimes difficult to put a brake on the situation. Some companies employ “block” mechanisms but because everyone is wired these days, it’s almost impossible to track usage time.

Social media is no doubt an invaluable communication tool.  It is a great platform to engage our audience – both on a personal and professional level.  Not only does social media help us stay on top of the news, it is provides the opportunity to learn so much from the global university of life.

So what about you?  Do you feel social media has impacted our society? Do you depend on it as a source of good or bad news?  We’d like to hear from you.

STAYING RELEVANT IN A TIRESOME WORLD

Information overload is the one thing that all of us in media and communications can relate to. Given the evolving nature of the industry these days, we can’t just expect it to stop there though. Enter its successor – audience fatigue. Translation – it quite simply means the audience is getting tired. Tired of what exactly? Being overwhelmed by the plethora of options, being constantly bombarded with Tweets and Facebook postings, emails and the endless news cycles – we can’t seem to catch a break from the media any where we look.

Don’t blame yourself too much though. With unparalleled diversity, digression and the vast availability of choice, the audience retention rate is naturally harder to maintain.

And so it begins – an endless pursuit to capture (or re-capture) your audience and inherently, a higher probability of inducing audience fatigue. Here are some ways to stay clear of the danger zone.

Shake it up

Despite exciting and original ideas, we often are forced to follow a tried and tested formula. This could be due to a lack of budget, deadlines or insufficient resources. Whatever the case and as hard as it may be, you just have to inject a fresh dose of creativity and get yourself out of that darned rut. While you may want to offer a unified, thematic look in the portrayal of your company, it doesn’t have to mean monotony and dishing out the same things. Don’t be lazy – look at things from a different perspective, get as creative as you can and give yourself a facelift ever so often to stay relevant and enticing.

Spread it out

This is an extension of the previous point. Think about all the options available to you and work them to your advantage. Switch around and meddle with new formats and technologies to see which option provides the best fit. As much as it may seem daunting, strategize wisely and there’s nothing you should be afraid of. A new platform presents a new audience to possibly engage with. In addition, the more places the audience can find your message and you, the higher the chance of response and engagement!

Remembering not to forget

The importance of having an emotional connection with the audience has been emphasized upon more than enough, but we forget them sometimes in our rush to meet deadlines, targets, objectives, quotas and other “more important stuff”. Strike different chords with stories, illustrations, prose, or maybe even with music and motion graphics. Don’t be afraid to try new ways to keep the emotional engagement alive. With every media or communication plan set in place, take a step back and ask yourself if you’d be moved by what has been done. It is important to be honest; otherwise, you’d only be lying to yourself.

Hold up, wait a minute

However, admittedly sometimes taking a break is the best thing that can be done. This is especially true if your company is doing something with scheduled regularity, like a daily or weekly program. Sometimes, being under the radar actually generates buzz so don’t immediately disregard a break. Take time out to regenerate and when you do intend to make a comeback, have something eye popping and wonderful up your sleeves – titillate your audience with your reappearance and win them over once more. And perhaps this time, with more spontaneity and less structure and rigour because most times quality trumps quantity!

All in all, the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that when the audience wants to engage, they are less liable to feel the fatigue.

By Yasmin Md Basir, PR Associate @ Corporate Media Services