Corporate Eye

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Archives for 2009

Has Google Lost Focus?

google_chrome_os_microsoftOne of the rules of branding from the classic The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries is the law of contraction, which tells us that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.  The marketplace is teeming with companies and brands that have lost focus, overexpanded, and are now scrambling to contract to regain brand value.  Think of how popular niche marketing is these days.  There’s a reason — focus can be very powerful.  However, it’s hard to stay focused when stockholders are demanding double digit growth year over year.  As a result, most companies find themselves growing too big and brands find themselves overextended all in an ill-conceived attempt by managers and executives to deliver those expected returns or face the unemployment line.

This week, Google announced the launch of its new web-based operating system — Google Chrome OS.  Google expects Chrome OS will give Microsoft some competition for its Windows operating system that has long owned the market for space on desktops and laptops.  The questions are these:

  1. Will Google succeed in taking a sizeable chunk out of Microsoft’s market share with Google Chrome OS?
  2. Will individuals and/or enterprises make the shift to a web-based open source operating system from Google?
  3. Will Microsoft care or continue to think they’re untouchable?
  4. Is Google forgetting the law of contraction?

It’s hard to say what affect Google Chrome OS will have on the market in 1-year, 3-years or 5-years.  It’s certainly going to be interesting to watch the power players position their products and brands for battle.  On the other hand, it will be equally interesting to see if Google’s expansion beyond what it does best – online search and helping people find relevant information — will be successful at any level. 

Google is a recognized brand name but it’s not perfect.  Will forgetting the law of contraction hurt the brand in the long run?  Again, we’ll have to wait and see.  In the meantime, most consumers are still not satisfied with online search results, but Google seems to be following the path that so many companies before it have done, it’s easier to see dollar signs in expansion than fixing what ails the core brand promise through focus. 

Your thoughts?

Image: Flickr

Italy’s Edison — A Model Website

I have reviewed many corporate websites. Many are acceptable, some quite good, but few are model or benchmark sites that really stand out. Edison, an energy company based in Italy is truly a stand out.

First, look at the Home page.

There is much information but because of a good design, it is not overwhelming. Noteworthy items starting from the upper left —

  • A noteworthy corporate award is prominently displayed
  • Share price
  • Links organized by stakeholder class
  • Bravo, an interactive Annual Report is available

Many other information sources are also nicely displayed.


Next, another aspect of an effective corporate website is that Edison describes its Strategy and performance measures. (Click on the image for a clearer view)

You don’t have to give away the “Corporate Jewels”, but companies need to communicate where they are headed. Edison does this well.

Next, navigate to the the Management Structure section and see an organization chart. Do a mouseover on the titles–

A picture of the senior manager appears along with links to more information. Good communications via the corporate website must include telling visitors about the leadership team. Venture capitalists look at who runs the company before reading the business plan. This is also true for stakeholders of an existing company.

Edison’s website includes much more. For example, The Market section includes —

Once again, more information for stakeholders to learn more about the company.

Final comments, visit the Governance page and note the use of word clouds and page reader options. Bravo Edison for a website that is comprehensive, well organized and provides a model for other companies.

Google Comes out of Beta

Google Apps that is — and Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Gmail.

In preparation for a brand battle between Google and Microsoft’s suite of Office products, Google has officially removed the “beta” reference from Google Apps, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Gmail.  According to the Official Google Blog, “beta” has been dropped in an effort to specifically target companies who find the beta brand label too risky to take seriously.  And if you want to compete against Microsoft, you’ve got to be serious (notice my sarcasm?).  Matthew Glotzbach, director of product management for Google Enterprise wrote in his post on the Google blog, “We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase.”  Look out Microsoft.  Google has taken off its glove and is ready for a fight!

Let’s face it, Google hangs onto the “beta” label for a long, long time.  Gmail has been in beta for five years!  “Beta” seems like more of a crutch (i.e., excuse if anything goes wrong) than anything else.  In marketing and new product development, we call it a “pilot” program.  But for five years?  “Beta” seems like a stretch after half a decade of active use.  Did anyone really even notice the “beta” label in the logo on Google Apps, Gmail, etc. anymore?

gmail-beta-server-error

The question is whether or not companies will feel comfortable using online applications rather than offline applications for word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, email, etc.  The idea of having many of a company’s critical and/or daily workflow applications hosted by a third-party can be a difficult barrier to cross.  It’s a mind-shift that most people still have trouble making.  Google will have a lot of work to do to make companies feel comfortable making this kind of switch.  Google has the strength of its brand to back up its products. but that power has to be transferred to a new way of thinking and consumers need to feel secure in that new way of thinking before we’ll see a broad shift from offline to online apps.  I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it will take a lot more than, “but hey, we’re Google,” to get it done.

Your thoughts?  Who will win this battle of the brands?

Image: Flickr

(Hello and) Good-bye to KSAs


stack-of-papers

I admit that I hadn’t even heard of KSAs until today.  I’ve never worked for the Federal government, or even known anyone who worked for the Federal government, so I had no idea that most agencies require applicants to write extended essay answers (sometimes many of them) explaining specific aspects of their Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.  These documents go by the nickname KSA, and apparently are widely dreaded by job-seekers.

For background:  KSAs are written not only by people trying to break into government employment, but also by government employees trying to advance or reroute their careers.  They are submitted in addition to resumes.  Each response is expected to be one-half to one page, and there may be a five or ten of them (or more) for a given job.

Here are some examples of generic KSA topics that might be required for many positions:   Ability to communicate in writing; Ability to manage a program; Ability to analyze problems and develop solutions; Ability to use and maintain tools and equipment.

Then there are more specific and/or complex topics, such as:  Ability to make critical judgments about biomedical research projects; Skill in applying engineering concepts and theories to the solution of engineering problems; Skill to function effectively in a stressful environment; Knowledge of anti-terrorist tactics . . .

And where did I find these examples?  Why, at one of the dozens of sites that sell pre-written KSAs and/or “custom” KSA writing services.  (I won’t provide links–just search on KSA and you’ll get pages of them.)

I stumbled into the wonderland of KSAs by reading Hiring reform: KSAs to be phased out within a year, a news story on FederalTimes.com.  At first I was overwhelmed by the mere idea of all those papers–having taught freshman composition at one point in my life, this just seems like a nightmare.  How does the HR staff find time to read them?  Do they read them?

Many of those staffers are reportedly thrilled at the news that KSAs will go away.  But on the other hand, according to the FedTimes story:  “Some HR officials feel that if someone can’t be bothered to put time and effort into answering KSA questions, they may not be that interested in the job after all. ‘If you can’t address these KSAs, how thorough are you going to be on the job?’ asked one HR director at a small agency, who asked not to be identified. ‘If we do away with KSAs, we’ll be moving away from information we need to properly evaluate people.  I’m not sure this is going to work.'”

So do they NOT KNOW about the apparently thriving KSA marketplace?  That seems unbelievable, since I found out in less than five minutes.  Or is buying good answers interpreted as “addressing these KSAs,” thereby indicating the applicant would be “thorough” on the job?  Or in reality do most people write their own KSAs and this is not really a problem?

And by the way–I read several official government documents explaining the importance of KSAs and offering advice on how to write KSAs.  But nowhere did I find a basic statement such as:  “You must write the KSA yourself.”  So maybe that’s not even a rule?  But then–what’s the point?  It’s one thing to have someone else reorganize and reformat the facts on your resume for better effect, but it’s really different to have someone else write your writing sample.

That must be the most question marks ever stuffed into one post, but I really am flummoxed over this!  Even if KSAs do go away (which will leave some “writers” scrambling for a new product line, I suppose), the whole business seems to indicate a serious disconnect somewhere.  Or am I wrong?

Anyway . . . from the corporate side–this topic started me thinking about the whole matter of “candidate packaging.”  Is what you “see” what you “get”?  But that’s another topic.

(Thanks to Bryan Partington for the handsome stack of papers.)


Sears Sets Social Networking Strategy

Many companies, both online and offline, can appreciate the benefits of networking and how it can clearly benefit their company. In the form of offline, traditional networking, many companies use their Chambers of Commerce, lunchtime networking clubs and the trusted word-of-mouth referral system.

In today’s changing global landscape, online social networking has quickly become the method and the means that numerous companies are using as their platform for reaching out to customers…and getting them to reach back.

The Sears Corporation network has set a directional course on becoming a social shopping hub on the web. For over 100 years, Sears has provided customers with quality products at very reasonable prices, so much so that they have become a household name in many corners of the industry.

They are now strategizing to become an even bigger integral part of the online community with new changes and developments that will likely place them as a front runner of social networking and involvement.

Sears will develop a marketing-based strategy that will enable users to log onto their Sears accounts via OpenId, and have options to access other social sites like Facebook, Twitter and others.

One of Sears goals in developing this strategy is to enhance their customers’ shopping experience as much as possible. Ultimately, they would like to have customers share their shopping experiences, share photos of their purchases, give and share feedback on their buying experiences and perhaps serve as a referral for new customers as they become more visible on social sites.

With social platforms like Twitter and MySpace, the social sharing should be relatively easy for Sears customers to adapt to. Whenever people find a product or service that they really, really like, they want to share it. Having these kinds of options will certainly enhance the buying experience and will also help guide Sears in the direction that they need on this web marketing strategy as they see what customers need, like and gravitate towards.

How would this type of marketing work for any other type of corporate business online? Would all types of audiences be conducive for the idea? I personally think that it’s a great idea for the corporate industries to pursue, whether they have a product or a service. The goal of any business that is customer-driven wants to generate buzz about their activities. What better way to do that than by engaging in social media and social networking in order to do so?

Photos add an especially nice touch to the social networking idea. Sears certainly can expect a lot of activity from that particular action as customers will likely love sharing their purchases that show off the size, colors, and types of purchases that they make.

As it goes in social circles, Sears certainly is going to make a big impact in their industry as they delve into a very popular, fast growing technology. Imagine:

  • Facebook pages with pictures of their products, satisfied customers giving feedback, others with suggestions.
  • Twitter updates on a frequent basis – – announcing sales, product updates, etc.
  • LinkedIn updates with connections to key business partners in their corporation.

All of these platforms, and still more where they will appear, are going to be extraordinary for a retailer who has been around for quite some time. They have definitely latched on to the next best wonderful thing that can enable them to be around for a long, long time to come. What do you think?

Investor Relations Audience Targeting

Running an investor relations website is complicated enough.  Ensuring that data is posted in a timely manner, but not too early so as to upstage a presentation, or worse, drop into a regulatory spider web of sticky questions regarding public and non-public disclosure.  All while keeping both management and shareholders happy and informed.

In the past, we’ve looked at how investor relations provides information for employee shareholders, as well as the need to provide useful investing data to retail shareholders or private shareholders, and of course, no one can forget about institutional shareholders.  But, just how does an IR team go about getting all of that information displayed in a compelling and appealing manner on the investor section of a website?

One intriguing idea is being used by UniCredit Group. UniCredit Group has what at first glance appears to be a common enough investor’s landing page. However, in the middle of the page are two tabs, one labeled “Institutional Investors” and the other labeled “Private Shareholders.”

UniCredit-IR-Tabbed-Interface-Screen

Such a layout acknowledges the difference in the type of data and information each audience might want to see.  At the current time it appears to be more of an experiment or a placeholder for a grander future divergence of information considering that one entire half of the Institutional tab’s display is taken up by a share price graph, data any institutional investor will no doubt have in much more detail at their fingertips.

Also, all of the publications, data, and documents displayed in the center tabbed area are also easily accessible via more standard menus.  However, what makes the concept so compelling is its ability to highlight specific information based upon the target audience.

For example, a company in the middle of a press storm regarding a trivial matter being blown out of proportion by the media will find much more value in responding to private retail shareholders who may be concerned by what appear to be damaging press accounts, while more savvy institutional investors may be more likely to recognize the issue as nothing more than the whole lot of noise it is.

In this instance, the company could find much more value in highlighting a recent symposium or trade group presentation to the institutional audience instead of having to choose between risking appearing like they are burying the response to the “big news story” or risking that the well received presentation gets missed beneath what institutional investors would recognize as the rote response to a saucy but meatless news story.

Improving on a Good Idea

While UniCredit Group’s center located tabbed division is a clever solution to a tricky problem, one can’t help but imagine even better implementations of a similar concept.

An investor relations page that highlighted the appropriate tab by default for either registered users, recognized by their login information, or even just previous users, recognized by cookies set in the browser based upon which information was accessed on their last visit.

Indeed, one might expand the number of tabs to include not just retail investors and institutional investors, but also employee shareholders, or direct stock purchasers, or participants in DRIP offerings.  Numerous scenarios can be envisioned under which each of the groups has as their primary concern a different issue, and the tabs can help ensure that the issue deemed important by each group is readily addressed.

Likewise, there would also be many instances in which the key concern of the day would be the same among all groups.  With the tabs already in place, duplicating the same information to each tab would be a minimal effort, and despite the fact that all of the tabs have the same basic data posted on each of them, each shareholder would still feel that they were looking at information targeted specifically toward them.

Investor Relations Website Best Practices

As always, the objective is not to determine which pieces add up to the “best” investor relations webpages, but rather to develop and understand techniques and tactics which can aid in the ultimate goal of an IR department which is the timely and accurate dissemination of information and data to shareholders.  The tabbed concept would not be right for all IR groups, but could provide a boon for those looking for way in which to get more into less room.

Additionally, whether using tabs or not, the easy to see split between types of shareholders conveys the impression that all investors regardless of type are important and that the IR department will ensure that users receive tailored information regardless of who they are or how much they will be investing.

And, when you make investors feel like they are cared about by competent and responsive company representatives, you have already gone a long way toward making them feel like your company might be one they would want to be stockholders in.