Corporate Eye

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Archives for 2009

Segway PUMA – Missed Branding Opportunity

pumaWhat do you think of when you hear the brand name PUMA?  Most people respond to that question by saying, “shoes”. 

Yes, there is already a PUMA, and while it’s in a very different market than the new Segway PUMA, and it’s unlikely the products will be confused with one another, the problem is that the name is already taken and consumers already associate it with another product.  PUMA already communicates a brand message, image and promise.  [Read more…] about Segway PUMA – Missed Branding Opportunity

Without Warning: on leadership, whistleblowers, corporate culture and silence

Without Warning

Do you have an uncomfortable suspicion that your business has a problem lurking in its depths? Is there an issue that you keep catching a glimpse of out of the corner of your eye, but can’t quite get hold of?

This is what Rodney N Johnson’s book, ‘Without Warning’ is about, and he calls these ‘silent problems’, as opposed to simple, complex or wicked problems.

  • A simple problem is one in which everyone agrees on the problem and on the solution. If not solved correctly, this could become a complex problem.
  • A complex problem: one in which everyone agrees on the problem, but disagrees on the solution.
  • A wicked problem: a problem (or nest of problems), in which people disagree over what the problem is, so a solution can’t be identified, and without agreement on the problem or a defined solution, you won’t know when the problem has been solved. Different groups of stakeholders understand the problem differently; any proposed solutions can’t be tested or evaluated other than subjectively.

Nasty.

But a silent problem is different, and Rodney Johnson (RJ) defines it like this:

A problem that is being avoided, neglected, or going unnoticed… A problem that is intentionally being silenced.

This is perhaps the worst kind of problem of all. At least a wicked problem can be acknowledged and struggled with. But one that you’re not aware of? How are you supposed to deal with that?

Whose problem is it?

One of the many silent problems RJ uses as case-studies is the sub-prime financial fallout which we’re all too familiar with now – warnings were given, but disregarded.

Question: if someone able to impose a solution had been willing to say ‘here’s a problem’, would it then have become a complex or wicked problem? That is, is it a silent problem only as long as no-one with enough authority to deal with it has spotted it or taken responsibility for it?

If there were warnings, then someone was aware of the problem, so it wasn’t silent for them – but presumably they didn’t have the clout to tackle the issue. A silent problem, then, is a leadership issue: it is a problem that is being ignored by management.

You’re the manager: how do you know if there is a silent problem?

The identification of silent problems is a key leadership skill: a good leader will be constantly looking out for them. RJ offers 7 symptoms and 5 areas where the problems are likely to be lurking. (No, I’m not going to give them away – you’ll need to get hold of the book!)

Without giving away the list, I can tell you that some of the symptoms could be easily missed in the hurry and scurry of actually doing business. This is why a silent problem is a leadership problem: someone needs to be working at enough of a strategic level that they are working ‘on’ the business not ‘in’ the business – that way they have a chance of spotting the problem.

I’d have liked a bit more on how to find and identify the problems, as this seems to me to be the key to silent problems. And some of the symptom-spotting is going to come down to gut feel that something is wrong – but how does one develop that, other than by experience? (Luckily, RJ provides a few tips on his blog for how C-level executives can use Management by Walking Around to help with this).

The book offers a structure for resolving these problems, and this, together with the case studies, is very thought-provoking (as well as entertaining), but it seems to me that the most important element here is identification of the problem. And that, of course, is the nub: the very thing that makes these silent…

I found two of the types of silent problems he identifies most interesting, one because the problem becomes part of the corporate culture, and the other because the problem is deliberately contained and ignored.

The latter sounds distinctly risky, even potentially verging on the unethical, and the kind of issue likely to cause major problems when it is eventually unearthed, requiring full-on crisis communications and significant business action. The former, in which the problem becomes encapsulated, pearl-like, by layers of corporate culture, I find intriguing. At what point does the problem become embedded in the culture? And it requires a particularly objective viewpoint to be able to see part of the corporate culture as a problem…

Don’t kill the messenger

In the Corporate Eye list of best practices, whistle-blowing is usually related to an ethics issue, but the principles are relevant here too. RJ says “we must encourage and empower those around us who might unearth and identify the silent problems”. These, he points out, could be employees or associates, but could also be clients or customers. And perhaps those outside the organisation – or new hires – are best placed to spot problems, because of the need to have an objective view of the situation.

So: what are you doing today to check for problems – or how are you enabling people to raise the alarm?

RJ seems almost to anthropomorphise problems, referring to them as living, growing, breathing and consuming resources (the latter is almost certainly true!), undisciplined, unruly and disobedient. This, together with the many fascinating examples, makes for a lively read.

It is all too easy to skim this slim volume the first time, but it definitely repays a second reading.

When Radio Interviews Go Bad: How Your Corporate Media Relations Strategies Can Avoid Being Ignored

Radio Media Relations

This morning as I began my day, I listened to Tom Joyner, one of my favorite daily morning radio stations. There was a medical speaker who was sharing advice about women’s health and how we can take better care of ourselves through practical living. He recited the dangers in using certain personal products for women and how those products can cause female issues and other problems if used over a prolonged period of time. His information was extremely interesting and quite helpful as the host actively engaged him, asking more questions that brought even more information out.

After listening to the radio interview after about 3 minutes, the whole thing suddenly turned into what seemed like a staged infomercial! As the “herbalist” spoke (he insisted that although he wasn’t a certified doctor, he did have relevant information…ok?), he began to stress the fact that the use of these particular products was damaging and the only remedy was what he conveniently sold on his site – – and almost exclusively on his site.

The host was becoming particularly agitated (as was I) and asked the quasi-doctor that if he and his site had the key to this health issue, and if it did in fact work so well, then just why doesn’t the FDA release this information to the public and bring healthy living to all? Just why?

Aggravating Interviewees

Now the good herbalist doctor still had me right up until this point. And, he could have kept me along with the listening audience…right up until he made his next statement(s). He said that the FDA “got it wrong” and that they only want to “capitalize on the consumers” and that they “don’t recognize him as being a leading authority in his field” and so on and so forth. Really? Could the FDA be that wrong and that conniving as to gamble with the health of the general population?  But the clincher was not yet delivered. The herb doctor went on to inform the listening audience that they could find out more information and find good, solid products if they only visit his site at www…

No, I didn’t forget to add the rest of the site address, I just couldn’t hear him clearly and he was talking so fast after this point, that it made the rest of his interview completely unintelligible. You see, that agitated host that I mentioned earlier had become even more agitated and was starting to become short and choppy with the good herb doctor. The doctor knew his time was limited, so he tried to squeeze in his web address at every available opportunity, whether the host asked for it – – or not. And really, the host was not asking for it.

In media relations, there are many opportunities where you can share your corporate message with the public and gain an interested following in the process. When you share and disseminate information that is of high interest and that the listening audience can benefit from, you successfully establish yourself as an expert (over time) and people began to look to you for answers. I was an interested follower this morning because the herb doctor was giving the audience information that was timely and very, very interesting. However…

The major drawback that happened in this interview was the way the herb doctor basically hijacked the interview and made the space more about him and his site than offering the audience good information. While there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with marketing, the herb man went about it all wrong and will perhaps now even be disdained more than he will be embraced in any online media relations circles.

What could he have done differently? He could have NOT talked about his glorious website so much! Yes, he should have shared his wealth of knowledge and yes, he should have mentioned his website. But towards the horrible end of the interview, the herbal doctor was all but screaming his website address and telephone number out for the audience to call for more information. Although I did try to listen to get the site, the host’s agitation had gotten the best of her and she was over talking him, trying to cut through to go to real commercials. The herbalist was done.

Media relations have to be treated like any other marketing strategy and give the audience less, not more. Mention the website’s name. Mention the blog’s name. Give out your phone number. But please steer clear of the “my-products-are-super-great-and-will-change-your-life-and-everybody-else-has-gotten-it-wrong” attitude as it does absolutely nothing but turn off your listening audience. And, isn’t that counter-active of the thing that you want to do?

Less is more and less gets you noticed. Are you practicing less in your marketing strategies?

How to Make Your Brand Like Chocolate

chocolateThe numbers are in and chocolate sales are up, sometimes to record levels, with the economic downturn.  Each of the major chocolate manufacturers in the U.S. (and major Swiss chocolate companies) are reporting growth in 2009.  What does that tell us?  Two things:

  1. When consumers can’t afford luxury items like plasma TVs and new cars, they replace those luxuries with chocolate. (Okay, that one might be a stretch, but #2 is more important anyway).
  2. When times get tough, consumers don’t give up comfort items.  In fact, they buy more of them!

So that leads us to this question — how can you leverage consumer buying habits during a recession?

The answer is simple — make your brand like chocolate. [Read more…] about How to Make Your Brand Like Chocolate

CoTweet for business: Come on in, the water’s lovely

swimmers waiting

So you’re thinking about plunging into the Twitter stream – or perhaps you’re already swimming, and want a colleague or two to join in – but are wondering how you’re going to manage multiple accounts for your company?

In one of our recent newsletters, I mentioned CoTweet as a way to manage multiple company accounts. Since then I’ve been given access to their beta test, so I’ve been able to experiment with it.

Sidenote: if you’re not receiving our newsletters, why not? Sign up at the top right of this page – I promise we only send out a newsletter intermittently, and it contains snippets not available on the blog …

Back to CoTweet: this may just be going to change the way I use Twitter for Corporate Eye. This is what I’ve found in my first few days of experimentation…

Use multiple accounts, multiple users per account

one tweeter per account

I’ve set up multiple accounts within CoTweet, and I can access them all via one login. If you’ve ever tried to log in and out of different accounts with Twitter in the same browser session, you’ll know how confusing this can get – CoTweet makes this easier.

multiple tweeters per account

I’ve also set it up so that multiple people can twitter using the same account. So I now can have more than one person tweeting for @lucynixon (if I wanted).

Streams of tweets: merged and threaded

On logging in, the @replies and direct messages are immediately visible, but in one flow – no separation between @replies and direct messages. And they’re threaded, so you can see which messages were sent in response to which.

Of course the normal flow of updates is also available – and you can easily see a separate list of those messages you’ve sent.

Divert tweets to the right person

Once you’ve got your cotweeters set up with access, then they’re good to go, and individuals within your organisation can be marked as on or off duty. That way you can see who is available immediately to respond to a tweet.

You can assign any tweet to somebody else in your organisation to handle – whether this is to reply to, or simply for interest – and send it with a note from you, to explain what you think should be done. And this can be followed up with an automated email to that person (in case they are ‘off duty’, I suppose). These can then be followed up at leisure. I expect I’ll use this as a way of ‘bookmarking for later action’ for myself, as well, as I haven’t found a favourites option.

I can assign messages to any one of my ‘channels’ and to an individual within that channel – so that, for instance, if I were in the auto industry, and had one Twitter account for Vans and another for Trucks, I could assign Tweets to Suzie in Vans, or to Brian in Trucks – or assign one to the Vans Sales team, and another to the Vans Support team. And if I get it wrong, I can re-assign it.

There is a list of what tweets have been assigned to me, as a work-flow management device, but it would be useful to be able to see a list of messages I’ve assigned to someone else, so I could track response.

Worried your readers may be confused about who is tweeting? CoTweet lets you set up handles for each user (such as ~Lucy or ^LN), and these will be automatically appended to your tweets if you want.

(Yes, you can remove people from your account if you need to).

Message management

All the usual functions are available: I can send a direct message to each individual tweeter that comes up, or @reply them, retweet their message or email that tweet to someone for action – if I didn’t want to just assign the tweet to them inside CoTweet. Perhaps they’re not Twittering for my company but still have an interest in what’s being said?

CoTweet lets me schedule tweets to go out later. Yes, I know this is available as functionality elsewhere – but if I can get it all in one place, why look outside? A full-service system is what you need if you’re under pressure.

Plus – and importantly if you have multiple staff using the same account – scheduling tweets means that you can see if someone has already scheduled a tweet on the topic you’re thinking to mention. That way, people who follow your account don’t get three tweets in a row making a special offer!

When you’ve read and actioned a message, you can archive it so that you have a record, and to clean up the stream of tweets. I’m not sure whether they have plans for an internal search – I can see that if you handled thousands of messages, and needed to find one from a couple of months ago, it might be nice to be able to search your archive.

And I can see a list of messages I sent, rather than have them bundled with incoming direct messages, as Tweetdeck does it. I can see what my co-authors sent too, identified by sender. (Control freak? Me? I just think that might be useful…)

Interestingly, I can choose to cross-tweet, if I wanted: as the owner of multiple accounts, I can choose to send out the same tweet on each of them.

Keeping track of Twitter activity and customer management

cotweet-300

Suppose I wanted to keep track of my keywords and brand mentions …

The search function is great – I can do multiple searches (e.g. for governance, csr, and IR) and each set of results comes up in a separate stream on the same page. I’m not sure what the maximum number of searches would be – I tried 6, and had to sideways-scroll after 4 – but each separate search can be refreshed to get the latest tweets on each topic, and I can easily subscribe to an RSS feed for each of those searches.

However, it doesn’t retain the searches you set up if you logout, unlike Tweetdeck, which reloads the search panes. And it would be nice if the search panes auto-refreshed.

I can find more information about interesting people who come up in those searches, or even for any given user: their profile and their updates and – if relevant – the conversations I’ve had with them on Twitter; and, potentially even more usefully, I can add notes to myself (or, presumably, to others) about that person and the conversation we had. I can see that being very useful for a business.

Any bad points?

CoTweet is still in beta, so there are bound to be things to be ironed out and a few missing elements. I’ve made some suggestions above, but there are a few additional points:

  • each page is quite slow to load
  • the number of followers/following is out of date, and isn’t refreshed by logging out and in again
  • I’d like a desktop application that would run in Windows; there is one, I understand, for Mac

So – not yet perfect, but a really well thought through setup for business twittering. I like it.

Another Method of Social Networking for Your Business

This upcoming weekend, I will be out of town on business attending my annual Toastmaster’s conference for speakers. I love this organization and the stride that I’ve made in my career as a professional speaker. These conferences (hosted twice a year) give me and my fellow Toastmaster’s the chance to network and hone our speaking skills even further amongst an audience of our peers.

One of the other roles that I provide in addition to being a speaker is the office of Treasurer. That’s a lot of counting, figuring, analyzing and saying no sometimes to purchase requisitions! Yes, it is an intense position, but somebody’s got to do it, right? I spend a lot of time balancing the books, matching and verifying expenditures, disseminating reports and overall general bookkeeping. Sometimes I am still up late at night or get up early the next morning to make sure everything is in order for the next monthly reporting period. It’s all pretty detailed work in addition to preparing speeches, choosing and researching topics and perfecting my delivery time.

In many businesses, whether they’re profit or non-profit, there are people who have to multi-task in order to help the organization meet its goals. Multi-taskers bring a lot to the table because they decrease expenses for the corporation and bring much-needed skills to the company.  As both a business owner and a professional speaker within an organization, I have learned the importance of strategizing and maximizing your available resources for the good of the company.

What For?

Notice how I spent the first two paragraphs talking about me and what I am doing. Is anyone really interested in that? Of course, some are  and some are not. The goal of having written this was to 1) get your attention and 2) show you  how to get the most out of your social media efforts.

As a part of the Toastmaster’s organization, I make mention of it within circles wherever it’s appropriate. For instance, when I attend my local business networking luncheon monthly, I make it a point to stress that I am a part of Toastmaster’s, since speaking is part of what I do for a living. So how does this tie into the social media conversation?

While social networking and linking my articles one day, someone tweeted me and asked about my speaking career…how long had I been speaking, what professional organizations was I a part of, how did I get started, etc., etc. I shared with the person all of the information that I could and felt was appropriate, the main gist of it being my experience with my speaking organization. Through this brief conversation online, this person wanted more information on how they could meet me and become a part of the Toastmaster’s organization at our next conference, you know, the one I mentioned was coming up this weekend.

Empowering the Ranks

Effective social media can work wonders for your company through those that represent your company. Give your company representatives duties, responsibilities and a reason to want to talk about your company in the socialsphere. This is what interests people and make them want to know more about your corporation…what others are saying about you. Do more than exist. Do more than just “happen”, but actively find ways to engage your target audience through those that represent you. What are some things that you can equip your representatives with to help them talk about you more?

1. Provide them with resources. Give them resources and information that outline your company’s mission and objectives. They pass this information along in the social connections that they have. Whether it’s offline or online, make sure the resources are there for them to use.

2. Talk about your representatives. If you have a company newsletter or blog, talk up your rep’s. That would include highlights about their other interests, businesses, experiences, etc. If you talk about them, they more apt to talk about you. Get it?

3. Share information. Give them  information that is relevant to the company, preferably inside, non-confidential information (store openings, staff changes, etc.) that they can share with their readers. Readers like to think they have the “inside track” and enjoy getting what they think is “classified” stuff. Remember, they’ll blog about it too, thereby driving traffic to your site to double-check the information. Give them a reason to come.

What can you do to make your company stand out? How does social media fit into your company’s grand scheme?