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Archives for October 2010

Green advertising: Feeling the pressure 1/2

green t shirtAn interesting sea change has caught my eye over the past 12 months : the stricter regulation of green advertising.

Eight months ago we reported how Denmark was introducing tough measures to stamp out greenwashing.  The announcement said:

Environmental or ethical claims in marketing should therefore be correct and precise and exaggerations as to the company’s or the product’s ethical qualities or positive effects should be prohibited.

In effect this meant that a company cannot claim to be green, ethical or sustainable because it’s impossible to be precise in defining any of these terms (and I can’t help but wish that such hyperbole was banned from all advertising!).

However they were only part of a growing trend which has been building as more and more greenwash was attracting more and more attention.  [Read more…] about Green advertising: Feeling the pressure 1/2

What Makes for Effective Investor Relations Sites? Part 28: Who Follows Your Company?

following

Who follows your company, what firm they work for and their recommendations concerning the company’s stock are all valuable pieces of information readily available to a company, but less so to individual investors. So it’s surprising that many companies do not include such information on their websites. And the information to be gleaned is not just that the consensus opinion is buy, sell or hold; much more can be teased out for the benefit of the diligent investor.

Take for example, the number of analysts that cover the company. The more analysts that cover a stock, the better chance the stock is highly liquid, with a broad base of interested institutional buyers and sellers.

Also of interest to a discerning investor is the type and quality of the research shops that cover the stock. If the company is followed mostly by investment research houses you recognize and respect, this is a good thing. If on the other hand, the bulk of coverage comes from firms you’ve never heard of, warning flags should pop up. It’s not that there aren’t good boutique research shops out there, rather that if that’s all that covers the company, it could indicate a lack of institutional interest and hence liquidity in the stock.

Finally, the research analyst’s recommendation is a useful piece of information, but one that should be treated with caution. I know at least one old sage of Wall Street that thinks that a uniform “Buy” consensus on a stock is a good reason to sell. Others say that when everyone thinks a stock is a Buy means that most of the profits have already occurred.

Regardless of how you choose to interpret the data, the information is useful in making investment decisions and effective investor relations sites should include it. Set out below is a good example of information to include on such a page from the website of ENI, the Italian energy company.

ENI analysts

In this series:
Previous post: Contacts
Next post: Context

CSR : Growth Is Not The Answer

round and round we goIt’s the hoary old chestnut : what exactly does CSR mean to you?

Is it the environment, biodiversity and pollution?

Or maybe human rights and justice, ensuring we don’t abuse our fellow humans for personal gain?

Or is it just a resources based question, centred on ensuring you don’t consume more than can be produced?

This last is the angle most sustainability experts take, pointing out that this is not just a raw materials perspective but one which also embraces the likes of atmospheric health and human well being.

However most businesses think only of raw material use, power consumption and waste production.  Measured in these simplistic terms all that CSR and sustainability will achieve is doing business in a more efficient manner.  This is better than being grossly wasteful and irresponsible, but it is not sustainable.

This is because the fundamental flaw in the current business model has not been addressed : growth.

Businesses need to operate at a profit, there is no argument there.  However, there is no imperative for either business or the economy to be in a state of continual growth.  Many SMEs operate quite happily through having a set of regular clients whom they service and there is no presumption that it’s different for large companies.

Yesterday I tweeted an article entitled Limiting Growth To Save The World.  Please note the word is “limiting”, not “eliminating”.  One of my twitter correspondents responded pointing out that the last time downsizing was proposed they were attacked by the establishment for proposing terrorism.

A very US turn of phrase, but the same counter argument was made across Europe: that our culture is based upon a growth economy and to try and stymie that growth is to somehow undermine the culture.

The absurdity of perpetually growing businesses and economies was neatly summed up by Dax Lovegrove, head of industry and business for WWF, in the recent Financial Times article Response falls short of ecological challenges.

“The dilemma faced by the private sector is that if business growth continues, even with some efficiencies, the net result is higher impacts. And that can’t go on forever,” he said.  “There’s an inevitable ecological crunch looming, where companies are going to have to think quite differently.”

This is where a real sustainable business model needs to come to the fore.  One which isn’t based on growth but on sustainability: a radical rethink for businessman and politicians alike.

Picture Credit: Business cycles – round and round we go by Raquel Baranow under Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Line Between Professionalism and Personality

Some companies are worried about how to present a human face without losing authority. Sarah offered to write a post for us about how to convey some of your corporate personality without being unprofessional. She’s a frequent writer for a logo products site, and has worked in marketing for several years, particularly in the new landscape of internet marketing.

Over to you, Sarah!

balancing actConnecting with customers has always been a challenge for businesses. How do you come across as professional, authoritative and credible without also being dry, boring and generic?

The fact is it’s not enough just to be the best in your field. People need to like you too. When it comes to business, perception is often reality. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to help businesses become not only more memorable but more personally relatable as well. These channels are a great way to grow your business and show a little personality at the same time.

Logo Products

Logo products and promotional items have long been a popular way for brands to help imprint their names on the minds of consumers by imprinting their logo on a gift item. From pencils to sweat shirts, branded items are a great way of integrating your business name into the lives of your customers. But it’s more than just the logistics of keeping your name in front of a buyer, logo products can be a way of showing a little personality. When considering which of 1000 products to choose, it’s also a good time to think about what message you want to send beyond just your name and address.

The products you pick, along with style and color choice can help you toe the line between professionalism and personality. This is an opportunity to use humor and whimsy or even to promote a corporate philosophy. For example, a company with a true passion for healthy living would do well using water bottle or pedometers as logo items. Not only are they useful, but they support your passion for health. When it comes to being fun, a business must always keep professionalism in mind and make sure that choices are in good taste. But who says a stress ball has to be round and monochromatic? Step it up by using something a little more memorable, or a cartoonish character that brings a smile to your face every time you see it. Being professional doesn’t have to mean being stuffy, and while decorum is of the utmost importance in a number of business situations, when it comes to promo items, there’s more than a little leeway for fun.

Online

The internet has opened up a world of opportunities for business not just to make money, but to make friends. Social media is one of the best channels for businesses to reach out and make direct contact with customers but it is a tricky balancing act. More and more you see companies asking customers to “connect with us” on Facebook and Twitter. But social media needs to be treated as a chance for real interaction and not simply another method of advertising. Real conversations are happening, conversations that your business can and should be a part of. Facebook pages should offer real value for joining a group or fan page, whether it’s exclusive coupons, entertainment, or engagement. Wall posts and feedback should always be acknowledged. The same is true of Twitter, updates should say more than simply “Buy our stuff!”. You can answer questions in a real honest way, start discussions about issues that are pertinent to your business and monitor mentions of your brand name. But the name of the game is authenticity. Social platforms give us the opportunity to connect in a one on one way that is truly unique to our times. It doesn’t hurt to have someone with quick wit and social skills monitoring these accounts. While it’s professional to avoid the use of profanity and over-sharing of inappropriate details, it’s personality to try to add real value to the streams of your followers.

Along with social media a business’s website has infinite potential to be more personable. If all of the content on your site has a sales-pitch tone, there’s room for so much more. By adding articles, tutorials, blogs and interactive programs you can make connections that go beyond commercialism. Becoming a resource isn’t just good online business for attracting links and recognition it creates an atmosphere of authority and a generosity of knowledge. This alone can break down many of the walls between the corporation and the customer.

In the Community

Nothing is better for reaching the masses than a genuine effort to give back. Community involvement is one of the best ways for any business to come down the corporate ladder and mingle. If you simply look around the opportunities are everywhere. Whether is buying program space for a local high school play or asking employees to take part in a walk for charity, these efforts speak volumes about a business. Yes these acts will promote good morale and give the guys-in-ties a warm fuzzy feeling. But more importantly they tell the community, the people closest to you, that you care. Not only is it a good move professionally for getting the word out about your company, through the use of banners and logos at public events but it adds some humanity to your name.

Most businesses are so conscious of their professional image; they don’t realize that it has in fact consumed them. While corporate conduct can inspire respect and trust it can also create a distance between the business and the consumer. But there are numerous ways for any business to breach that divide. Using all of the tools at your disposal, from logo products to the internet to getting knee-deep in community events a business can come down off the professional pedestal and show a little personality. And when that personality comes across as sincere, caring and engaging it inspires not only trust and respect, but admiration and often a new level of brand loyalty.

Thanks, Sarah!