Don't Hog the Ball: Adopting the Football Model in Business

Football is a team game; it always has been and it always will be. Having good positional sense, communication skills, and an awareness of where your teammates are is far more important than being able to perform a step over or shoot effectively from 30 yards or more. - Bleacher Report 

And like football, communications in an organisation requires teamwork and the ability to create synergies across teams. No longer can team execute their responsibilities as silos and PR/communications teams cannot hope to develop and implement internal and external communications strategies without the input of other teams and a healthy collaborative culture.

When communications within a team breaks down and disharmony manifests itself, or a resistance to be part of a collaborative efforts, bet your last dollar that the results would not be as outstanding had the team worked together as a unit. I have been part of organisations where programmes were rolled out without proper consultation and feedback from the rest of the company. You get to work and there in your inbox is an email about some new programme that noone broached as an idea, or which clearly was not thoroughly thought out from various angles and employee perspectives. Something that may seem like a great idea to one team, may have other implications for another, but how would you know if there does not exist a deeper consultative culture? And while not trying to promote bureaucracy and unnecessary corporate red tape, because God, we know how that can go, it is always better to have other teams on board to ensure universal buy-in and support, and ultimately a better final product. The French football team is currently showing signs of team wear and tear and it is showing in their performance thus far at the 2010 World Cup.

Many of the French players seemed to be under the impression that they were there to create their own personal highlight reel rather than to perform as a functional team. Nicolas Anelka and Frank Ribery are both outstanding players, but they did not perform to anything like the level they are capable of against Uruguay.

The main reason for this was their reluctance to play simple football, to simply receive the ball, protect it and lay it off. Virtually every time that either man received possession they embarked on an ambitious solo run and almost without fail they ended up surrendering possession... (Bleacher Report)

In an organisation, one has to be open to new ideas and suggestions and to be able to provide different perspectives on strategies, with the end result being a more effective team with a common goal. It's like having your own internal focus group to weed out the bad elements of an idea and improve the good elements. And whether it's a social media initiative, an advertising campaign or an internal rollout, the double C effect of consultation and collaboration in my opinion, is always a better bet than hogging the ball and trying to shine solo. It often just does not work - in football or in business.

First Impressions are Lasting Impressions

I was invited to a meeting once and when I got there on time, the person who had called the meeting was not there. Twenty minutes later, she sauntered in with an apology and a sandwich, which she had already started eating, wrapped in foil. She sat down and continued eating her sandwich, in the foil, and with crumbs attached to her face. This was my first impression of this woman. It was not a very good one. Sadly for her, it is the one thing that sticks out in my mind when I think of her.

This morning, I went down to the ground floor and there was our VP, Customer Service at the door greeting customers, along with a couple of his team. As a customer, this would have been a great first impression - prompt 8am start with a senior executive member at the door meeting and greeting.

While it is indeed cliche, you really do only have one opportunity to make a first impression. There is generally no rewind button and what you give is what stays etched in the mind of the person or persons you interact with. First impressions are the last thing anyone forgets. And be it via your frontline staff, your telemarketing team, your website or your sales pitch - your first step is the one which will determine how successful you will be. First impressions are motivated by our need to influence others, have them act in a certain way and the ultimate onjective is to gain a reward of some kind. And first impressions usually are centred around really small things like a prompt response to a complaint, or the usability of a website. This morning I tried finding info on flights and the first website did not really inspire me to make a purchasing decision right then and there. However, the second site, which was clean and easy to navigate, and which also was complemented by a Twitter customer care channel grabbed my interest and more importantly pushed me closer to making a purchasing decision. All the scrolling ads, pop up windows and flash in the world on the other site did not resonate with me as a consumer, who wanted to be in and out of there without the hassle. And hassle it was.

So it is important to take the time to make that first impression count. Think about not only your presentation and how it can build your brand, but also how your presentation relates to your customer. Think of the criteria with which that person will judge your brand based on the first impression you create.

• Do they trust the brand?
• Does the brand inspire confidence?
• Is it a professional image?
• Is it a company that cares about people - both its customers and its staff?
• Is the brand understood and well represented by all staff, across all levels?

And the list is endless. But these are just a few questions one can ask when evaluating how you present yourself and your brand to your audience, because first impressions last!

Real Case: Perils of Small Business BEING Online

Now we all understand the importance of customer service and the importance of customer service training for staff. Customer service is usually one of the tenets of a strong brand and it has the power to set the brand apart from its competitors. I have had my fair share of excellent customer service and horrendous customer service here in Trinidad and Tobago. One bad example was when a waitress used the F-bomb to vent her frustration when SHE messed up my friend's order and she felt she needed to tell me I was F-ing confused. I did not bother to order anything after that. I did go to the manager and tell him about the encounter and his response, or lack thereof was alarming to say the least. In fact I think he was drunk.

Now yesterday I shared my opinion on why small businesses should be online. But while we do create a website or a Page or a Twitter channel, we cannot forget that how we interact with our online communities also constitues as customer service. Social media channels such as company Twitter pages and Facebook Pages allow brands to not only promote their brand, but they also use it as a conduit to deliver assistance to their customers.

In larger organisations, the communications and promotion either lies with a marketing or communications team or individual as the case may be, who usually have the skills to properly manage feedback and concerns. In the small business scenario, this is not always the case and it may be the owner or an employee. Here is an example of a social media admin gone wrong.

While service browsing recently, I came upon a Facebook Page for one fitness provider, where the customers were miffed about an unexpected and immediate price increase for membership. This was the first response from "management". I am posting it as I found it.

well we didnt even no until the day it was raised, but come on its only by $50.00 come on. its still a good rate and plus all d classes r for free, where else u gettin dat?...please, ok. where u gettin dat? yes we shld of let eveyone know in advance...but it has been done already

Shock does not begin to explain it. Of course subsequent customer responses were not conciliatory. The second response, from the second admin was:

I understand your dismay with the sudden change of membership rates. I apologise for this.  We take note of your suggestion for more notification and will bear this in mind for future operational/organizational changes that will affect our members. The rates for the first quarter were an introductory rate as is customary for all new goods and services in a developed and competitive market. However, you will notice that with the increase in rates, we have also increased the number and availabilty of classes, the increase in the floor space as well as the continuing increase of equipment and machinery. So while you may not benefit from class participation, there is and will be more and a wider variety of equiment available for your use. Again I do apologise for any issues that may have arose due the change of rates, but we do hope you continue to support (company name)

1. Customer service goes beyond frontline staff. It applies to everyone, in every department, across all functions and via all media, be it in a physical setting or virtually. Clearly the second response was a more measured and professional response, balancing the apology for the price increase with the benefits which the increase brought with it. I can appreciate that response more than the combative, not to mention, linguistically challenged reply up top. The danger they faced was that customers could have taken this poor customer service to the masses with the click of a mouse.

2. I am becoming more and more convinced that some organisations still view social media as "something else we can do" and not as a real, and powerful marketing tool. I swear, between this and some of the other local social media sites I have observed, it's almost as if they just asked the office boy if he had a Facebook acocunt and told him run with it. Social media just cannot be taken for granted and if you're going to be using it for your small business, then don't short change yourself.

• Learn about the tools.
• Invest in training your staff to use them effetcively and in a way that builds, not destroys your brand
• Value the tools and what they can do for your business.

It is vital to hire, train, and monitor customer service employees. Each must understand what the brand is about, why their interactions with consumers are important, and what is expected of them - Augie Ray

And if your brand is now on the social media path, the same applies and is more important than ever!

Keyboard Conversationalist: Let Your Fingers Do The Talking

When I go to a social media site of an organisation I am following, I am not hoping to get their 30-page newsletter dumped on the page. If that was my intention, I would just read the newsletter, or attempt to read it as the case may be, depending on where it falls on the snoozemeter.

Writing for social media is diferent than writing for more traditional channels. Where a magazine or newsletter or press release typically used to be one way, the tools we use today have given readers a greater voice and have empowered them to speak up positively or negatively about a brand. Where writing used to be very business-like, a bit stuffy and in some cases, downright boring, writing for social media, as the name itself suggests is more social, more personable, more conversational - bringing the reader into the conversation and rather than persuading, it engages. Be familiar, but this does not mean "dumbing down" your content either. I don't advocate your English going to the dogs just because it's social media. The same rules apply, but it's your tone and your level of engagement that sets it apart from your Annual Report summary or your quarterly digest. It's pretty much like meeting your readers for drinks and having a conversation. Use bridges to connect your point with their experiences. I used Ellen's iPhone commercial here, not only cause I thought it was hilarious, but also it was a nice segue to the rest of the post. Don't be afraid to talk about yourself, an experience, something you observed at the supermarket etc, once it has relevance to your business point. You're writing for real people, who go to the supermarket and who may have gone through something quite similar and then they can better relate to it. But your witing should be infused with some life...real life.

Twitter is the ultimate space killer and focus enabler, with brands only having 140 characters to get to the point. So you message has to be really concise. I think this is generally indicative of communicating online. I would sit with that 30-page newsletter on my time, maybe on the weekend, if at all and give it the 2 hours of my life that it may require - 2 hours of my life I can never get back. The average person spends around 20-35 minutes a day online (note  said average, and not addicts!), so your content cannot rival the Nile in length. It means you need to be concise, to the point since you now have to write to adapt to people's time, their attention spans online and the space allotted in some cases. The "back" button is a serious thing and you should recognise that where a customer may be trapped for long stretches of time in your waiting room, with just a dozen copies of your newsletter on the rack, and no choice, the internet allows them to "put down" your article and find something else. So, while blogs are fab for expounding, noone wants to read your 5000 word entry, especially when they're networking on the down-low at work or taking a break from screaming babies at home. God knows when I am stealing time before I get ready for work to catch up on my reading, I don't have time to sit and read sermons - not when my toast is burning!

And for heaven's sakes, yes we are using social media to sell and that's how we convince our bosses to let us use it. However, your tweets and updates and blogs don't have to be a 24/7, non-stop commercial about your products. The continuous hard sell gets real old and can seriously come across as spam if you're not careful. Let your readers see the other side of your brand as well - staff, company activities, employee stories, customer events. And ask them questions. It's about engagement, it's about conversation. What do THEY have to say? Do you ever ask? What they say can be great content. It's not really about you as much as it is about you and them. Get excited about everything that makes your brand unique, and get your readers excited as well.



Photo credits: www.evisibility.com; www.mikeurbonas.com

Communication Nazis: A Term of "un-Endearment"

A guy I know met me in the mall a couple weekends ago and as he kept me back from perfume shopping, he told me about his plans to visit the UK soon.

Him: Going to help my cousin with his business for a little while. He does exonerations.
Me: (utter bafflement)
Him: You don't know what exonerating is?
Me: (utter bafflement, followed by reflection, then by more bafflement, then more reflection and mind searching: Exonerate means, ummm...to free from blame or guilt, right?)

I was baffled because I knew what I thought exonerating was, but the dude clearly was not in the legal profession, nor was he a P.I. but I could have been wrong!

Him: He digs up dead bodies so they can do autopsies.

It took everything in my physical and mental being to not laugh, and I feigned edification, with an "Ohhhhh". Poor guy was so confident in what he was peddling, and so pleased that he taught me something, that I did not have the heart to tell him the word was exhumation, from the word, exhume. Maybe next time.

As confused as I was during that brief conversation, so too are some of the people we write for. Show of hands if you have started reading something that just went right over your head because it was either chock full of jargon, or just written with the simple objective of baffling you. A gentleman I do not even know this week, accused people like me, communicators working in finance, of being Nazis when it came to communications. Now the dude does not know me or what I do or even how I do it, and calling me a Nazi was not going to get you listed in my good books, but sadly, dude has a general point. Some of these financial documents you pick up in a bank can just turn your grey matter green, and while there is an audience for that hardcore communication, not all clients are the same.

Now to be honest, when I write for work, I am also learning because I hardly know what these people are talking about when they start to get all technical with the financial terms and jargon. The extent of my money vocab is "pay me" (kidding kidding). But again, it comes down to knowing the audience I am trying to write for - people who are probably just like me or worse, and don't quite get the really hardcore moneyspeak. I am a purist writer at times - anal about spelling, grammar and abbreviations, but over the years I have come to grips with my reality and the reality of the different audiences I have had to communicate with in various roles. So...

1. Think of the audience and not yourself when writing. You may enjoy writing with lots of colloquial terms or use a lot of big words, and that may work for you. It may not work for your audience. And ask yourself, what is it that THEY want to know about this topic, not what I want to write. Don't be so self absorbed that you miss the point of who you're trying to reach. Think of them sitting in front of you, because you are indeed writing directly for them. If you don't approach it this way, you can very easily lose them before they even hit the second sentence.

2. Use simple language. Don't be a Nazi. That is not even a cute term (take note, don't ever use it), so don't force the technical terms down the consciousness of your readers. Sometimes even if the audience is very savvy, simple is still always better. Simple works. Less is more. The writing is clearer and to the point. It was @Trini_Mitz who pointed out an example in a local media article where the journalist used a huge word and then put the meaning in parentheses (brackets). I mean, if you know the word may not be understood, why use it?

3. Be correct. Get both your facts and your language straight. Good articles are well researched and structured, and reflect on you.The dictionary and thesauraus are your friends. Use them. Please.

Please.

3. Don't be daft. If you write for your pleasure, chances are you're writing about something you're passionate and knowledgeable about. However, if you're part of a comms team somewhere in some place where you don't know what the heck they're talking about half the time, wouldn't it be super if you actually started reading and learning about the industry you're now in? Don't let your writing come off as ignorant or fluffy. I still grapple with some of this dry financial stuff, but I read a lot (a lot!) and ask questions if I am not too sure and of course, you can let a subject matter expert review it and contribute. I mean, what's the worse that can happen? You learn something new? The horror!

4. Edit. If your subject matter expert is doing the writing and we know sometimes they can do the whole jargon thing, because they are not thinking like a communicator, then do the needful and apply the first two tips when editing the article cause most times it will need that human touch. Lend YOUR expertise to theirs.

So next time you're writing for Jill or Jack Brown, don't take it for granted that someone out there REALLY wants to read your stuff just because you're writing it. It's a bit more involved than that. Aim for more head nodding as opposed to blank stares of confusion.

Photo credit: http://fysop.wordpress.com

Bo Obama - PR Superstar!

This weekend I discovered Bo. Bo Obama.

Now while I knew about Bo, what I did not know is that Bo had such a huge online presence. And I am not just talking about articles about Bo, but official and unofficial blogs and tweets and Facebook pages Bo is a social media superstar. Is it any wonder, considering that his master used the tools so skillfully in his presidential election campaign?

Ole Socks has nothing on Bo the dog! (rest his soul)

Now what I like about Bo, besides being a dog lover myself, and loving anything doggie, is that Bo is just another piece of the Obama brand and a piece that has not been forgotten. Of course all eyes are on the President when it comes to policies, both home and foreign, and all that other presidential stuff, but the President is also a regular guy, with a family and of course, a dog.  And say what you will about it, Bo is part of public relations gold, because there will always be an audience out there who is interested in the other parts of the president's life - what he likes to eat, read and what's going on with the kids, and the dog. While the parents may not want to open up the kids to such public scrutiny, I don't quite think Bo Obama minds being such a public sensation.

Politics aside, most people would agree that President Obama is a masterful communicator. Obama is really our nation’s first public figure to adeptly embrace the full power of the new media buffet. - Aaron Kwittken

It's just another part of the brand machinery behind the President, who has opened up the White House to the world as never before, and who has leveraged both traditional and new media to keep in touch with the public on both business matters and not-so-much business matters. Though there have and will be missteps where this is concerned, he continues to have a broad appeal and you can be sure that the peek into his everyday life has helped that.

In much the same way, customers want to do business with real people and though I hardly advocate pets' blogs in order to achieve this, the insights which can best be shared via social media should be encouraged. And whether it's sharing information on staff activities in communities, or creative peeks at the daily operations of the business, now is the time to start building communities not just around your products and services but around your people, ultimately humanising your brand. Brands should not be afraid to talk about themselves and of course there are still issues around employees and how they use social media to promote the brand, but the time to start not just thinking about it, but doing it is now.

I still love Bo though. He's such a star!

More Bo?

Official Bo photos from the White House
Bo on the official WH blog

As well as
Bo blog (too cute)
Bo videos

Death by PowerPoint

I've churned out a few things already this morning and now I am on a presentation I am preparing as part of internal training on social media. Whoopity whoop.

I usually try to prepare presentations, keeping in mind, how I react to presentations delivered by others. Man, some people can really put the lead on your eyelids with their delivery. Your topic may not be the most exciting to some people, but you can make it exciting and downright interesting if you really work on it. Some presentation delivery no-nos I have come across in the more recent past include:

• Slides with an encylopaedia of information - My eyes! My eyes! Why is there so much hard to read text on the screen? Do you think I really can read that? Do you think I really want to read it?

But what's worse...

• Reading everything on the slides, verbatim - This is a peeve. You sit me down, put on your projector and then it's like a reading for kids session. If I wanted to sit and listen to someone read, I would have gone to a book reading. In addition, if I wanted to sit and listen to you read, then why the slideshow? Is it read along? Please don't do this. It's annoying.

Words really should be kept to a minimum because in effect your presentation is about you presenting. Remember, your PowerPoint is just the vehicle, but you're the driver. Catchy blurbs and sentences which encompass the meaning of a section resonate more than 3 paragraphs of technical terms, stats and jargon. Complement your words with compelling images, which leads me to my next point -

• Clip art - Wow. Unless you're in high school...no primary school, clip art really "dumbs" down your presentation. There are just too many stock photos available, and in a world of digital cameras and camera phones, too many opportunities to support your presentation with photos of your own, tailored just for what you want to say. And if you're doing a presentation for staff, then it is even easier because you can then incorporate relevant staff photos in your presentation, which is always a hit, because people are inherently narcissistic and love themselves, and ultimately love seeing themselves.
   
• Animation - I don't mind if your effects are all fade ins, or fade outs, but when the entire presentation is a lesson in "How well I know PowerPoint animation", with words flying in from the left, dropping in from the top, slowly checkering in...oh save us! This is even worse when you add the sounds to it - swishing words and clicking photos. It just takes away from the sensibility of your content. Stick to one animation in your theme, and I am a personal fan of the fade in, if I do have to use an animation at all. Revolving sentences just don't seem to add credibility to what I am saying for some reason.

If you want to add some versatility to your presentation, minus the cheesey animations, why not embed a video or some relevant audio? A short video breaks up the tedium of your presentation and can bring another voice to the delivery. And it can also help if the next point refers to you -

• Poor delivery - Not all of us are comfortable in front of crowds, be it a crowd of 5 or 5,000, but when you lack a certain aggression, your delivery can fall flat and cause heads to "bep". I am not the world's greatest presenter but though I do not imagine my audience naked (that is challenging enough), I do try to enunciate, project and present. Knowing what you're talking about and speaking from a position of knowledge and expertise is half the battle won. Don't surrender just yet if you're not an orator. Your presentation is your road map to what you're going to say, so be familiar with it and have an idea what you want to relay to your audience. I used to sit with one of my former bosses, because he admitted that he was not a good speaker. I would go over his speeches with him, make him rehearse them, let him stumble over words in the privacy of his office so that when the lights were on him, he would be less nervous, and less susceptible to a horrendous delivery. There is absolutely no shame in practising.  None.

The use of a video can lend another dimension to your delivery and save you from doing the entire presentation yourself. Of course your video must be relevant, interesting and short. Nothing can kill the buzz of a video presentation than dull content being crushed into the subconscious for what seems like forever.

• And be yourself. So if you're not naturally a very funny person, avoid trying to be a comedian. Be aware of your body language and don't be a tree - work the floor. Interact with your audience. Ask questions. Take questions. Be a human and not a robot with a clicker in your hand. I have seen technical problems with a presentation totally derail speakers who use the slideshow as a crutch and are like headless chickens without them.

Your presentation should be straight to the point, should use clear language and not too many technical terms or jargon especially if your audience is not a technical one. It should be visual, clean, without too many bells and whistles and should be natural to you at the end of the day. When it is natural to you, it is more interesting to your audience.

So as I continue my presentation here, what other presentation missteps have you been subjected to and what other tips can you offer? Don't let me make victims of my audience.

I Can: Helping NGOs without breaking a sweat

Professionals, in any profession, are always looking to improve themselves and sharpen their skills to meet the needs of the dynamic job market. Few of us wait on our bosses to get into a training programme. If you really want it, you go out and get it, right? So, you don't have to wait for your company to get started on helping others either. I wrote an entry previously about how we can get involved in assisting in communities and with NGOs etc.

I had a chat with a friend and she is part of an NGO that I sometimes do work with, via work, and she was telling me all about the plans for the new year and taking the organisation forward. But I don't think she had a clue as to where to start. NGOs and CBOs, you have to remember, are made up of mostly of volunteers - people who are dedicated to a cause and donate their time to assist. It is not necessarily the people with the right skills sets for various functions. So though the organisation has a named PR and Marketing person, it's not something he does for a living. One may just be led to believe that anyone can handle the marketing function of an NGO but it does not always work like that. I saw the potential for getting the NGO to a wider audience but a potential vastly untapped.

So basically, as I said before, CSR is not just going to a home and painting it, or helping out at a fundraiser. It can be as simple as lending your expertise to a group that really could use the help in your professional area of expertise. So, in which areas can you as a PR or marketing professional assist?

• Writing skills and presentation - I have seen many a sponsorship letter, and some of these letters miss the mark. A poorly written letter and a slipshod proposal can be the difference in getting financial support from a company or not.
  
• Strategic Marketing/Communications Plan - They should have a strategic plan outlining what the group aims to do, but sometimes in the "how", the marketing comms strategy is left lacking. I realised in talking to my friend, that they were just not doing some basic things and not tapping into some obvious channels.
   
• Website - Maybe you can assist with setting up on online presence via a website, assist with a content map, technical writing or advice, or...

...and this one was inevitable if you have been reading this blog frequently enough

• Social media - It's more than just creating a group or a page. What does the NGO hope to achieve via this medium, who do they wish to target, what is the message, how do they intend to deliver and how regularly. Here is where you can help and really push them along to greater visibility...if done right, of course. I have seen many a dead Facebook group, started with good intentions but then, what's next?
• Networking - Get others involved via your social network. It's amazing what a bunch of professionals with direct links to CEOs, CFOs and Sponsorship teams can do for a non-proft organisation. Help them get their vision out there!

The same applies if you're an attorney, an accountant or CFA or an ICT professional, in different areas of course, like governance, or accounting or technology. Don't be afraid to go out there and lend your expertise to a group you believe is doing a good job but could use a helping hand.

You Talk, We Listen, We Respond. Or Do We?

I got an e-survey from Caribbean Airlines this morning, basically asking me to let them know how they were doing. I happen to think they are doing pretty okay. What do you think?

In any event, I appreciated that they wanted to find out from their customers why they do or don't choose them as their preferred airline. I hope the feedback is actually taken into account and used to improve/enhance the service which they offer.

Which I guess leads me to a question, or a few questions - do you ever use suggestion boxes to offer a company useful feedback, and more importantly, do you ever wonder what happens to it?? Is it used? Is the box with the slips of paper and the 10 multiple choice questions, merely window dressing or a showpiece that says "We want you to think we care about what you have to say, but quite frankly, we don't". Do you only use it for negative feedback or do you praise the customer service representative who delivered superior service?

I often wonder about those little boxes, and whether there is actually someone who actions my thoughts and applies it to make something better or to reward someone. Does the manager at that KFC outlet care about my customer experience at his/her branch? Do they compile the info on these slips of paper, and discuss them at team meetings - in an effort to continuously improve?

I am one who rarely use the box for venting. Oh no. For that I find a supervisor or manager, and then usually to rant about something totally hideous. I am a huge believer in positive feedback when it comes to customer service in Trinidad. We need to give them feedback about the bad service, yes, but when I get good...no...GREAT service, I want the person's boss to know that this person was a customer service superstar! Especially because we complain so much about how poor the customer service is here.

I also don't appreciate when you actively solicit my feedback and then I don't feel like anything has come from it, because there is no feedback on my feedback. One example is a recent social media competition which was put on by a locally based international organisation. They wanted fans to suggest new names for parts of the business, and a few of my friends and I came up with some suggestions and submitted. Months have gone by and there has been no result. Now, I am not dying to win the thing but I entered because I had an interest and would have liked to know the result. I even enquired directly, both on the social media channel and with a few persons I know working at the organisation. A simple update explaining that maybe none of the suggestions met their vision, or something would have satisfied me. But nothing, months later. It was a bit disappointing to say the least.

I would hope that my feedback - good or bad (albeit, CONSTRUCTIVE) - would be positive for the person requesting it, because ultimately constructive feedback is essential for continous improvment, can lend to creativity and innovation as to how stuff can be done better and can add value to the community. And the community, through one way or another, would appreciate some feedback back about changes, upcoming initiatives or events. Reciprocity is key! More times than not, people want to feel like their feedback is valued, and that inevitably that they are valued.

Customer Capital: From Outflow to Inflow

When pitching social media to managers you get a myriad of reasons why it may not be the best idea, but one of the loudest challenges usually has to do with putting the brand out there to be criticised by the public. Well, guess what...whether you're there or not, the customers will criticise and bash the brand. The fact is, they're not waiting on you to give them permission to do it. They are going to do it and more importantly, they now have the tools with which to do it.

But the interactions which social media provide, if they are indeed interactions and not calculations (counting how many fans and followers you may have) can help a company to counter these negative comments and even learn beforehand what's on the mind of the customer - the good and the bad. It's a bit arrogant of companies to think or believe that their brand is so fantastic that it should be immune somehow from negative comments or criticism. The age of the marketing campaign - that one way street of communication where the marketer ruled the roost and called the shots - is basically over. I think while we stood tall and beat our chests because we controlled the outflow of communication, and it was our way or no way, really many companies are scared of the inflows. Are we really content with passive audiences? Are we really that scared of a level playing field and the active consumer who knows what he/she wants and know what he/she likes and is not afraid to say it openly?

To merely think of the inflows in negative terms is shooting onself in the foot before even starting the race. The richness of social media interactions cannot be denied. So many times, customers have given me great suggestions and ideas for the "what next?" and the "what could be better". I want some creative assistance and they are there, always willing to lend their own opinions and suggestions. The creative customer capital inflows have to be considered as much as the management of the negative feedback, which in themselves are ALSO rich and useful for they can now shape the way forward.

This fear of social media is not going to go away very soon for a lot of organisations, but the new media are here, not going away any time soon, and being used by millions of people every day. I would prefer to be ready and in the trenches to deal with the feeback, and learn from it, than standing on the top looking down, without a clue how to get in on the action.

Less Talk, More Action

While looking for something else, I stumbled upon this article with its bold headline and laughed out loud. While I continue to support the West Indies cricket team, albeit in a diminished capacity, their actions in the past several months by way of their performance, have not buoyed me and more importantly have not convinced me that their captain's pronouncement is anything but laughable.

Of course the Australians are beatable. I am not disputing that at all. No team is invincible. Can THIS West Indies team beat them? Sigh. Let's just say, I got a couple emails from relatives abroad who also read the article, and they too LOL'ed in their offices.

What I want from my cricket team and its skipper (note I did not say MY skipper, cause I am not a fan of Mr Christopher Gayle) is less talk and more action.

It ties back to my previous entry, where less is also definitely  in business. It's no longer about words and press releases, ads and mission statements. These mean nothing if there is nothing solid behind them. For example, what good is a corporate mission statement about being a leading provider of a service, if your service is universally horrendous, and customers slam your brand as a result? It becomes just a statement in a pretty frame hanging on a wall. What steps are companies taking to ensure that what they are promoting to the outside world is indeed the reality?

And, in terms of social media, there are companies which are setting up Web 2.0 "communities" which attract many of their customers, but the communication somehow falls flat. There is feedback via many outlets, and none of the feedback is incorporated to enhance the customer experience so the community becomes a talk shop and an ideas graveyard. Some communicator are hearing, but are they listening, and more importantly, doing?

Companies cannot hope to create content for social media without collaborating with the persons for whom the content is being created. Ideas and suggestions live via this new media and marketers would be wise to start paying close attention to what is being said out there. The paradigm shift is clear - more and more consumers are defining products and services, and the content they want on blogs and social networking sites, and marketing and comms peeps need to step up to the plate, not just support social media conversations but bring them to life. Quite simply, we need to walk the talk.

And a brand defined, not by its idealistic, chest-beating public statements, but by its "laughable" reality can never really stand the test of time or boast of superior loyalty from its audience. I hope one day Mr Gayle and his band of merry boys will understand this, if they even care.

Photo: Cricket Australia

Let me Spell it out for you

I have a few pet peeves, like bad driving, slow driving, bad customer service (see below). I also hate typos, or to be more accurate, poor spelling. Typos happen to the best of us. I typed phenmomenon in a previous entry and then caught it and fixed it. And you know a typo when you see it usually. But bad spelling. I am sorry, there is no excuse. In the world of spell check, you really should not have poor spelling especially when it comes to conducting business. Already for the morning, my first morning back at work, I have encountered

It ends that day with a Health Fare

Take a Sneak Peak

Asked for stationary

Of course, there was the ever popular among my Facebook posse

I will laze with you.

In case this one slipped your intellect, the person meant to say LIAISE.

And these were ALL encountered in business related communication. This is alarming. I cannot fathom applying for a job or for funding from a company, or communicating with staff or customers and misspelling something as in the above examples. I am anal about this stuff! It's like going out on a date, looking swanky and you have toilet paper sticking out of your bosom. It is disturbing and unpolished and creates a BAD impression. Even if you're not a communicator by profession, we all communicate on a day to day basis with someone unless you're a hermit. My goodness, read and re-read and let someone check it before you send it out if you're not 100% sure. Sometimes we miss stuff but don't let a bad, bad error put the reader off. That reader could be someone like me! Take an extra 2 minutes just to look it over. I mean, you are looking to get my business or my support, which should be important to you, or else you would not write me. So the least you can do, is treat your correspondence as something valuable and important as well, because one slip and your letter or your email could possibly find itself in the trash or the deleted items folder.

I can excuse and maybe sometimes ignore poor spelling in an IM conversation (yes, Christopher, that means you, darling...lol), in a text, in a personal email, but not if it is like a terminal illness and it is ever present in every sentence. Yes, I am blessed with good spelling genes but God, use a dictionary if you're not sure. And grammar...that is a whole other entry but this is just as maddening.

Thanks. Y'all are grate!