business | Words For Hire

They Will Eat the Communicators First

May 6, 2014 by Karen Swim

English: Zombies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am convinced that if aliens invaded the earth, they would eat the communicators first. This belief has been shaped by years of watching PR and Marketing functions get cut when organizations are looking to save money. I watched the slash and re-staff cycle throughout my career and as an independent have seen the same logic applied when companies slash budgets or eliminate outsourced partners entirely.

So if the zombies show up, forgive me if I leap over your head to scramble to safety.

Often, when companies are faced with a need to trim their expenses, they view PR and Marketing as the fat of the company. In the heat of the battle, all of the hard work done by these communication pros is reduced to press releases and pretty brochures. Ugh. I could successfully argue that this is a big mistake. I could even provide examples of how cutting these departments actually hurt the bottom line, but today I want to focus on a different perspective. We get treated like the fat that can be trimmed away because we hide our true value under muumuus. It’s time we wear form fitting clothes that show organizations that we’re not fat, but muscle.

Communication pros often do a rotten job of communicating our true value. We serve others beautifully crafting messages, positioning brands and rising to the challenge in the face of crisis. Yet, we are quiet about what we do and how it ties into the priorities of the C-suite.

At the heart of all PR and Marketing tactics is strategy. While others may focus on tactics and output, we know that those things are secondary to a solid strategic plan. To develop this strategy, we have to know the business, understand the big picture vision, know the market, be ahead of industry shifts and know the competition. We do all this but we don’t articulate it and worse we fail to fight for our seat at the executive table where our voices can be heard.

As a result, executives see us as those with creative intelligence but may miss or devalue our broader insight and it’s our fault.

It pains me to admit it but I have made this mistake. A client wants to cut their budget (code for we don’t get why we’re paying you) or is questioning what PR/Marketing is really doing for them. All of your metrics and charts and case studies dissolve into nothingness when you have failed to make it clear not only what you do but how you do it and how that integrates into what the company cares about. Ouch.

As communicators we must lean in and take our seat at the strategy table. Have the business discussions and make sure that you are aligning what you do with what matters to the company (Hint: It’s money – making it, saving it- but it is always money). More importantly learn to talk about it in a way that matters to those who are listening.

Yes, there will always be clients/employers who simply do not get what we do but we can do our part to make sure that we do not get eaten first.

I want to hear from you, how do you communicate your value to clients/employers? What can we do better?

The Evolution of Entrepreneurship

May 1, 2014 by Karen Swim

Early in my career I had zero aspirations to become an entrepreneur. Even after I started my own business, it took me a year to realize that I actually was an entrepreneur. This fun infographic shows how entrepreneurship has evolved over the years. It made me wonder if I would have pursued my own business if I had been born decades earlier? While, many things have changed, one constant is the mental toughness and determination to not only start but sustain a business.

What do you think, is it easier today to start your own business? If you are considering it, what are the roadblocks standing in your way?

Explore more visuals like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

Red Carpets, Gold Statues and Your Daily Work

March 3, 2014 by Karen Swim

Academy Award Oscar

Last night Hollywood honored its own with the Annual Oscars. Whether or not you’re a fan of award shows (admittedly I am not) there is an opportunity to learn what it takes to have an award winning performance. Below are 5 lessons that I learned from this year’s Oscars:

Choose great projects. Do not limit yourself to only taking on big budget or high profile projects. Choose work that excites you, and even scares you a little. A project that ignites your creativity and makes you want to explore and learn more will have a bigger payoff than going after dollars or “star value” alone.

Prepare for your role. Oscar winning actors do not rely on innate ability. They show up to a set ready for the job at hand. They may do background research to understand characters or time periods. They not only learn their lines but practice the best way to deliver them. With every project, seek to deepen your craft. Do not rely on a template formula but personalize the approach to the problem. Bring your best each and every time.

Commit to the work. Matthew McConaughey completely transformed his appearance for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. Don’t just accept a project but commit to it. Be willing to dig deep into your toolbox of skills to make it a success. You may be the agency of record or a subcontractor. Whatever your part, dedicate yourself completely to doing your best work.

Do another take. Even the best actors don’t always nail a scene in one take. If you flub a line or make a mistake, adjust and do it again. Give yourself enough time in a project to do a full dress rehearsal before the performance so that you have time to do another take if necessary.

Surround yourself with a great cast. If you are an independent business owner, you may feel like Sandra Bullock in Gravity. While Bullock seemingly carried the film alone, she did not write the script, direct the movie or provide all the support it takes to make a film. Your cast may include a family that supports your independent business, employees who excel in their jobs or consultants who help you to stay focused on doing the work. Surround yourself with the right people and you will shine.

…and the award goes to…No actor knows which role will bring them an Oscar. The only certainty is what you bring to the role. To have an Oscar worthy performance we need to do more than simply show up. Some projects require us to step outside of our comfort zone. Others may require a few extra hours. We may have to make sacrifices in the short term in order to give the work our best. When the work is done the academy may not thank you but your clients will know that they got their money’s worth for the price of admission.

How do you make sure you’re turning in an award winning performance? Share your tips and insights in the comments below!

Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You

September 16, 2013 by Karen Swim

I received a phone call from a service that I have been using for nearly a decade. The call came in the middle of an early afternoon run. I had decided to take a lunch time run to clear my head and recharge. Seeing the service pop up on my caller ID, I answered thinking that there was a problem. I picked up and the cheery customer service representative informed me that it was a customer check-up call.

Customer service phone call

She never took a breath before launching into a series of increasingly annoying questions. I kept running while providing short answers. I was annoyed but curious where this was headed. It quickly became apparent that this was far from a “check-up” call it was an attempt to sell me services I had no desire to buy.

For almost 10 years I have been happy with the service and often recommended it to others. In less than 10 minutes, my largely favorable view of the company had been tainted. It is not the attempt to upsell me that rankled but the poor way in which it was handled.

I am not outing the company as I have no desire to damage their reputation. I’d rather use this as an opportunity to learn and assess our own behaviors with customers. So listed below are the three key mistakes this company made and what we can learn from it.

Mistake #1: Treating customers like strangers. The rep had access to my account information. A quick look at my history would have revealed the number of years I have been a customer and the products I am currently using. Instead, the rep treated me like a brand new customer asking me if I knew about different features that are basic to the service. The entire conversation could have gone differently if she had immediately acknowledged me as a long term customer and led with what she knew about me and my business. Instead it felt like meeting an old friend who shakes your hand and says, “Where do I know you from?”

Mistake #2: The conversation was a lie. The representative said it was a customer check-up call but she never asked about my current service. She simply launched into a series of scripted questions about features. Be honest about why you’re calling and set the expectation up front. If you’re calling to tell me about services I may not be using, say that.

Mistake #3: Focus on quota, not customer. Clearly the company has an internal initiative to improve revenues and shift customers into a higher priced featured product. I felt like little more than a “mark” rather than a valued customer. It would have been nice to hear “thanks for being our customer for so long,” or some acknowledgement of our history. It would have been even nicer to have a real conversation that was relevant to me and my business. Rather than scripted questions, ask real questions about my business and goals and offer solutions that make sense.

Proactive calls to customers are a wonderful way to nurture relationships, and yes even grow your business. However, it is important to ensure that in every interaction you put the customer first. Today, even small companies have access to huge amounts of data about their customers. Use that data to serve up messages that are relevant to your customer base.

In this particular case, no service would have been a better option. I was perfectly happy before the awkward fake customer check up call. The call put the company on my radar in a different way. It has made me hyper aware of their marketing messages on other platforms, and I am not sure I like the new direction. A once loyal customer is now eyeing other options.

I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever been on the receiving end of proactive service that went bad? How do you prevent this in your own business?

Communicating in a Crisis

April 17, 2013 by Karen Swim

The tragic events of April 15, 2013 at the Boston Marathon will forever be embedded in our memory. As we struggled to process the senseless tragedy, we also faced the reality of doing business in a real time world.

To keep up with the demand for content generation, many businesses use scheduling services. In normal times, these tools allow us to maximize productivity and efficiently use our resources. However, the afternoon of April 15 was not normal and “business as usual” status updates on social media networks were quickly called out by fans and followers.

Communication failures were in abundance as automated posts, tweets, newsletters and updates quickly became ill-timed and insensitive. While fans and followers knew that the updates were pre-scheduled, they held little tolerance for not taking action to stop them.

While many business owners have crisis communication plans in place, few have a policy for handling communications when the crisis is external to their business. Whether you have a team of one or 100, a documented policy can help you avoid social media backlash when events beyond your control interrupt regularly scheduled programming. Below are 7 tips that can help you protect your brand during and after a crisis.

Know where and how your content is published. This may seem obvious but today we may employ a bevy of content management services. In a crisis we may overlook things that are on autopilot such as services like paper.li or automatic feed services such as Twitterfeed. Having a checklist will help you or a designated representative quickly take action when needed.
Stay in touch. In order to respond to a crisis you have to know that it is happening. Set up alerts on your mobile devices or email services so that you are in the loop in the event of breaking news. This can be as simple as allowing push notifications from a news app or subscribing to breaking news alerts from a media channel.
Have a plan. Whether you run a solo business or large enterprise, it is important to have a documented policy for handling communications during and post-crisis. Solo and small businesses can tap virtual admins or outsourced vendors to help manage the process.

Evaluate your services. In search of that one service that does it all, many of us are guilty of using multiple services to accomplish our goals. I personally use multiple services to distribute social communications. I balance programmed messages with real time sharing. When you need to bulk pause programming however, simplicity can make you rethink your strategy. For example, bufferapp made it easy to simply pause an entire day with one click, while other services required editing individual messages one by one. Review the services you use with an eye on not only how they work day to day but how they will serve you in the event of a crisis.
Take a pause. During a crisis, interrupt your regular programming. Pause automated posts, updates and e-communications. You do not want to risk the backlash of your audience during a time when emotions and awareness are running high. It is far better to adjust your scheduling and assess when it is appropriate to resume normal communications.

Acknowledge. When a major event happens like the Boston Marathon bombing, a simple acknowledgement shows that you are human. If you continue to participate in the conversation surrounding the tragedy, be careful to offer relevant information. For example, if you are a child psychologist it would be appropriate and helpful to share information on how to talk to your children about the tragedy. Remember, however, that it is not the time to be self-promotional, offer help if you can and if not don’t be afraid to acknowledge the tragedy and go dark.

Do a post-crisis review. Before resuming your normal communication review your message and language carefully. A tragedy has a way of changing the way we receive certain words and phrases. Make sure that your messaging aligns with the new reality. In the hours and even days following a crisis, monitor your audience. Have they resumed normal communications? Your audience will tell you when it is okay to go back to business as usual.

Bonus Tip: There is never an appropriate time for an off topic, irrelevant or plain insensitive pitch or communication. Resist the urge to use tragedy to pimp your irrelevant messaging.

Do you have any tips to add to the list? Feel free to share them in the comments!