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Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
I just finished reading “How We Got to Now” and loved the book. It is informative and inspiring, and generated many ideas that may be applicable for my business and clients.
The book looks at the “hummingbird effect” on innovation and how it shaped the modern world. For those who have not read it, let me elucidate.
In his introduction, Steven Johnson explains that changes in the sexual reproduction strategies of flowers led to the evolution of hummingbird wings. Without flower nectar production, there would be no reason for hummingbirds to hover mid-air. The evolution of their wing was a direct result of their need to extract nectar and the environment around them.
Many human innovations have spawned, and will continue to influence, similar changes. For instance, the printing press led to mass production of printed material, which led to the realization of the flaws of human eyesight when reading materials up-close. Without printed material, humans did not realize a need for glasses.
Today’s Technology Innovations
This concept got me thinking about our clients and their innovations in areas that include better imaging of the earth, improved tools for collaboration, and leveraging artificial intelligence for human capital management. I could not help but wonder about the specific hummingbird effect our clients’ innovations will have on the world and into the future.
For instance, consider the introduction of collaboration tools, such as Smartsheet. In the years to come, it will be interesting to know exactly how professional collaboration will change the way people work. How will those changes impact an organization’s bottom line? And will tools for better collaboration impact small and large organizations equally?
In his book, Johnson explains that the productivity gains from bar-code scanners were not evenly distributed. An economist studied this and found that bar-coding benefits the big-box retailers as opposed to the small mom-and-pop stores. It is logical to assume the productivity gains from new workplace tools will not benefit everyone equally.
Clearly, it is early still for the examination of the impact of collaboration tools and none of these questions can be answered until there is an ability to measure results. There is plenty of anecdotal information, but in the years to come there will be better quantifiable data.
Similar questions could be asked of many other of today’s innovators. For instance, Communiqué PR’s client BlackSky will enable satellite imaging as a service to provide nearly real-time imaging of 90 percent of the earth. What will be the hummingbird effect of this innovation. How will it impact commerce on a global scale and how will it improve lives? What other innovations will be spawned from the ability to monitor the earth and its changes over time?
Collaborative Networks & Sharing Ideas
Finally, as I read Johnson’s book I was struck by the number of times he mentioned collaboration as it pertains to innovation and how ideas travel in networks.
For instance, Johnson explained that Thomas Edison’s “greatest achievement many have been the way he figured out how to make teams creative: assembling diverse skills in a work environment that valued experimentation and accepted failure, incentivizing the group with financial rewards that were aligned with the overall success of the organization, and building on ideas that originated elsewhere.”
Certainly, workplace collaboration tools will play a role in better assembling, aligning, and organizing work groups. Social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook also will impact sharing and connecting with other like-minded people. The Economics of Technology Professor Susan Athey has already designed a study and measured how networks such as Facebook and network aggregators like Google have impacted the consumption of news.
Later in the same chapter, Johnson explains that if we think the “lone genius” comes up with an innovation, as opposed to the innovation coming out of the “collaborative network,” then we will create different policies. For instance, tighter patent control favors the genius, while open standards and employee participation in stock plans make it easier for the collaborative network.
Given this assertion, I have to think that tools that enable collaborative work will also have an impact, or a hummingbird effect, on the pace of innovation. Policy changes are imminent.
“How We Got to Now” is truly an excellent read for anyone working with entrepreneurs or organizations at the forefront of innovation. It will help you better understand our world, give you insight into human ingenuity, and provide you with a lens into the process for making incremental gains versus envisioning something truly revolutionary.
We’re thrilled to congratulate our client, Works Applications, for successfully unveiling its new Enterprise Productivity System (EPS) this week at the 18th annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada. With its next-generation, cloud-based system slated to make its official debut in the U.S. in early 2016, the Japanese-based company deserves recognition for its game-changing technology and ambitious goal to enter the U.S. software landscape and compete against established Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) providers such as Workday, SAP and Oracle.
Founded in 1996 to provide ERP solutions to Asian companies, Works Applications has quickly grown to become the No. 1 Human Capital Management (HCM) ERP provider in Japan. Its products, which help companies improve operational efficiency, are currently used by more than 7,000 customers including Fortune 500 companies such as Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Yamaha Motor Co.
Works Applications is the largest vendor in payroll and human capital management software in Japan; however, the company is an unknown player in the U.S. and faces tough competition from established ERP brands. But rather than continuing to play it safe and guard its position in Japan, the company has opted, under the inspired direction of co-founder and CEO Masayuki Makino, to address a largely stagnant ERP user experience in the U.S. and bring its next-generation offering to North America.
Designed to break away from the traditional ERP model, AI Works offers unprecedented speed, artificial intelligence capabilities, integration of productivity tools, and a focus on productivity – all of which support operational efficiency and reduces time spent on data entry, enabling better allocation of employee resources and talents. And unlike other enterprise software companies, Works Applications doesn’t charge for implementations, change requests, or any other unexpected fees, providing customers with predictable costs for their investment.
To support the successful unveiling of AI Works to key U.S. audiences, we worked closely with Works Applications’ marketing and communications teams in Japan and the U.S. to develop a strategy that aligned with their objectives and expectations. Because the company is an unknown entity in the U.S., we understood that introducing them as well as the AI Works platform would be an essential first step to officially launching the product. With that in mind, we identified the HR Technology Conference & Exposition as an ideal opportunity to preview the technology and implemented a campaign to brief key journalists and analysts about Works Applications and its new EPS system.
At the conference, the team hit the ground running and each day was filled with media interviews, analyst briefings, networking events and much more. In fact, the busy schedule included in-person briefings with 15+ analysts and journalists from research firms such as IDC, Gartner and Constellation Research, and publications such as Business Insider, Talent Culture, Tech Target, HR.com and Human Resources Executive, among others. And to top off, featured articles from Bloomberg Business and TechCrunch focused on AI Works and Works Applications’ entry in the U.S. were published to coincide with the start of the conference, spurring a surge of interest in the company and setting the stage for a successful week.
We’re proud to be a part of the Works Applications team and to help the company introduce its truly innovative solution to U.S.-based businesses. We look forward to preparing for the official launch of AI Works next year and supporting a solution that will have a revolutionary impact on HCP in this country. Until then, learn more about Works Applications here and stay tuned for more exciting updates in the near future.
Automobile recall stories have become more and more frequent in recent years, with dubious management decisions and cover ups causing damage to long-admired brands General Motors, Honda, and Chrysler. Most recently, Volkswagen made headlines for an emissions scandal that has already unseated the company’s CEO and promises to cost the Volkswagen billions of dollars in penalties, as well as the hard-earned trust of its customers.
Each day, new revelations about Volkswagen’s actions are coming to light and, with each new detail, the company that just this summer achieved its goal of becoming the world’s dominant car maker quickly finds its brand diminished and its revenues plummet. From a PR perspective, it’s fascinating to watch how a global institution with an otherwise stellar reputation navigates a crisis of this magnitude. While much is still being learned about the situation, already there are lessons that other businesses can take away from this evolving story.
Cheaters Get Caught
Volkswagen’s scandal began back in 2008, when tougher emissions rules were first implemented. Unlike many other car manufacturers that opted to install a system that uses a chemical catalyst to ensure that unburned fuel doesn’t get into exhaust, Volkswagen decided to go its own way. The path the company chose involved the development of an elaborate scheme featuring software that could identify when cars were being tested in order to reduce harmful exhaust and make it appear as if the vehicle actually met the new requirements.
Unfortunately for Volkswagen, this software, called “the switch,” worked so well that clean-air advocacy group, the International Council on Clean Transportation, honored the company by selecting its cars for a study on how diesel could be a clean fuel. What they found, however, was that two of the three models tested exceeded emissions caps by as much as 35 times, leading the organization to alert the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) last year.
When Caught in a Lie, Fess Up and Try to Control the Message
When presented with the findings by the EPA and CARB, Volkswagen chose to dispute the test results, citing “various technical issues.” Interestingly, the company did implement a voluntary recall of 500,000 cars in order to install a software patch that it said would fix the issue. In the end, the patch didn’t work and Volkswagen remained in the hot seat with the EPS and unable to explain why the diagnostic systems of its vehicles don’t register accurate emissions under test conditions.
This month, Volkswagen did finally admit the truth about the scheme to fix the emissions tests, but it took the company a few rounds of admissions to finally tell the whole truth. First, they admitted to installing the “switch,” then admitted that the number of cars with the switch was larger than originally reported—as many as 11 million worldwide.
When given the opportunity to come clean, the company chose to deflect and deny. For Volkswagen, this was a critical misstep. Sure, the company’s reputation would have taken a hit for the scheme either way, but by admitting the truth earlier, Volkswagen would have had an opportunity to better frame the situation and present a sense of remorse that may have been perceived as authentic. If Volkswagen had opted to trust its customers by admitting fault and taking responsibility when initially caught, the company may have prevented losing the trust of its customers and society-at-large.
It’s likely that more will be revealed in the coming weeks about this elaborate scheme and, for those of us watching, the story promises to remain dramatic. This reputation-crushing misstep also acts as a strong reminder that all companies are vulnerable to potential crises that may threaten their integrity and core values. As such, it is imperative that organizations be prepared to respond to a crisis with a communications plan that can be implemented with lightning speed and transparency. When a crisis occurs, swift, accurate, and controlled communication delivered with transparency and sensitivity during the initial hours and days following the crisis is crucial to preserving a company’s reputation. Unfortunately for Volkswagen, the damage from this crisis may already be done and irreparable.
Even though pumpkin spice products and cozy sweaters just hit the shelves, most journalists and PR pros have already moved on to the biggest shopping event of the year: the holiday season. For PR pros with consumer-facing clients, the guidelines around holiday gift guide pitching are often outlined by editors to streamline the selection process. But for those of us with B2B clients, it’s less clear how our clients’ services fit into the holiday season news cycle.
Following are four strategies for inserting B2B companies into retail reporters’ holiday coverage:
- Leverage Company Data. Does your client have any unique data it can share with journalists? If so, now is the time to leverage it. When clients analyze their data to develop newsworthy statistics or trends, it almost always drives results, but holiday-related statistics can hit a grand slam. This data could include trending products, year-over-year spending habits, or how in-store sales compare to e-commerce sales across geographic areas.
- Promote Holiday-Themed Customer Success Stories. How are your clients’ products or services helping retail customers prepare for the holiday season? If there’s an interesting story to tell, see if your clients’ customers are willing to participate in a case study or speak with the media about how it has helped them during the holiday season.
- Create a Branded, Holiday-themed Infographic. Compelling graphics present important points in a clear, concise way that is sure to capture attention. If you’re not familiar with Photoshop, you can create an infographic with easy-to-use tools like Easel.ly or Piktochart. Then publish it on your client’s website to increase traffic. Studies show that web traffic tends to increase by 12 percent after publishing an infographic.
- Offer End-of-Year Predictions. The New Year brings a multitude of stories and lists predicting which trends are in store for the coming year. Work with company executives to compile a list of unique, well-founded trend predictions for their industry that can encompass everything from new innovations to market consolidations. Be sure to ground your predictions in fact or current trends to back-up your claims.
The holidays offer an excellent platform to drive media results as long as you creatively tailor your strategy to fit your B2B clients’ unique brand story. These are just a few of the strategies that you can tailor to hit a grand slam this holiday season.
When customers have a bad experience with a brand, there’s a good chance they’re going to tweet about it. To help brands improve their customer interactions, Twitter recently released a 122-page customer service playbook. Clearly this is a serious topic since a social media platform known for brevity decided to devote more than a 100 pages covering it.
So how does better customer service on Twitter affect PR? An article by Mashable pointed out “the biggest overlap between PR and social media comes down to customer support. A poorly executed social campaign – or even something as seemingly innocuous as a response to a customer complaint on Twitter – can easily turn into a PR nightmare.”
While reading through the seven steps to customer service on Twitter, I realized they could also be used to build an effective PR plan. The seven steps are:
1. Set Your Vision: Right now at Communiqué, we’re hard at work responding to RFPs and developing presentations for new business opportunities. One of the first things we like to do is research the company and determine what their vision is, what the public’s perception is, and what we think it should be. Identifying the vision helps you to understand the results a company wants and allows you to build a plan to achieve them.
2. Size and Prioritize Your Opportunities: A good PR strategy will outline which opportunities make sense to pursue first and the amount of work needed to make them happen. For example, you could recommend a client pursue a high-profile speaking event to build buzz and then suggest a bylined article to follow up on the momentum.
3. Define the Customer Service Experience: According to Twitter’s playbook, defining the customer service experience consists of five components: establishing the brand voice, delivering relevant content, optimizing response timing, and establishing community. These same components can be applied to effective media pitching. When introducing a journalist to a company, you want to be sure you’re making the right impression, offering them useful information, responding quickly, and building rapport.
4. Set Goals for Performance Metrics: PR should be used to help a company achieve a number of its business objectives. Goals can range from securing four articles in business outlets or submitting three award nominations per quarter. Refer back to the company’s vision and make sure your PR goals directly align with achieving it.
5. Establish the Measurement Mechanism: Decide how you’re going to determine whether or not you’re successful in meeting those goals. Are there certain media outlets the company wants to be featured in? Is there an event or speaking opportunity an executive would like to attend? Establishing how you’re going to measure success for a client allows everyone to understand the desired end result and work towards the same goal.
6. Operationalize Your Strategy: Now it’s time to put that plan into action. Assembling the right team members and developing workflow processes are critical to implementing your strategy. For example, at Communiqué, we use Smartsheet to organize tasks and to create transparency on the account. These documents allow us to see the status of assigned projects and easily update the client on progress.
7. Iterate and Innovate While it may make sense to stick to tried-and-true practices for some things, it’s important to be open to new ideas. Maybe that’s exploring the use of a live video streaming app like Periscope or producing a podcast. You may not be a fan of a particular new trend or tool, but the key is to be aware of what’s out there so you can present an educated recommendation to your client.
In summary, Twitter’s customer service steps not only help brands avoid a potential PR crisis, they also serve as a guide to craft a successful PR strategy for clients.
Want to read all 122 pages of the playbook? You can download it here.
Twitter recently posted its second-quarter earnings. While the company’s revenue exceeded expectations, it reported not feeling fully satisfied with the amount of user-growth. I found this to be shocking considering Twitter is the largest platform for third-party content with the number of tweets averaging around 500 hundred each day from over 300 million users. Twitter is such a unique form of social media as it limits characters per tweet to 140 and yet provides a channel for unprecedented amounts of interactions between users and contains a vast amount of information – to the point that it has become a go-to source of breaking news for many. But, dwelling on how the stock market and quarter earnings are portraying Twitter would be shooting yourself in the foot. In a recent article, 6 Twitter Tips to Score More Sales In 140 Characters, Kevin Tully sums up the benefit that Twitter can bring to you or your company perfectly – Twitter can help you sell!
As mentioned, Twitter is constantly spurting information. However, this can be a double-sided sword if not approached with caution. Diving into the Twitter world without direction will, more often than not, leave you drowning in the “endless stream of news.” Luckily, there are actionable items that, when incorporated into one’s Twitter campaign, can help one sort out the good from the bad, the clutter from the meaningful.
Define your brand – be you!
Twitter has made reaching your customer in real-time possible. Knowing this, it is important to make sure that the message that you are delivering is consistent with your brand identity. Tully encourages aiming to tell a story on Twitter. The most effective way to do so is to first identify who you want to be known as. When using Twitter for your business, it is acceptable to advertise and promote the brand as long as it is kept to a minimum and intertwined with industry news and original content. By over promoting oneself, you might find yourself losing followers. Followers are looking to be engaged. With each tweet ask yourself, am I adding value or just adding to the clutter? Part of defining your brand is also being consistent across all social media channels. Using similar images as profile pictures is a simple way to ensure a consistency visually. Furthermore, social media management tools are also great for aligning posts across channels, as well as for time management.
Let Twitter do the work for you
Two words: Twitter lists. Many Twitter users do not utilize Twitter lists to maximum benefit, however, they can provide you with the ideal newsfeed. Lists are tools that help you segment your followers into categories, something that can be extremely helpful for targeting specific people. Getting your messages in front of the right audiences is crucial for maximum impact and acceptance and lists can aid in this.
In addition, you can monitor lists to see what is trending in one industry versus another. For example, keep up on your competitors by grouping them into a list and monitoring their feeds. Analysis of content as well as patterns, engagement, and tone is a great way to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Don’t be a fly on the wall
According to social media app Buffer, it is acceptable to tweet 14 times on weekdays (with certain limitations and it drops down to seven on weekends), while maintaining an informative air rather than an annoying one. This may seem like an awful lot of tweets coming from one person until you consider just how much information is appearing on one’s feed each minute. On some days, I will step away from my computer for five minutes and come back to 150 new tweets! For best results, it is good technique to be engaging multiple times a day, every day, whether it is through new content or re-tweets. As you post, try out new key words and hashtags to see if some resonate better than others. There is no perfect formula to become a Twitter guru, so researching, predicting, and analyzing outcomes is a great place to start when crafting your technique.
For more Twitter best practices, see our blog on Tips for Leveraging Twitter’s New Analytics Dashboard and How to Merge Twitter Accounts – Without Losing Followers