Life Moves Pretty Fast

by John Lonsdorf, R&J Public Relations

One of the great modern-day philosophers, Ferris Bueller twice said (at the beginning and at the end of the iconic 1986 movie, so it must be important), “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

The same can be said generally about all businesses. But in particular, the Public Relations business has moved incredibly fast.

When I started R&J back in 1986, the same year that Ferris gave us his great advice about life, I had an IBM Selectric typewriter on my desk, and the only Gekko we ever heard from was Gordon, who was telling us (convincingly) that “greed is good.” We didn’t even have a fax machine; they were just then gaining widespread utilization. Back in that time, our role as public relations practitioners was clear and simple: to get publicity – and lots of it – for our clients. We did this by writing lots and lots of press releases (and mailing – yes mailing – them out to the media, usually with 5” X 7” glossy photo prints), establishing personal relationships with journalists (and there were a lot more of those covering much narrower “beats” back then), and pitching like crazy. It was a great business – fun and rewarding in so many ways.

But a funny thing happened along the way. Life moved pretty fast.
Business changed, and with that change, came the need for a far greater degree of strategic, forward-looking business counsel and strategic thinking. To accommodate these business needs, the public relations industry also underwent tremendous change. And the transformation of our business and our industry that was necessary to stay ahead of our clients’ needs has been incredible – often happening at break-neck speed.

Today’s successful PR firm is far more than a publicity shop. Today, we often play a central role in brand development, market strategy and business-building for our clients. We’re called in at the beginning of discussions on positioning, market strategy and brand personality. We consult on the ins-and-outs, and the potential ramifications of every communication tactic – both traditional and in social media. We prepare, and when needed, execute crisis management plans. In short, we are important counselors and marketing partners for our clients, and not simply “publicists” (although publicity is still a very important deliverable for many of our clients).

Firms like ours welcome this never-ending change. We thrive on it, and look forward to engaging with new media channels and outlets, and new techniques. It’s actually become fun to learn how express a full marketing thought in 140 characters or less! And I am very fortunate to have surrounded myself with a lot of smart, curious and insightful people, who don’t hesitate to remind me how fast things change, and how if we aren’t riding the wave, then we risk being swallowed up by it.

Yes, Ferris had it right: Life does, indeed, move pretty fast. We are happy to have evolved along the way, and to have helped our clients through many of these changes. We continue to look ahead for the next inevitable round of changes.

Take Steps to Ensure That Your Brand is the One That You Want

by John Lonsdorf, President, R&J Public Relations

When speaking to many marketing people on the subject of branding, I often hear an exasperated response along the lines of, “We don’t do any branding, and as a matter of fact we don’t even have a brand!”

I try to remind them that, of course they have a brand, because a brand is, by definition, a mark of distinction that is representative of how your product is perceived by its intended target audience. Like it or not, every organization and every product out there has a fundamental “brand” in the eyes of its consumers.

Sadly, it may not be the brand they want!

It is important to realize that the branding of your organization is happening, with or without your participation. Perceptions of your brand are being shaped through experience, word of mouth, and every public act undertaken by the organization and its people. Even though you may not be actively shaping the perceptions of your brand in the marketplace, strong (and lasting) perceptions are still being formed.

This begs the question, if you are not actively managing your brand, then who or what is?

If you are not actively shaping and nurturing your intended brand message in the marketplace, then you can be sure it’s being shaped either by consumer scuttlebutt or worse, by your competition. Either way, are you content to let someone or something other than you determine what the marketplace perceives about your organization?

An appropriate (albeit graphic) analogy might be a car hurtling down the highway. The driver has chosen not to drive -- he may be napping or is busy doing something “more important” -- but that does not mean the car will not arrive somewhere – it will – we just don’t know where it will arrive, how suddenly it will get there, or whether we will need a tow truck, an ambulance or a hearse to clean up the mess.

The bottom line is you DO have a brand, and it is essential that you know exactly what your consumers’ perceptions of that brand are. If you are happy with those perceptions, then your next step is to develop a strategy to defend and enhance it. If, however, you need to change your brand perception, a strategic and comprehensive program to move public perception in your favor is in order.

Consider this: Strong brands are sought out by consumers, who are willing to pay a premium for those brands. Studies show that strong brands command price premiums of, on average, 7% over lesser brands. That HAS to be worth the effort!

Let me know what you think. Respond or email me at Jlonsdorf@RandJpr.com.

How to Be a Good Client

Here's an early Christmas (or a late Hanukkah) present for those of you out there who hire agencies.

Ryan Greives writes a quick primer on what it takes to be a good client (click here) for a PR firm. Almost all of this is certainly applicable to ad agencies, design firms, and interactive shops as well.

If you hire any type of marketing communications firm, this Top 10 list is required reading. By following these simple suggestions, you will get your firm to work harder and to always do their absolute best for you.

If I might add an additional point: Know that all we want is to make you look good. We are not out to take your job (we are on the "agency side" because that's what we love to do). And we are not out to grab the glory. No, our "glory" comes from having a satisfied and appreciative client who pays our bills in a timely manner. Making you look like a superstar to your CEO, your Board, or whomever signs your paycheck is the best possible outcome for us.

Hope you have a very happy holiday season, and my best wishes for a very successful and rewarding 2010!

Posted by:
John Lonsdorf
President
R&J Public Relations
www.RandJpr.com

Measuring the Right Metrics

I'm reading through the October 2009 issue of Destination CRM (I know, you're fascinated) and enjoying the article called "Mistaken Metrics" by Lauren McKay. An interesting article about CSR satisfaction measurement, and something that resonated with me.

You don't realize how critical the CSR part of a company is until you deal with a firm where the CSR is deliberately trained to manipulate the conversation to 'supposed' service, without actually solving the problem. You can see this type of training all the time (not to bad mouth companies or industries)... insurance providers, tv providers, auto or appliance warranties. If you've ever had a problem in those areas, you know exactly how frustrating the call can be.

That type of customer service model must cease to exist.

How can you continue to grow a brand and great culture internally if you are frustrating and infuriating customers? In an attempt to minimize out-of-pocket expenses in correcting mistakes or making good on promises, these companies focus on the fact that their call center folks can use several tactics to make certain NOTHING gets fixed. Here's some of the all-time low CSR responses:

• I'm not showing any record of that account
• Can you hold please
• I can have my supervisor call you back some time in the next 72 hours
• I can only give you my first name
• I don't have a direct extension
• You'll have to call a different number for that
• I can transfer you to that department if you like, click
• I'm sorry, I'm not showing any record of that account
• My computer is slow today
• I can't give you my supervisor's name, but he will call you back within 72 hours
• I can't credit your account, you have to call a different number for that
• I can't see your payment information
• Was I able to answer your questions?
• I can't schedule that service directly, I can only put in a ticket
• I can't credit your account until the ticket is resolved
• I see someone canceled that ticket at 4 am
• No, I can't see who canceled the ticket at 4 am, just that it was canceled
• You must have canceled the ticket
• I only have available people Mon-Friday 9-5
• I see here that we previously gave you the opportunity to schedule that service
• It says here that you canceled the service
• We are going to have to charge you for canceling your service
• If you want to contest the charges, I can't help you
• There is no one to address your complaint to, just write to our address
• It says that you ordered the service, so we will charge you for it, and there will be a surcharge for canceling
• I'm sorry that no one called you, but we can re-schedule your service now
  

If you're one of the companies that participates in these carefully crafted anti-customer care tactics, I recommend some great suggestions for marketers from David Raab, author of The Marketing Performance Measurement Toolkit. (Obviously, I'm having a difficult time trying to be constructive, and David does a great job).

The only point I could make is that no amount of $100 offers for referring a friend could ever influence me.

I would NEVER do that to a friend, or even an acquaintance.