All posts by Sebastian

Mixed messages fuel a crisis

Communicating in a crisis, Uncategorized

If the government was keen to avoid a panic around the possibility of a fuel shortage in the coming months then the laughable performance of ministers and spokespeople on the issues of ‘striking’ tanker drivers did little to instil a calm fortitude in the travelling British public.

Keep calm and carry on
“We are not having a meeting of COBRA (the government’s emergency planning committee),” says a spokesperson. “We are having a meeting of COBRA,” says the PM. “Stock up with jerry cans of fuel,” say a cabinet minister. “Don’t do that, it’s dangerous,” say another.

It’s not easy being consistent in your message giving in a big, multi-headed organisation like the government, but get it wrong and everyone look ridiculous, and the end result is the absolute reverse of what you wanted in the first place.

And let’s not even touch on the pasties…

What came first, the letter or the post box?

Uncategorized

The Royal Institution, in partnership with Hiscox, is running a debate this month on entrepreneurship and whether innovation begins with the entrepreneur, or is it the technology that drives innovation (tickets are still available I think at http://bit.ly/A4Z5tw)?

Which got me thinking, a dangerous condition I know, about the role of technology in communication and how far the development of technology has helped and, in some cases, hindered effective communication?

For instance; does sending out a group email to everyone in the company on a particular issue mean you have successfully communicated with each employee? It’s a marvellous technological achievement but just because everyone has received your electronic missive, it doesn’t mean they have read it, or if they did read it, that they fully appreciated what you were trying to say.

Send a press release out on distribution to a wide press list and how many journalists these days say they haven’t seen it; the email no doubt buried in the lost hinterland of their inboxes.

E-clutter
You could argue that the sheer amount of e-clutter competing for an ever dwindling attention span is ultimately delivering a law of diminishing returns when it comes to effective communication.

It’s worth remembering that there is no chicken and egg conundrum when it comes to communication and technology: the message, the content, the story, whatever you want to call it, was firmly in place way before the advent of email, social media and the rest.

Don’t let the ‘how’ dictate the ‘what’
Technology has given us more options in the communications toolbox but it hasn’t provided us with the silver bullet. So whether you’re running an internal or external communications campaign, don’t let what you’ve got say be dictated by how you’re going to send it.

Get the message right and then look at how best you will get it out there which will most likely be a combination of the traditional and the technological.

Every great beginning needs a great ending

Talking to your customers, Talking to your employees, Writing

Imagine Usain Bolt (it is Olympic year so forgive the gratuitous sprint metaphor I’m about to indulge in – hopefully the IOC won’t get me for ambush marketing either) exploding from the blocks, shattering the opposition as he disappears in a rocket fuelled haze of power and pace.

Somewhat disappointingly, despite leading all the way down the track, he fails to dip for the line and Seb Clarke, a surprise late entrant to the GBR team, pips him for Olympic gold.

My point?  

Well, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a good piece of writing always starts with a good opener. But that shouldn’t mean the finisher can’t be a blinder too.

Finish with some pace; a call to action perhaps, a firm or controversial conclusion; or another question. One tip is to try and tie the conclusion back into opening – it’s sort of a reward to the reader for making it to the end (like the comedian’s punch line).

But whatever you do, don’t slow as you approach the finish line – put your hands in the air and dip for glory (can you see what I did there) and take the acclaim for a piece well finished.

Cruise liner crisis

Communicating in a crisis, Working with the media

As an exercise in crisis communications, the media handling of the tragic capsizing of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, has been nothing short of disastrous.

Already we’ve seen an unseemly spat between the captain (incredibly being interviewed by the media even after being arrested) and the cruise line operator who has apparently sought to quickly apportion blame to the captain well before any investigation can officially decide what actually went wrong.

None of this does anything for the grief of those passengers who have suffered and ultimately, in the long term, the damage it can cause to the business itself could be irreparable.

Know the facts
For any company that has the misfortune to find itself at the centre of something like this, it’s all about knowing the facts. Put up your top executive to provide regular updates to the press, but do not allow them to speculate on the causes before they are actually known. All the company efforts should be towards helping the emergency services and the welfare of the passengers.

Clear and decisive communication is not the same things as making rapid and ill thought out accusations.

A Championship experience

Talking to your customers

As it’s my last pre-Christmas blog, I thought I’d stray from the world of communications, albeit briefly, and into the national pastime where I think there is a lesson to be learnt for all those involved in providing a  customer service of some description. OK, it’s about football, but hang in there…

An East Anglian occasion
I confess, I’m an irregular attendee of Championship football and sometime supporter of Ipswich Town. Now, they aren’t doing very well at present. Post Roy Keane, the optimism of a golden spring dawn has given way to the gun metal grey, late afternoon clammy embrace of an East Anglian winter’s day, and a team labouring under the Jewell encrusted outfit of 2011-12.

But, ever the optimist, I set out on my biannual pilgrimage last weekend to Portman Road to check on progress: Ipswich v Derby. I know, the prospect will set every devotee of the
beautiful game salivating at the prospect.

As I stood at the pre-match and unheated communal stainless steel troughs where gentlemen tend to congregate before the game, I contemplated the outlook for the game. Fast flowing, technically superb football in front of a packed house and a great
atmosphere…

Taking my seat (soaked from a recent downpour), I soon realised that none of these expectations would come to pass (in fact few of the players could actually manage a pass). And the sparse crowd were ‘rewarded’ by a drab, goalless first half display from either
side.

A pie and a pint
Still, there’s the half time pie and pint to look forward to – except the queue is so long that the chances of being served in a quarter of an hour look remote (football still hasn’t quite realised that most people will come for a half time refreshment at…half time). Surely it is not beyond the catering team to work out a way of distributing their wares in a slightly more efficient way. After all, the more they sell, the more they make! And you don’t need to be John Maynard Keynes to figure out those rudimentary economics.

Fast forward and full time is blown. An iffy goal, and an unconvincing win for the Town, where the goalie seems unacquainted with the measured throw out and more wedded to an agricultural hoof up field, but at least, I consoled myself, the players would come over, give us a wave and generally thank us for sending them on their way in their Astons, Beamers, Jags… oh, no, it appears they don’t do that either any more.

How much for this thankless experience? £26 for the finest of match day tickets, £16 for the best seat National Express can offer – and the crowd for the game? Just over 17,000, one of the lowest of the season. Now, why that would be I just can’t imagine.

Mary Portas scores
It wouldn’t take Mary Portas to work out where the customer experience might be found wanting; although at least Mary Portas gets stuck in which is more than can be said for the 22 plus players on show at Portman Road last weekend.

Apparently Gandhi once said (although I find it slightly bizarre that the ‘Father of the Indian nation’ would take time off from over throwing the British to lecture on customer
service): “A customer is the most important visitor on our
premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an
interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider of our
business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is
doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

This could of course equate to the poor, benighted Ipswich crowd, we are the customers after all. Gandhi promoted a non-violent form of civil disobedience and for the luckless supporters of many a football club that equates to simply staying at home with your feet up and watching Strictly Come Dancing. Come to think of it, Russell Grant looked quite nimble on his feet…sign him up Tractor Boys, sign him up.

Thanks for reading and a Happy Christmas and New Year to one and all.