All posts by Sebastian

Thought leadership

Talking to your customers

…is one of those phrases regularly bandied about in the communications world (guilty as charged).

“We need some thought leadership,” they cry and they are right. Any business wanting to put some space between themselves and the competition needs to demonstrate that there is more going on between their ears than between those of their competitors. Otherwise, and this is particularly the case when you’re selling the quality of your people as opposed to an actual product, why should someone buy from you rather than the firm down the road offering the same service?

But strip out the cringe making jargon and what does thought leadership actually mean?

Now there’s a thought
Well, you simply want to demonstrate to your clients and potential clients that all the marketing blurb about your creativity and innovative thinking is more than just words. You want to show them that you can have an original thought.

Why not research a particular area of your business, discuss the key trends, include some original thinking, package it up in a report or white paper and, hey presto, you’ve just sent your clients something that doesn’t tell them how good you are, it shows them.

And the great thing about thought leadership is, it’s free. It’s not like buying advertising space or sponsoring the World Cup. There’s no tax on thinking and if your people are as good as your marketing claims, there’s a willing supply of raw material and ideas just waiting to get out.

Don’t get drowned out by your own sound bite

Talking to your customers, Working with the media

Here’s a fun exercise. Grab your morning paper and see how many pre-manufactured sound bites you can spot.

The modern media is, it seems, obsessed by the sound bite or how you can encapsulate your message in something that is memorable and impactful. It’s the elevator pitch for your story and any media trainer will focus on developing sound bites as a key technique.

Bitten back
Beware though of sound bite overkill. When does your sound bite simply become a cliché? Google ‘perfect storm’ in the news coverage for instance and you’ll see what I mean. In the last few days, perfect storm has been used by companies to describe anything from climate change, the economy, hay fever, the manufacturing of green cars, and even a company talking about a ‘perfect storm of propane’.

If you’ve heard that sound bite you’re planning to use more than a few times in the media think about injecting some originality and come up with your own ‘perfect storm’.

Be authentic in your communications…we can all spot a phoney

Talking to your customers, Talking to your employees

With the party political machines in full flow ahead of this year’s general election, phoney spotting takes on new heights as politicians cajole and persuade in a bid to win our votes in any way they think appeals to the voter. The trouble is of course in the rush to jump on the new media bandwagon, many are tempted to communicate in a way that looks anything but authentic.

I’m reminded of Gordon Brown’s ill fated journey into the world of You Tube in the depths of the expenses scandal. It makes for embarrassing watching. The trouble is, trying to shoe horn a personality like Brown’s into a vehicle like You Tube is a bit like watching your dad dance.   

It doesn’t work. The result? An uncomfortable looking Brown. The message gets lost. The public don’t believe him and we’re back where we started but with even less credibility than before.

Choose your stage
The lesson the corporate world can learn is the need to balance the increasing number of stages where you can play out your corporate message with that of credibility and authenticity. If you put your Chief Exec on You Tube, you’d better make sure that for him/her it’s a comfortable place to be. If not, why do it? It doesn’t mean of course that you can’t experiment and be creative in the use of new media, but don’t do it just to jump onto the latest social media bandwagon.

People, your employees, your clients, your stakeholders want authenticity. If it feels uncomfortable then you can bet it will look uncomfortable and no one likes a phoney.

Putting the brakes on a crisis….

Communicating in a crisis

Does an issue become a crisis when everyone finds out about it? That might be the question Toyota executives are asking themselves as their ability to put the brakes on both their cars and the runaway damage to their reputation is called into question.

Now, I know I’m not the only one (unfortunately for Toyota) to harp on about their problems, but the lesson here it would seem is about identifying those issues in a business that have the potential to become a crisis at some point in the future. Effective crisis management is not simply about dealing with a crisis once the media is baying at the door of your company HQ – crisis planning should have happened long before any crisis breaks out.

That said, what to do then when the issue does finally sashay down the catwalk in its full crisis wardrobe and the traditional media, ably supported by their online cohorts, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube et al, line up to unleash their collective ire on your company’s brand?

The tactics may change but the strategy doesn’t
Given the speed of the new media world, the tactics of crisis management have changed but the strategy hasn’t. Never underestimate the power of quick and decisive action and a simple hands up, we made a mistake. There will be pain in the short term, but we’re all human and mistakes happen. Many of us are prepared to forgive mistakes but not many forgive a lack of honesty at the outset and a failure to act and be decisive.

The instinct to try and cover up bad news is very strong; ask a lawyer, or even an ostrich, but all the evading tactics won’t do anything to save the long term damage to your brand and may well simply make it worse.

Honesty is the best policy
David Letterman (he of US Late Show fame) may be the best recent example. Held to ransom by a blackmailer threatening to release news of Letterman’s indiscretions, he fronts up and admits it all, live on air. What could be more honest and candid than that? It doesn’t absolve him from any indiscretion, but it wins him many people’s respect and gives him a much better chance of rescuing a battered reputation.