Category Archives: Talking to your customers

A lesson in communication

Talking to your customers, Talking to your employees

Have you noticed how good many schools have become at communicating with parents? I get regular text messages about school events, my daughters’ homework, as well as reminders about term dates.

They’re also good at using ‘real’ message boards (as opposed to digital ones) positioned at entrances to remind parents about events or simply to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Nice eh? It makes me smile anyway.

Many companies could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of a school’s exercise book when it comes to communicating with their customers and employees. Letter home anyone?

What a grind…Starbucks readies itself for the harshest of cuts

Communicating in a crisis, Social media, Talking to your customers, Working with the media

Poor old Starbucks. The 8th December looks like it could be a bad day for the baristas as UK Uncut takes its ‘day of action’ protest to the coffee giant, accusing it of dodging millions in taxes.

I’m sure their PR team will be in full crisis planning mode for what is guaranteed to be a day of less than positive media coverage.

So what’s Starbucks saying about it right now? Well, to be fair, it’s not the radio silence that many a corporation often employs when facing down some bad news. Check out their website and there is at least some blog content addressing the issue. But it’s a bit, well corporate, and frankly still seems to duck some of the issues.

When you have politicians on the radio (Today programme, 3 December) openly talking about boycotting your store, your brand is in serious trouble. If they used the same creativity when it comes to their crisis management as they do to market their coffee, they might have a chance.

A free coffee on the 8th December for any British taxpayer who can show their most recent P60 tax certificate? There’s an idea…

Dare to answer back?

Communicating in a crisis, Social media, Talking to your customers

O2’s crisis management has been much debated of late, not least its management of some of the more colourful social media traffic that’s been heading their way. The question is, when the abuse really piles up, do you respond to those tweets, or let them go?

The attached blog http://bit.ly/OhMFJP from the CIPR admires O2’s response to a couple of particularly graphic tweets. My first instinct was to disagree. Surely responding will only encourage the sender to really let loose in a conversation O2 just can’t win.

But perhaps that’s not the point; they (O2), have proved they are at least listening and are working to do something about it.

So the chief executive is a human after all…

Social media, Talking to your customers, Talking to your employees

According to a newish survey by BrandFog, CEOs who use social media are more likely to be trusted by both employees and customers.

Seems like a nice chap
And it’s true; recently I was looking for a bank account to put some money in and found some good rates at a less than well known building society. Having checked on the FSA’s website that it was in fact registered (I said it wasn’t very well known), I then had a quick peruse on their website and found an engaging blog recounting the chief exec’s gardening experiences. Gullible I may be, but I felt that here was a person to be trusted and promptly deposited my money in to his (or at least the society’s) hands.

So a blog, regular tweeting or whatever social media channel you’re using, can influence the purchasing decision; but how do you get your chief exec to engage? Inevitably, it will be the communications team trying to encourage their chief exec to use social media and almost as inevitably they’ll end up drafting content to try and make it easier.

People will spot a blogus
But here is the dilemma: tone of voice and authenticity is absolutely at the heart of getting social media right – people will spot a bogus blog (blogus?) a mile off. Making sure you can replicate his or her style while getting the right content is critical and you can only do that with regular access and their engagement in what you’re trying to do.

Of course in an ideal world, your chief exec will write it themselves and it’ll be engaging, interesting and you can sit back and watch the trust in your company and its senior management steadily grow (you might even pick up some gardening tips).

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.