It’s good to talk. Your marketing and business success depends on it.

Staff communication failure: can you afford it? Photo source: guardian.co.uk

A close friend of mine spent the past weekend agonising over a survey.  Not a PR survey which will yield shocking or entertaining press coverage, but one designed to glean a workforce’s perspective on a problem:  the company’s performance (lack of).

The survey features a number of themed questions, all trying to establish anonymous opinion and suggestions on where issues lie and how things could be improved.

This is now fairly standard stuff – and increasingly common in today’s workplace, particularly when an outside consultant or new business head arrives on the scene.  In my view however, the main underlying problem is always the same:  communication.

This is no sweeping statement. Even those who should know better, professionally speaking, can be guilty of not communicating properly.  In an age of emails before breakfast and tweeting before bedtime, meaningful human interaction can too easily be filed under ‘do later’.

But this is no new problem.

I recently held an intensive marketing workshop with an organisation to establish an in-house marketing team from those who attended.

The day proved particularly challenging, not least because it soon became apparent that internal communication had broken down. As is the case in many companies and establishments, an unsaid hierarchy had evolved between staff; there was a clear divide in opinions and desire for the organisation’s future focus and therefore, no cohesion when it came to marketing.

Workplace hierarchies, deliberate or not, produce gaps in communication by default. The ‘us and them’ culture can be extremely destructive, not just within an organisation, but also externally.  It’s this outward projection I’m concerned with – reputation is everything and if businesses don’t get it right at workforce level, marketing of any kind will prove tricky to see return on.

I’ve worked with and advised businesses across a number of professional and industry sectors and have found this communication issue to be a running theme.

For marketing to work, it needs the buy-in and involvement of those who make up the business in question – and of course, those who are front of house.

As well as handling PR and social media for clients, I can be found working as a marketing consultant, looking at the existing setups and promotional efforts of businesses, to help them better apply the skills and ambitions of staff.  I find that often, companies need putting back on the rails, after losing marketing direction.

Asking staff for their input always provides a key starting point.  Encouraging this and face to face communication between all levels of an organisation always delivers surprising and downright useful feedback on the real, not perceived status quo.   The introduction of an outside consultant undoubtedly helps in teasing out the information and issues that really matter.  Businesses go to great length to recruit the right person for the job, but commonly miss the opportunity to really develop from using their expertise and insight.

The end product of the above workshop was a designated, core team of staff with clearly defined and mutually supportive marketing roles.  Further training needs were also identified.  It took an intensive session to establish these outcomes – so much needed determining and previously unspoken issues needed addressing before a cohesive marketing aim could be established.

It’s small steps for the newly-formed team, but for the first time, the organisation has a committed bank of staff to represent it to the outside world – with a clear understanding on what it aims to achieve.  This result came largely from getting people in the same room talking, at times, on topics not usually shared with ‘them’.

Hopefully, the employer behind the survey my friend has taken so much time over will afford it the same attention when compiling responses.  When a business’ main asset is its people, maintaining a healthy dialogue with these valuable informants should remain a priority, if not only for the sake of positive PR and reputation.

First Bus stops short of customer focus

I recently posted a quick comment on my Facebook page, regarding the strange direction the Rachel’s Organic brand appears to have taken with its television advertising.

Less than a week later, a new contender for the irritating advertisement category has come on the scene, courtesy of First Bus.  Let me qualify irritating, as it is on many levels.

First off, the content is fairly painful.  On first viewing, you would be forgiven for expecting the commercial to evolve into something akin to Yeo Valley’s rap.  But no.  The singing bus driver and red carpet roll out for passengers is all very deliberate in linking with the catchline:  We believe every journey should be the greatest one of all.

A mighty shame then that neither First Bus nor its sing-song advertising team consulted the word on the social media street.  A quick ‘first bus’ Twitter search reveals a stream of unhappy customer comments; its Facebook page demonstrates no user interaction at all.

So where will this great journey experience come from?  Listening to customers.  Social media provides the opportunity for businesses to engage with end users and add value to their customer experience.  It would appear First Bus has at some stage been advised to adopt an online presence, but the value in its current social communication is limited and potentially, damaging.  Its Facebook page has not been updated since June.

The commercial does not appear to have been embedded in the First Bus website, nor does “We believe every journey should be the greatest one of all” feature on the homepage.  All very odd.  Is anyone from First Bus listening?

My conclusion:  the opportunity for a new marketing campaign linking offline with online activity and real First Bus users has been overlooked entirely.

More customer feedback follows, within the comments below the uploaded version of the advert on YouTube.

Is this First Bus driver alone in singing its praises?

Being the expert

If the Real Business newsletter hit your inbox this morning, you may have already seen this feature.  This coverage for three south-west businesses – ECRM, Tim Gander and Designbull – was set up by Avalanche Media.  All experts quoted are members of The Bath Business Club.

Hope you find the pointers useful.  Could your business benefit from using PR to demonstrate expertise?

Click the image to read the article.

Using Dragon fire: how to exit the Den in the spotlight

All is far from lost if your visit to the BBC Dragons’ Den didn’t yield investment:  it’s just the start in PR terms. Once the show has aired, there’s a great opportunity to tell your story.

The new series starts Sunday 31st July - how could your business benefit further from the exposure. PR advice from Jennie Wood of Avalanche Media.

Whether the Dragons were in or out, here are four pointers on playing the media and marketing game:

What really happened?
The final edit of the show doesn’t always reflect each candidate’s own experience.  What happened when the cameras weren’t rolling?  What wasn’t shown in the programme that you wish had been?  Did any of the Dragons express interest in keeping in touch?  There is almost certainly a story for your regional press, appropriate trade media or other national channels.  Decide what provides the best hook and spend time following up with the right journalists – ensuring you are factually correct and not breaching any contractual agreement with the BBC.

What did the experience teach you and what advice can you impart?
Again there’s an opportunity for further press material here, which is possibly best targeted at trade or specialist titles.  This subject would also provide a pull-factor for a public speaking occasion, particularly if there are more light-hearted or humorous elements to add.  One option worth thinking about if you’re looking to position yourself and business as a thought leader in your sector.

Following up with your customer base
You’ll no doubt receive a flurry of messages as soon as the programme’s over, but once the initial wave has passed, there are ways of rolling more in.  Perhaps your appearance on the show provides a good reason to pick up the phone to customers and ask them what they thought – or gives you a good excuse to contact prospects and reintroduce your business.  It’s a one-off talking point, so make sure you make the most of it.

Marketing collateral
Update your website’s homepage and other key landing pages with a reference to your appearance in the Den.  Link to the programme in question on the Dragons’ Den website, as well as any additional footage taken by the BBC.  Consider this application on email signatures too, alongside other marketing material and social media platforms.

Who knows where other offers could come from.  Whatever happened in the Den, think about the ways in your business could benefit from your encounter with the Dragons and plan on making best use of the exposure.

Haulage expert Hilary Devey is the latest to join the investor panel, alongside Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis, Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones.  The new series of Dragons’ Den starts tomorrow (Sunday 31st July), 9pm on BBC2.

Jennie Wood runs Avalanche Media based in the south-west of England and is a provider of PR support.  For further advice drop Jennie a line via jennie@avalanchemedia.org, @snowballthrower on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

What’s hot and what’s grot: 10 press release rules

1.  Stick to who, what, when, why and how when compiling your copy.

2.  Try to hinge the story around a topical, newsworthy element – make sure the release passes the “so what?” test.

3.  Prioritise information and be concise.

4.  Avoid jargon and promotional language like the plague; clichés too.

5.  Consider the reader and the style of the media you target with the story.  Does the press release need adjusting for different journalists?

Think about your reader and keep it simple. Avoid jargon and nonsense language when writing press releases.

6.  Don’t send huge file attachments when emailing your press release to a journalist, unless you’ve been asked to do so.

7.  Is the press release time critical?  Check the publication dates and copy deadlines for the media you’re targeting if so.

8.  Stick to the facts and work to one clear idea or story.  Do not make false claims.

9.  Include contact details for the journalist to follow up, in case more information or an interview is needed.

10.  Could your story be better explained with an accompanying photograph?

Would 10 more press release pointers help?  Drop an email to jennie@avalanchemedia.org

Visit this press room for examples of client stories produced by Avalanche Media.

Christmas countdown

It feels wrong I know, but does your business need to think about Christmas yet?  Today marks the six-month countdown.

I’ve spent a lot of time writing festive copy this week and selling it in to journalists already planning November and December features.  Just a thought – wrap it up and stick it back in the cupboard if not relevant for now – but in general, it’s never too early…

Have a listen to this while you consider it:

Avalanche Media’s first video

I thought this was well worth a post as I’m quite proud of my first iMovie effort.

It can be difficult to describe PR to the uninitiated, so I thought it would help to produce a video to better explain what it is I can achieve for businesses.   To help prevent the onset of yawns and flitting to other YouTube offerings, I’ve limited the length to three minutes.   This means that the behind-the-scenes work I need to do isn’t really referred to (check out my press room for more of an insight).  But instead the important bit, the results:  these are what clients want.

Avalanche Media's first YouTube video: The Power of PR

I hope this is useful and would welcome feedback.

After recently becoming yet another Mac convert and iMove addict, I’m hoping to produce more PR-related video offerings.  If you have ideas for any specifics you’d like me to address, please shout.

PR: the makings of a good egg sandwich

So proud of client Andy Fussell’s appearance as the mystery guest on Chris Evans’ breakfast show yesterday.  All thanks to a discussion the day before on fried egg sandwiches and bit of Twitter follow up.  Some PR opportunities can’t be foreseen.

Listen again (available for the next week) – scan to 2:04.11 to hear Andy’s 3-minute interview on the BBC Radio 2 programme.

Before take-off

Are you ready for PR?  To make it really work for your business, there are various points worth considering.

As good hints come in threes, here’s a quick checklist designed to help your marketing spend work harder:

Are the basics right – is your website in a fit state to present your products and services?   Does it make it easy for people to contact or buy from you?  Check that the basics are in place and working i.e. your phone number, email address and contact form are easily accessible.  If you want people to buy direct from your site, test drive the purchasing process and make sure it is straightforward and working properly.

How’s your photography looking?  Do you have well shot, compelling photography of your products and your people?  The office camera might be pretty special but if the results aren’t, help is at hand to point you towards the right photographer and ensure they are briefed for appropriate professional material.

Thinking ahead.  Timings involved in PR are often overlooked or perhaps not always understood by businesses; it pays to get advice and get this right.  If one of your objectives is to increase national awareness of your brand, it’s worth knowing that the editorial in many of the magazines on newsagent shelves is planned months in advance – sometimes as much as six.  Don’t worry, not all journalists work this far ahead, but as with any media, the earlier your approach, the better.

Remember the locals: a Twitter lesson

Reputation is pretty much everything.   What leads to this – an unscientific, common sense cocktail of being good at what you do, being trustworthy and treating others as you wish to be treated.

There’s masses written on the important role that social media now has to play in the clever old world of marketing and PR.  But forget the stuff about the future of [Twitter] and consider that everything you do and say now is important.   It doesn’t matter whether or not the 140-character micro-blogging dialogues will remain in the future:   what’s important is they are happening now.  Reputation-building is an ongoing exercise and the likes of Twitter provide a here and now tool to communicate.  Herein lies the trick: engage, don’t just communicate.  It’s a simple one, but many miss it.

The beauty of social media is the power it gives its users to have a direct conversation with those who might otherwise remain inaccessible.

It’s been an interesting afternoon on Twitter, though I fear that the reputation of a local establishment may suffer as a result of ignoring the engage rule.

To provide some background, the market town of Frome in Somerset plays host to a number of public houses (considerably more in previous times, but not today’s story), including Archangel.   A former coaching inn packed to the rafters on a Saturday night, Archangel is no longer a pub per se, but a more refined bar, restaurant and rooms.   And very nice it is too, I’d highly recommend it.  Good cocktails made by mixologist Ben, a regional food-inspired menu from head chef John Melican and some beautified surroundings complete with Bruce Munro lighting.

So in this case, change is a good thing.

But sadly, this establishment’s local and regional audience appears to be forgotten when it comes to marketing.   Why, I’m not certain.   Certainly in the tougher climes of January and February it will be this clientele that Archangel relies on.  PR-speaking there is of course a huge need to firmly position it on the UK map and set it apart as a destination in the South West.   This requires constant outreach at various levels to generate awareness and exposure.   But it’s dangerous to forget those on your doorstep and this would appear to be the case with Archangel’s social media efforts.

There’s a large and still growing audience of Twitter folk based in Frome who have shown support for the new establishment – both in terms of online messages and actual footfall.   This doesn’t always appear to be appreciated by the marketing person and today’s dialogue on Twitter clearly showed an attitude of dismissal towards local custom.   Rather than interract and (important word) engage with those who more frequently use Archangel, the person tweeting on its behalf seems more preoccupied with patronising those with a Frome address and ignoring the support that exists at local level.  This surely is undoing the hard work of those in situ, trying to build its reputation at ground level.  It’s possible this miscommunication is in large part due to Archangel’s Twitter alias not being locally-based, but good manners aren’t reliant on post code.

Don’t be put off by the dialogue online in this case – the Archangel experience aims to please and I’m certain you would find this to be the case.

The PR lesson here is think about your audience.   While social media exists to share and interract with users all over the place, remember that you’re communicating with people and therefore behaviour is paramount.   Be yourself, be friendly, be appropriate, be informal if that feels comfortable.  But if you’re politely engaging with some while being rude to others, the chances are this won’t go unnoticed.   Get it right with social media and the unscientific cocktail will go down a treat.