Category: Marketing

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Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing – New Definition

Internal marketing is a critical management concept that is difficult to explain, let alone define. Throughout my work in the field, I’ve defined internal marketing simply as “the application of marketing inside an organization to instill customer-focused values.”

But now there’s a new, more comprehensive definition – thanks to the Fall 2005 graduate class in internal marketing, part of Northwestern University’s Integrated Marketing Communications program.

“Internal Marketing is the ongoing process whereby an organization aligns, motivates and empowers employees at all functions and levels to consistently deliver a positive customer experience that helps achieve business objectives.”

What I love about this expanded definition is that it captures aspects of both internal marketing and internal branding. The new definition is a result of an Internal Marketing Best Practice Study funded by the Forum for People Performance Management & Measurement.

I’ll have more on this study in my next post.

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Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing – Not for Stepford Wives

Every once in a while I find myself getting defensive about internal marketing.

Some business folks, who begrudgingly acknowledge internal marketing’s premise (“take care of employees so they’ll take care of customers'”) chide me as they envision creating a cadre of plastic, smiling automatons going about their business happily serving customers.

But I am not advocating internal marketing as a “Stepford wives” approach.

I am advocating that employees be considered upfront, not an after-thought in business strategy and operations.  The best organizations proactively consider employee needs and concerns when developing new programs or improving existing ones.  Those who get it:

  • communicate the rationale behind management initiatives
  • get employee input on anticipated customer response to operational changes
  • provide whatever new or remedial staff training might be needed, etc.

What I’m talking about is effectively communicating with your employees: involve them, listen to them, and gain their buy-in in the process.  In other words, respect your employees by considering how they’ll be impacted by your business decisions.

This will get you genuine smiles, not plastic ones.

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Customer service Marketing

Customer Recovery: A Tale of Two Companies (Part 2)

My last post covered my experience with two different consumer companies and how they handled me as a consumer with a complaint.  The deciding factor in keeping my brand loyalty involved recovery – going the extra step to maintain a customer relationship.

It’s not the same, or is it?

One situation involved my no longer being able to obtain a product (which I learned was discontinued), and the other involved a temporary product quality issue.  Discussing this with my son, Jason, he pointed out that I was comparing apples to oranges in that recovery didn’t necessarily apply in both cases.

Jason’s point was that when Maybelline discontinued making my favorite eyeliner, they took a calculated risk to lose customers.  So there was no need to retain my relationship as a customer via recovery.

I’ll admit that as a marketer I’ve never been involved in a decision to discontinue or retire a product … but I still believe recovery has a role.  Perhaps it’s a result of the professional customer service & sales training I’ve taken (as well as taught) throughout my career: Don’t just tell customers what you can’t do for them, tell them what you can do for them.

I’m open to hearing from others with more experience in discontinuing a product or service – what role (if any) does recovery play?  Please comment on this post or e-mail me your thoughts on this.  Thanks!

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Customer service Marketing

Customer Recovery: A Tale of Two Companies

As a marketer, I know the importance of effective complaint handling and recovery on consumer satisfaction and loyalty.  So I was curious to see how two different companies with well known brands would handle me as a consumer with a problem.

This wasn’t a test for its own sake – I actually had problems with two products of which I’ve been a long-time, loyal consumer.  And surprisingly (or not), my experience was different in each case.

Situation #1

I needed to replace my Maybelline eyeliner pen and couldn’t find it anywhere after trying several different stores.  So I e-mailed Maybelline’s Consumer Affairs and here’s their reply:

“Thank you for your interest in Eye Express Easy Lining Pen.  This product is no longer available, and we have no way of obtaining it for you to purchase.  We suggest you try Line Stylist, which is available at stores that carry Maybelline New York products.

We understand the frustration you must feel concerning the disappearance of a product that you had been using faithfully.  It is never easy for us to make the decision to discontinue any of our products or shades.  We truly regret any inconvenience this may have caused you.”

At least they were empathetic and apologetic.  But that’s all.  There was no link to tell me where to find the suggested alternate product and no special offer or coupon to encourage me to try it.

Marketing Note: OK, as consumers we may be unrealistic in expecting a little extra for the inconvenience.  In marketing, the concept is known as “recovery” – an added incentive to maintain the customer’s relationship.  But the bottom line here is there is no reason for me to continue my brand loyalty.  My favorite product is no longer available, and there’s no motivation for me to try another product within the brand.  So goodbye, Maybelline.

Situation #2

I opened a box of Post Grape-Nuts cereal and it tasted stale.  (Hard to believe, I know … but I eat Grape-Nuts in yogurt nearly everyday, and this time it didn’t taste quite right.)  I opened another box that I had in my pantry, and it was same.  The “best when used by” date was more than six months away.  Maybe I just had a bad batch?

So I called Kraft (who owns the Post brand).  The Customer Service Rep was also apologetic.  I don’t quite remember how she said it, but she managed to genuinely acknowledge my complaint while at the same time reassure me of their quality standards.  And then she offered recovery – Post would send me coupons so I could replace the product.  (A letter of apology, with the coupons, arrived within a week.)

Based on this experience, will I stay loyal to Post Grape-Nuts?  You betcha!

Categories
Marketing

“The Golden Thread” & Storytelling Magic

Lots of nonprofit and for-profit marketers are extolling the virtues of storytelling.

 

As Trish Lambert writes in her blog:

 

“Stories work.  They always have and they always will.  Whether you are trying to teach someone something better or sell someone something, stories will get the point made better than any other form of communication at your disposal.”

I’m privileged to know a professional storyteller, Susan Danoff, founder & Executive Director of Storytelling Arts, Inc.  And with all the interest in storytelling these days, I wanted to tell you about her latest book, The Golden Thread: Storytelling in Teaching and Learning.

In full disclosure, Susan and I are childhood friends who’ve stayed in touch.  I became familiar with her work with Storytelling Arts about a year ago when I wrote a nonprofit marketing case study on her organization.

Not for teachers only

While the book is targeted to traditional educators, it’s also a great resource for business professionals.  I don’t work in a K-12 classroom; my “teaching” occurs in professional development workshops & seminars for corporate and nonprofit managers.  Yet I found Susan’s book engaging and relevant, particularly the section “On Becoming a Storyteller” and the sources cited.

The Golden Thread explores the experience and profound impact that storytellers have on children, including those with special needs – strengthening their literacy skills and increasing their motivation for learning.  The magic and power of storytelling is enhanced with traditional and original folktales woven throughout the book.  And I highly recommend it for both educational and business professionals.

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Engagement Marketing

The Sweet Sound of Brand Love

I just attended my first brand “love-in” experience thanks to my husband, a member of the Martin Owners Club – a special group of Martin Guitar aficionados.

The first official gathering of the Martin Owners Club was held recently in Nazareth, PA, site of the company’s home base, factory, and new Martin Guitar Museum & Visitors Center. The day’s events included factory tours guided by employees, museum tours, re-stringing of club members’ guitars by Martin technicians, a special address by C.F. Martin IV (company CEO), music performances, and lots of food and brand mementos.

Brand Passion Inside & Out

More than 500 members & their guests, from 40 U.S. states and six countries, came to the one-day event.  According to Steve Carletti, VP of Sales & Marketing, the Martin Owners Club started just three years ago and has grown to approx. 3200 members. Members pay an annual fee to belong to the club – reflecting their devotion to this incredible brand.

Equally impressive is the employee passion & pride for the brand that I witnessed during the factory tour and throughout the event. Martin & Co. has a dedicated workforce with low turnover. And those employees who don’t play guitar are proud to say that they own one or two (or more) Martin Guitars.

I highly recommend a visit to Martin & Co. The exquisite craftsmanship that goes into the making of these guitars in incredible. Yes, some of the process is automated, but the actual assembly of the guitars is done by hand. (Upon first entering the factory for your guided tour, you’re greeted by the scent of fresh cut wood.)

In full disclosure, my husband is involved with Discover Lehigh Valley (of which Martin & Co. is a member), and he’s the proud owner of several Martin guitars. But that’s not the only reason I encourage you to check out the place.

The Martin Guitar Museum & Visitors Center is a great place to visit, and admission is free. It’s also a great place where you can feel and understand the depth of brand loyalty and love.

What an incredibly sweet sound.

Categories
Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Mission Statements – One More Thing

Here’s a postscript to my recent series on Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – it’s a great example of how one organization is making its mission truly viable.

To enable its employees & staff to more effectively keep up with the growth of medical technology & research, along with changes and challenges to the healthcare industry, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital System created its Center for Learning & Innovation.

Touted as “one of healthcare’s first corporate universities,” the Center was designed to instill & reinforce a “sense of shared mission” for all employees and “be a transformative culture changing force” within the organization.

What’s most impressive is all course content is directly linked to the Health System’s mission, vision, and strategic plan.

You can learn more about the Center (as I did) from the Leader to Leader Institute.

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Engagement Marketing

Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – Part 3

Here’s the last post in my series about making mission statements both memorable & meaningful.  The final challenge is: does your mission statement really differentiate your organization?

I’ve seen too many instances where you could easily substitute the name of a competitor in another organization’s mission statement.  It’s not unusual to find a lot of “me-too” or similar sounding missions for organizations in the same industry.

This was the situation for one of my nonprofit clients, and here’s how we handled it.

While its organizational charter was somewhat unique, the group’s services overlapped with several other nonprofits.  The result was its members, donors, and even board members all had trouble explaining how the organization was different from others in the market.

What’s Your Score?

To illustrate the problem, I developed a “Mission Matching Quiz” for the board’s executive committee retreat.  After a web search turned up hundreds of nonprofits offering similar education, research & support services, I selected 10-12 organizations (many fairly well known) and listed them on a sheet of paper with their mission statements in random order.  The exec committee was asked to match each organization with its mission.

No one scored 100% on this quiz or even came close … ditto for the rest of the board members and staff.  But everyone was astounded by this demonstration in which almost every organization’s mission read & sounded the same!  No wonder they were challenged in distinguishing their own organization.

As a result, the group clarified its mission to highlight and better articulate its differentiation.  Board leadership continues to refine the mission as needed.

Maintaining & Changing Your Mission

A mission statement is dynamic.  As the market changes, as your competition changes, and as your organization evolves in response, you’ll need to update your mission.  This is why Peter Drucker encouraged organizations to revisit their mission statements every three years.

When is the last time your organization reviewed its mission?  And how memorable & meaningful is it?

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Engagement Marketing

Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – Part 2

Building on last week’s post about making mission statements memorable, I’ve seen too many organizations fall victim to the “Field of Dreams” approach to mission statements – if you post it, they (staff) will follow.

Awareness is only half the battle

Developing and disseminating the mission is not enough.  While mission statements may be beautifully crafted, they may not be easy to relate to.  For example, what does it mean to you (as an employee) to work for an outfit whose mission is to:

  • exceed the expectations of customers, partners, and fellow employees?  Or,
  • achieve superior financial results for stockholders?  Or,
  • create quality solutions and services that foster innovation, creativity and production for global customers and partners?

These are adapted from real companies.  I didn’t make them up, honest!

Meaningful mission statements

The problem is most statements couldn’t pass the that’s-nice-but-what-does-it-really-mean? test.  To be meaningful, a mission statement needs to be translated into specific, even measurable behaviors.

One way to accomplish this is to complete the following sentence:

Our mission is [insert your firm’s mission statement], which means [fill-in with the appropriate behaviors, based on internal and/or external standards of performance].

Translating the mission this way may not be easy, but it is a worthwhile exercise.  And depending on your organization, one size may not fit all.  Various departments or units within the company may have different translations or may need to develop their own mission statements based on the corporate or institutional mission.

Don’t get lost in translation

Regardless of how you do it (via the translation exercise above or some other way), the point is: Will employees know what is expected of them in helping the organization fulfill its mission?

Employees will know what the mission statement really means when they can answer that question.

But wait, there’s even more to make a mission statement memorable and meaningful.  I’ll cover this in my next post.

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Engagement Marketing

Memorable & Meaningful Mission Statements – Part 1

I have a client who’s frustrated with his organization’s mission statement.  Stepping back to observe it somewhat objectively, he finds it’s neither memorable nor meaningful.

Both elements are critical.  And to give them justice, I’ll focus on the “memorable” aspect now with follow up posts on making a mission statement “meaningful.”

The essence of a mission statement is to briefly articulate your organization’s purpose & reason for being. Its role, according to respected leader Frances Hesselbein, is to help inspire, direct, and mobilize employees.  But how can it do any of these if your people don’t know what the mission is?

That’s why a mission statement has to be memorable.  And brevity helps.  (Most of us can’t remember the Gettysburg address from grade school.  So how are we going to be able to remember a three-page mission statement?)

Halt!  Who Goes There?

The best way to reinforce a mission statement’s brevity comes from this anecdote shared by consultant/facilitator Tony Nash.  He cites Laurie Beth Jones‘ book The Path in which she tells a story she learned from her uncle who served in WWII – an unidentified soldier who appeared suddenly in the dark and could not state his mission was automatically shot.

Based on this story, she cites the following criteria for a good mission statement:

  • no more than one sentence long
  • easily understood by a 12 year old
  • recitable at gunpoint.

Now there’s a formula for a memorable mission statement!

In my next post I’ll talk about making mission statements meaningful, so stay tuned …