Tag: management

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Engagement Marketing

Working Smarter, Not Harder: A Nonprofit Case Study (Part 2)

This post continues the case study on how small nonprofits can effectively balance growing demands and limited resources by working smarter, not harder.

The first step is to stay mission-focused, but that can also present a challenge. Many nonprofits have broad mission statements that let them justify responding to even remotely-related requests. Staff who are truly passionate about the mission find it difficult to turn down such requests or discontinue programs that are no longer worthwhile. (“But we helped the three people who came to our educational seminar!”)

Recognizing this situation, one ABC Healthcare affiliate took the next step to address the question: Where can we, with our limited resources, really make a difference?

Step 2. Inventory your program offerings

To answer this question, the affiliate conducted a detailed inventory of its educational programs and activities. This was a multi-step process in which staff completed program descriptions and developed a profile for each educational offering. First they reviewed the following key questions (several adapted from the Drucker Foundation’s nonprofit self-assessment tool: The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask about Your Nonprofit Organization) for each of their programs:

  • Who is the target audience for the program?
  • What does the target audience value about the program (based on evaluations and other feedback)?
  • Could this audience get the same program elsewhere?
  • What is the estimated return on investment for the organization (based on mission-fit, resource input, and resulting output)?
  • Will this offering advance our capacity to carry out our mission?
  • If we weren’t already presenting this program would we start now?

Answering these questions allowed staff to sort the educational programs into three categories:

  1. “Need to have” (programs that should be kept)
  2. “Nice to have” (those that might be expendable) and
  3. “Not sure.”

They further assessed each program in the “nice to have” and “not sure” categories by considering: Is what we’re doing precluding other opportunities? Can (or should) we invest our time and energy more effectively elsewhere? What would be the greatest consequence if we didn’t offer this program for a few more years?

Their answers to this second set of questions helped determine which programs to keep, which to phase out, and which to eliminate. Staff also revisited programs in the “Need to have” category to see if they should be kept “as is” or if there might be opportunities to enhance or expand them.

The inventory exercise was a valuable way for employees to prioritize and streamline their programs and activities. While initially reluctant to let go of a number of programs, they recognized that doing so would free them to explore new initiatives as well as improve current ones.

The next (and final) post in this series explores the 3rd critical step involving communication.

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Step 4

For this post, we build on the previous three steps: understand your product value (Step 1), identify your target markets, and establish your positioning (Steps 2 & 3).

Step 4 involves assessing your internal communications to identify opportunities to build awareness and educate your target markets about marketing’s value:

  • How are you using the top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal communication channels within your organization?
  • What are the media vehicles available within each directional channel? (e.g., intranet, staff meetings, employee newsletters, etc.)
  • Are you using the appropriate mix to reach your target audiences?

When you do this assessment, you may be surprised at the opportunities you may be missing to reach your internal targets.

Say what?

And once you identify the communications vehicles you wish to use, what do you say?  Whatever is necessary to reinforce your value and positioning (as you determined back in Step 3).

My next post will wrap up this series with the final step involved in marketing marketing.

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Step 1

Based on my last series of posts, “CPR for Marketing,” here are the five steps to effectively market marketing (or whatever your function):

  1. Understand your ‘product’ value
  2. Identify your target markets
  3. Establish your positioning
  4. Assess your communications opportunities
  5. Develop your resulting plan; then implement & monitor.

In the 1st step, you need to start with the ‘big picture’ in terms of what your value is to the organization; i.e., what is it you really bring to the table?

There are several ways you can get at this, including doing a “feature & benefits” analysis of your function or department.  But my favorite starts with exploring the question “What if … ?”

What if marketing no longer existed in the organization?  What would be the impact?  (e.g., Would we be missed?)

You gotta be kidding

Granted these questions are not easy to answer.  But you better get over your discomfort and deal with these questions before someone else does!

This is not meant to be a negative exercise.  By taking the time to explore marketing’s value, you’ll build confidence in what you have to offer.  And you’ll also get a good sense of how much (internal) marketing you need to do.

In my next post, I’ll continue with Steps 2 & 3.

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Engagement Marketing

CPR for Marketing – Part 3

So what do you do if you’re in a situation where marketing gets no respect? (See my last post.)  Assuming the situation isn’t too far gone (i.e., resumes being updated & professional networks heating up), here’s what I advise.

Strategically you need to:

  • increase awareness & visibility of marketing within your organization
  • increase the perception of marketing’s value, and
  • strengthen relationships within your organization.

Think of it as internally marketing the marketing function (a different application of internal marketing as featured in this blog).

I know, I know … most people are surprised by this.  Don’t marketers automatically market themselves?

That thing about the shoemaker’s kids being barefoot

The reality is most marketers are so busy doing their jobs & whatever else has been heaped on them in this era of do-more-with-less, that it’s easy to neglect their own needs.

But just because you’re part of the organizational chart doesn’t mean that people know who you are & what you do!  So marketers sometimes forget they need to educate others within the organization as to what marketing really does.

Non-marketers: listen up!

Important note: while I’m addressing marketing here, the situation also applies to other fields as well.  Doesn’t matter if you’re in HR, IT, Finance, Operations, etc. … just substitute your function in place of marketing and read on.

I’ll continue this series of posts, but under a new name: Marketing ‘Marketing’ [or insert your particular function here] …

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Marketing

CPR for Marketing? Part 1

I don’t think Harry Potter has to worry for a while … apparently Lord Voldemort & his death eaters have turned their attention to marketing.

I recently heard from two colleagues in different industries that their marketing function is at risk — primarily due to organizational changes.  In one case, the marketing staff has been placed under the control of Finance & Administration (yikes!)

In the other situation, the powers-that-be have proclaimed that brand-building and relationship marketing are no longer needed.  Their rallying cry is sales, sales, and more sales!  (Get out there & bring in new customers … Relationship & retention marketing?  We don’t need no stinkin’ marketing!)

Uh oh …

Granted there are organizational and internal cultural shifts happening here.  And while the situations are vastly different, the undercurrent is the same — why is marketing’s value in question?

I keep telling myself that it’s just a coincidence that I heard from these colleagues on the same day, just minutes apart.  Has “he-who-must-not-be-named” discovered marketing?

More to follow … (and you don’t have to wait as long as you do for the next H. Potter book!)

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Customer service Marketing

Customer Care – Why Sweating the Small Stuff is Good

I loved Sean D’Souza’s article about creating “accidental evangelists” in a recent issue of Marketing Profs.com.  And it got me thinking how it’s the little things that truly make a difference in connecting with customers.

This reality was also reinforced by a client’s Customer Experience Team who met recently to report on what they’re doing to improve communications & relationships with their customers; for example:

  • Sending a small welcome gift to new customers and acknowledging a current customer’s order with a thank you card
  • Referring a customer to another supplier for a product line that the client doesn’t yet offer
    (shades of “Miracle on 34th St.” … customer response was just as positive as in the film!)
  • Checking on product ship dates to ensure there’s no disconnect between a promised ship date and delivery
  • Letting customers know where to access their account numbers when they need to call in for something
  • Identifying the source of a problem with frequent repairs & letting Customer Service know so they can help customers avoid future problems.

In today’s hectic world we’re told “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  But often times it’s the little things we do that matter the most.

In what small, but impactful ways, do you show your customers that you care?

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Customer service Engagement Marketing

Organizational Culture: Internal Customers (Part 3)

As mentioned in my last post, overall job satisfaction is affected by an employee’s relationships with managers & co-workers. And the quality of these relationships trickles down to the bottom line – you can’t build strong external (customer) relationships without strong internal (customer) relationships.

That’s why internal marketing considers employees “internal customers.” When employees take care of each others’ business service needs, they tend to do even better for customers.  In other words, internal customer service drives external customer services.

Who’s your customer?

Too often, customer relations training is focused only on staff with direct customer contact. But it applies to everyone – Purchasing has its internal customers; so does Human Resources, Information Systems, Operations, etc.

Think of it this way: if you’re not serving the ultimate customer (those who purchase your firm’s offerings), you’re serving someone who is … for example, the sales staff, customer service rep, call center staff, delivery person, store manager, etc.

To what extent does your organization acknowledge and serve its “internal customers?”

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Engagement Marketing

Organizational Culture: Assessment (Part 2)

My last post dealt with workplace courtesy and respect as part of organizational culture.

It reminds me of the time when I was fairly new to the working world. I remember hearing whispered references about certain managers and the sympathy given to new staff assigned to them:  “Too bad you have to work for that caustic s-o-b.”

This was the guy who would walk into the department without acknowledging anyone – no smile, no greeting – sharing only a scowl. Didn’t matter whether he passed one of his staff members, or a co-worker, or higher-up in the hallway (at least he was an equal opportunity s-o-b).

Maybe you’ve had the unfortunate experience to work with such a person, or know someone who has. So it should come as no surprise that research shows relationships with managers & co-workers impact overall job satisfaction.

The magic question

To assess the quality of your organization’s culture, all you need to do is ask one simple question: Would you refer a friend to work here?  It’s a loaded question, to be sure, but one whose answer will give you incredible insight into your firm’s culture.

More coming up in my next post …

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

Internal Marketing’s Ultimate Question

I had the privilege again this summer of serving as an Executive Visitor at the Iacocca Institute’s Global Village for Future Leaders of Business & Industry at Lehigh University.  And my topic was (drum roll … ): internal marketing – the importance of taking care of employees so they can take care of customers. Specifically:

  • Why organizations need to be employee-focused and customer-focused
  • What managers need to do to gain employee commitment to organizational goals
  • How managers can strengthen employee-customer relationships.

It’s a delight to share internal marketing with such an energetic & enthusiastic group.  Regardless of where the Global Village interns were from (including Sweden, Austria, Singapore, Canada, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Israel, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Hong Kong, and the U.S., to name a few of their home countries), they quickly grasped the concept of internal marketing.  In each session, someone asked the ultimate question: “If internal marketing is so basic, why don’t more companies do it?”

A simple question with no easy answer

The best explanation I could come up with, given our limited time together, was to remind them that internal marketing is really an issue of leadership & values … evident in organizations who truly care about both their customers AND the employees who take care of them.

Yes, unfortunately, there are companies out there who only give “lip service” to valuing their employees (as mentioned in numerous posts throughout my blog).  And there are managers who feel they don’t need internal marketing – the ones who presume “I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wasn’t doing something right!”  (Hmm, I wonder what their staff and customer turnover is like?)

What I learned the hard way

So I shared what I learned a long time ago in my business.  The companies who need me the most are not the ones who hire me because they’re clueless when it comes to internal marketing.  While the challenge they present might entice some consultants, I no longer waste the time & energy to sell them on the concept when they just don’t get it.

I’d rather focus my time on helping my clients – those who recognize internal marketing’s value and are committed to doing something about it, as well as those already doing internal marketing who want to do it even better.  In other words, I don’t have to sell them on internal marketing because they already get it.  It’s why I love working with them.

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Customer service Engagement Marketing

Happy Employees, Happy Customers

“Happiness in the workplace is a strategic advantage.”

So says Hal Rosenbluth in his book, The Customer Comes Second (2nd edition).  He explains: “Service comes from the heart, and people who feel cared for will care more. Unhappiness results in error, turnover, and other evils.”

I agree with him 1000% … it’s what internal marketing is all about.

Beyond the inherent logic linking employee and customer satisfaction, there’s a lot of research that supports a positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between employees and customers.  (Check out The Service Profit Chain in addition to Rosenbluth’s book.)

But do happy employees = happy customers? (It’s a question I’m often asked in my internal marketing seminars.)

It’s an oversimplification to be sure … but you can’t have one without the other.  Remember, if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers!