GSPR Marketing Communications

HOW TO RAISE YOUR PROFILE AND PUNCH ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT

Too often in a recession it’s the marketing budget that’s first to go. It’s almost a knee jerk reaction for most companies, who view marketing as an expense and not an investment. Despite numerous research reports (like the latest McKinsey one) proving that companies that axe marketing budgets in a recession have either failed or significantly underperformed, most don’t have the nerve or vision to read ‘downturn’ as ‘opportunity’.

So now is NOT the time to disappear from view.  When you really need to stay visible to customers and prospects, re-focusing resources on a sensible PR and communication programme can help to get your business noticed and keep your services front of mind. It’s cost effective and above all an opportunity for smaller companies to raise their profile and punch above their weight.

The key is staying focussed and spending wisely. Here are some practical pointers to what you can do to get your business noticed while others are cutting back:

UNDERSTAND YOUR PROSPECTS

These might be sectors you are already selling to, or new sectors that you haven’t tried before. Determine what’s driving them, the areas where you can add value and shape your offering accordingly.
It’s obvious really but frequently overlooked. Successful companies really know their customers (Think Tesco’s or Amazon). Poor understanding, by contrast, equates to lost opportunities or messages that simply fail to resonate.  At the same time monitor what your competitors are up to – this too can provide ideas.

STAY VISIBLE

Getting your business noticed and keeping your products and services front of mind are crucial. Focus on the print and online media that reflect the audiences you are trying to reach – which websites do your customers/prospects visit and rate?  Which trade media do they read?  If you are marketing locally which business publications and business sections of local papers are there? Be clear about the decision maker you are targetting - the Financial Director, the Operations Director or perhaps the owner manager?  Who influences the decision to choose your products or services?  Understanding your customers and the media they read, can help you reach them. 

ISSUE YOUR OWN RELEASES

Think about special offers you could extend to readers of your local paper or a sector of your prospects and issue a release to the local or trade press.  By regularly issuing news stories about your services and offerings to these websites and media you’ve got a greater chance of them being used and raising your profile.  As well as incentives and offfers you can publicise how you’ve helped your customers in contract wins and successes.

Use current events as an opportunity to write for the letters page or to offer opinion or comment on issues of the moment – GET YOURSELF HEARD – it’s not as hard or as costly as advertising and it will carry more credibility!

Use directories - get listed in print & online product & service directories – many are free or low cost.

MAXIMISE SUCCESS & BUILD CREDIBILITY

In a recession customers need assurance they’re doing the right thing.  So build your credibility and their confidence by putting out information that validates your offering.  Remember endorsement by your customers or media saying what a great job you’ve done or how whizzy your products are will be believed far more than what you say about yourselves.  So when adding material think about testimonials eg:

·       Short case studies on the customers you’ve benefited with      quotes

·       Reviews and awards

How?  By putting quotes in proposals, customer letters and in the press. Highlight them on your web site. Send case studies with a relevant topical twist to local and vertical media.

Then capture the coverage you receive – share it with prospects and display it prominently in your web and e-marketing.

WORK YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS / KEEP IN TOUCH
Getting new customers on board is important, but focusing on your existing customers, those with whom you have already done business, will pay dividends.  Keep your company visible and front of mind as they are far more likely to choose a company they know than one they don’t.

Keep them updated with what you are doing – personal email or letter works best. Offer special incentives for repeat business. Sharing your knowledge and expertise will help to increase your value to them.

WEBSITE
Get your web site up to scratch. Ensure it’s updated, current and dynamic with compelling propositions for the audiences you are targeting. Include customer endorsements and case studies. Make it crystal clear what you’re offering is, how you do business and how to contact you. Above all make your site easy to find and reference your website in all communications.

For more ideas please call us on 01635 569992.

Excellent piece in recent FT by Ade McCormack
about why it is important to focus on the customer experience. 

“How entwined is your business with your offerings? Does your mission statement read more like a product catalogue? Mono-trick pony outfits in particular tend to focus on their offering rather than the customer experience.
I propose that in an on-demand, real-time, Darwinian, agile, Web 2.0 world, becoming too closely associated with your offering is a dangerous thing.
Smart companies are braced to have a refreshed set of offerings should conditions change. Those that insist on product orientation – or even service orientation – may as well issue their staff with market-sensitive self-destruct employment contracts.
As an investor warning, it may become law that such companies suffix their incorporation status to denote the associated risk. Acme plc (temporary) or Widgit Inc (transitory) will become the norm.
I suggest an experience-oriented approach. In other words your marketing message will focus on the nature of the customer’s encounter with your organisation, whether that be easy, quick or luxurious.
The assumption is that your core offering, whatever it might be, is as good if not better than your competitor’s. The reason for choosing your organisation is for the uniquely positive experience that you will provide in the course of delivery.
Most “front of house” staff realise this. Unfortunately, many back-office staff do not. There is an experience step-change for customers who, having been charmed by the sales team, are treated brusquely by the accounts department when querying an invoice.
At board level, CIOs are encouraged to be more experience-oriented in respect of customers, users and boardroom colleagues. The key question is how can CIOs improve the perception these stakeholders have of their department? This may seem far-fetched, but job number one for the CIO is brand management. Service levels, governance, security and other high profile matters will all be seen in the context of the IT function’s reputation.
But many of us need to woo and retain customers. In a time-starved, self-centred, affluenza-ridden world the customer wants it all and wants it now. Those that recognise that IT will increasingly underpin the customer experience are likely to attract shareholders who are similarly seeking a positive experience.” ¦Ade McCormack (ade@auridian.com) is founder of Auridian (www.auridian.com)

So, you’ve got your news story.  You’ve looked to see why this is the right time to announce it (it co-incides nicely with topical news about a problem your product solves). You’ve even got a sample customer who has tried it and is prepared to give you a testimonial.  

You’re half way through your campaign to raise your profile and this story is the high point. 

You’ve already described to your PR Consultant the Decision Makers you want to inform and the Influencers you want to sway.  She has made progress with the 10 most relevant target media (both on-line and off-line).  

The script of compelling reasons why this story is better than the last has been practiced.  You’ve persuaded her that a pressured, time poor, cynical journalist will want to know more about your story.

So now she’s ready to go - it’s a Wednesday morning, 10.30 - the perfect time to sell in, when the journos should just be sipping their morning coffee.  Bingo - you think - what could possibly go wrong now?

Nothing, if you are confident your Reputation is as squeaky clean and polished as your story.  If you are a great employer, your business practices are transparent and your products and services patently trustworthy and offering value for money, you should be on the home straight.  Read no further.

But organisations that do not believe in ethical business practices - prefering poor staff retention, unusual HR policies, questionable green practices, no plans for carbon offsetting, late payment schedules, unhappy supplier relationships, “sharp” business practices and frequent recourse to lawyers should beware. Sustained, positive media relations can work wonders - but not miracles.  Journalists are not fools and people talk.  Perceptions are real and reputations powerful.  While the power of PR is strong, it is there to hold a amplify positive messages - not act as a front to unsound business practices.