Marketing Column

 

Think Internally, Act Externally

 

By Jennifer J. Johnson

 

Surprised to be, momentarily, without either Outlook or a cell phone, I find myself looking on a colleague's Web site for his contact information. I call the number listed on the site and am immediately shocked.

"Who?" the voice on the other end asks, almost as if I have said something insulting.

I repeat the name — the head of a respected Utah startup.

"Hmmm ... we don't have anyone here by that name."

When I took the time to outline the credentials of the guy — CEO and founder of the company — the rep finally connects the dots, indicating that that gentleman does not work out of that office. This "information" comes to me after placed on hold for several seconds. No forwarding phone number is offered and the conversation is ended.

What can we learn from the above experience? Sometimes startups or nonprofit organizations are so focused on internal operations and business at hand that they under-appreciate, under-prepare for, and under-maximize everyday opportunities for making a positive company impression.

Every communication is a chance to communicate our brands. As such, organizations need to "think internally" to communicate externally.

Working at Novell during the early years of battling Microsoft, it was agonizing for me to watch and actually feel Redmond turning the tide of the marketing war. A big part of that was the company's frustratingly aggressive battle to control the message.

Microsoft was almost irritatingly proactive in promoting its vision, products, people and market/technology positions. Everyone, from big boys like Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, down to program managers and phone support folks spoke from the same playbook: They all, uniformly, knew Microsoft's messaging — both big-picture vision and focused, wolverine-like answers to tough questions. They knew it all, and they, assertively would communicate such, whether responding to a negative press article or addressing a technology glitch. 

During the same period, Novell was reactive — often doing nothing in response to journalists' inaccuracies or misguided opinions, then leapfrogging the issue and responding to the wrong side of the house by pulling ad dollars from publications reporting negative press.

While few of our companies will ever fight marketing wars made of the sweat and saga of Microsoft vs. Novell, each of us, daily, needs to engage in the most important of battles: Maximizing every customer, partner and influencer to further our brand.

To conclude, I offer a few suggestions for maximizing your brand through consistent communications:

>> Make sure all internal resources (even if internal means outsourced) have company-crucial information, at hand, both electronically, and, as backup, in print.

>> Set the default home page on all employees' Web browsers to your company's Web site so employees see it on a regular basis.

>> Create cheat sheets with company exec information, critical phone numbers/addresses, mission-vision-values statements, company FAQ's on big-picture issues and on "crisis" or problem issues regarding product, channel, pricing changes, etc.

>> Make an elevator pitch and teach employees how to incorporate it regularly in real conversations to real customers. Engage employees in the process of developing or updating your elevator pitch.

 

Jennifer J. Johnson is the president and founder of Johnson & Company, The Virtual Agency, is a contributor to Business Connect magazine and serves on the Editorial Board of Ad News magazine. Known as "The PR Savant" on social networks, she introduced Marketing House Party (www.MarketingHouseParty.com) to Salt Lake Marketers at a kickoff event April 25. Send any examples of smart marketing companies to jjj@joandco.com.

 

Launch - Summer 2008

 

 

For the full "digital magazine" version of Spring 2008, visit: www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/growutah/launch_2008summer/