CEC Insider

When LeBron James finally joined Twitter during his week long free agency, many predicted the announcement of his new team would come in a 140 characters, representing another blow to the role of “traditional” media in reporting the world’s events.  Instead, fans were treated to “The Decision,” an hour-long ESPN special ostensibly to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club.  The backlash to both LeBron and ESPN was swift and intense as viewers saw a media organization ceding privileged access to accommodate the figures it’s supposed to cover and the corporations that back them – all perhaps just to stay relevant in the world of Twitter.

But the immediate revulsion of the public to ESPN’s highest-ever rated softball game suggests that Americans may have seen the future of journalism and decided they don’t like it. Read More »

I’m a strong believer that Corporate Communications should lead a company’s intranet strategy.  Unlike other possible leaders in IT, HR, or the business units, communicators highly value—and are measured on—employee engagement.  The intranet has quickly evolved into a key instrument to achieving this engagement through functionalities that promote connectivity, collaboration, and productivity among employees.

That said, in most organizations, the Communications function has yet to embrace the mindset and activities necessary to transform the intranet from “digital landfill” to “employee productivity tool.”  Communicators may say they want the intranet to boost employee productivity and engagement, but then focus on superficial fixes, primarily improving the intranet’s function as an internal news distribution service.   Sharing internal news is important, yes.  Optimizing the intranet to do only that, however, is short-sighted.

How do you know if your heart is in the right place, but your activities are not? Ask yourself, “Do we…

• Focus improvements on the “look and feel” of the intranet—such as logos, layouts, typefaces, buttons, boxes, menus, etc.?
• Rely on annual “intranet satisfaction surveys”?
• Track and depend on broad metrics such as clicks and views on news stories? Read More »

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to generate no shortage of commentary.  Not only on the environmental, political, and economic consequences of the disaster, but also on a topic much more personal for corporate communicators: BP’s communications strategy.  If you’ve seen such commentary from activists (e.g., James Hoggan) or from news outlets covering the broader story (e.g., CNN), you’ve likely noticed a certain schadenfreude that permeates these remarks.  Of course, this makes them interesting, but mostly irrelevant to corporate communications professionals, aside from the minority who are responsible for crisis response in companies capable of major industrial accidents.

For the rest of us – and even for that minority – there are a couple lessons to be gleaned from BP’s handling of the Gulf Coast oil spill.  Lessons that are more subtle than the prevailing commentary and much more relevant.  Read More »

I am embarrassed to say that I watched “Out of Africa” for the first time just a few days ago. There’s no doubt I have a soft spot in my heart for Africa—I’ve spent close to a combined three months in Uganda and Kenya, I was in South Africa  for the World Cup two weeks ago (it’s Ayoba time!), and I’ve even visited the Nairobi farm of Karen Blixen, the author of “Out of Africa.” But I’d never gotten around to actually watch Meryl Streep fall in love with Robert Redford in the film.

When I finally curled up on the couch to watch it in my London flat last Monday, I was swept away by the beautiful scenery and passionate romance. But I was also encapsulated by another aspect of the movie—the importance of storytelling.

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Customer loyalty is a burning issue for a lot of companies. Marketers know that if you become a “customer for life,” you are worth your weight in gold (and if you’re a lifelong customer at The Cheesecake Factory, just imagine your potential worth!).

So, what makes you loyal to a company?  What makes you want to continue to do business with some companies over and over again, but to “drop others like 3rd period French” and never return?

As it turns out, there’s a single answer to that question when it comes to your service interactions.  Our sister program, CCC (the Customer Contact Council—just like CEC, except for heads of Customer Service) has released the definitive study on the drivers of loyalty in the service environment. The secrets are featured in this month’s Harvard Business Review—you can download the article for free—but I’ll give you a sneak peek a the answer. It’s easy.

No, seriously.  Easy.

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Rule #1 (supposedly) for writing a blog is to include links: lots, the more the merrier.  I’d never really questioned this; hyperlinks are a part of Web reading, so it makes sense to use them when you’re writing for the Web.  Furthermore, search engines reward being linked to (although less now than ten years ago), so links are a polite acknowledgement of ideas that inspire you (not to mention a subtle ask for reciprocal links).

But I’ve had an epiphany over the last two weeks, brought on by one of the few remaining sources of Web deprivation: travel, in particular, airplane travel.  (Yes, some carriers offer in-flight broadband, but not my last few flights.)  This prompted me to do something that has become almost nostalgic: break open a book.  In this case, it was Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows, which, as far as I’m concerned, is a must-read for any communicator.

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I can’t last an hour in a mall.  I’ve never really “shopped” without a mission to fill a specific (perceived) hole among my material goods.  And the only coupon I can ever remember using was an online discount at last Sunday’s golf course.  I’m oddly proud of all of those facts, and so it pains me to report that Groupon may be the most perfect example of everything CEC has uncovered about succeeding in today’s networked environment.

I assume most are familiar with Groupon’s mechanics: subscribers receive a daily e-mail offering a discount at a local retailer, restaurant, or service provider.  The site shows a minimum number of purchase commitments required by the merchant and a running tally of how many have been made.  Once the minimum threshold is reached, the deal “tips” and the transactions are processed (98% of deals tip).  Merchants acquire new customers, subscribers get a discount, and Groupon takes a cut off the deal.

I never got the appeal as a consumer, but as an observer of business trends, I’m paying much closer attention to Groupon now based on its alignment with CEC’s most recent best practices.

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If not, maybe he or she should.  For the uninitiated, World Cup fever is here once again, and superfans around the world are getting up at the crack of dawn to watch their favorite teams compete on an international stage.  Even in the United States, where Major League Soccer is only 17 years old, conversations around Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, and Robert Green at the water cooler have become ubiquitous.  With all of this passion and chatter in the workplace when one’s team scores a goal, it’s worthwhile for CEOs—and their Comms teams—to ask themselves, “How can we ignite that same sort of support for the company’s goals?”
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Still in need of vacation plans? Come to DC!

Summer can be a corporate communicator’s worst nightmare. Naturally, employees are less engaged in their 9-5 during the summer months. We’ve all got:

• family vacations to enjoy (endure);
• baseball games to watch (have you seen this kid Strasburg?!);
• barbecues to host;
• and, for we DC folk, jazz in the sculpture garden to sweat through.

This month is especially challenging for you, corporate communicators. Beyond the typical noise and distraction, you’re competing with the most watched event on the planet—the World Cup. Look to your right and left. Your colleagues who suddenly have earphones on in the morning are not listening to soothing, motivating Enya. They’re likely plugged into ESPN360.com or Univision to follow the action. Basically, no one is listening to you.

So take a break, right? Let people have fun for a few months, and reboot your engagement efforts when the sun starts to set earlier, the kids are back in school, and Q4 madness is in full swing?

Wrong. (I humbly suggest.) Read More »

I’ve learned a lot about learning over the years.  Some people learn best by reading.  Others by listening.  Some people need to have a sensory experience in order for a new idea to lock into their brain. No one style is better than another, it’s just that we’re all different.

Many communicators, for instance (being the verbal maestros so many of us are!) learn best by talking.  Sometimes words just blurt out of our mouths (ideally not in the midst of eating a Sloppy Joe) and as we hear ourselves speaking out loud, a new thought begins to take shape.

Such a blurt occurred recently for me during our first-ever Preview of our new CEC Annual Executive Retreat series, “Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment.”  In discussing the new reality of influence–the idea that people today are much more likely to listen to and believe ideas from “unofficial sources” (real people) as opposed to anything we say in our “corporate” communications–I blurted out the not-quite-fully-formed thought, “There is no such thing as social media.” Read More »