The Hired Hand

I recently attended a networking event in Philadelphia sponsored by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). In case you were wondering, IABC is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational communication.

Guest speaker for the evening was Mark Schulman, international chair for IABC. He admitted that he started out “old school” (typewriters and carbon paper) but has transitioned to “new school” (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Schulman referred to the journalistic style of writing known as the inverted pyramid – the most important information is first, followed by less important details. (We’ll discuss this further in an upcoming article.)

Those of us in the audience who went to journalism school nodded as he reviewed basic news style: the five W’s and the H (who, what, where, when, why and how). He says all that has changed. Thanks to the Internet, people have a hunger for instant communication. He proceeded to explain how we all can reinvent ourselves in this new playing field. Conveniently, the points he made formed a familiar acronym:

I – Insight

Learn about the audiences we’re trying to reach. That makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? If you don’t know your audience, how will you succeed in selling them your product or service?

A – Access

Give your audience access to experiences. Your goal should be to create an experience for people that will motivate them to share with others. Online, in person, over the phone – that means giving them not only the chance to listen but to be heard.

B – Business

It all comes down to return on investment (ROI). There’s much more pressure today to be accountable. You must be able to measure results, whatever you do. For example, what exactly is the impact of social media on your business?

C – Craft

For the communicators in the audience, that meant we must continue to refine our craft – the message. For business owners like you, it means going back to basics. Set objectives. Measure results. Commit to clear thinking and communicating.

The CEO needs to rethink his or her title as Chief Experience Officer. Offer opportunities for true two-way interaction with your customer. If you decide to blog, remember that it’s a conversation, not a soapbox.

So get out there and talk to your customers and potential customers. But when you do, be prepared to listen.

By the way, I hold professional accreditation from the IABC. Its website offers many resources accessible to non-members as well.

Where do you begin if you want to promote your business, its products or services?

First, get out there and network. Go to a local chamber of commerce meeting. If you’re a woman business owner, find a women’s networking group in your area. Hook up with a networking group such as Meetup or LeTip. Offer to be a guest speaker at a Rotary, PTO or other community meeting.

Think like a politician. Be a presence (have a booth/table) at local community events. And if you do, be sure to have signage, marketing materials and a sign-in sheet to capture the contact information of potential customers. You also may want to hand out freebies with your company’s name/logo on them. Don’t forget to follow up – send a simple email or make a quick phone call thanking each person for stopping by your booth.

Start branding your business – in print and online. Have professional brochures and/or fliers printed that you can leave at locations in your area. Check with your library – many libraries offer bulletin boards for free posting of community news and happenings. If you’re on the road a lot, have magnetic signs made for your vehicle.

Even if you’re not selling your product/service online, you need an online presence. Sites such as GoDaddy.com have templates that make it easy to get started and monthly fees for hosting your site are reasonable.

Once you have a site, submit it to the search engines and business directories. Write articles for your site – and others – that position yourself as an expert in your field. Links from other sites to yours will boost your ranking in the search engines.

Get to know the local media. While you may have your sights set on the area’s major metropolitan daily newspaper, start with your community publications first. These smaller publications are usually short-staffed and are looking for news items. In Bucks County, for example, the Courier Times business section runs a feature article a local business each week. If you can tie in to a current issue in the news, such as the lagging economy, even better. Of course, you always can pay for advertising as well. Remember, it’s a business write-off.

If you have a brick-and-mortar business, have signage that shouts “Grand Opening” so that passers-by will know you exist.

Don’t forget word-of-mouth marketing. Tell all your friends about your new business, and encourage them to spread the word.

You’ve heard the story of the cobbler’s kids. Their father was so busy making shoes for everyone else that his kids went around shoeless. I haven’t been exactly blogless. I have a blog – I’ve just been remiss about posting regularly.

When Barack Obama was elected president, I had planned on blogging about it. Fortunately, our president is still a timely topic – especially when it comes to public relations.

Think about it. The president is the ultimate pitch man. During the campaign, he was busy pitching the voters. He even went abroad to prove himself in the arena of world politics. Since his election, Obama is still pitching. Depending on his audience, he’ll throw a fastball, a curveball, a breaking (news) pitch.

This is PR 101 at its most basic. We distinguish between internal and external communications. The president – and his speechwriters – must put a somewhat positive spin on any given situation, for any given audience. But, as with any message, the content is only part of the package. He must be perceived as sincere and believable.

The key word here is “perceived.” It’s all about perception. Obama could give the speech of his life, but if it isn’t well received, then it’s all for naught.

The same holds true for advertising. You can have a great campaign but the claim must be believable. You also have to be careful that the creative is not so clever that it overpowers the brand (as is sometimes the case, as with big-budget Super Bowl TV spots). How many ads can you remember from the Super Bowl? How many of those ads can you associate with a brand?

Which brings me to “Mad Men.” (Yes, I had an ulterior motive here.) I think it’s brilliant TV. And it gives an honestly brutal look at the ad industry of yesteryear. Having worked on both the agency and the client side – and having witnessed my share of smoking and boozing along the way (notice I said “witnessed,” not “participated in”) – I have to wonder just how much (or little) the industry has changed in the past few decades.

We may have migrated from radio to TV to the web to mobile advertising, but these are all just channels. The message is still king (or queen, to be politically correct).

Long live the queen.

So what does the Phillies’ World Series victory have to do with PR?

Let’s start with Comcast and “the curse.” Philadelphia lore has it that no building was to be taller than city hall, with William Penn’s statue at the top. No Philly sports team has won a championship since the 1987 construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which overshadowed City Hall. And thus the Philadelphia sports curse began. In 2007, the Comcast building rose in the Philly skyline, becoming the new tallest building in the city.

A few months ago, Comcast decided to reverse the curse by placing a miniature statue of William Penn atop its building.

And tonight, it appears the curse was broken. Good PR move, Comcast.

In truth, the last time Philadelphia won a championship title was in 1983 with the Sixers basketball team.

Here’s where the story becomes personal. That year – 25 years ago – also marked another momentous event (at least in my own life). In 1983 married a Philadelphia native who was, at the time, a sportswriter. We were living in Florida at the time. On our honeymoon in Hawaii, I (whose sports loyalty was limited to the Florida Gators) could not comprehend why my new husband refused to leave the hotel room. And it wasn’t because he wanted to consummate our marriage. The Sixers were playing in the championships on TV!

In retrospect, I now understand his obsession.

Fast forward to 2008. After a 25-year marriage and two sons, my husband and I are divorcing. And Philadelphia has finally won another sports championship. Coincidence, you say? Philly sports fans may now be cursing us, wondering why we didn’t divorce decades sooner and put an end to the curse.

Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 25 years for me to write another blog post…

OK, so I’m name-dropping here. But I am sincere in my thanks to Mr. Shankman. You see, tonight I heard him speak at a River Communications Network meeting in New Hope, PA. Peter waxed poetic (if you can call his energetic, albeit ADD-induced speech poetic) about social media.

He asked the creative types in the audience to raise their hands if they have a blog. I sheepishly raised mine. You have to understand that, if this had been a classroom say 35 years ago, I’d have been raising my hand feverishly in a “Pick me! Pick me!” sort of gesture.

However, tonight I was hesitant to raise my hand because, while I have a blog, I have been remiss in posting. So thank you, Peter, for inspiring me to get off my tush, so to speak, and write.

Peter gave numerous examples of how social networking has benefited his own business. He also asked who had both LinkedIn and Facebook pages. I proudly raised my hand this time (which would be much to the chagrin of my college-age son, if he only knew).

As both a writer and a “PR person,” I also have to thank Peter for starting his HARO (Help A Reporter Out) group. I’ve used the list both as a journalist posting a query to PR folks, and as a PR person trying to garner product publicity.

Enough of the Peter Shankman love-fest. I mean, after all, the man does have a drawback – or two. As in two cats. Sorry, cat lovers, but I’m partial to canines. Hands down. Or is that paws down?

Philadelphia Park Casino blew an opportunity to garner some positive PR. Instead, its handling of a slot machine error turned into a PR nightmare.

On Jan. 22, Stephen Wilkinson was playing the slots when an electronic billboard above the machine said he had won $102,000 in a player’s club jackpot. Casino employees were quick to congratulate the him. However, it turns out that the jackpot only had a $5,000 maximum payout that day. Oops. Also turns out that an employee testing the machine from a remote site accidentally sent the winning message to the slot machine Wilkinson was playing. Oops, they did it again.

In attempt to appease Wilkinson, casino management offered him two tickets to the buffet. Hmmm… $102,000 or a bountiful buffet? Decisions, decisions. Wilkinson turned down the offer. So the casino upped the ante and offered Wilkinson $100 credit to use on the slot machine (credit, not cash, mind you). He turned down that offer as well – and turned to an attorney. He also filed a complaint with the state Gaming Control Board.

Let’s face it, for a casino that paid out more than $7.7 million in $1,000-plus jackpots since opening on Dec. 18, $102,000 is a mere drop in the bucket.

And in terms of the negative PR that could have been avoided, well, the $102,000 would have been money well spent.

Think about it. The casino could have admitted the mistake but, in a goodwill gesture, allowed Wilkinson to keep the jackpot. Imagine the positive press – possibly resulting in increased traffic to the casino. And increased revenues that would have more than made up for the $102,000 “investment.”

Instead, casino management was clueless. They risked a lawsuit and now may face fines from the gaming board. The next time someone pulls the lever and has a winning spin, I’m betting the casino management will be refining its own “spin.”

The cost of a mechanical glitch with the slot machine? $102,000. Hindsight? Priceless.

I’ve finally jumped on the blog bandwagon. Why have I waited so long? Well, I want to keep the content fresh, which will be a challenge. When I’m not working full time, parenting, doing freelance consulting, volunteering or teaching dancing, I’ll post my PR musings on this site.

So let’s get started.

A recent tragedy in our community could very well have ended up a PR nightmare, but it was handled with professionalism and compassion. A routine tox screen of a DUI suspect at a hospital turned deadly. Police removed the suspect’s handcuffs so he could submit a urine sample. One armed officer remained in the room with the suspect, with a second officer posted outside the exam room door.

The supsect managed to grab the first officer’s gun and turned the gun on the officer, wounding him. He then fatally shot the second officer and wounded an ER technician. He fled to the hospital roof, where we was apprehended.

What immediate action did the hospital take? It went into lock-down mode, meaning no one could leave any floor. This was mainly for the protection of everyone in the hospital. Several staffers in the vicinity of the incident were evacuated and remained outside the hospital during the ordeal.

What immediate action did the police take? Trained to respond to such situations, they literally surrounded the hospital. The main road leading to the hospital was closed. Residents of nearby neighborhoods were unable to leave. Employees of nearby businesses were forced to remain at work until the coast was clear.

Did anyone point fingers of blame in the wake of this tragedy? No.

What follow-up actions did the hospital take? It revisited its policy of how patients in police custody are examined. Within days, a more secluded area was designated for such cases.

What follow-up actions did police take? The department acknowledged that, while all police procedures were properly followed, perhaps more precautions could have been taken. The out-of-uniform officer did not have his gun in a safety-lock holster. Neither officer new of the suspect’s previous violent behavior, information accessible only from computers at the precinct – not from computers in police cars out in the field.

What PR lessons are there to be learned from this incident? First, communication is key, in any situation. In a crisis situation, however, a crisis communications plan must already be in place. Second, even after the crisis is over, it’s not over. Once the media frenzy has subsided, it’s time to re-evaluate policies and procedures.

The death of the police officer, one who was particularly well-like and respected, hit the community hard. Hundreds upon hundreds of residents lined the streets for the funeral procession. That’s why compassion is such an important component of crisis communications. During and following a crisis, emotions run high. The organizations and businesses that deal with crises on a personal level are those that will create positive, long-lasting relations with their publics.

If you’ve ever stayed at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, you know that when it comes to customer service, the Ritz does it right. Every employee – from the bell hops to the bartenders – makes you feel welcome. And special.

So what’s this got to do with PR? Everything.

Think about it. If you’ve had a more than pleasant stay at a Ritz-Carlton, you’re going to tell your family and friends about it. Some might call this word-of-mouth or buzz marketing. I call it brilliant PR.

On the contrary, if you’ve had a less-than-satisfactory experience, you’re also likely to tell others about it. Buzz gone bad.

So the Ritz makes sure you’re welcomed with open arms. Every employee greets you with a smile and a “Good morning,” “Good afternoon” or “Good evening.”

As William Aruda notes on the MarketingProfs.com site: “Every employee gets it. They just get – and are able to deliver on it consistently. That is what makes the Ritz-Carlton brand synonymous with extreme customer service, and that’s what turns customers into evangelists.”

Amen.

So what can other businesses learn from the Ritz? They can incorporate customer service best practices into their employee training. They need to rethink how they think about PR.

At its most basic level, PR is not about a fancy-schmancy press kit or how many mentions your business gets in the media. It’s about customer service, plain and simple. That’s why it’s called public relations. A business that can relate well to its customers understands the importance of PR.

Maybe “PR” really stands for “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”