Many years ago, I was donating money to the same organization as my parents. They were always talking about how responsive the group was, sending them updates, an annual congressional directory, and the like. When I observed that I wasn’t getting any of that, my mom suggested I call them and ask.
The response: Oh, yes, that’s because they give more money. But you can buy our congressional directory (at a price that was higher than the more-comprehensive ones put out by commercial outfits). I never gave them another penny.
Clearly, not every customer, donor, or client is the same–but don’t you want every one of them to think they’re special?
Contrast that to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has treated me like a rock star since my first donation. Their model offers three lessons for business:
Information–SPLC routinely sends me relevant information, including progress reports, Teaching Tolerance kits (a schools-based program), and examples of why they exist and my participation matters.
Personalization–It’s not hard these days to personalize a message, and yet many organizations forget to tie it to me. SPLC routinely thanks me, and they call me “Ms. Steigman” and don’t presume a familiarity that isn’t there.
Results–As the photos above show, SPLC tells me what they’ve done (and thanks me for my role in it). Sure, my donation barely registers in their operating budget, but it’s good to be recognized for my support.
There’s one more thing that I suspect that SPLC knows: regular, long-term small donors are often the best prospects for planned gifts (i.e., big bucks). This is akin to the way that your regular customers are often evangelists for your brand and a good source of referrals.
Are you putting information, personalization, and results to work in your business?
I wrote here about the secret to a great client relationship (hint: it’s about how you communicate). Now I want to talk about a related issue: understanding how your audience is listening.
For example:
Have you ever had someone say, “Well, I tweeted about that”? Okay, but I didn’t see your random tweet at a random-to-me time in a sea of tweets from the 500+ people I’m following.
Have you ever had someone tell you they posted the event to their LinkedIn Group? Great, except I get a weekly digest and your event was three days ago.
Have you ever had multiple people send you Facebook notifications for the same event, even though you’re on the organization’s distribution list and so have obviously received at least one event invitation (and possibly signed up already)? Gee, now you’re spamming me.
Here’s the problem: When you do this, you’re making assumptions about my behavior and how I use various social media channels. Get it right, and we’re cool. Get it wrong, and your message is lost. You become irrelevant. Or worse, I unfollow, unlink, or unfriend you.
Whether you’re asking directly, monitoring online behavior, or accessing analytics, it’s important to understand how people consume information.
What strategies do you use to understand how your audience is listening?
I was listening to the UStream feed from Hawaii on Saturday. While I was generally impressed with the state’s emergency preparedness planning, there was one piece of advice that I think needs revisiting. When asked where people should turn for evacuation details, officials advised checking the routes printed in the phone book.
With more people ditching their landlines and even more of us relying on the Internet and smartphones for information, just assuming people have a phone book seems out of touch.
Do you have a phone book? And where would you turn first for advice in an emergency?
My friend and uber-trainer Lee Watts asked me the other day about collaborative blogs. His idea is to bring together several colleagues in related fields (i.e., sports performance, nutrition, physical therapy, and so forth) to create a broader and more dynamic go-to resource. His question got me thinking about the broader pros and cons of collaborative blogs. Clearly, it’s a good idea for some businesses–but not necessarily for everyone.
There are definitely some benefits to having a collaborative blog, including:
potentially richer content across a sector, industry, or profession
you aren’t responsible for all the content
there are more people to share the posting load (which is exponentially more valuable when the primary posters aren’t natural writers)
the potential to attract a more diverse audience drawn in by one or more of the key areas of expertise
But there are also some downsides:
your company loses its unique branding
loss of control over the content (versus having your own blog)
you gain responsibility for bad content, but without the ability to remove it (i.e., whatever is on your collaborative blog reflects on your brand)
there’s a danger of losing blog focus
it’s harder to fire someone if they’re producing badly written or dull content
My recommendation: Keep your own blog and use guest posts to beef up your content and create opportunities for cross-blog collaboration. This will allow you to (1) keep your branding intact while showcasing your broader referral network; and (2) guest post to other blogs (and expand your visibility with new audiences). The exceptions: If you believe your area of expertise is too narrow to sustain a blog or you are unlikely to post at regular intervals.
The H1N1 virus is serious business, but talking about flu prevention shouldn’t be deadly dull. Now it’s not, thanks to this public service announcement by “hip hop doc” John Clarke, whose day job is medical director for the Long Island Railroad.
I like how the judges thought about their primary audience (H1N1 is disproportionately affecting kids, teens, and 20-somethings) and looked for an approach that focuses on how to communicate, not just what to say.
Welcome to Steigman Communications and the Independent Thinking blog. Daria Steigman is a business-savvy communications strategist who helps organizations develop and execute communications solutions to help them achieve their business goals. Her blog looks at the business of running a business, entrepreneurship, communications, social media, strategic thinking, and--of course--Independent Thinking.
Many years ago, I was donating money to the same organization as my parents. They were always talking about how responsive the group was, sending them updates, an annual congressional directory, and the like. When I observed that I wasn’t getting any of that, my mom suggested I call them and ask.
My friend and uber-trainer 