A communication and pr model for international management consultants 2011 official version

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White Paper

A COMMUNICATON & PR MODEL FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

CONSULTANTS

Magnus Penker, August 2011

[email protected]

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A COMMUNICATION & PR MODEL FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. GENERAL THEORY 7 2.1. Strategy 7 2.2. The 7Ps 8 2.3. The six markets 9 2.4. Branding and Integrated Marketing Communication 10 2.5. The Service Value Chain and Serviced Orientation 11

3. EXECUTING 13 3.1. Stakeholder Management 13 3.2. Brand Management: Positioning, Segmenting, Targeting 14 3.2.1. Q&A and Policies 14 3.2.2. About Positioning 15 3.2.3. Segmenting 15 3.3. (Digital) Branding, Communication and PR 16 3.3.1. Corporate websites, corporate blogs, press releases and white papers 17 3.3.2. Channels and presence 18

APPENDIX A – AN EXAMPLE OF ENGLISH STYLE GUIDELINES 21 Spelling 21 Style/tone of voice 21

APPENDIX B – EXAMPLE OF CODE OF CONDUCT STRUCTURE FOR A PSF 22

REFERENCES 24

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1. INTRODUCTION

This report aims to transfer my (the author’s) structural capital and tangible know-how in driving communication, especially PR and promotion, within international consultancy companies. The report is based upon my 15+ years experience of communication and of driving traditional as well as digital PR within international professional service firms (PSF). The role I have had in the different organizations has been as CEO, Chairman, VP of Training, advisor and external consultant.

Communication is universal and takes place through many channels. PR is only one part of the communication mix but a very efficient one for PSFs as it is B2B and highly dependent upon trust and a good reputation. To understand reputation and its management there are three key questions:

1. Reputation with whom? That is, the key stakeholders you want to impact. 2. Reputation for what? That is, what do you want to be known for? 3. Reputation for what purpose? That is, how can the reputation you want help your business

become more successful?

The first question is linked to stakeholders and corporate strategy, the second question to the purpose of the business strategy and the last question is linked to communication including sales and marketing as well as the products and services of the firm.

Most premium PSFs are niche players, or at least want to differ in some way, otherwise they would be considered as commodity vendors, as in the employment industry. This is also an important part of the context when discussing the theory and experience of communication. The classic communication mix is built on:

• Advertising • Sales Promotion • Public Relations (PR) • Direct Marketing • Personal Selling

PR, sales promotion and personal selling are, in my experience, the most efficient tools, whereas advertising and direct marketing are not. This becomes very important with physical evidence, the people and the process in itself, i.e. the whole experience. This will be further explored in the general theory section as this is the additional 3P to Kottler’s classical 4Ps (also called the service marketing mix). Moreover, this is also linked to what is often referred to as the service value chain, also explored and contextualised in the general theory section. Both the general theory section as well as the execution section are structured and influenced by the six-market model, (adopted for PSFs from the originator Payne, Payne, & Ballantyne, 2002):

1. Client (Customer) Market: The buying market, normally the consuming market. Clients are normally considered as the prime source of new and extended business.

2. Referral Market: Typically intermediates, agencies like law firms and corporate finance firms, ranking institutes and other actors. Trusted and credible in the eyes of your potential clients - a reason to help them find other PSFs to team up with.

3. Influence Market: Media, bloggers, and potential analysts for listed PSFs. 4. Talent Market: The market for finding talented people to employ.

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5. Internal Market: Employees and management. 6. Supplier Market: Might be strategic partners or vendors of assessments, tools and other

strategic infrastructure.

Some years ago, I conducted a survey of why some European management consultants had better sales performance than others. The result was based upon eleven years of sales statistics in several European countries and clearly showed the complexity and linkage between success and trust. As Figure 1 shows success comes from: executive confidence; using and building personal networks; being two (consultants) in a meeting with decision-makers; as well as the ability to judge your own efforts and the potential outcome. Success did not come from the number of meetings or how experienced you are in coaching and guiding executives. However, all consultants in the survey had many sales meetings (on average 4-6 sales meetings every week).

Figure 1 A survey based upon eleven years of sales statistics in several European countries

Combining executive confidence and the ability to judge your own efforts, empowered by internal marketing and the ability to attract individuals in the talent market, with extensive networking with clients and the utilisation of internal resources (team play) increases the possibility of success substantially. By adding the referral market as well as the influence market and the supplier market the odds in favour of potential success are even higher. The referral market and the influence market are very much about PR and promotion, while the other markets are very much about personal sales. The talent market is always about personal sales but can be boosted by good PR.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Many CEO mee4ngs

Many follow-‐up mee4ngs

Using/Building own network

Two in CEO-‐mee4ngs Forecast ability

Execu4ve confidence

Experienced in coaching

Highest sales

Lowest sales

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Generally speaking, the B2B buying process in the PSF market contains the following steps:

1. Perception of need (rational) 2. Short-listing of suppliers (emotional) 3. Evaluation of offers (rational) 4. Selection of suppliers (emotional)

Where steps 2 and 4 can be influenced by PR and promotion, steps 1 and 3 are based upon rational thinking and how well your value proposition is presented. Or, as Gummesson (2002) put it, “it is about many-to-many marketing where value is created in a web of stakeholders”. Also the Boston Consulting Group’s C.W. Stern and G. Stalk Jr point out in their book Perspective on Strategy (Stern & Stalk Jr., 1998) that in today’s business society you are more of a link in a values chain than a supplier, and in the world of PSF this means that you have to keep in mind the perspective of multiple stakeholders.

A potential dilemma is, however, that PR and personal sales are local and branding is global. Branding is strongly linked to marketing, sales and communication, but also it is linked to delivery. Delivery is often possible to achieve with global resources in PSF, and even to be preferred in order to strengthen and give evidence of the brand promises internally as well as externally. But marketing and sales are carried out locally while communication in general tends to be more global as digital media become more and more important. Especially within the PSF market where English is used to communicate even in local markets. This inherent conflict between branding and the communication mix, in conjunction with that of products or packaged services developed locally, often will lead to PSFs creating organizations based on a House of Brands in an attempt to replicate the anecdotal successes of consumer giants such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble and General Motors.

However, as a result of these attempts, and the lack of proper brand discipline, inconsistent naming policies and brand dilution, diversification has now become a common challenge within many PSFs. Generally speaking, too much freedom is given to local managing directors and top consultants to name and nurture their own darlings. In fact, many of the product brands evolving from these local kingdoms are just labels for products and services which could just as easily have been referred to by a generic description and the company name. This does not mean that it is wrong to package or name products or services, but it ought to be done under the same label and as the rest of the firm does. A common way of handling this is to work with sub-labels and within a clear structure.

Just a few words on pricing strategy for PSFs since it is important and linked to branding, PR and communication. There are four main pricing strategies:

• Price skimming

• Price leadership

• Penetration

• Follow market leader

For a premium brand PSF it is recommended to apply price leadership or follow market leader; however for packaging offers, such as surveys, price skimming is recommended because the offers will be considered as a product and be more attractive at the start (= you can initially set higher prices and skim the market).

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Due to market logic and the kinds of relationship in the premium PSF market it is vital to attract, retain and develop relationships both in the talent market as well as in the client market. Long-term relationships, mutual understanding, as well as interdependency and trust building activities lead to profitability. This is also why many consultants price dump to get new accounts, not to be recommended if you are into serious premium consulting and long-term thinking. As already mentioned, low prices will shift brand perception from premium to commodity. However, to give away something for free might be an efficient strategy since, according to negotiating wizards such as Cialdini (1884), it creates a feeling of debt and a need to pay back without destroying the value perception of the brand because no price was involved. This is also the rationale behind packaging due diligences, pre studies, tools and surveys because they prove capability but are more or less impossible to value other than as an actual benefit to the client. They cannot easily be compared and cannot destroy the brand via low fees. At the same time they highlight opportunities and threats to the clients experienced and discovered mutually and display the capability and personality of the PSF.

In summary, the competitive advantages of a strong B2B brand (the reasons for doing all this) are:

1. Impact on the client’s confidence, as in staying on the list in the process of purchasing 2. Enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty, which lead to lower cost of sales 3. Price premium in correlation to perceived differentiation and added value 4. Economy of scale in marketing, with no need to explain everything all the time 5. Positive impact in internal market, talent market, influence market and referral market 6. Suppliers want to partner you, give a premium on the purchase price and level of service 7. Increased market cap

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2. GENERAL THEORY

2.1. Strategy

There are generally three levels of strategies. According to Walker, Mullins, & Boyd (2010) the corporate level (what business are we in), the business strategy (the direction) and functional strategies such as marketing (segments, positioning, channels, pricing, communication, client acquisition, customer service), finance, delivery and HR. However, all these strategies are linked to each other and branding is a part of every level. Every strategy should have:

1. Scope 2. Objectives 3. Allocation of resources 4. Sources of competitive advantages 5. Sources of synergisms

The corporate strategies can be linked to business growth strategies, which in their turn can be linked to functional product and marketing strategies. See Figure 2 for how business strategies can be linked to functional strategies.

Market penetration

Strategy

Product development

strategy

Market Development

Strategy

Diversification Strategy

Corporate Strategy (What business are we in) is linked to Business and Functional stategies

Current Market

NewMarket

Current Product

NewMarket

Ansoff ’s Product-Market Expansion Grid (link to

functional strategies)

Generic strategies according to Porter (can be combined with Kottler’s business strategies)1. Cost Leadership (or Cost Focus = high integration with few customers and low price)2. Differentiation (Be different)3. Focus (On one or several specific niches)

Business Strategies (Kottler)

1. Intensive growth2. Integrative growth (M&A)3. Diversification Growth (Walt Disney started

with merchandising, when you have strong business capabilities that can be used somewhere else)

4. Downsizing and divesting older business

Figure 2 How business strategies can be allied with functional strategies

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Moreover, a central part of how to execute marketing strategies is whether the firm is market-driven or market-driver, as it impacts on how to act and react upon past, present and future drivers and triggers on the market. This is linked to all three levels of strategy and is a part of what sometimes is called the raison d'être, (French for reason for existence), the basis for all brand management.

2.2. The 7Ps

The 7Ps, sometimes referred to as the Service Marketing Mix, is a tool to understand where marketing is taking place and how that will implement the brand promise. This is also linked to the five product levels symbolising the customer value hierarchy as discussed by Kottler & Keller (2009).

The first Ps are Product, Price, Place and Promotion and the three new service Ps are Process, Physical Evidence and People. The 3Ps are linked to the experience and the unconscious judgment of the first four Ps. Clients will look for physical evidence, people aligned with the brand promise who feel trust and confidence in the process to buy into product, price, promotion and place. PR and Communication, in the case of PSFs, are very much about creating and proving the intangible evidence needed to support a semi-rational decision made by the client. For instance, if I select McKinsey I know (= believe) that I will have high quality delivery built upon best practice (rational), but I also know (= believe) that no one can fire me for selecting them (emotional). However, when starting to work with them you will look for evidence because you might suspect that there are other firms able to do the same thing for a less premium price. This means it is crucial for a premium player such as McKinsey and others, to provide this evidence.

Physical evidence might be the location of the office, which in the case of a PSF must be a prime location. Other physical evidence is the dress code of the staff (not only the consultants). The dress code must be aligned with the brand promise. Please note that dress code might differ even among premium brand consultants and agencies. Market-oriented premium consultants are supposed to dress more fashionably than strategists, who are expected dress classically, while lawyers are expected to be more conservative. Other physical evidence comes from the quality of reports (paper and printing), the style of the office (not only if it is clean and tidy, but also special scent, lighting, colour used, fabric of furniture), as well as how the office is organised.

Typically PSFs are very uneven in their process quality. Let´s give a few examples. Do you write down exactly what to say before leaving a voice message or do you just go with the flow? Most consultants just go with the flow. At McKinsey, many of them actually write down the sentences to be left on an answering machine (Rasiel, 1999). That’s a good idea if you are to deliver a premium experience. Other consultancy firms I have worked for regularly invite clients to real-life meetings in front of your colleagues (typically on kick-offs). After the meeting the client and your colleagues give you feedback and eventually you get an order from the client. This creates a high degree of urgency and real feedback on the customer’s experience of working with you. Last time I did that was with a consultant manager in a management consultancy company; and we had him fired afterwards. Do I have to tell you that the sales increased just a few months after that? Brutal? Maybe. But how brutal is it to charge for premium work and not deliver it?

The last P, people, concerns both the process and the physical evidence but is also, as referred to in the introduction, executive confidence. The CV is also of great importance, and many times way too

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little effort is made. The person you meet and interact with is the ultimate confirmation of your choice of PSF and who you will buy from in the future.

Five product levels, symbolising the customer value hierarchy as discussed by Kottler & Keller (2009), are linked to the 7Ps and can be described in PSF terms as:

Core benefit: The service or benefit that the client is really buying. It is often about competence, confidence or evidence as many managers are anxious, less competent and/or with internal issues. This is very important for PSFs to understand. You really need to understand what your client is actually buying. For a law firm it might be about off-loading responsibility, for a management consultant about a second opinion or an investigation providing proof for a direction the manager wants to take. But for marketing, advertising and event agencies it can be about having fun or being invited to the right parties in town. Moreover, and frequently, it is also about securing the next step in the manager’s career or indirectly working out a back-up plan, having friends in a few harbours.

Basic product: At the second level, the marketer must turn the core benefit into a basic product. This is typically reports or surveys, but it can also be about execution. Many times this is not what the client thinks she/he needs although it is exactly what she/he needs. This is a dilemma, and therefore the basic product is often packaged and offered as an analysis with implementation support. But there are also exceptions, with strong and confident executives they are really buying a possibility as a core product and they want the basic product execution of that possibility.

Expected product: At the third level, the marketer prepares an expected product, a set of attributes and conditions buyers normally expect when they purchase these product/services. This is typically professional and trained consultants, ready to work around the clock, producing expected deliveries always on time.

Augmented product: At the fourth level, the marketer prepares an augmented product that exceeds customer expectations. In developed countries, brand positioning and competition take place at this level. In developing and emerging markets such as India and Brazil, however, competition takes place mostly at the expected product level. Typically this is about securing the future of the business.

Potential product: At the fifth level the potential product encompasses all the possible augmentations and transformations the product or service might undergo in the future. Here is where companies search for new ways to satisfy customers and distinguish their offering. It might be new kinds of tools and systems for measuring, tracking and benchmarking, always helping the client to be one step ahead.

2.3. The six markets

Payne, Payne, & Ballantyne (2002) divided the market into six, all with their own marketing and communication mix. The six-market proposition has been adapted to suit the PSF market and is built up of:

Client (Customer) Market: The buying market, also the consuming market, consists of existing and new clients normally considered as the prime source of new and extended business.

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Referral Market: Typically intermediates, agencies like law firms and corporate finance firms, ranking institutes and other actors, trusted and credible in the eyes of your potential clients - a reason to help them find other PSFs to team up with.

Influence Market: Media, bloggers, and potential analysts for listed PSFs.

Talent Market: The market for finding talented people to employ.

Internal Market: Employees and management.

Supplier Market: Might be strategic partners or vendors of assessments, tools and other strategic infrastructure.

Each market has its stakeholders with different levels of power (P), legitimacy (L) and urgency (U). The stakeholders with a high significance in all three dimensions are often referred to as definite stakeholders, the ones with high significance in two dimensions as expectant stakeholders and those with only one significant dimension as latent stakeholders. Typically clients have high P, L and U while media often has high P and L but not U (if not, something really bad happened). Bloggers might often have high P but little L and little U, and so on.

Classifying each market’s stakeholders and mapping them to a communication mix, helps in setting and executing a marketing and PR plan. Also see 3.1.

2.4. Branding and Integrated Marketing Communication

The B2B Brand Wheel (Mudambi, Doyle, & Wong, 1997) is maybe the most referred to model for B2B brand internalisation, see Figure 3.

Figure 3 B2B Brand Wheel, Source: Mudambi, Doyle, & Wong (1997)

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As the model shows, B2B brands are built upon tangible and intangible aspects, in the dimension of product, company, service and distribution, which can be mapped to the Service Marketing Mix and the 7Ps. According to the leading brand agency Interbrand, the following principles govern and guide global brands:

• Recognition

• Consistency

• Emotion

• Uniqueness

• Adaptability

• Management

These all are applicable to PSF branding together with the Brand Wheel. Often Brand Management, when it really works, is aligned to the corporate strategy and the culture of the business. A very interesting and illustrative example of branding is Domingo Pizza which has calculated the lifetime value of their customers as $10,000. The staff are trained from the first moment to serve all customers as though they actually bought a $10,000 pizza each time. This is branding.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is one of the present trends, and it is about aligning communication in all markets and in all channels in order to maximize the impact per Euro spent. However, it is also about involving and getting feedback from the six markets as well as adapting the messages to each target group. This is also very close to the trend of open innovation where clients are involved in value creation.

2.5. The Service Value Chain and Serviced Orientation

Satisfied employees will stay longer and produce better results within the service industry, also in PSF, and therefore generate better results for customers. This will lead to customer satisfaction, and increased customer loyalty, with more repeat business and a better profit and revenue growth as a result (Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser, & Schlesinger, 2008). This does not mean that we should avoid conflict or slacken the reins, it means that strong values and purpose of the business aligned with all processes and activities, including talent management, training, leadership, communication and deliveries is the foundation of generating profit and growth through satisfied and retained knowledge workers. This is also the link to Intellectual Capital and Social Capital of PSF (described in the report ‘A Structure and Model for how to build IC in a Management Consulting Company 2011).

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Figure 4 Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work. Source: Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser, & Schlesinger (2008)

To fully understand the issue of service quality, the Service Quality Model by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry (1985), shown in Figure 5, can be used. It shows five potential expectation gaps where service quality can be gained or destroyed.

Figure 5 The Service Quality Model. Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry (1985)

Note how PSF can create, or close gaps, between marketing (gap 4), sales (gap 3), deliveries (gap 5), business development (gap 2) and strategy work (gap 5).

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3. EXECUTING

3.1. Stakeholder Management

A way of manage the stakeholders of a PSF is to classify them and analyse how to relate to them. A framework that can be used for this is presented below in Figure 6 (also see 2.3).

Stakeholder Power

Legitimacy

Urgency

Stakeholders Interest and Type (Latent, Expectant, Definite)

How PSF relate to the stakeholder

Clients Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No

Describe the interest they have here, what kind of stakeholders they are.

Describe how you are relating to and managing them.

Referral Market (Might be sub grouped, typically mediators, agencies, ranking institute)

Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No



Influence Market (might be sub grouped, typically media)

Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No



Internal Market (might be sub grouped as partners and associates)

Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No



Supplier Market (might be a sub group)

Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No



Talent Market

Yes or No

Yes or No

Yes or No



Figure 6 Penker’s framework for analysing stakeholders mapping them to the strategic intent of a PSF.

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3.2. Brand Management: Positioning, Segmenting, Targeting

Brand Management is about differentiation, decision-making, risk reduction and relationship building. The brand signals what the business stands for functionally and emotionally. The Brand Platform is normally built upon the following elements:

Earned Core Value – perceived value by our stakeholders

Our Vision/Mission and Wanted Position – what we want to be, and for whom

Brand Values – the core values

Brand Promise – what we promise the market, as in the pitch

Brand Personality – how we want to be seen and what we want to be associated with in our communications – tonality, type of images, tone of voice

Brand Identity – the physical evidence such as logotype, typography, colours, written and spoken language, design of material (such as office) and immaterial (like PowerPoints, Word Reports) assets, as well as templates including charts and layout. Must always be used to reflect the brand values

Naming Policy – directives for naming of products and services

Brand Measurement – what to measure, why, when and by whom

3.2.1. Q&A and Policies

Often Q&A (Question and Answers) are made in workshop form to internalise the brand platform and to make it transferable to other parties now and in the future. Brand management is very much about tacit know-how and must therefore be handled that way (See the internal report about building IC in management consultancy firms).

Typically a set of policies is also developed to guide and align the brand platform with the execution and follow up.

English Policy – The language has a great impact on how a firm is perceived. For instance, if you use American or British style and spelling; active or passive form; action-oriented language or a more theoretical and formal language. It makes a fundamental difference if an executing-oriented PSF uses an action-oriented short, urging style of language in, say, a staff-coaching report, or a passive, formal, academic style of writing with long complicated sentences. This is what is called tonality of language. See Appendix A for an example of an English Policy I have developed, in conjunction with one of Sweden’s most experienced international copy editors with clients such as the CEO of SKF, for a PSF with an execution-oriented way of operating.

Code Of Conduct – A code that shall be mandatory and accepted fully by written notice. It will apply to all employees and subcontractors as well as associates, business partners and suppliers. To be efficient it must be delivered in training, as well as monitored and measured for violations. It should also be public and published on the corporate website in order to be trustworthy. See Appendix B for a common structure adopted to fit an international PSF.

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CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the most important and efficient ways of implementing responsibility, fairness, cooperation and thereby a fertile working environment for new ideas and a supportive atmosphere where people always deliver and care as much about the team and the client as about themselves. In my experience, real CSR means actually rejecting people who are only driven by their own agenda – which in the long run is good for a knowledge working environment and the trustworthiness of a brand promise about caring for the client on a deeper level (which consultants with their own agenda do not do). ISO 26000 is a standard that might be applicable and/or Triple Bottom Line reporting.

Compliance Rules - The set of rules regulating what to do and what not to do, even if this is not directly linked to branding, PR and communication it has to be in place and aligned with the brand purpose and its execution.

3.2.2. About Positioning

A positioning statement is a short descriptor explaining how your firm’s products or services differ from those of your competitors. In fact, it's just another way of describing the vision, mission, strategies and branding. The advantage is that positional statements developed from a clear outside-in perspective will be perceived as more active and feasible than vision and mission statements. However, the wording is not the real issue. What you are actually doing, your direction, is the real issue. To refer to two former colleagues and marketing gurus, Rolf Jansson and Tommy Falounius, ‘In most cases you cannot expect employees to have more than one statement about their company’s purpose and future stuck up on their walls. In reality it is hard enough to remember just one.’

A positioning of a product, service and/or a PSF shall be customer centred:

• Visionary • Differentiated • Sustainable • Easily communicated • Motivating • Flexible

A typical form of positioning statement is: Convince clients and the talent market That PSF XX is the one able to deliver superior insights and execution Because of XYZ…

Positioning diagrams can be very helpful in explaining how your PSF is different from your competitors and is a useful tool for developing the brand promise as well as the position statement. A position diagram is built upon a key differentiator on the Y-axis and a key benefit on the X-axis. The rationale for this is that it is more sustainable than a specific feature. Here is an example of how Segmenting

Segmenting a market can be based on several principles; typical discriminators are demographic characteristics, size and trade of the clients, growth ambitions, kind of management. Segmentations are preferably made upon an external and internal analysis, and where the analysis scopes a sweet

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spot for positioning. Typically the process is: Segmenting the market -> choice target group -> positioning the firm and/or offer to that specific target segment. A segment shall always be

• Measurable • Accessible • Substantial • Differentiable • Actionable

A benefit analysis is made by map benefits (client’s perspective) to the segment (the set of client entities), map that to the degree of attractiveness of that segment (firm’s perspective), and then map that once more to the firm’s business capabilities. Attractiveness (can be made by assigning points):

• Size • Growth rate • Profitability • Nature of competition • Bargaining power of buyers

Business capabilities (can be made by assigning points):

• Strategic fit with long-term objectives • Core competencies and capabilities • Desired relationship with customer

The result of mapping segments to benefits, to attractiveness, to business capabilities is that this gives the best target groups to position the firm to (whole firm or specific products/services).

Benefit of successful segmentation is typically:

• Designing to meet the needs of the marketplace • Determining effective and cost-efficient promotional strategies • Evaluating market competition and position of the company • Getting insights into present marketing strategies

Ultimately a value proposition is formulated for each target segment, which, together with the position, are the fundamentals of the marketing mix and successful sales, PR and promotion. Typically value propositions are scoped and address a specific need in a trade (vertical), function or discipline/cross-discipline

3.3. (Digital) Branding, Communication and PR

Today, there is little difference between traditional and digital PR, communication and branding. However, as the digital arena is so much broader, less local and more global and less explored (changing all the time) than traditional PR and promotion, there are reasons to give some advice about it, based on my experiences working with digital channels since 1994. Also, digital PR is strongly linked to traditional PR. Let’s take an example like white papers, often distributed electronically, virally spread and ultimately linked to a CRM portal where people log-in to get the WP originally or the newest update/addendum/version. At the same time it is possible to use this offline,

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print it, sent it in to newspapers, or even turn it into a paper/article in a business magazine, scientific journal or a physical book.

3.3.1. Corporate websites, corporate blogs, press releases and white papers

A corporate website for a PSF is mainly used for the three stakeholder groups who want to check up on the firm. It is not for driving sales but it is necessary to build the brand and offer the emotional proof to these stakeholders:

Talent market: Before entering a PSF you will, as a global talent, check that this PSF has values aligned with yours, that it is the right step for you, but also that it will be perceived as a clever step by your environment/business eco-system. This is where the corporate website comes into the picture, it enables talented people to send a link on to other people legitimising their choice and convincing them to make a rational (but emotional) decision to get onboard. This also means it is essential to have functions such as Like, Add This, E-Mail This and a presentation of all consultants with a link to their LinkedIn profiles (which are properly updated and in line with the PSF’s values). Moreover, registration functions for talents as well as case histories, interviews with top performers (aligned with the current need of talents, because people attract the same sort, age, background and so on). White papers, links to media clips and corporate blogs as well as trend watches get visitors into the culture and level of professionalism with an on-the-spot account of the company. Typical mistakes are consultants with pictures and or descriptions not in line with the brand promise and value of the firm, which will negatively impact on the perceptions of those checking out the firm as the next step in their career.

Client market: Clients primarily use the web to legitimise their choice or checking out the firm before a meeting, after a meeting or when receiving an offer. They typically Google the firm for a digital footprint. Not having a digital footprint is suspicious, but having the wrong one will destroy opportunities. As you cannot control the Internet, you need to build your own story by having the right kind of set up on the corporate website with high class content, links out and in (from the right communities), as well as the social functions listed under talent market.

Influence market: Typically ranking institutes, award institutes (such as A Great Place To Work), the media, bloggers etc. They use the site in the same way as clients, but they might only spend half as much time there. So it needs to get out the message efficiently, which sometimes fails on PSF sites because they are way too complicated. Also add a section for PR/IR with cases, photos, contact details, and so on.

A blog might be one of the most efficient tools to impact all the stakeholders mentioned above, building the right kind of digital footprint to make people interested and invite them to hang around. Efficient corporate blogs are driven by a handful of people, with their own personal tone and interests, publishing their own posts in the flow. This opens up the blog to following favourites as well as giving a broader picture, always with something new and interesting. A common mistake is to write non-personal threads, trying to sell or advertise, without opinions and/or complicated writing.

Powerful headlines, short and intensive posts dealing with news and trends are what work. Have an opinion, a hypothesis, invite a discussion, use poll hosts, link to bloggers (and use trackback and pings so they can see you are linked to them). Make statements with trackback on popular sites. Most importantly, decide what is to be your tone and point of view. An issue often discussed in PSFs is the

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English language. As a blog and not corporate information it does not need to be 100% accurate. However, there are plug-ins to WordPress from Wordy.com (and others) that can be used to get instant proofreading. I have used external editors editing within 3-4 working days, but that is way too slow. Wordy.com and others can do it in the same day, which is a must for a blog that needs to be current.

Another possibility to create a high degree of urgency is to collect everything that happens around the PSF and its consultants (blogs, news, press releases) and present it on the site using RSS.

Moreover, sending out press releases through global systems like Cision Wire (or News Desk) is an efficient and cheap way of impacting the digital footprint as they (the press releases) get ranked highly on search engines. It is also possible to build up, over time, a database of journalists and other influencing stakeholders, as well as talents and clients, to send out press releases to create confidence.

Regarding white papers, one of the most powerful tools:

1. They should be announced by using traditional PR such as a debate article, as well as getting bloggers and others to write about it linking to a free version on, for instance, SlideShare.net. Moreover, e-mail all earlier registered people who had downloaded white papers before. (See below)

2. After created buzz, and a lot of papers floating around, close the free channels and upload it on your portal (with registration). E-mail all registered people (allowed as it is B2B) about news such as new versions, addenda, and new white papers as well as new surveys.

3. Turn the best papers into seminars, books, articles in business magazines, as well as publish them in scientific journals and to PR once again.

Moreover, it is also advised to link internal reward systems (career step, pay grade, etc) to how much and how successful (e.g. number of downloads) the consultants publish themselves as well as the PSF as it this is a task needed to be done outside paid working hours (and lots of hours are needed).

3.3.2. Channels and presence

There are several possibilities to build the brand online, generating a digital footprint in the direction you want to strengthen and support your desired position, brand promise, as well as company culture and myths.

SlideShare.Net

This is the most used source for legally downloading white papers, presentations, amongst others. With 50 million monthly visitors and 90 million pageviews, it is amongst the most visited 250 websites in the world. It is possible, for a very low fee, to brand a company’s own channel, where white papers, slides, abstracts and reports can be pushed out. This is also an efficient way to get a higher ranking on search engines (impacting the talent market, influence market and client market when they check up on the PSF).

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Wikipedia

By adding authorities and writers associated with the PSF, credibility is increased and the search engine will rank it highly.

LinkedIn

This is one of the most important channels for recruiting, checking up on potential people before a meeting, getting introduced, as well as spreading the message of the PSF through updates, presence, poll hosts, linked blog flow and interested groups. It is important that all consultants present themselves in line with the PSF since they are the message that the firm’s text is accurate and that all blog flows are linked to each individual in the firm. Moreover, consultants should constantly add people, extending their network, asking for endorsements, and potentially linking to services like Mixtent. The larger the network a PSF gets, the easier it will find new accounts as well as checking up on talents, journalists, mediators, clients and other stakeholders.

YouTube and TEDs

Video recording of seminars and keynote presentations is an efficient way of getting the messages out. On YouTube.com you can have your own firm’s channel for free. My recommendation is to use YouTube as a second channel, and find primary sources giving credibility to the messenger such as TED. Being able to get only one of the consultants, or senior advisors, to give a talk at TED is more brand building than anything else and will last for decades.

Book

Writing Open Source books gives the opportunity to spread the word, but also lets people add their own touch to it although you are the originator. This can be distributed through many channels and might also benefit from a community site. However, communities must be maintained on a daily basis, with a critical mass, which is not an easy task. Open Source books are more likely to stimulate communities than are commercial books. However, it is also possible to combine the two.

It is also recommended to apply for the Google Book Partner Program, which is an excellent way of getting commercial books out as well as open source books, white papers and reports.

Speaker agencies and training companies

A way of branding a PSF is through its consultants, which can create both a point of contact with clients as well as strengthen the brand and wanted position (online and offline).

The same applies to well known training companies and trade associations. This is also a way of getting the PSF tag line out. Other sources are international networks and specialised training centres.

Yellow Pages, e-mail signatures, business card, company house

It is a good idea that all consultants are listed in all important phone books like Yellow Pages on the Internet, also with the tag line of the firm’s name. Very often this is not done, leading to an unprofessional impression and a lost free opportunity of getting the tag line and the brand out. The same applies to communications such as invoices, business cards and e-mail signatures.

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In all electronic media, it is also possible to dynamically push happenings like breakfast seminars, events, white papers, training programmes and new products. Especially with e-mail signatures it is easily done and easily changed on a weekly basis.

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APPENDIX A – AN EXAMPLE OF ENGLISH STYLE GUIDELINES

Spelling

The Oxford Press dictionaries suggest keeping traditional British spelling but go with z instead of s in verb endings (optimise/optimize). This is also the preferred style of the Oxford University Press in books published in Britain. The z of course also makes a text more acceptable to American readers.

Watch out for verbs that are never (even in America) spelled with a z. The list is long and includes revise, disguise, compromise and advertise just to name of few of the most common ones.

In British English, the spelling of colour, favour, harbour, labour is used. Color, favor, harbor, labor are not consistent with British spelling.

The choice between programme and program is not only about spelling. The form program is used when the word refers to computer software. In other occurrences, it’s programme.

Capitalization in headlines: don’t. Headlines get harder to read and it looks very strange to most European eyes. This of course applies to running text as well. A value proposition, for instance, is written with lower case v and p. Designations of offers and services are written in the lower case. The most common exception to this is titles, they are capitalized: Managing Director, Senior Vice President, Logistics Manager.

Style/tone of voice

Clarity of language is clarity of mind. Clear, concise and easy to read works best. Long, abstract words with unclear meanings or multiple interpretations should be avoided.

If the focus of the Group is consultancy services related to intangible company assets, this would suggest an informal tone – which allows for forms such as that’s, it’s, there’s, and so on. Informal can also mean colloquial, when needed – but for the sake of respect and credibility, don’t use slang and jargon.

If possible, avoid over-used corporate buzzwords and jargon. If there is another expression you can use, then don’t use language like win-win situations, synergy realizations, moving the goal posts, and road map.

Acronyms can be tiring. Any text with too many ROI, USD, FAQ, LIFO, POD, and RFQ gets hard to read – and the reader may not always know what the acronym stands for. Spell it out whenever you can.

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APPENDIX B – EXAMPLE OF CODE OF CONDUCT STRUCTURE FOR A PSF

1 Introduction

1.1 Additional documents

1.2 Violation of this Code of Conduct

2 Our business principles, values and ethics

2.1 Rules and regulations

2.2 Communication

2.3 Environment

2.4 Finances

2.5 Clients and trades

2.6 Equality

2.7 Performance management

3 Our way and values

4 Our environmental responsibility

4.1 Environmental classification, reporting and inspections

4.2 Waste and water management

4.3 Handling of chemicals

4.4 Carbon neutralisation

4.5 Training

5 International trade

5.1 Antitrust laws

5.2 Money laundering

5.3 Import and export control and sanctions and embargo

5.4 Human rights

6 Workers’ rights and prevention of child labour

6.1 Basic rights

6.2 Wages, benefits, working hours and parental leave

7 Health and safety

7.1 Building safety

7.2 Fire safety

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7.3 Accidents and first aid

7.4 Working environment

8 Monitoring and enforcement

8.1 Transparency and co-operation

8.2 Monitoring

8.3 Corrective action

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REFERENCES

Cialdini, R. B. (1884). Influence: The Phycology of Persuation. New Your: Quill, William Morrow and

Co.

Gummesson, E. (2002). Total Relationship Marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann.

HESKETT, J. L., JONES, T. O., LOVEMAN, G. W., SASSER, E. J., & SCHLESINGER, L. A.

(2008, July-August). Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work. Harvard Business Review .

Kottler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management (13th edition ed.). London, UK: Pearson

INternational.

Mudambi, S., Doyle, P., & Wong, V. (1997). An exploration of branding in industrial markets.

Industrial Marketing Management , 433–47.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985, Fall). A Conceptual Model of Service

Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing , pp. 41-50.

Payne, C. M., Payne, A., & Ballantyne, D. (2002). Relationship marketing: creating shareholder value.

Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Rasiel, E. M. (1999). The McKinsey Way. Mc Graw Hill.

Stern, C. W., & Stalk Jr., G. (1998). Perspectives on Strategy from The Boston Consulting Group. Wiley &

Sons.

Walker, O., Mullins, J., & Boyd, H. J. (2010). Marketing Strategy: A Decision Focused Approach (7

edition ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

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“..because the execution of an idea is always more important

than the brilliance of the thought..”

(Harvard Business Publishing – Morgan, Levitt & Maleck – INVEST model)

Date post:	31-Oct-2014
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