I am addressing the issue how companies communicate strategically and address their various constituencies in an effective manner that is conducive to corporate success.
My company, Fastenal, is an industrial sales company whose motto is "Growth Through Customer Service". This means that the overall growth (financial and otherwise) is achieved not by mass advertising or corporate sponsorship, but by pleasing your consumers and displaying outstanding customer service among all divisions of the company (sales, HR, management, marketing, etc.) This leads to repeat business, more and larger opportunities, as well as new customers which all leads to the growth of the business. Fastenal is achieving its objective of Growth Through Customer Service by communicating this idea to one constituency which then relays this idea and objective to the primary constituency, which is the consumer. Effective and strategic communication to the employees from management and corporate HQ is a key action because the employees need to be able to effectively communicate with the customer in order for the company to achieve its objective.
The following link is an interesting example of a different type of strategic communication plan for an organization. The article outlines elements of the plan and contains in which you can view the plan itself. This plan is from the Department of Defense and is their communication plan for the war on terror in Afghanistan.
http://mountainrunner.us/2007/09/dod_approved_strategic_communi.html.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I fully agree. I work for a company that is a Department of Defense contractor and we are always communicating our motto, "We Never Forget Who We're Working For" to our customers. We also need to be able to communicate at all levels in the company to achieve exceptional customer service and excellence.
ReplyDeleteI think Patrick raises a good point in highlighting the many benefits to effectively communicating down to the customer through "word of mouth" like tactics. I worked for a resort that relied heavily on this tactic. They strategically placed insiders in key market areas where a lot of their guest come from. This was hugely successful. The resort has been able to maintain a steady influx of guest(new and returning), some repeating yearly visits for almost 50 years. All for a relatively low price tag.
ReplyDeleteThe benefits of communicating strategically and effectively that Patrick has listed are excellent points. Currently, I work as the Facility Manager of the James Mill Fitness Center here on IUP's campus and find that we use strategic communication in our advertising very well.
ReplyDeleteSince we are on a campus that has limited recreational space, potential members view the available facilities as too much hastle. They are often worried of overcrowding and dealing with college students and envision an environment like the Hub or the Field House.
I find that we get the most response from the e-mails and advertisements that highlight the fact that this is an adult-member only facility with very limited student use and is specifically catered to those who work on campus.
Most of our members and potential members are business men and women who do not want to be around a young physical crowd. When we "communicate strategically" and do our advertising, it's found that this is one of the most effective tools we have in recruiting members.
Attached is a link to one of our most recent posts highlighting this strategic communication strategy, http://www.iup.edu/newsItem.aspx?id=83724&blogid=2667
I find it very interesting that, thus far, the examples of communicating strategically come from such different industries. This highlights the topics importance to all arenas of business.
ReplyDeleteStrategic communication techniques can not only apply to a business-consumer relationship but to the other business channels such as suppliers and employees. Almost instantly, one can gauge the communication channels a company utilize. A company with a homogeneous, clear message to all involved is able to realize advantages a company with a communication discord cannot.
In my experience in food service, the managers encouraged us to use communication techniques to cross-sell product. For example, we were told to suggest a cocktail or appetizers while the customer waited for this meal. I found that when i implemented this technique the customers were warm to the idea and often produced larger checks.
I agree with Brendan when he said how the examples have come from a broad spectrum of different industries. I feel strategic communication means involving every employee in the company's daily plan. By this I mean that each employee should know what is going on in the company and what the short term and long term goals are for the company. I believe this creates better relationships in the workplace and makes every employee, no matter their ranking, a feeling that they belong.
ReplyDeleteA company I worked for began to use head sets to communicate across departments in order to cut down on time spent using the phones. Each employee wearing a headset was able to listen in to what the task at hand was. This way, instead of two people trying to solve a problem, there were 12 people listening in which helped us come to a conclusion in a shorter amount of time. The associates and managers were all able to communicate on the same level. This gave the new employees a better sense of the message the company was trying to communicate to their customers. Also, I learned more information about the company in a month than I knew in the entire previous year just because of the things I heard over the head set, whether I was involved in the conversation or not.
Since I was unable to edit my previous comment I will leave my link here. This is the menu of the restaurant I worked in. The menu has many strategic communication cross selling tools such as wings & beer. http://www.ocpepperstavern.com/daily_menu
ReplyDeleteAlso, here is my link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/integration-key-communicating-with-constituents-74763_1.html