| Issue 11, May 2003 |
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This is m-news, M Power’s monthly e-newsletter. We hope you enjoy reading it. M Power is a consultancy which empowers organisational and individual performance. m-news covers related themes – six quick snippets about business, organisational and individual effectiveness, communication and public relations.Communication empowers. Karen Morath, managing director, M Power The ‘quick six’ for May are
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1. Information the key to 'spreading the word'
The 'influentials' (who we introduced to you in the m-news book review in March), the group of Americans which influences the decisions of the majority of the rest of Americans, are influenced by learning and information.
For communicators, this means that editorial is favoured above advertising in almost every category of decision making (except movies to see, videos to rent and where to buy a bargain). In fact, the preference is so strong that advertising does not rate in the top five methods of gaining information in almost every sector, including 'places to visit', 'saving and investing', 'cars', 'retirement planning', 'ways of improving health', 'improving home appearance', 'websites', 'computer equipment', 'best brands', 'hotels to stay in' and 'prescription drugs to use'. Communication with this vital group of influential people should be information-rich and credible, which favours editorial public relations initiatives. Influencing this target market will become a major trend in public relations in the near future.
Source – The Influentials by Ed Keller and Jon Berry, The Free Press, USA 2003 | |
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2. A quote we like “Beliefs are the foundation of our lives. An empowering belief won’t guarantee success, but it does make way for the possibility of great outcomes.” Source – The Most Valuable Lessons I Have Learned, John McGrath, Harper Collins, 2002 |
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3. Tips to creating an innovative organisation |
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Source - Creating an innovative organisation, Madhu Fernando, Management Today, April 2003
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4. Order filling is not customer service (gratuitous plug for M Power) |
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I was berated recently by the customer service manager of a retail company who was insisting that just because they hadn't been in contact with me at all in the three months since I had made a major purchase didn't mean that they hadn't provided me with excellent customer service. Their rationale? I seemed happy when I bought from them. Anyway, they insisted that their customer service is always excellent so therefore it was in my case too. What they were overlooking was that if you don’t provide any service it certainly can’t be regarded as excellent customer service. Also their organisational design problem of having one person in a retail (or any) company whose job it is to serve customers (what do they do in sales? what is the principal's role?) is flawed. But the most compelling point is that, as the customer, only I know if I feel that I have received good customer service. It is not their call. In fact, until they are sure that my needs, whims or wants have been satisfied as best they can be, there has been no special customer service at all. Order filling is not customer service. The same applies to communication. The big banks send a steady stream of brochures and the like out to their customers all year in the guise of communicating with us. But there has been no communication at all until - or if - we the customers read, understand and are engaged by the content of those brochures. The provider of the customer service needs the feedback of the customer to know how satisfying the customer service has been. The communicator needs to have engaged its target and received feedback or changed behaviour to know how effective the communication has been. Customer service programs and communication programs in themselves are nothing without the involvement, or ideally the approval of those they seek to influence. When either stands apart from the rest of the organisation, there should be warning bells ringing. M Power consults in the areas of communication, customer focus and service. We would be pleased to assist your organisation.
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5. What an economy needs - some thought starters about business practice |
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What an economy needs – some thought starters about business practice by environmentalist Rob Gell “An economy needs four types of capital to function – human, financial, manufactured (infrastructure) and natural (the environment).” “The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of our environment.” “Growth in
“How much growth is enough?”
“The challenge of sustainability is to do twice as much with half as much.”
Source – Rob Gell was speaking at the 2003 Rotary Lectures, organised by the Rotary Club of Essendon.
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| 6. This month's book review | |
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Fish! – a remarkable way to boost morale and improve results, Stephen C Lundin PhD, Harry Paul and John Christensen, Hodder and Staughton, 2000 Wow! This is fabulous. Fish! uses the same story telling approach as ‘Who moved my cheese?’, using a parable to make its points. At its most basic, it is about having fun at work and adding value to the organisation and its customers as a result. It’s a quick 107 page read that has already become a publishing phenomenon, with several follow on books already in circulation. There are seminars, videos,…. you get the idea. This is the type of book that changes the way you think and if you let it, how you behave. I went out immediately and bought the sequel. To buy Fish! from Amazon click here.
© M Power 2003 | |
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