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By Steve Campbell
First published in BCTIA’s The Monitor
March/April 1995

The lessons to be learned from the Rogers Cablevision’s negative billing nightmare and Intel’s chip fiasco is that they can occur to almost any business, large or small. The one difference between the problems Rogers and Intel experienced and the many small crises that affect most IT companies – or any business – on a regular basis is that the major news media picked up the stories and leveraged the damaging effects to both companies.
 

Whether the media covered the story or not, both companies still had a crisis on their hands. A customer problem is always important because how it is resolved magnifies a company’s reputation in the marketplace and reveals much about the business’s true commitment to service and quality.
 

Reviewing the cases of these corporate giants is valuable in that it assists all companies large and small to learn more about managing the various problems (product problems, poor service, delayed deliveries, poor quarterly results, etc.) that afflict all businesses on a continual basis.
 

Here are some general tips to keep in mind when you sense a crisis is brewing:

 

Determine the facts. Often you first become aware of the impending crisis through the rumour mill. Developing an appropriate strategy first requires gathering the facts surrounding the case. Rogers was understaffed during the peak customer complaint period at Christmas and their phone lines were jammed. As a result, management underestimated the extent of customer backlash.

 

Divide the crisis into problems (which can be solved by quick action by the company) and issues (ongoing situations that require action over a longer time frame). Intel had a problem: the quick solution was replacing a defective chip. Unfortunately, slow reaction time on the part of the company ballooned the problem into an issue: customers began to question Intel’s commitment to quality and customer service.

 

Work from the customer’s perception, not yours. Intel believed that one error every 27,000 years would not be a concern for its customers. But IBM’s belief was that it did matter. Intel’s refusal to deal on its customer’s ground forced the computer giant to turn to the public and media.

 

Set up a crisis management team (or coordinator) and give them the authority to deal with the problem. By its very nature a crisis is unexpected; therefore, someone must be assigned to handle it. If warranted, make the crisis the team’s sole priority. Disseminate information about the team (contact phone numbers, etc.) to everyone in the company and ask them to relay all information (facts and perceptions) to the crisis manager. Divide the team’s assignments into immediate problems and issues that require long-term solutions. Above all, be well organized in approaching the crisis; it’s important to present a professional, responsive image to the public.

 

If the crisis becomes public and the media become involved, set up a media relations team. Monitor media coverage closely. Media coverage greatly accelerates public awareness by informing tens of thousands of potential customers all at once, and day after day. The perception newspaper writers and television reporters have about how you respond to the crisis are crucial. Right or wrong, they, like the public, often judge you on how you respond to their calls and concerns. Part of this is due to a difficulty understanding technical issues in the IT industry.

 

Correct all factual errors promptly and respond to customer letters and phone calls as soon as possible. Every phone call and query should be answered. If a solution is not immediately available, promise action or more communication by a specific date. Even if you can’t solve the problem right away, provide as much information as is available. This will reassure the complainant you are at least interested in his or her concerns. In Rogers’ case, customer queries and concerns were blocked due to overloaded phone lines and understaffing; this led to frustration, the feeling the company was inaccessible and a search for other avenues of communication. One such avenue, inevitably, was the media.

 

Once the crisis reaches the newspapers and television, act quickly. It is difficult to respond publicly to a new development without adequate information. Yet, speed is critical. Rather than wait for complete information, it is better to meet with the media, address questions as best you can and tell them you will be back when you have further information. Newspapers have deadlines; television stations must broadcast their stories at 6 p.m. Failure to put in your company’s point of view within the media’s time frame means the day’s story will be incomplete and likely one-sided – the other side’s.

 

Over the long run, the most valuable recommendation is this:Don’t let everyday unsolved problems accumulate into major public relations issues and crises. Develop a proactive communications plan for speaking and, more importantly, for listening actively to your key markets. Ensure your crisis management strategy and communications plan is kept up to date.
 

Mandate all levels of the company to maintain contact with the customer base. Conduct customer surveys on a continuous basis and listen carefully to what they are telling you. If each of Rogers’ senior managers had spent just a few weeks within the last five years on the customer frontlines, it is unlikely the company would have been as poorly prepared for this past winter’s (1994-95) crisis as it appeared.
 

Finally, the reason companies are often caught short when these types of problems occur is that during the course of conducting regular business, company management usually has more “important” things to worry about than effective communications. Items like raising capital, increasing sales, and working in product development typically top the list of most business agendas. Yet, when you think carefully about it, the success of every area of the company – sales promotion, investor relations, product development, customer relations, media relations and marketing – is heavily based on clear and concise communications. Don’t wait for a crisis: whether large or small, make sure your company has an effective communications plan of action and the commitment to implement it. You can bet it’s at the top of Ted Rogers’ agenda.

 

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About the author:
Steve Campbell, APR, is president of Campbell & Company Strategies Inc., a communications and public relations firm based in Vancouver that helps its advanced technology and knowledge industry clients obtain national and international media coverage for their products and services. He is professionally accredited as a PR professional by the Canadian Public Relations Society. Steve can be contacted at (604) 888-5267.

How to use international media coverage to boost export sales without leaving home

By Steve Campbell
Campbell & Company Strategies
First published in the Vancouver Sun

 

The 1998 Team Canada trade mission to Latin America underscores the fact once again that Canadian companies can successfully export their products to the world. Yet, sales and marketing initiatives – such as joining the prime minister on a trade mission, advertising in international trade magazines, and organizing foreign sales trips – can be expensive, especially for Canada’s smaller exporters. Since many of these programs usually don’t deliver immediate benefits, a substantial sum of money can be risked simply to determine if a foreign market is receptive to a product or service.
 

There are other ways to promote export sales, however. A public relations and communications program designed to gain non-paid media coverage for products in international trade magazines presents one cost-effective way for small- and medium-sized exporters to leverage the thousands of marketing dollars required to open up new markets. A targeted campaign can also help gather market intelligence and determine foreign interest in a product before a costly sales program is embarked upon. It achieves these goals by obtaining sales leads, and product or technology inquiries, from readers of international trade journals. Here are some tips on using free media coverage to boost your export sales.

 

Add strategic value to your product launch. As you roll out new products or updated versions of older products, it’s vital to strategically organize the international media launch to ensure your company maximizes the potential benefits. Trade magazines in every industry are swamped with new product offerings. Nevertheless, approached properly, they are still receptive to reviewing information and giving valuable coverage to legitimate products. In the advanced technology industry, for instance, the demand for product information is so great that magazines like EE Product News and EDN Products focus just on reviewing electronic products, acting as reference sources for their technical readers. Every new product they list receives a reader service card number that can direct hundreds of potential sales leads and other inquiries to a company – inquiries that can be used to determine market interest in a product and generate actual sales.
 

One B.C. manufacturer’s new product offering recently received as many reader service inquiries from non-paid editorial coverage in two separate U.S. trade magazines as it did from a more expensive advertising campaign. The tremendous market response helped convince the company their new product had appeal, and led to an expansion of the product’s marketing program. Increasing the quantity of leads also helped leverage the cost of creating product brochures and other marketing materials. And sales leads are not the only result of trade magazine coverage. One software client’s news release generated a phone call from someone interested in buying the company! One of those reader reply sales leads may be your next big export order … or your company’s new investor.

 

Exploit your web page and e-mail. The Internet and e-mail have created a revolution in the business of export sales. These tools allow potential customers to transcend time zones and make immediate contact. How valuable is a website to international sales? Well, one Vancouver electronics manufacturer already receives 10 per cent of its worldwide business leads through its site – the equivalent of customers walking right in the front door. Since your Internet connection now allows new customers on the other side of the world to contact you anytime for information, make sure your website is tailored to the interests of your foreign markets and is designed for easy navigation.

 

Develop company news announcements. To support your export marketing strategy, use every bit of company news available – new product announcements, staff appointments and research developments – to obtain coverage in industry magazines and keep customers, distributors and sales reps aware of your company. New R&D developments, large contract signings and company awards should all be evaluated on a regular basis for their newsworthiness for trade magazines. If there’s industry interest, consider sending a news release or regular newsletter to the publication. But be careful: watch what you send and how often you send it, as some editors will be put off by a stream of inconsequential news.

 

Offer technical articles and research information to trade magazine editors. Using your in-house expertise is an excellent way to gain profile and recognition for your company and its research efforts. Every successful exporter is an international leader in a particular industry; that’s why their products and services sell. Smart companies use their leadership in the technical arena to provide magazine editors with information on emerging trends, a technical report on a thorny industry research problem, or a well-written “how-to” article that can be published with little editing. And, since busy editors are often overwhelmed with work, your assistance and initiative helps build a working relationship that will make them more receptive to new product announcements and other submissions in the future.

Hire a specialist to focus solely on obtaining international media coverage. Some CEOs assign their communications manager a large number of generalist duties. This heavy workload makes it difficult to apply the concentrated effort required to obtain media coverage for products, projects and technical articles. The best way to get results is to have an experienced professional work solely on media relations. If this is not possible, consider outsourcing the program to a PR consultant with expertise in the area. Either way, you’re well ahead of the game, as a concentrated effort is the key to any company’s successful penetration of the international trade media.
 

These tips are just a few of the many ways to utilize targeted communications and public relations programs to determine or enhance foreign market interest, draw sales leads, and leverage an established sales and marketing program. Ensuring every marketing campaign contains a full measure of these cost-effective components is one of the keys to boosting export sales, without leaving home.

 

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About the author:
Steve Campbell, APR, is president of Campbell & Company Strategies Inc., a communications and public relations firm based in Vancouver that helps its advanced technology and knowledge industry clients obtain national and international media coverage for their products and services. He is professionally accredited as a PR professional by the Canadian Public Relations Society. Steve can be contacted at (604) 888-5267.