The Credibility Branding Blog

Not Buttoned Up? DON'T Launch

Here is a perfect example of how the press can crucify your company if you are not ready for the hard answers. This article ran in Adriane Kingsley-Hughs ZDNet blog...

Why Psystar will sink without a trace over the next few weeks

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 6:39 am

I thought I’d written all I would on the Mac-clone company Psystar, but I’m back for a little more. While my inner geek thought that what the company had going was interesting, I’m now almost certain that, hoax or not (and I still have no reason to believe that Psystar is a hoax), Psystar will sink without a trace over the next few weeks.   

I’ve given Psystar the benefit of the doubt and cut the company a lot of slack, but I’m now in agreement with Larry Dignan that, at best, the company is run by amateurs. And amateurs that have made some pretty major mistakes at that. You can’t change the address of your company four times in the matter of a few hours without attracting some level of negative attention. You can’t bad-mouth your credit card payment processor and say that it couldn’t handle the volume of transactions when that is a lie. Then switching to PayPal only to have that rug yanked from under them just underlines the clumsy, Clouseauesque way the business is being run. You also can’t dodge simple questions, such as those posed by Brian Caulfield writing for Forbes, without seeming a little suspicious:

Still, Pedraza is short on the sorts of details most startups won’t shut up about. He won’t go on the record about his educational background, detail his professional history or name any previous ventures. The company’s Open Computer is based on a machine put together by his brother (whom he won’t name), he says.

Bottom line, I think that Psystar is going to have a hard time finding a payment processor willing to handle transactions for the Open Computer....

...Given a reasonable 7 to 14 days turnaround for the Mac clones, customers who managed to order systems before Psystar’s credit card processing facility was withdrawn should be seeing their systems delivered next week or the week after. Then we’ll at least know that Psystar is real. But I don’t see even glowing reviews being able to save Psystar now. [For the full story click here]

-----------------------------

So what is the lesson learned from this disastrous PR outing? Be ready for those tough questions. If you don't want to talk about your background then don't be a spokesperson for the company. If your company doesn't have the corporate credibility bring in someone who does and make sure he/she can handle tough media questions. Controversy is not a bad PR strategy, just have good answers to back up what you are doing. This is a typical case of arrogance overcoming strategy.

Be ready to launch... have a media trainer run through the tough questions and strategize the answers, have the best spokesperson be the front person. Make sure your points of credibility are in place (Strong management team, product with a clear ROI, Marquee partners, brand recognized customers or endorsers, and a strong industry trend to leverage) and if not have an answer for the alternatives.

Chris Anderson of Wired Slams PR People - A Response

On Tuesday Chris Anderson the editor in chief of Wired magazine wrote a blog complaining about PR  people. He has a point there is a significant problem on both sides of the PR equation, editors and PR people alike have sincere difficulties navigating the current model. Chris went a little to far I think and outed those PR folks who he felt had inappropriately pitched him over just the last 30 days by publishing their emails addresses. This is the power of social media, one can have an emotion and express it immediately on one’s blog. While I don’t think Chris’ tactics were anything short of childish, I do think those same tactics have started a firestorm of open dialog. The blog “bashing” kind of scrappy insults and some truly thoughtful input. Check out the blog post and the over 300 comments it is quite interesting. His reaction and outing might all be worth it to create change.

From a personal perspective there is a real down side, I was on that list. I was shocked and surprised but alas there is my email for all to see, spammers et al. It was embarrassing and a real punch in the gut. So why, you are asking am, I sharing this with you? Well because the discussion is worthwhile AND there is a lesson in crisis management.

I have talk about the elements of crisis management on this blog, and here I am in one. My email is being blocked by the publications I need to reach, many ISPs took Chris; spamming accusation seriously and I am now black listed on many accounts making my job almost impossible to accomplish. But more importantly my name was besmirched.

So what do I do, call Chris a jerk or take responsibility. I was thinking to myself what I would recommend to my clients? It would be to take publicly take responsibility and not offer excuses but look for solutions. So below is that effort. I also posted what you see below as a comment to Chris’ blog becoming another voice as part of the chatter responding the challenges he posed.

It was a very nice gesture to receive and email back from Chris this morning, commenting on my comment, he said:

“Just a quick note to thank you for the thoughtful comment. One of the best, I thought.”

-- Chris

My Comment Posted on Chris’ Blog:

Mea Culpa. I am on the list. And I have to say I felt shame all morning. I know better, I have been doing this for over 20 years. I even wrote a book. The PR climate is challenging at best these days, but I took a short cut, which will get you in trouble no matter what business you are in.

Bottom line is I made an error in judgment and have to face this rather loud unruly music as a result. But I think this dialogue is a good one. We have heard what Chris and many other editors have contributed here. And beyond the comments here I have personally heard from many long time PR folks who are tired of being berated by overworked editors for the methods we use to contact them. I was at a PR function last week and the Los Angeles Times editor said “PR people should be seen and not heard.” Judging from that comment combined with Chris’ blog post the level of respect PR folks can expect from today’s editorial community is quite low indeed. This is not a complaint, it is simply an observation. But it is hard to take sometimes.

The PR industry is broken.

Here, from my perspective, are some of the challenges today’s PR professionals face:

• Client budgets are often quite low yet their expectations are off the charts. It is almost impossible to do the level of due diligence that editors are demanding given these smaller budgets. That is not to say that editors should not be demanding the research –of course they should. But should an editor go off the deep end because we sent and iPod pitch instead of a gaming pitch. Well maybe, because at the end of the day he doesn’t cover iPods, and it is understandably frustrating to constantly receive pitches that aren’t relevant.
• Editors are overworked and many cover too many industry verticals because budgets at publications are tight and downsizing has been a regular occurrence. So, most editors are taking on way more than in the past. The Los Angels Times used to have over 1200 editors they now have 800. The news hole hasn’t changed that much, yet there are less editors to fill the same      space. The other problem from downsizing is reporters change their beat quite regularly, so tracking them has become more difficult. Within this challenging environment, in an effort to keep editors up on our client’s products we likely overdo it from a pitch perspective (both in number and email length) in part because it is more and more difficult for editors to take the time to respond.
• There are fewer publications to garner coverage from, especially from a traditional hard copy magazine perspective. Most clients don’t perceive results on Blogs or online publications as “real” coverage. So more companies, with more PR people, and fewer editors receiving 100s of emails      per day equals a big problem.
• Many of our clients have multiple vertical markets and therefore multiple publications beyond the tech trades. Once again the sheer amount of time needed to do due diligence on each reporter is not something that most budgets can accommodate.
• The PR agency model (given current budget ranges) does not allow for experienced senior personnel to be doing media relations. Agencies in turn are under huge pressure to make a profit, especially public companies. The result: more junior people executing most media relations programs. This business paradigm does not offer an environment conducive to the demands of the editorial community. These are precisely the demands that Chris is making.     
• By the time a PR person is senior enough to know all the right editors and understand their likes and dislikes they are so burnt out by this environment that they leave the industry, and the cycle of junior employees starts again.
• Agencies with many small clients have to cover too much editorial ground. It is harder and harder for agencies and even freelancers to specialize in a particular vertical niche and still survive.

So what is to be done? Is it up to us as PR professionals to manage our client’s expectations for results? Yes! For example explaining the news environment, setting placement expectations etc. Yet clients look at the thousands of dollars spent each month (whether it is 3$K or $30K) and have a boss to whom they must justify that budget. Even if we share with clients that, for example, the half page coverage placed in BusinessWeek was equal in ad dollars to more than 2 years of PR budgets spent, still does not make up for the one month where coverage did not appear. So, is it always possible to set proper expectations? Unfortunately no. Sometimes the cost of doing business forces us into a corner and perhaps into making mistakes. But there is an opportunity to change this… perhaps it is time to simply be that broken record to our clients and offer continual explanations and recommendations of the reality of market conditions that perhaps the “news” they are creating is not enough. If the company still pushes for pursuing bad stories we walk away from the business. That is a hard road, because there is always an eager PR pro or agency that is willing to pick up the business and agree with the client that the “other” PR firm they hired didn’t know what they were doing.

Back to this particular matter, despite the fact I made this list, I recommend searching the publications site first using relevant keywords to see who is writing about the client’s topic. Read the articles and send an intelligent well thought out pitch based on what the editors has written about. Use services like Vocus to validate or find the email for that editor. (See my blog post about There is NO “free publicity” http://credibilitybranding.typepad.com/blog/2007/04/there_is_no_fre.html ) Did I do that for Chris, no and he is right to be upset.

I do think Chris’ particular response is a little extreme, but he is in the PR game too, he is creating controversy for his publication and his book. And look its working, I heard about this post because a writer from the New York Times was looking for a comment (he spammed Chris’ email list) for a story he is writing. This post has also been passed on to other bloggers and has become the story. This is good PR. But, more importantly it has prompted the chance for an open dialog. Chris’ blog post and the level of frustration found in the comments at this blog post would not have happened had there not been something fundamentally wrong. I am in the middle because I took a short cut and now have to face the repercussions. What I do know is that I will use this as an opportunity to take a closer look at how I do PR and will scour my lists and think twice before I send my next pitch. So thanks Chris for the opportunity to take stock and do better.

However all that being said, I think the method of the “outing” was a little mean spirited. I had to take a moment, to overcome the shock of seeing my email address on this list. Then I looked at the pitches I sent Chris. I have only sent him three emails in the two years of outreach (found in my outlook sent items); two in October (one was sent twice in error) and one in September. Wow is my timing crap or what? Now I am being outed to all Conde Nast publications and chastised by over 300 commentors on his blog. Not to mention the anticipated onslaught of spam email I am expecting. And all for three emails? And they were pretty good pitches, newsworthy well written just sent to the wrong editor, which was definitely a bad choice on my part.

There must be some middle ground here… I hope we can take this opportunity to start a true dialog and stop bashing each other; perhaps we can take some action that results in changes that will help us all.

Websites at "First Glance"sm Optimization

By Dr Bill Haig, Guest Contributer

Part 1 of 2 The Logo and Home Page Credibility Requirement

When visitors land on a website, the first thing they do is mentally evaluate in an instant whether they can trust the information on the site enough to continue.  Like all information, this is a matter of whether or not the source of the information can be trusted to overcome perceptions of risk, uncertainty and even possible identity theft. Trust or no trust happens during the visitor's initial impressions or "first glance" at a website when visitor is still unfamiliar with the vendor. 

In people to people interaction, we evaluate the person doing the talking before we accept the person's message. On a website, we evaluate the company behind the information. The company is evaluated at "first glance" during the first three seconds of a website encounter.

But on a website, the initial period of trust is not based on personal experience with the vendor. The visitor and vendor do not have a personal relationship history. The visitor makes a trust evaluation on what information, verbal and visual, is available. Otherwise, the vendor is faceless.

What do visitors look for during this critical period?

Research indicates that perception is done at "first glance" and on the basis of whether the company is considered credible or not.  Further, visitors look for what is termed "surface" cues for credibility. Stanford University web credibility researcher, Dr. B.J. Fogg, describes "surface credibility" as simple inspection of surface traits non-verbally communicated by visual design. 

In people to people communication this would be how a person looks, his or her dress, or hairstyle.  Whether the person is neat or sloppy. These are "surface credibility" characteristics.  We often hear the phrase, "you don't get a second chance to make a first good impression." 

Why is a first impression of people important? We trust or don't trust the credibility of people upon first meeting. This leads to accepting, or not accepting, what they have to say. The same is true at the moment of "first glance" at a website, except we look at the how credible the company logo and home page looks through non-verbal design elements. In an instant. This is critical for continued website success. The objective is to turn visitors into trusting customers who move on after "first glance" within the website for the purpose of purchasing a product or service. 

Wrong imagery. An ambulance company shows its product in Heaven. Why visitors move on.

Website studies on visitor use conclude that over seventy per cent of visitors leave at "first glance" if they do not consider a website credible.

 

On the positive side, my PhD research concluded that four times as many visitors will continue as conversion rate customers if a credibility-based logo is on the company website at "first glance" compared to a non-credible logo.

My research supports that of Dr. B.J. Fogg and his Stanford (as in University) Web Credibility Research, (http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html). Savvy website owners have two easy opportunities to look credible and boost visitor website trust at "first glance" to increase conversion rates:

 1.    Show that there is a real organization behind the website, as an honest trustworthy company. This is done most effectively with a credibility-based logo design sm representing the company.  The credible company logo is usually in the upper left hand corner of the website. Perception theory in communication persuasion suggests that people immediately want to know the source of the message which follows. Just like when we often look first for the name of the person on an envelop or post card. 

Similarly, visitors to a website look at the company logo, or search for the company name if there is no logo, at "first glance." 

Then, simultaneously, 

2. Show that there is a credible organization behind the website with an appropriately designed home page. A company website home page must be designed with the same appropriate credibility traits as in the company logo. This will also give consistency in credibility traits important to the company behind the website. 

Logos and home pages are perceived almost simultaneously.  People perceive the "whole" before they perceive the parts. Although the eye will go immediately to the company logo or name (as a part) after perceiving the "whole" or overall visual character of the home page. Thus, the company credibility-based logo design and the home page design must have a consistency in credibility design "look." For example, the logo cannot have a contemporary design and the home page a dated design.

The bottom line is that the whole visitor perception, logo and home page, must communicate credibility to assure the visitor continues at this initial web experience --- at "first glance." These first impressions are key to trust building and continued visitor conversions to being a customer.

About Powerlogos Design and Dr. Bill Haig

Powerlogos Design is the only creative and research based logo and home page design firm using proven principles in source credibility in communication persuasion to optimize online marketing. We call this Website Optimization at First Glancesm. The process we use is termed credibility-based logo designsm and credibility-based website designsm.

Started as an online firm in 2001, Dr. Bill Haig maintains the philosophy that logo and home page design apply proven communication persuasion principles enabling clients to have the assurance that their company logo and home page will be successful at "first glance." A unique and inexpensive logo and home page test methodology can be used for further, data based, assurance. 

Powerlogos Design analyizes and plans client credibility traits before design commences. A questionnaire is provided and a Logo Planning Report is prepared which includes a verbal description of the design objectives for the new credibility-based logo and subsequent home page. The company uses top international designers to interpret the objectives and create the preliminary and final designs. The result is a new logo and home page which works, done efficiently based on a mutually agreed upon plan, then created by top designers --- all under the supervision of Dr. Bill Haig.

Dr.Haig is a specialist in source credibility in communication persuasion principles applied to logo design, website credibility and online testing. He has over forty years experience in logo design and recently obtained his PhD applying his logo knowledge to website credibility and online testing.  He developed a unique online logo and home page testing methodology during three years of university supervised research.   

Dr. Haig can be reached at

[email protected]

or by phone at 808 922 4042 (Hawaii Time.) Visit www.powerlogos.com for more articles and Dr. Haig's book on credibility-based logo design and website credibility.

Stay tuned for part two of this article!

Becoming a Leader

Kevin Eikenberry has written a new book on leadership. It's called Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time.

And while it sounds like a leadership book, and you may not be in a leadership role, this is a book that I think everyone can relate to. (You will see more on that below.)

This book is practical, inspiring, relevant and real.

It introduces 13 leadership competencies, as the title says one skill at time.

And while it is a leadership book, and will help anyone regardless of their leadership experience become more effective, it isn't just for leaders.

This is a book for all of us, because all of us are leaders. And as Kevin says in the book, when we become better leaders, we become better humans.

I'd recommend this book to you any time, but never more urgently than today.

Because when you invest in the book today, you will receive more than 50 tools and bonuses from Kevin's expert colleagues from around the world that all will help you become a more remarkable leader. (I threw in a gift as well because I wanted to help Kevin spread the word about becoming a Remarkable Leader).

http://www.remarkableleadershipbook.com/bonuses.asp

All of these tools are yours just for buying the book today. And while you will have wait for your book to arrive, these other tools are available right now (sometimes it pays to be impatient).

http://www.remarkableleadershipbook.com/bonuses.asp

* * * * Guest Article by Kevin Eikenberry * * * *

Remarkable Leaders Learn Continually
Excerpt from Kevin Eikenberry's new book "Remarkable Leadership"

Often when I am with a group helping them think about or work on their leadership skills, I do the following exercise (feel free to play along):

1. Close your eyes, think of the most effective leader you know, and get a mental picture of him or her. This person can be alive or dead, someone you know personally or have only read about or observed from afar. Whoever it is, see the person in your mind's eye.

2. Make a list of the behaviors or skills that this person exhibits-the things that make him or her so successful as a leader.

After people complete this simple exercise, I ask them to share the skills and behaviors they have identified. The lists I hear are long and cover many of the competencies explored in this book-except one. The skill that is almost always is missing from these lists is being a lifelong learner.

There is absolutely no question in my mind that being a continual learner is a key skill for leaders. In fact, I believe that it is the most important skill of all for leaders, yet it usually doesn't make people's lists.

(Did it make yours?)

Why don't people consider learning and add it to the list of traits of great leaders?

Because it is the underlying skill-the skill without which improvement in any other area is nearly impossible. If leaders aren't learners, they can't be remarkable. Perhaps learning is a skill that we don't think about because it is assumed, considered a given, or deemed obvious.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't change the fact that we must start with learning. And while we all know how to learn, remarkable leaders know that because it is the underlying foundational skill, as they get better at it, it will help them in all of their other leadership development efforts.

http://www.remarkableleadershipbook.com/bonuses.asp

Identifying and Leveraging The Points of Crediblity

 

Companies must work to identify the credibility criteria and ensure that these are incorporated into messaging directed to press, analysts, influencers, and customers. The criteria for success are illustrated by The Credibility Pyramid. (I have had several conversations about his concept recently so revising an older post.)

 

Each level of the pyramid is a factor in the perception of credibility and potentially a point of competitive differentiation. Each of these criteria for success is used by editors and analysts, influencers and customers (consciously or not) to determine the validity of a company and its products. Word-of-mouth credibility often starts here. If the foundational perception is continually validated through each level of the pyramid, word-of-mouth credibility soon follows. This model encourages a closer look inward to identify the areas where the company needs to reinforce its standing and authority.

 

This does not mean manufacturing “spin” but employing a business strategy that enables the company to “be” credible, not “do” credible. This process becomes the starting point for market acceptance and ultimately generates the kind of awareness that influences market perception and acceptance.

 

When an influencer, analyst, media representative, or venture capital firm is auditing a company, these two core areas (management team and a great product) are the first things they will review, and it is important to have these pieces in place and to have messaging that accurately describes this important information. Oftentimes a company in the early stages of its lifecycle will not place enough importance on these foundational points of credibility. For example, the product may be amazing, but the company executives may not have taken the time to identify the deeper market opportunities or to offer information that expresses the clear benefits and return on investment customers will experience. They may not have clearly articulated the market need; even if the market need may be obvious to the founders, it may not be to the investors, the press, or the influencers you want to attract.

 

Next on the pyramid is identifying key customers and high-profile partners who can attest to the strengths of the company and its products. These are two crucial criteria for gaining credibility within the press and analyst communities and customers for that matter. If customers like IBM or Coke are saying yes to your product in the corporate world, or well-known influencers like celebrities or industry experts are saying yes in the consumer world, then new customers will say yes and say yes much faster.

 

Sometimes you might be in a position to pursue or choose the “right” customer, let me give you an example of what that means. I was working with two clients that offered complex technology solutions. We were charged with generating press articles for them to increase the credibility factor and attract customers. One company had done very well with sales and garnered a decent volume of customers. The other had one customer. Now, who do you think got the most press coverage? You would think it would be the one that had a volume of customers, right? It would make sense that more people were buying from that company, so it would seem to be more successful and thus have more credibility. In fact, the client with one customer received the most press articles. That was because that company had a board of directors that had industry luminaries on it, it brought in a CEO who was well known in the industry, and its one customer was one of the top 10 brand names in the world. Having this well-known customer added tremendous credibility. “If that brand-name company will buy it then it must be good” is the thinking in the market.

 

The top of the pyramid —the unique market trends—is a little harder to control, so it is almost more important to manage. Doing homework and identifying the trends that are unique to the sector, is an important tactic for credibility PR. A focal point is identifying what competitors are doing, not from a feature/benefit standpoint but from a perception analysis. For example how are they positioning themselves through their press releases and publicity programs? How is the editorial community covering these companies, are they buying the spin or not? (See post “Market Research – Moving Beyond the Calculator --and a case for Credibility Branding” for additional details) From this market intelligence identifying how to position the company within this landscape is an easier more comprehensive exercise.

 

Credibility Pyramid tool to identify the holes in your company’s credibility criteria. Leverage these points of credibility wherever possible to capture the imagination of new customers, impress the influencers, and overcome the objections of the skeptics. By using this model and establishing more credibility for your company and products, you will see a marked change in the speed of sales. You will have the tools at hand to allow your sales team to convert sales faster –credibility (AKA trust established through influencer endorsements) is often the factor that closes the sale.

This is part of the Crediblity Branding model, you can learn more about influencing the influencers with a new CD (FREE) that you can access at: www.brandperceptionaudit.com.

 

Websites at "First Glance" Optimization

Another excellent article from Dr. Bill Haig, expert on credibility in logo and web site design:

The Logo and Home Page Credibility Requirements

By Dr. Bill Haig, Powerlogos Design

When visitors land on a website, the first thing they do is mentally evaluate in an instant whether they can trust the information on the site enough to continue. Like all information, this is a matter of whether or not the source of the information can be trusted to overcome perceptions of risk and uncertainty. Trust or no trust happens during the visitor's initial impressions or "first glance" at a website when visitor is still unfamiliar with the vendor.

Savvy website owners have two easy opportunities to look credible and boost visitor website trust at "first glance" to increase conversion rates:

 1.   Show that there is a real organization behind the website, as an honest trustworthy company. This is done most effectively with a credibility-based logo designsm representing the company.  The credible company logo is usually in the upper left hand corner of the website. Perception theory in communication persuasion suggests that people immediately want to know the source of the message which follows. Just like when we often look first for the name of the person on an envelop or post card. 

Similarly, visitors to a website look at the company logo, or search for the company name if there is no logo, at "first glance." 

Then, simultaneously,

2. Show that there is a credible organization behind the website with an appropriately designed home page. A company website home page must be designed with the same appropriate credibility traits as in the company logo. This will also give consistency in credibility traits important to the company behind the website. 

Logos and home pages are perceived almost simultaneously. Thus, the company credibility-based logo design and the home page design must have a consistency in credibility design "look." For example, the logo cannot have a contemporary design and the home page a dated design.

The bottom line is that the whole visitor perception, logo and home page, must communicate credibility to assure the visitor continues at this initial web experience --- at "first glance." These first impressions are key to trust building and continued visitor conversions toward being a customer.

Powerlogos Design and Dr. Bill Haig:

Powerlogos Design is the only creative and research based logo and home page design firm using proven principles in source credibility in communication persuasion to optimize online visitor to customer conversion rates. We call this Website Optimization at First Glance. The process we use is termed credibility-based logo design and credibility-based website design.

Started as an online firm in 2001, Dr. Bill Haig maintains the philosophy that logo and home page design apply proven source credibility principles in communication persuasion. The result is that clients have the assurance that their company logo and home page will be successful at "first glance" giving trust to the website company. 

Dr. Haig has over forty years experience in logo design and recently obtained his PhD applying his logo knowledge to website credibility and online testing. He developed a unique online logo and home page testing methodology during three years of university supervised research. 

How logo and home page credibility works in graphic design is further explained in several articles on his website, www.powerlogos.com and Dr. Haig's book on credibility-based logo designsm, The Power of Logos: How to Create Effective Company Logos, NY: Wiley, 1997. Dr. Haig can be reached at

[email protected]

or by phone at 808 922 4042 (Hawaii Time.) 

Evidence of Credibility Branding in History

I am watching a special called Assume the Position 201 with Mr. Wuhl. It looks at the myths in American History. Comedian Robert Wuhl cites an interesting story about how Franklin Pierce the 14th president of the United States) marketed himself through his college buddy Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel wrote glowing testimonials about him in a book devoted to Peirce. At the time Hawthorne was like a rock star, having written three of the most popular books of the time including The Scarlet Letter. This association and endorsement by Hawthorne turned the tides for Peirce who had been a relatively unknown candidate.

This is a perfect example of using influencers to increase your status that the Credibility Branding model is based on. See this has been in use for literally centuries!

Is Sorry a Strategy?

What do you do when you did something wrong? The following article by ExecuNet’s Robyn Greenspan brings up some great insights into the changing landscape of crisis management, specifically when is “sorry” not enough. I would like to contribute an additional point of view, as a communication specialist I work with how different words that may seam like the same thing actually mean something quite different. For example in the case of “I’m Sorry” vs. “I apologize,” In most instances “I’m Sorry” means “ I am sorry you feel that way” where “I apologize” means the person has take responsibility for their actions and is feeling repentant. The energy of these two approaches can be felt through the tone and the style of the media advisor/press release/web site content. You can definitely sense that the tone of I’m sorry is different and not as forthcoming as an “I apologize” type of approach. So when you are about to have a mea culpa moment reflect on which of these energetic versions you want to use. In fact using “I’m sorry” does have its place especially when it isn’t your fault at all. Regardless all of it affects your brand so think it through.

Is sorry a strategy?
Robyn Greenspan, Senior Editor, ExecuNet Email Newsletter

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, is the latest apologist for his role as an anonymous Internet user who posted negative messages about competitor Wild Oats on financial stock forums. It may seem like a MySpace prank at first — an impulsive action from a high schooler who didn't get a prom date — but Mackey routinely posted on these message boards for eight years.

Mackey's actions were certainly opaque, and his apology seems to represent transparency. But with a recent wave of public "sorries" from visible figures — Paris Hilton, David Neeleman, Don Imus, Mel Gibson and a growing list of politicians — these megawatt mea culpas may no longer suffice. In many cases, the apology seems less about reprehensible actions and more about "I'm sorry I got caught."

While the antics of drunken celebrities, corrupt politicians and greedy corporate executives (Enron, Tyco, etc.) may not surprise us — and may sometimes be expected — Mackey's actions are more disappointing. Whole Foods, like Neeleman's JetBlue, are supposed to be the good guys — socially conscious, friendly, customer-centric companies that care about their employees, the earth and doing what's right.

They both issued very public apologies, but Neeleman's and Mackey's downfalls are decidedly different. The former faced a customer service debacle while the latter deliberately deceived stakeholders; Neeleman absorbed the blame for issues where he may not have been directly responsible and Mackey's consistently poor judgment put his company and — especially its brand — in jeopardy.

Does Advertising Still Work

When done right advertising is still an important marketing tool and still works, especially according to a recent study done by MediaWeek. They key is however to have lots of money. If you don't have that, there are all kinds of alternatives, but this is interesting to review and remember (from 5 Blogs Before Lunch quoting from a MediaWeek article)...

Strong Correlation Between Ad Spending and Buzz Generated in the Blogosphere

Here's more proof that integrated advertising works. Since the dawn of advertising, multi-media campaigns (television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and now online and buzz marketing) have shown the best results for advertisers.

Now, a new study reports that for new brands, there is a strong correlation between ad spending and buzz generated in the blogosphere.

A report by Nielsen BuzzMetrics and Nielsen's BASES research division shows that traditional advertising and online word-of-mouth are very closely connected. After analyzing 80 consumer packaged goods brands launched in 2005 and 2006, Nielsen found that the top 10% of products with the most buzz spent on average about four times as much on advertising than those in the bottom 50%.

From Mediaweek:

Among 80 consumer packaged goods brands launched in 2005 and 2006 that Nielsen studied, the top 10 percent of products with the most buzz spend nearly $20 million in advertising. In contrast, the products that accounted for the bottom 50 percent of buzz generated spent roughly $5 million, or a quarter of what the most buzz-generating brands spent.

However, ad spending is not the only factor in play, found the report, as certain brands simply lend themselves to more buzz. Just 10 percent of the brands studied accounted for 85 percent of total buzz generated, indicating that select brands drove more than their share of interest. Nielsen said it discovered that over the counter drug brands - given consumers' high involvment with them - along with brands with edgy image drove a disproportionate amount of buzz.

“Most CPG products are everyday items, lacking in distinction and therefore propensity for buzz,” said Kate Neiderhoffer, director of methodology, Nielsen BuzzMetrics. “However, there are some exceptions to the rule, as evidenced by brands like Red Bull, Altoids, Crystal Pepsi and Viagra. The CPG industry should challenge itself to bring more innovative products to market, cultivated with more innovative marketing. The buzz will follow.”

Here's more proof that integrated advertising works. Since the dawn of advertising, multi-media campaigns (television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and now online and buzz marketing) have shown the best results for advertisers.

Now, a new study reports that for new brands, there is a strong correlation between ad spending and buzz generated in the blogosphere.

A report by Nielsen BuzzMetrics and Nielsen's BASES research division shows that traditional advertising and online word-of-mouth are very closely connected. After analyzing 80 consumer packaged goods brands launched in 2005 and 2006, Nielsen found that the top 10% of products with the most buzz spent on average about four times as much on advertising than those in the bottom 50%.

From Mediaweek:

Among 80 consumer packaged goods brands launched in 2005 and 2006 that Nielsen studied, the top 10 percent of products with the most buzz spend nearly $20 million in advertising. In contrast, the products that accounted for the bottom 50 percent of buzz generated spent roughly $5 million, or a quarter of what the most buzz-generating brands spent.

However, ad spending is not the only factor in play, found the report, as certain brands simply lend themselves to more buzz. Just 10 percent of the brands studied accounted for 85 percent of total buzz generated, indicating that select brands drove more than their share of interest. Nielsen said it discovered that over the counter drug brands - given consumers' high involvment with them - along with brands with edgy image drove a disproportionate amount of buzz.

“Most CPG products are everyday items, lacking in distinction and therefore propensity for buzz,” said Kate Neiderhoffer, director of methodology, Nielsen BuzzMetrics. “However, there are some exceptions to the rule, as evidenced by brands like Red Bull, Altoids, Crystal Pepsi and Viagra. The CPG industry should challenge itself to bring more innovative products to market, cultivated with more innovative marketing. The buzz will follow.”

Discovering What & Who Your Ideal Client/Customer Is

I am a huge fan of Eric Albertson, the advice in his newsletters are spot on and his professionalism is beyond measure. With that I am posting his most recent newsletter verbatim, and check out the info at the end for his workshop it is worth looking into (No affiliate programs here just admiration)! This pretty much covers the steps, there  is a depth of strategy that is behind this and could be applied a bit more, but this sums it up nicely.

Success Tips Newsletter - In this issue: Case study: question from a reader

by Eric Albertson www.SucceedingInBusiness.com   

The question:

I'd like to talk with you this week about the profile of my ideal client. Until I took your Marketing Fast Track class, I would have said, everybody with more than 5 staff can use our services, therefore everyone is a target, right?

My guess is: "Wrong." 

I would like to clear this up and set up my elevator speech as clearly as possible.  I am the guy who sets all the appointments for my firm; everyone is counting on me for sales appointments.

I know that I need to narrow my target market and tighten up my message but I am not clear on the best way to do this. Today I rely heavily on cold calling, seminars and networking to create leads. It is lots of work for relatively few leads and fewer sales.

The website we have is a shambles, it creates no leads. We do quite well out of referrals but considering we have a 500+ client base I am sure we could do a bit better.

What steps do I need to take to quickly get into action and get better results?

Eric's Response

First, I would figure out some basic characteristics of who has purchased from your firm in the past (industry, turnover a.k.a. annual revenue, what they bought, how long they have been a customer, etc) and chart that out.

Consider the fictional example:

• 80 percent of our buyers come from four types of      businesses:
       1. Import/export firms
       2.  Freight forwarders
       3.  Drayage operations
       4.  Port storage operators
• They average 200 employees per firm
• They are usually 20+ years old
• They have at least $10 million in annual revenues
• They are all on the East Coast
• They are all growing slower than the rest of their      industry

Describe your top three ideal clients, according to what the customer data suggests:

Example

East Coast import-export firms, averaging at least $10 million per year in revenue, who are struggling to grow as fast as the rest of their industry.

Next, build a list of everyone who looks like your ideal clients. The library is a great place to start. Get as many on the list as you can.

Next, I would take a quick inventory of the testimonials and stories you have from your ideal clients. If you don't have two to five testimonials and two or more stories for each ideal client, get more as soon as possible.

Inventory the top three problems your company addressed for each ideal customer and the top three aspirations or goals each had.

Now list the outcomes each ideal customer sought when engaging your firm, and the results they got. (They did keep buying didn't they?) For example:

· Wanted to grow faster than our industry

· Reduce our turnover

· Increase our net margin

· And so on.

Next, build an inventory of 15 - 25 benefits you offer each member of your ideal customer set.

Now create two to five statements that make the case for why your firm is able to address these needs and aspirations. These can be very simple, such as:

"We have been delivering great results to global importers for more than 20 years." Follow this with a quote.

Now make a brief statement that describes the process you follow to deliver the results.

Finally, jot down two or three next steps you want the client to take (e.g., read this, call me, set an appointment, etc).

Your elevator speech or audio logo will consist of the following:

"We help ____________________________(ideal customer targets #1), who are struggling with _____________________________(ideal customer targets #1 typical problem).

When they say, "Tell me more," you've reached first base.

Now you simply repeat the audio logo again and say, "We helped them get ______________________________ (ideal customer target #1 desired outcome)".

Perhaps a brief story will help.

Some of the benefits customers report getting are: _______________________________________________

People come to us because: ______________________________________ (List your points of credibility.)

May I suggest _________________________________________ (call to action appropriate to your base location on Marketing Ball).

The process above will give you a great start for your elevator speech and audio logo. And it will be your foundation for a web site that converts.

Next, we want to put a lead source on all 500 of your clients, so we have a clear idea of which marketing efforts have been working in the past. That way we can be careful to not stop doing the things that have worked.

After that, we take all the businesses in your funnel and put them in one of the following buckets:

· Strangers

· Affiliation

· Attention (a.k.a. "Tell me more.")

· Familiarity

· Information

· Experience

This is not the whole fix, but it's a powerful start to getting out of the business of cold-calling, and working too hard for too little.

If going into depth with something like this is of interest to you and would help you get more business, you can register for the Marketing Fast Track class starting TOMORROW, July 10^th at 12 noon, Pacific Daylight Time. Each session is recorded so that, if you have to miss a session for vacation or an impromptu golf date, you can still get the value and stay on track.

I have only two spots still open, so register fast if you think this will help you get out of the cold-calling business. Our next class won't start until September or October. Register NOW !