Quality Service Marketing

Starting a Marketing Department from Scratch

“Great news!” said the young woman who called me after attending one of my marketing workshops. With a background in graphic design, she was responsible for advertising, special events, and employee communications for a group of physicians in a multi-specialty medical practice. “My boss agreed to start a formal marketing function, and he wants me to head it up,” she explained. “Help!”

Where to begin

I shared her excitement, enthusiasm, and even a bit of panic. “First, take a deep breath,” I advised her. “Now, tell me about your company’s most pressing marketing needs.” We discussed these to start to prioritize them and get a realistic perspective of what could be achieved given her status as a one-person marketing department.

Beyond Marketing 101

Since there are plenty of books available on how-to-do marketing and how-to-write-a-marketing-plan, her concern was really how to be effective in developing a formal marketing function that would be accepted and respected within the group practice. My advice centered on four areas.

• Focus. Prepare to discuss the practice’s critical marketing needs with key internal stakeholders – in this case, physicians and administrators. Then get their agreement on selecting no more than three priorities that will receive most of marketing’s attention.
• Build Relationships. Cultivate and nurture relationships with marketing-related providers – printers, media reps, research suppliers, promotional sales reps, web designers, direct mail firms, etc. At the same time, develop and maintain relationships with marketing partners inside the practice. Educate and communicate with physicians, nursing staff, and administrators so they know and understand what marketing is doing and why (i.e., explain the rationale and goals of marketing’s strategy), including how individually and collectively they impact the brand based on their interactions with patients, families, hospitals, and the community-at-large.
• Manage Expectations Carefully. Once people within the practice know about the marketing department, everyone will have a laundry list of things they want marketing to do for them. So it’s important to manage organizational expectations of marketing – its goals, capabilities, limited resources, deadlines, etc. – upward (among management) as well as laterally (between and within the practice specialties). Stay focused on marketing’s top priorities [see Focus above] to keep from being overwhelmed with marketing requests.
• Make Time for Professional Development. It’s not easy to do it all as a one-person marketing department. Which is why it’s even more important to continue learning how to be a better marketer. Some of this knowledge can be gained by investing in formal development – taking classes, webinars, reading, etc. And some of it can be obtained via networking with other professionals in the field. Try to learn how they manage their marketing functions and how they handle marketing challenges, including being creative with limited resources. This networking can be invaluable for sharing ideas and coping strategies with other marketers and using them as sounding-boards. Whether over the phone, over a meal, over coffee or a more potent beverage, it’s also helpful to know that others have survived similar challenges.

Special Note: This advice is applicable to other organizations. Identify the internal and external stakeholders who are important to your organization and insert them to replace the physicians, administrators and other segments mentioned above.

Do You Love Your Work?

I was energized after teaching AMA’s Nonprofit Marketing Bootcamp in Atlanta several weeks ago. The wonderful professionals I met who work in nonprofits and organizations that serve nonprofits truly love their work – even with all the challenges they face on a regular basis, such as dealing with limited resources, silo’d communications, internal politics, and “what-were-they-thinking?!” decisions. A woman who works in a social services agency shared her frustration in striving to meet community needs when grant funding didn’t arrive until nearly a year after it was promised. “I must be crazy,” she said, “but I love my work!”

It’s true that most nonprofit professionals are passionate about their respective organizations’ mission. It’s also true that sometimes even passion for the mission isn’t enough to keep them engaged. But as long as they continue to love what they do, without falling victim to burnout, they’ll stay committed.

In the course of my work in internal marketing, I’ve been fortunate to meet people who are dedicated to their work in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. They are positive, yet realistic in that they are not immune to becoming  discouraged every now and then. Face it – we all have those days that make us question our sanity. But do you love what you do enough to get back on track?

Do you love your work?

Note: If you missed the program in Atlanta, I’ll be conducting another AMA Nonprofit Marketing Bootcamp in Houston next month.

Photo credit: elycefeliz's photostream

Employee Engagement Resources and More

As a frequent speaker on engaging employees and customers through internal marketing, I’m often asked for my recommendations on engagement resources. I’m happy to share several of my favorites here - including books, e-books, networks, and newsletters.    

Employee Engagement                                   

One of the best sources of information and ideas comes from the members of the Employee Engagement Network (EEN), founded and hosted by David Zinger. Under "Free EE Resources" on EEN's website you'll find a number of helpful e-books on “Engaging Questions“ … “Primers for Engaging Conversations” … “Employee Engagement Advice for Managers” … and the first in a series of 50-word case studies on engagement. 

In addition, I highly recommend the following three books:

Re-Engage: How America’s Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times by Leigh Branham and Mark Hirschfeld. This book draws on extensive data from the “Best Places to Work” research to identify and apply the drivers of employee engagement in today’s challenging times. You can sign up for Leigh Branham’s free quarterly newsletter, Keeping the People for more information and articles on employee engagement and retention.

The Art of Engagement: Briding the Gap Between People and Possibilities by Jim Haudan. This book provides a framework for connecting organizational strategy and execution based on the root causes of engagement and disengagement.

The annual Zappos Culture Book describes what employee engagement at Zappos is all about as written by its employees.  

Enterprise Engagement

Enterprise engagement encompasses the need to engage everyone involved in a business: employees, customers, and channel partners. The Enterprise Engagement Alliance website features articles on this topic and a schedule of educational programs, including webinars and on-site programs.

I need to mention the Zappos Culture Book again here as it includes content reflective of Zappos’ engagement with its partners, vendors and customers.

Volunteer Engagement

While researching my new book on internal marketing for nonprofits, I found Energize, Inc., Susan Ellis’s website for leaders of volunteers, to be a tremendous resource. I also recommend her book, From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement.

In  addition, you can download a free copy of my e-book on volunteer engagement.

Your Turn

What engagement resources have you found helpful? I’d love your input on expanding this list.

Internal Marketing Spotlight: Just Born

Although I work primarily in the services sector, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to showcase Just Born, manufacturer of “quality confections” including well known brands Peeps^®, Mike & Ike^®, Hot Tamales^®, and Peanut Chews^®. The company made headlines in the business press and blogosphere last year when it sent one of its sales teams to Fargo ND for falling just short of its sales goals.

Just Born is based in the Lehigh Valley, PA area where I reside, so I’m familiar with the company and its commitment to the local community. The business was founded in 1923 and now employs more than 500 associates. In response to the growing popularity of its brands, including the cult status of its marshmallow Peeps^®, the company will soon open its second branded retail store.

The more I learn about Just Born from a business perspective, the more I continue to be impressed. So I sat down with co-CEO Ross Born to gain more insight into the company’s operating philosophy and culture.

QSM:  Just Born’s vision is “Continuing as a family-owned confectionery company, our commitment is to be a market-driven, quality business enhancing our reputation as a progressive, ethical and respected employer, manufacturer, marketer, and member of the community.” I notice that you list your role as an employer first.

Ross Born: If you have the right people, they’re number one. You take care of them, they’ll take care of your customers. They’ll make sure the product is right; they’ll make sure they’re treating the customers right. We look for people that really care about what we do, that care about our brands. Just Born’s two most important assets are our brands and our people who nurture the brands.

QSM: When I read your company’s philosophy, I was struck by the frequent mention of employee engagement-related statements such as:

• We believe vision, compassion, courage, and integrity are the cornerstones upon which we build each day and each endeavor.
• We believe in building and sustaining an environment where people, ideas, and creativity can flourish.
• We believe in promoting a healthy and safe work environment.
• We believe trust is the foundation of all personal, interpersonal, and organizational achievement, and the building and maintaining of trust is our top priority.
• We believe great things happen when everyday courtesy, kindness, and humor are woven into all our personal and professional interactions.
• We believe in treating others as we would like to be treated, creating a common connection from co-worker to customer to consumer to community.
• We believe in nurturing respectful relationships with one another and encouraging the best in each other.

Caring about people is really important at Just Born, isn’t it?

Ross: Let me respond first by sharing an experience I had when talking to a group of middle school students. They asked me what I do at work, what are the important things I do. They were surprised when I told them ‘I say hello to people. I know people’s names.’ They were expecting me to talk about the reports I read, the meetings I go to, and the decisions that needed to be made. I do all those things, but the most important is I care about people.

It’s not enough to say ‘we care about our people,’ they have to know that they’re cared about. I remember visiting a company that was decorated with motivational posters. As I was reading some of them, an employee walking past me whispered, ‘Don’t believe everything you read.’

Part of caring is giving people the right tools and in the right environment. It’s also about doing the right thing. For example, we had a situation with a water main break that occurred as a result of construction on someone else’s property nearby. We had to send people home and lost two days of production, but we paid those scheduled to work those days. It wasn’t a matter of ‘let’s check out our insurance coverage first.’ I didn’t want our people to wait until we got paid by the insurance company. Even though the situation was out of our control, it was our responsibility to ensure our people were taken care of. That’s an example of putting actions to our words that we care about our people. If we had waited to see what the insurance company would do, that would have sent a message that we care more about money than our people.

QSM: Another part of your philosophy states, “We believe there is much to learn from one another and much to teach one another.” Tell us more about how you live this philosophy.

Ross: We provide a lot of training and cross-training. One of our ongoing in-house programs is our High Performance Leadership Development training that emphasizes effective decision making, problem-solving, communication and coaching skills, along with continuous improvement tools. More than 140 people have gone through the program so far. We’ll soon be introducing the program for everyone, including all our production people. Participants in this training apply what they learn in individual and group projects that they come up with, and the projects have to be of measurable benefit.

QSM: I know Just Born is also committed to the local community.

Ross: We care about our community; having a strong community is essential for a strong business. We encourage volunteerism – giving back to the community. Volunteering builds character in addition to promoting camaraderie among our associates. More than half of our associates are active, regular volunteers in projects ranging from packing meals at the food bank (very popular) to cleaning the kennels at an animal rescue shelter. Community projects involve associates from all parts of our business, and some are team based.  Everyone of our associates is given 24 hours per year of paid time to volunteer, and a significant majority of our associates also volunteer on their own time.

At Just Born we believe it’s possible to be socially responsible while maintaining a growing, profitable candy business. We’re doing it!

QSM: Now that’s what I call a sweet approach where everyone benefits. Thanks for sharing, Ross!

What's in YOUR Office Library?

In the spirit of observing National Library Week (April 10-16, 2011), I want to thank libraries and librarians everywhere for their invaluable service in encouraging reading for enlightenment and enjoyment.

I love libraries – public, school, corporate, and private. Over the years my husband and I have created our own home library with a collection of books on art, management, business, food, investing, historical biographies, local history, religion, classic literature, and fiction. We’ve even kept a few of our favorite college textbooks.  

I also have my own business library that reflects my professional interests. My book shelves include books on:

• Marketing and branding, with emphasis on services marketing
• Employee engagement and HR/talent management
• Nonprofit marketing, management, and leadership
• Facilitation and training
• Writing reference and grammar guides (my favorite is J. I. Rodale’s classic, The Synonym Finder)
• Humor and creativity (mostly cartoon collections from the New Yorker  and the Far Side; Gordon MacKenzie’s Orbiting the Giant Hairball is another favorite)

What types of books do you keep in your office?

Employee Recognition: What Works, What Doesn't Work

In last week’s post about employee appreciation, I featured Zane Safrit’s 52-Week Employee Recognition Plan that offers thoughtful and meaningful ways to effectively engage employees.

This week I’m happy to tell you about a free webinar that debunks common myths about employee recognition and shares research-based actionable ideas from the “science of employee appreciation.”

What: Free, interactive webinar with panel members Zane Safrit; David Zinger, founder of Employee Engagement Network; and Derek Irvine, VP, Globoforce.

When: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 11:30 AM-12:15 PM EST

Why: Globoforce is hosting this webinar in observance of Employee Appreciation Day and as part of the company’s launch of its e-book version of Winning with a Culture of Recognition.

Register: https://globoforceevents.webex.com/globoforceevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=935487632

Globoforce will also tweet daily appreciation tips (#appreciation tip).

With the abundance & availability of ideas on engaging and recognizing employees, the question at this point is how will you apply them in your organization?

Special Holidays Highlight Employee Appreciation

Do you know what’s special about the first week in March? It boasts two recognition holidays:

• March 1st - World Compliment Day (“The most positive day in the world! Appreciate with words instead of gifts! Nobody wins commercially, everybody gains emotionally!”)
• March 4th - Employee Appreciation Day

Last year I blogged about whether or not companies should participate in celebrating Employee Appreciation Day. The feedback I got via comments and emails is that effective employee recognition should be a year-round occurrence, not just a once-a-year deal.

Recognizing and affirming employee value is critical to creating and sustaining employee engagement. Especially in these challenging times when even the folks who are usually engaged are becoming increasingly worn out by economic and workplace pressures. An “attitude of gratitude” for just being employed these days won’t last once the job market improves.

Sincere acknowledgement and appreciation of your staff, applied regularly, goes a long way in keeping them engaged. And you don’t have to struggle on how to do this, thanks to Zane Safrit, who offers a 52 - Week Employee Recognition Plan. He’s posted recognition ideas every week since last May … which means you can access all 10 months worth of ideas posted to date while awaiting the remainder of his postings for the next two months.

The best part is you can customize this 52 week plan to fit your organization’s needs; it doesn’t have to be a linear process. According to Zane:

“You can start with any week of the 52 - Week Employee Recognition Plan and make that your first week.
You can take one of those weeks and turn it into a month or commit to an accelerated pace and complete 6 of the weeks in one month.
You can create your own week of employee recognition … But, do something to recognize your employees! They set your brand apart as your ultimate competitive edge.
And the more you recognize their achievements, the more achievements you'll see and they'll enjoy, along with your customers and and shareholders, partners and vendors.”

I encourage you to share Zane’s weekly recognition plan with your staff and colleagues.

I also want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Zane for all his efforts, creativity, and generosity in developing and sharing these great ideas!

 

What's Involved in Delivering the Brand Promise?

• It’s an integrated process that bridges marketing, human resources, and operations …
• It’s helping employees understand your brand value, then engaging and enabling them to deliver the brand promise as a positive customer experience …
• It combines elements of internal marketing and internal branding to strengthen your brand and drive business results …

And you can learn about it in a special one day program: Internal Branding & Internal Marketing on February 24, 2011, in Atlanta GA, that I’m presenting with Debra Semans.

We designed this hands-on workshop to help you better understand these two approaches and how you can apply them to enhance your employee and customer brand experience.

Hope to see you there!

Valuable Career Insights

2011 year marks my 36th year in the workplace (excluding part-time and summer jobs I held as a teen). I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed most of it, especially these past 23 years in business as Quality Service Marketing.

I’ve learned a tremendous amount as my career evolved. Reflecting on my experience, I can highlight valuable insights and lessons learned in the key roles I serve.

• As a services marketer, I learned that customer-focus begins with employee-focus because, quite simply, employees ARE the brand. The need to recognize and reinforce employee value continues to drive my passion for internal marketing.
• As a speaker & trainer, I learned:
  • It’s all about respect for my audience – understanding who they are and what about the topic appeals to them so I can target my presentation accordingly.
  • Equally important, it’s all about application – engaging and enabling audience members to consider how the information applies to their situation and how they can use it.
• As a facilitator, I learned it’s all about the questions. I believe my clients have most of the answers they seek, they just don’t realize it. So my primary role is to engage them in discovery by asking the right questions.
• Above all, as a business professional, I learned it’s all about demonstrating respect and integrity in working with my clients, my colleagues, and all the other important professionals (suppliers, printers, accountants, etc.), I partner with.

These valuable insights have served me well throughout my career, and they continue to influence how I do what I do.

What insights and lessons have made the most impact in your career?

What Still Matters: Three Years Later

I’ve been so busy traveling the past few weeks, I forgot to celebrate the third anniversary of my book’s release. Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care was published in October 2007, and sales are still going strong - despite the economy and because of it. As companies struggle to hold onto their business in this downturn, employee and customer engagement are more critical than ever.

In the past three years I traveled coast–to-coast to speak with business and nonprofit professionals who want to strengthen this engagement through internal marketing. What surprised me most is that while I met with marketing and human resources staff (as expected), my audiences were also filled with engineers, nonprofit managers, social workers, association executives, healthcare practice managers, municipal administrators, educators, and software consultants. They willingly shared “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of workplace engagement. (Little shocks me anymore … at the same time, I continue to be encouraged to hear what works.)

Looking back over the past three years, here’s what I’ve learned from these diverse audiences:

1. Engaging employees and customers with internal marketing is intuitive, but not intentional enough – managers need reminders to “take care of employees to take care of customers.”
2. Even with restructuring/downsizing/hierarchical flattening, too many organizational silos remain – employees continue to feel disconnected and disenfranchised.
3. Management-by-wandering-around (MBWA) is making a comeback – while this practice isn't as popular as it used to be, it hasn’t gone out of style.

Employees want and need to feel their work matters. Together with customers, they want to know that they are respected and valued. Why is this so difficult?