Doing Business Naked: Research & Communication in the Age of Full Transparency

doing business naked RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION IN THE AGE OF FULL TRANSPARENCY

THERESE FUERST PRESIDENT, FUERST CONSULTING CORP. JOE STABB FUERST CONSULTING CORP. STRATEGIC PARTNER, BUSINESS & COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST CHRISTY FRANCIS, MBA FOUNDING MEMBER, FRESH BATCH INSIGHTS

think ahead. DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE A CAMPAIGN ELIMINATE PRE-CONCEIVED NOTIONS ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO EXECUTE MINE YOUR OWN DATA TO FILL THE GAPS IN UNDERUTILIZED ‘BIG DATA’ CONSIDER BASELINE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

baseline research approach.

REMEMBER, YOU CARE ABOUT THE ‘WHY’ AND THE ‘WHY NOT,’ SO DON’T EXCLUDE CONSUMERS WHO MAY NOT BE ON YOUR RADAR

START WITH

ELECTRONIC SURVEYS TO SCULPT CONVERSATION IN LATER FORMS OF RESEARCH

USE FOCUS GROUPS AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, 1:1 INTERVIEWS TO DEEPEN INSIGHTS

USE SECONDARY RESEARCH TO FILL ‘GAPS’ IN YOUR WORK, THEN CREATE YOUR INFORMED COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

scenario 1.

MERGER. TWO ORGANIZATIONS ARE BECOMING ONE, AND SUCCESS HINGES ON THE ATTITUDES OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS.

research approach.

WHAT ARE EACH ORGANIZATIONS MOST VALUABLE PERCEIVED ATTRIBUTES? CANVAS THE OPINIONS OF CUSTOMERS, CONSUMERS AND EMPLOYEES

IF THE BRAND WAS A PERSON, WHAT WOULD PEOPLE LIKE ABOUT IT?

WHAT IS THE CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION OF A MERGER WITH YOUR COMPANY, IF AN AWARENESS EXISTS? WHAT FEARS EXIST AROUND EROSION OF THE BRAND?

WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL UPSIDES OF THE MERGER? WHERE ARE THE STRENGTHS?

WHICH CHANNELS ARE CONSUMERS GOING TO FOR INFORMATION? WHICH MESSAGES RESONATE, AND HOW DOES THE CHANNEL CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE MESSAGE?

communication strategy.

PRESENT THE FINDINGS OF YOUR RESEARCH TO YOUR EXECUTIVE TEAM AND/OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CONSIDER A STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT WITH SENIOR STAFF AND/OR BOARD MEMBERS

CREATE A MESSAGING PLATFORM AND STRATEGY

DEVELOP A TACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

UTILIZE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

PROVIDE 360 DEGREE FEEDBACK AND ADVISEMENT TO THE EXECUTIVE TEAM

scenario 2. CRISIS. THE PUBLIC IS RAPIDLY FORMING AN OPINION AROUND A MESSAGE YOU CAN’T CONTROL.

research approach. IDENTIFY THE PUBLIC REACTION TO YOUR CRISIS, PARTICULARLY ANY SPECIFICS BEING

DISCUSSED ON SOCIAL MEDIA

WHO ARE YOUR KEY INFLUENCERS? IS ANYONE ‘REPORTING OUT’ ON THE CRISIS? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO REACH THIS INFLUENCER, OR CRAFT YOUR OWN MESSAGE TO REFLECT THEIR APPEAL?

IDENTIFY KEY CHANNELS THAT ARE CORE TO YOUR CRISIS AND BUILD YOUR RESPONSE ACCORDINGLY, TO INTERCEPT THE PUBLIC WHERE THEY’RE EDUCATING THEMSELVES

IDENTIFY SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM IMPACT OF THIS CRISIS; PULL IN ANY RELATED CRISIS THE PUBLIC MAY REFERENCE AS SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN. WHAT CAN YOU LEARN?

WHAT IS THE MOST AUTHENTIC PART OF YOUR BRAND? HOW DO YOU LEVERAGE AN AUTHENTIC, HUMANIZED VOICE TO REASSURE STAKEHOLDERS?

communication strategy. COMMUNICATE ON THE CHANNEL WHERE CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING

STICK TO YOUR MESSAGE AND STAY AUTHENTIC

COMMUNICATE REGULARLY WITH ALL INFLUENCERS

CONTINUALLY MONITOR AND LISTEN

IT’S OKAY TO SAY, “I DON’T KNOW…”

scenario 3. DISRUPTION. SOMEONE IS SOLVING A SIGNIFICANT CONSUMER PROBLEM, AND THAT SOLUTION IS GAINING MASSIVE TRACTION WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS.

research approach. WHAT IS THE CORE PROBLEM THIS NEW SOLUTION IS SOLVING FOR CONSUMERS?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN PERCEPTION OF YOUR PRODUCT VERSUS THEIRS? WHAT IS

THE ADDITIONAL VALUE?

ARE THERE PARALLELS YOU COULD DRAW TO OTHER INDUSTRIES WHO MAY BE EXPERIENCING A SIMILAR TREND, AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF MATURITY?

WHAT PROBLEMS STILL EXIST? HAVE NEW PROBLEMS BEEN CREATED AS A RESULT OF THIS SOLUTION?

EVERY NEW SOLUTION SOLVES PROBLEMS AND INVENTS NEW ONES. CAN YOU SOLVE FOR ANY OF THE PROBLEMS THAT MAY EXIST AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE NEW SOLUTION?

communication strategy. LET THE RESEARCH REVEAL GAPS; UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPETITIVE POSITION

WHEN YOU SAY IT FIRST, YOU OWN IT

MAKE SURE YOUR ENTIRE COMPANY IS IN ALIGNMENT AROUND ANY MESSAGING; MAKE

SURE THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TEAM IS CONSISTENT WHEN DISCUSSING PRODUCTS

CREATE THE VALUE PROPOSITION AND OWN THAT PIECE OF THE MARKET

CREATE A MESSAGING PLATFORM

LET THAT GUIDE YOUR ONE PAGE STRATEGIC PLAN

contact info FUERSTCC.COM [email protected] 716.200.3593 [email protected] 716.279.1713 FRESHBATCHINSIGHTS.COM [email protected] 585.315.0240

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