There’s no “I” in team

Katie Pemberton

“No man is an island…and therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

In John Donne’s Meditation 17, he emphasizes the interconnectedness of mankind. It’s also a pretty accurate metaphor for our culture here at Obsidian PR. You see, although each client is officially represented by ONE Obsidian staffer, that client also has the ideas, expertise and experience of the entire agency in its corner. That’s because no account rep is “an island.”

As you may have read about in a previous “From the Rock” post, group brainstorming is a pretty major part of what we do here at Obsidian. There are many times that brainstorming among the entire Obsidian staff might be used for a client:

• When the relationship starts, to get everyone’s input on broad things, like overarching goals, or more specific things, like story pitching ideas or social media tactics
• When the client is starting a new initiative or event and the account rep wants to consider ALL ideas for promoting, helping plan and execution
• When the client has a problem or issue and needs our help overcoming the challenge
• When the client wants some ideas for a tagline or new company or product name

I can tell you as an account rep who has handled several of these types of projects, it is a major asset to the work I do to have our team providing input, guidance and feedback.
 
In addition to the formal brainstorming, there are many other ways that Obsidian functions as a unit, preventing any account rep from ever being the sole person servicing a client. 
Both the Dallas and Memphis locations have a manager of the team who keeps an eye on all client work from an aerial view, providing guidance and ideas to the account rep that she might not have seen from where she is “on the ground” executing tactical work.
 
Yet another example of how Obsidian fosters a great community and group dynamic is how we are all able to fill in for each other when needed. For example, if an account rep is going to be out of town during an important client event, he will transition all of the materials, from the publicity timeline to the contact list and the event planning notes, to another account rep, and that account rep will execute the last-minute promotional tactics, attend the event to field media, coordinate timing as needed, etc. Each account rep will ensure that client work is taken care of (by other staffers, if needed) while out of the office.
 
But sometimes things come up for a client, such as a media crisis, that can’t be predicted, which has actually happened with a client while the account rep was out of town. Fortunately, Obsidian’s culture is such that the team manager was totally up to speed on the client’s issue, and the other account executives had a solid foundation of information about the client from all the collaborative activities we had done. The team manager and the other account executive tag-teamed the crisis and handled it seamlessly while the original account rep was 1,500 miles away.
 
I also like Donne’s advice not to “send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” He was talking about death, but I look at it in a more abstract and therefore positive way. I equate a bell tolling to when we have had a great success for a client, such as a front-page news story. Even if it wasn’t one of MY personal clients, I am still excited for the success of one of OUR clients, and one of OUR account reps. So that bell…it still tolls for me.

You Are Going The Wrong Way! How Would He Know Where We Are Going?

Thomas Whitehead

This quote and scene from John Hughes’ 1980s classic Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of my favorite examples of how miscommunication can create more problems than resolutions when everyone is not on the same page.

I was recently reminded of this scene when I had lunch with a friend and he was sharing some of his frustrations with his current job. Relatively new to the position, he was stressed out that his bosses were asking him to do more and more tasks that were outside the original scope of what his job responsibilities were. More stressful for my friend was the issue that these new requests were delaying the chance to achieve the original goals.

As I listened more and more, I asked him one simple question – “Did you create a communication and marketing plan for the organization?” To this, he said he didn’t.

To me, this was the root of his frustration and stress. Without sitting down and taking the time to develop a comprehensive communication plan for at least the first quarter, if not whole year, the organization could be easily driven off course and distracted from the original goals that were set forth with his hire.

A communication plan includes, but isn’t limited to, a situation analysis, audiences, key messages, goals, objectives, strategies, tactics and a timeline. This document is always dynamic and can be adjusted at any time according to the needs arise. 

The beauty of it for my friend would be that as his bosses create new duties, he can cite the communication plan that everyone would have agreed upon and use that as leverage to have a clear course in accomplishing what needs to be done.

The communication plan is the foundation of any true successful publicity campaign. You have to start at the beginning by knowing what has worked and failed in the past. That perspective will quickly allow you to identify what direction your path should take.

Otherwise, if you don’t have a direction, there is a good chance you might have to pass through two trucks coming right at you.

Is that in my job description?

Katie Pemberton

When you have a working relationship with a PR, advertising or marketing firm, the expectation is that their work will result in more people becoming aware of your organization and possibly becoming actual clients. What we stress to potential and current clients is that our efforts could send a million prospects your way, but if those prospects have a negative experience when contacting you or visiting your location, you’ve lost them. We happily uphold our end of the bargain when our work informs or educates people about you; what happens after that is all on your end. (But we can help! More about that later.)

One key thing to remember, repeat and live by: Customer service is in EVERYONE’S job description. Of course, a salesperson or clerk knows their job is to help customers, but it’s important for everyone from shelf-stockers and back-end operations staff all the way up to the president to understand that, yes, customer service is their job. Every person who a customer considers part of your organization is an ambassador, whether they realize it or not.

Not every member of your organization is going to be conducting interviews with reporters, but every member of your organization, top to bottom, should be able to speak intelligently about what you do. A good rule of thumb is to never say anything to the general public that you wouldn’t want on the news. I have known reporters and other members of the media to call an organization and not identify themselves as news media. Does the thought send a shiver down your spine? Then read on, my friend.

At Obsidian, we work hard to help clients craft the messaging that we will use in our various tactics to elevate your company’s profile, from media coverage and media interview preparation to collateral materials and social media. It’s so important that your company demonstrates message alignment across all those channels. What I mean is if an ad or brochure says your restaurant can cater to vegans, but your servers have no idea what guests are talking about when they inquire, your messaging is not aligned. If you give an interview and say you deliver a seamless customer experience but then someone visits your location and is dismissed, ignored or not guided step-by-step through the purchase process, your messaging is not aligned.

So how do you make sure your company is communicating a consistent message?

• Communicate with your staff and be transparent. Make sure staff is aware of and trained to answer questions about anything a member of the public could see in a story about you, on your website, on Facebook, etc. For example, if you are offering a Groupon deal, make sure your sales clerk knows about it and knows how to ring it up. Share successes with staff. If someone sees in a news story that last year you had a banner year and mentions that in conversation with your employee, that employee shouldn’t be hearing about it first from a customer.
• Make 100 percent certain every employee understands that HE or SHE personally is the face of your company. If your accountant happens to answer a customer call, he should hold that customer’s hand all the way to the person she needs to speak with. If your executive director is walking through your office and is stopped by a member of the public, she should stop what she is doing if at all possible and help that person find who she needs to speak with. No, maybe your accountant can’t take a customer order, and maybe your executive director doesn’t have the time to give a tour to every person who comes into your organization, but it is their job to make their brief entry into that prospect’s experience a pleasant and professional one. 
• Consider hosting an ambassador training. Obsidian leads these sessions for many clients, where we educate the front-line staff of an organization on the various channels of communication, the importance of the first impression and how to make a positive one, how to choose what types of words to use when speaking with customers, etc.

The bottom line is this: A customer doesn’t know and doesn’t care what is in whose job description. Customer service and ambassadorship must be everyone’s responsibility.