Influencers and how to become one yourself

Influencers: The Stakeholders who own you and the Stakeholders you can lead

 

When living our lives no matter whether as individuals or as a part of organizations and the business we often make choices or have opinions which do not represent who we truly are. Sometimes we “catch” ourselves making those unnatural steps but most of the time we become unknowingly who our choices make us. The reason is that we are not born free. We are limited in so many ways by laws, culture, education, religion, etc. that we have grown up used to the idea that we must obey the rules.

Rules are indeed very important, if not the very core of society in all its forms. However, growing so obedient we have become slaves to many more rules than it is necessary in reality. Examples can be fashion, music, group rituals, diets, exercise, lifestyle in general, etc.

You will probably ask why we buy certain clothes or go to a certain club? You will not be the only one. Every business no matter how big or small wants to know that.

We do so because we are “told” so. Among us who obey there are also the so called influencers. Those are individuals who are a part of the groups to which we belong and who do not always stay ahead and behave as leaders. Those are simple people who speak the language of the crowd and understand its mechanisms. Of course, influencers are also often also public figures who beforehand have groups of followers.

Influencers are important for business from two points of view – as possible promoters/anti-brand activists and as trend creators. In the first case we talk about marketing efforts or restoring brand communication. Needless to say, this may mean the success or the failure of a brand. In the second case we talk about researching and detecting future trends predicted by behavior of influencers. Using this method can help channel the business efforts in the right direction.

This is also the reason why companies try to attract influencers as their employees or as their loyal consumers. But they fail to understand that being an influencer by “buying” an influencer’s voice is not the best practice. The reason is both that public figures are overused as corporate faces and “private” influencers are often individuals who succeed as such thanks to their strong, honest voice rooted in SOME principles. That is to say that there are no universal influencers. Somebody who is known as knowledgeable in nutrition will without a doubt be as useless to McDonald’s as they would be to Siemens if they start promoting hamburgers after swearing off all fast food throughout all their lives.

There are of course many “sneaky” ways to include an influencer’s voice in the corporate marketing but one should always beware that if an influencer is used in an attempt to manipulate the public and this information is leaked out of the organization great damage might be expected brand-wise.

The truth is that the times of manipulation are over. The only winning strategy for a company is to answer the demand, be honest and responsible. Getting the attention of influencers depends on a company’s ability to predict trends and act on them, cooperate with the public and always be a step ahead of competition.

This is the only way a company can become an influencer itself. However, besides being a market leader one way or another, the company should understand what makes one an influencer – a strong honest voice, rooted in clear principles. Companies need to understand that if they have a stand there will be somebody who will want to listen. And follow.

Global or local marketing strategy?

 

Today globalization means much more than travelling or drinking Cola all around the world. For companies it means a series of urgent questions and strategic decisions which are always due yesterday. A firm has generally few options – to operate locally while competing with local and global competitors, to operate globally while competing with global and local competitors, and to operate globally with localized strategies, thus to compete with global and local competitors as a local entity with the advantage of being a global company.

Each of these strategies makes sense in a certain context. Operating locally is mostly possible when we talk about small companies as with a company’s expansion its market necessarily also expands. However, there are several pluses which small companies should take advantage of. Firstly, it is fairly easy to network, create and manage strong relations with your local community. This way one can ensure loyalty and support for the business. Secondly, engaging in CSR is easy and effective. It is also incredibly visible within the community. Last but not least, one could profit from developing unique partnerships with local suppliers and other companies creating a desirable or protective business climate in the area. It is important to remember that investing in a community gives you some negotiated rights but it also gives you possibilities to control and develop your business environment.

Usually it is advised that strong and established global brands follow a global strategy. That means that a unified marketing strategy with minimal adjustments as language or other small details important at local level is implemented. Examples here are brands as Coca Cola, Harley Davidson, etc. Normally those brands have already been heavily marketed on both established and new markets so their arrival is anticipated and all values attributed to them are incorporated in consumer minds.

As great as that sounds it does have its downsides. Cultural differences, rivalry between countries or religious differences can trigger a market failure for a product marketed in such a way. On top of that one should always be on the watch for anti-globalists as their voice can be pretty loud and their arguments loaded with tragic emotion do affect many consumers and communities. Once again we could take Coca Cola as an example suffering in Asia from its way-too-American branding. The anti-American movement in many of those countries turned a few years ago into a campaign against all American products. Brands like Coca Cola were the main target.

Furthermore, global brands are attributed descriptions as impersonal, money-machines, mass production garbage, killers of culture and local business, invaders, etc.

So one could ask oneself – why market globally?

Just as mentioned above the globalization of a brand makes sense in certain cases. Marketers calculate expected profits and losses in connection to different strategies and if it turns out that losses are not expected to be major or are predicted to present a lesser cost than localizing the global strategy, it is a rational choice to go for global.

However, such a choice is quite more complicated. It also depends on what type of a product or service we offer and what are the standards in the countries where it will be marketed. Some products as toothpaste are generally expected to have similar qualities all around the world and can therefore be marketed globally with almost no necessary modifications. However, marketing something like cigarettes or alcohol which is a subject of a number or local regulations or something like lingerie the commercial of which might simply be banned in some countries as a result of moral censure presents us with a challenge. It requires consideration of a long list of factors highlighted by a thorough research of different prospect markets. That is what is called localized strategy.

In such a case a brand is built around a tight unbendable value core around which the product/service is shaped to meet market needs and requirements. Corporate policy though focuses not only on selling its product but on being accepted by local communities. That is necessary especially in controversial markets but is always advisable.

Allowing your branches to work semi-independently strategy-wise allows for local adjustments and for true involvement with the local community. Such a strategy which incorporates CSR elements benefitting local communities and developing a dialogue with them helps counteract the negative perceptions in connection to being a global brand and creates an environment of trust and mutual support. Needless to say, that will greatly affect sales.

However, there are also some cases where such a global – or multi-branch – company does not have a choice but to allow for independency and local policy for their branches. Such a case I have seen. Factors there were completely different core competences of employees, completely different customer base, different levels of popularity of company name in the two locations, different practices, different expectations and requirements of market based on some cultural differences, and so on. Incredibly enough, the goal was maximal unification – instead of maximum profit or efficiency. The result, not so incredibly, was a struggling local branch.

That is why making a decision concerning your global strategy should be based on thorough research and several major considerations:

1. What are the pluses and minuses of marketing globally?

2. What are the pluses and minuses of marketing locally?

3. What are the expectations of our main consumer base?

4. What are the needs and expectations of our prospect consumers?

5. Is our product/service replicable or it will be modified when entering the new markets?

6. What characterizes the new markets?

7. Who are our competitors? Is it at all worth it to enter certain market?

8. Are there strong local communities? Should we approach them? How?

9. Does our advertising need modification?

10. Are there some religious, cultural or other rules we should respect?

11. How will entering the new market affect our established market and our brand?

Those are just some general concerns which will likely have to be modified in accordance with your specific business, product, and of course market. The main point is that in marketing there are no simple decisions as the right decisions are based on facts, data, and prognoses. 

That is why no matter the size of your company or the budget you have, do yourself a favor and spend as much as needed on strategy. Otherwise you risk spending more on failed strategy.

DIDI

Front desk no-go: not knowing is not okay

Case   The secretariat is asked to give information about who within the organization manages a specific business area. The secretary’s answer: “The person you are looking for is… . You can find them on the following number and e-mail address.” “I am not sure who the manager responsible for those projects is. I will check and get back to you/I will now refer you to my colleague who will be able to answer your query.” “I am sorry but I have absolutely no idea who that might be/what you are talking about.”

We as people are taught that not knowing is nothing to be ashamed of as it is our thirst for knowledge that makes a difference. However, in business context this does not prove to be true. In different contexts it might signal laziness, lack of interest, lack of motivation, lower intelligence. In organizational context it signals dysfunctional communication, lack of transparency, lack of employee inclusion, miscommunication, dishonesty… the list goes on and there is not a single positive characteristic on it.

The first answer provided above indicates a company where all processes are controlled and information is shared at an appropriate level. Normally, consumers and partners trust such companies the most.

The second answer points to a company where either size, branches or business structure makes it difficult to manage everything from the headquarters. The company probably has a higher level of independency of structure or employees. However, navigating through the structure presents only a minor difficulty. Consumers and partners generally trust such companies but do get frustrated while trying to navigate through different departments in order to find the one they need.

The third answer is an example of an organizational mess. Consumers and partners generally do not trust such companies as they perceive them as unprofessional, inefficient, possibly dishonest, excluding employees from policy, lacking control over the business.

In addition, one should consider that wasting time on finding information or getting a service will deter many consumers or potential partners who do not deem the company or the service irreplaceable.

The company’s reception or service desk is the company’s face. As incredible as is it a rude receptionist could do a lot more damage than a minor marketing setback. One of the reasons is that nowadays people buy much more that products and services. They buy experiences. For them it is important to receive a positive experience in connection to a purchase. That is why being tossed around from department to department while finding the right one or being served by an impolite and resentful employee is often a deal breaker.

In B2B communication the need to make 3 or 7 phone calls in order to talk to one person means losses. Time is money indeed. Therefore it is expected that if such situation occurs business prospects in many cases will decline. Rudeness at organizational level means directly closed doors. Of course, here has to be considered the importance factor. There are those companies who one would wait as long as needed to talk to and who can allow themselves to be as rude as they like.

However, practice shows that such companies do not do well in the long run. Being thoughtful and careful with your partners and customers is one of the requirements of contemporary business. Therefore it is a must to provide a splendid customer service that will fulfill all requirements your stakeholders might have. The information paths should be clear and easy to follow and employees should be educated in the importance of serving customers with the necessary respect and care and, just as importantly, in a timely manner. Do not risk a company’s image on a “don’t know”!

DIDI

Exclusive Business Style

When talking about business style it becomes clear that different companies and different managers understand that term and what it is supposed to symbolize differently. Style is about presentation, about standards, about image, about who you really are. Style encompasses almost every aspect of everyday life. The image we create includes and is defined by our style.

Therefore our business style should be carefully formed and developed to perfection. Unlike many other things style cannot be faked. If we pretend to be an honest and socially responsible company while we steal from our customers and pollute the environment, it is stealing and irresponsibility that define our business style. Of course, some companies use a lot of money on public relations in an effort to cover their indiscretions and create a stable pretend-image. Money bad spent.

Another wrong interpretation of business style is that exclusivity is achieved by being different. I have seen the results of exaggerated focus on being the only one. They included mail labels which did not follow the generally accepted norms about labeling a letter, business cards which confused customers by providing unclear contact information, and last but not least 4 slogans on the back of the business cards promoting corporate responsibility and progressive innovation, while the company still did not account for any of them. That is what one can call an outside-in style, that is, a style created outside of the company, not aligned with the its values and forced onto it in the hope of becoming true.

Style is indeed a great commodity and it is understandable why companies strive to be perceived as working with great style. It is a great commodity though, only because it is a reflection of our behavior in the minds of our stakeholders, a reflection of our hard work on becoming who we are. That cannot be faked. Just think about corporations as Maersk. One can argue that it is different small things that build up their image and the perception of great style. The truth is though that their style cannot really be tracked to any of the small details in particular as all about them adds to who they are in our minds, thus creates the idea of business style.

In that sense trying to fake a business style is a condemned mission. First, it will take a lot of resources and time. Second, it will add to the stress in the company as employees will perceive the attempts to present the business in one way while working in another as schizophrenic. Last but not least, we live in an information society and truth always surfaces sooner or later. Therefore save your business the chocking impact with reality and avoid becoming a schizophrenic company. In fact the stakeholders have often a more positive attitude towards innocent-sins companies than such which pretended to be saints and turned out to be sinners. Do not forget – image is hard to build and easy to destroy, the same is valid for business style.

That is why most successful businesses demonstrate that they have understood the importance of genuine identity. Genuine identity refers to such an identity build from inside out, following the business strategy and practice. It is not a mask, product of an outside PR agency, forced onto the company’s face. Producing slogans and offering them to stakeholders, as mentioned above, is simply pure waste of resources and on top of that is dangerous.

Another common mistake regarding style development is attempting to be unique. Being unique is in fact something, everyone dreams about but there are good reasons for some equity to be established among us. The given example with the one-of-the-kind mail labels shows why. The post office got confused about who the sender was and whom they needed to deliver to. Was that a good way to differentiate the company? Following established standards is necessary in order to function in a society. Developments, innovation and revolutions are carried out in such a way that they do not bring confusion. That means that consensus should be achieved on them. Otherwise they are either dismissed or ridiculed by the conservative society.

If not that way, how do we establish an exclusive business style? Well, the simplest answer is just be exclusive in everything you do. We live in a society which values quality, simplicity, high standards, excellent services, transparency, responsible businesses, welfare, environment, care, etc. Being exclusive means that you fulfill as many as possible of the requirements of your stakeholders AND you do a bit more than required. Furthermore, it almost does not need mentioning, you have to be a reliable partner, honest and ethical and open to your local communities, perfect in legal and economic perspective, bold enough to be a leader.

After working hard enough on becoming the great company you wish to be perceived as, you can focus on the other details – presentation, communicating – directly and indirectly – your social leadership, sustaining your position. You need to accept though that it takes time and resources and the end result is often unpredictable as it depends on many internal and external factors.

What is guaranteed though is that you will gain a lot in the form of enhanced image and stakeholder trust and support. Exclusive business style today stretches beyond business and transforms companies into socio-business institutions with responsibilities for welfare, healthcare, safety, ecology, etc. No company, no matter how strong it is at carrying out business operations, will be perceived as a high-standard company as long as it does not take ownership of social issues as well.

That is why what you need to remember is: do not spend money on style attributes or image creation. Follow the highest standards of business, respect and include your stakeholders, act socially responsible and always go a bit further than required. Instead of talking too much how great you are, let others talk about you. Do not forget that every detail of your behavior talks, be thorough in developing and sustaining your public image.

DIDI