The latest issue of SmartTalk was released on Friday. In it we discuss how to start using the reigning king of the social media world, Twitter. If SmartTalk didn’t make it to your inbox, check out the eNewsletter here:
There are very few businesses in the country that haven’t felt the effects of the current economy. And while most employers are scrambling to maximize external communication in order to stay afloat, other businesses are focused on those closest to the company, their employees.
I try to keep up with what’s happening with franchises and QSR’s for both personal and professional reasons. However; I missed this one story that a co-worker sent to me about the ongoing KFC vs. El Pollo Loco debate/feud/stunt comparing their two versions of grilled chicken. It’s quite entertaining so I feel compelled to comment and pose a few questions. Continue Reading »
In the wake of the announcement that four local news stations are going to share news coverage (WMAQ-Ch. 5, WFLD-Ch. 32, WBBM-Ch. 2, and WGN-Ch. 9), the Chicago Reader is up in arms about the RedEye and The Chicago Tribune sharing stories.
Continue Reading »
Recently, like most Americans I have been watching the flurry of media regarding the swine flu also known as the H1N1 virus and the reference to its being a pandemic. Fox Business recently reported http://bit.ly/gRyfQ that officials led by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are waging a battle against bad public relations targeting the pig. Continue Reading »
Nearly two years ago I had to make the transition from working in the business to working on the business. It was a difficult transition (still is sometimes) because no one tells you how to do it. When I asked my peers, friends, and family what a CEO should be doing, no one could give me a straight answer.
I read a ton of books. I read every article I could find. I brought it as an issue to my Vistage group. I asked other entrepreneurs turned CEOs. I kept a list of things I thought I should be doing as a CEO. Continue Reading »
“FOR SALE! PR CAMPAIGNS! ONLY A PENNY PER IMPRESSION!” This is what Peter Kim wrote in his comment on our blog post about value-based fee structures.
This is all fine and dandy if you’re a publicity firm, but the issue is that we don’t just do media relations. So how do you put a dollar amount on communication campaigns when media relations is only a small part?
We had great comments from everyone and the discussion created quite a nice list of pros and cons, based on an almost commission-based fee structure for professional services firms…those of us who add value, but not in terms of something tangible. Because you can’t hold, see, or feel communications, it’s difficult to decide what kinds of value to place on things such as existing relationships, media training, executive coaching, materials development, messaging, employee and/or internal communication, SWOT and/or competitive analysis, leadership development, and speech writing.
All of those things are important in developing the brand and engaging key stakeholders, but they’re not tangible. So who decides their value? The client? The agency? Both?
Let’s first examine the pros and cons that were discussed in the comments section of this week’s blog post.
Pros
* If we learn how to manage expectations, it’s a win/win for all involved.
* We have the ability to help determine value, based on our expertise and industry knowledge.
* We have the ability to set goals, timelines, and realistic results upfront.
* We keep talking about wanting to be seen as a partner and have a seat at the executive table; this is our chance!
* We now can move from a supplier/vendor relationship to being a true business partner because we are invested in both the risk and the reward.
* We now have the opportunity to think not as PR professionals, but as business owners that have P&L responsibility. If we create a risk/reward scenario with our clients, we have access to their business operations which makes all of us more successful.
* We can work with the c-suite to agree upfront to a defined success metric…across all departments.
Cons
* There is not a one-size fits all; what is success to one client (number of stories and millions of perceived impressions) is not the same as success to another client (how much did PR help my bottom line this month/quarter/year?).
* Most of the time PR, specifically, isn’t measured to business results.
* Service relationships are typically based on subjectivity, not objectivity, and the client sometimes changes that subjectivity in the middle of a campaign.
* We are held responsible for achieving our goals, but something out of our controls happens; i.e. not getting into planograms at retail early enough, an unavoidable crisis, etc.
* There are times the client doesn’t respect you or take your counsel, but you’re still held accountable for results.
* Sometimes clients hire agencies thinking they don’t have any work left to do. When the client doesn’t provide the internal resources we need to achieve the results, we can’t be successful.
* How to quantify different parts of a program; i.e. when a certain percentage of the target audience becomes a certain percentage more aware of the brand, that’s a certain price?
* Value seems to be a matter of perception, rather than an understandable, quantifiable amount.
* If the key players aren’t involved in the upfront conversations we’re bound to have issues come budget review time.
So how do we begin to determine value on the non-tangible things we provide? Scott Farrell suggests a few things. “Ask a pet food client how much it would be worth to the company if consumers who frequently switch brands were to buy just one more bag of the client’s food a year and you instantly not only help define the value of a brand loyalty campaign, but also help zero in on a reasonable investment the client should make to derive the benefit of increased share.
“Or ask what it would be the savings in dollars to reduce employee turnover by five percent, or speed the approval of a permitting process by three months. Conversations like these at the start of an engagement frame the work not only in terms of results, but also help determine price to be paid for the benefit gained.”
The best part about all of the comments we received is that there also are solutions. Below I’ve listed my favorites!
Solutions
* Include social media in all communication campaigns because it’s easy to measure, it provides instant gratification, and it’s targeted very specifically to any audience.
* Charge 80 percent of a project, with 20 percent (or higher) when you reach agreed upon objectives
* Separate (and, per above, usually fixed) fees for up-front strategic work, ongoing execution, and on-call crisis and reactive efforts.
* A written list of business objectives (not communications objectives, not hits in the media; measurable business objectives) from the client that represent a sort of good/better/best set of aspirations, with performance fees payable if they meet some or all of those objectives within the contract period.
* Cover your minimum costs with the main fee based on achieving expected results and a bonus based on overachieving milestones.
We are going to try a few things. First, we’ve learned how to directly measure our efforts to business goals for our clients because they do treat us as partners, we do have access to the c-suite, and we do have access to their dashboard reports and other analytics. But these relationships exist only with our current clients.
So with prospects, we’re going to try a hybrid of the solutions listed above in order to gain the trust needed to become partners in their businesses. Social media is becoming a large part of our programs so it’s easier for us to measure, but we’re also asking, upfront, for access to business objectives, revenue targets, and analytics they review daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually.
What are you going to do?
I’m going through this process right now, trying to decide if our financial model makes sense for the future. I feel like billable hours is so archaic, but I also think we need to track time in order to be profitable. We are paid for our time so some sort of tracking mechanism is a necessary evil.
I’ve always been of the belief that you would never go into a restaurant, eat a meal, and at the end say to the chef, “That meal was fantastic – thank you so much! I’ll tell you what; if I don’t get heartburn tonight, I’ll send you a check in the morning.” So why do people always want to do that with our invoices, AFTER they’ve negotiated a program, the fees, and paid a couple of previous invoices? Rather than be stubborn about it, though, I’m on the look-out for new ideas.
Therefore, I was interested to read “Coke Pushes Pay-for-Performance Model” in AdAge and “Changes Afoot in Professional Billing Rates” in The Australian Business.
The genesis of both articles is that clients want to know how advertising, PR, social media, marketing…all communication methods translate back to results. It’s the day old question, but now instead of shrugging our shoulders and saying, “But your brand awareness is off the charts!” we’re being held accountable for true bottom-line results.
So, you say, who determines the value? What do we do about the time it takes to ramp-up with a new client? Does this offend the PRSA Code of Ethics? Do you think we’ll try this and go back to the way things are now? Or will we do it only if forced by our clients?
They don’t stand a chance. There is no way they can beat the Celtics. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett, and who do the Bulls have? These are all jabs taken at the Bulls before the opening round series had begun. I admit, I was one of those haters.
So one of my co-workers was just telling me about a woman who, in a most rebellious mood, elected to boycott internal e-mailing for 30 full days. After her personal campaign, she said “Our communications are better, projects are moving faster and my relationships with my direct reports have improved.”
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