on the break I thanked the previous presenter, talked to Ken and (?) from Kwantlen, called C on the phone.
came in late while I got another cup of tea.
I’m feeling sceptical about this presentation, because the schedule made it sound like this might turn into a vendor pitch.
hathaway shirt guy 🙂 is talking about crisis mgmt, starting with Tylenol, which I just barely remember. and now nobody trust any damn corporation.
“gut feeling” — he talks about people getting it from TV, print, radio. (our research has said person-to-person. and what about the web?!)
information gathering preferences by age. the kids nowadays don’t watch tv, read the paper, or listen to the radio (at least not for news). and he uses “echo boomers”
ah, now we get the web. um, his numbers on the screen contradict his spoken words.
“blogs have become huge in the last several years” — wow, look at me. 🙂 being all huge & sh!t.
in crisis mgmt: “nothing like this is going to happen to them” pretty typical psychology, really.
proactive approach to crisis communications? ah, so that’s the idea of where reputation mgmt comes in.
issue identification, proactive response, rules of behavior, social dues strategy, communications mgmt.
his slides are lousy. way too many words, and he reads from the slides too much. (despite having a pretty little macbook)
example of Tillamook cheese people. 24 areas of interest, from customer trends to manure & odor control; prioritize.
and CHANGES based on that research, getting ahead of what people might freak out about in the future.
do practices match stated values?
missed some stuff while I was checking work email. of course, if he distributes slides, it’ll be pretty much the same thing.
imagine that: listening to people who you effect, and taking actions based on what you hear, gives you a better reputation.
q&a now or later? ::crickets::
cuter presentation (to go with blond woman) — media fragmentation.
ad effectiveness declining & cost is going up.
trust in media is really low, esp. in Oregon apparently. people get through fragmentation & lack of trust by turning to people they know & trust.
HBR paraphrase: make your loyal customers into your marketing dept.
value of word of mouth has gone up insanely since the last 70s. (67% to 92%)
stats she shows look a lot like our survey results.
she skipped what looked like a really interesting slide.
WOM works when product is exceptional (passionate users), when client has means to engage with others, and when supported internally.
trusted communicators (does that map to one of the tipping point categories?) – subject masters, love product, tell others proactively, sought out by others.
WOM is mostly about voice (face to face or phone)
oh, hey, this like that guy that used to volunteer at the BG Clubs, the camera nut.
“friend” coupons. samples (what would a CE “sample” look like?).
be careful about internet coupons. 🙂
“tillamook park cleanup” — building a lot of enthusiasm among community advocates.
5 questions to decide whether to add WOM efforts
- current effort exceeding expectations? [no]
- is product unique/exceptional? [hmmmm]
- are people talking? (even negative is starting point.) [dunno]
- is there communication infrastructure? [not really]
- do we have passionate support of internal groups? [hmmmmm]
q: effectiveness of enewsletters? varies a lot, but you should use it if you have great info to share. too much blasting reduces effectiveness. way to include an “offer”? (student pricing at event?)
missed a question while making notes.
find programs that have most WOM and “invite a friend” — to sit in on a class or activity?
what are we doing that’s great? [awards, strong registration, kick-ass grads]
PCC was running a radio ad for CE, if you register early your friend could register half-price. how did that work for them?
q: disheartening info about reach. what about using testimonial approach in mainstream media “best of both worlds”? (is it best of both worlds? something to chew on for later.) not entirely dismissive: just not the best/only/most effective tool.
“if I were using new tools I would use the internet” ! and again with the blogs.
q: example of successful use of blog in educational setting? doesn’t have an example. I should go find her and point her towards some of the resources I’ve been gathering. he talks about influencing leaders, and research you can buy (!) — someone else in the audience talked about instructors using blogs. woman talked about Susan G Komen offering expertise on breast cancer to answer questions on other people’s blogs. (now THAT is a good idea.)