Next Wave eCommunication: New Rules, New Roles in Communication Leadership

IABC Conference in Washington, D.C. March 9-10, 2000

by Susan Thompson, Communications Officer,
Center for Corporate Communications and Customer Outreach, Department of Defense
Member, Federal Communicators Network
frauie@prodigy.net

If you were looking for ideas on how to market your company, exploit your brand name, and communicate online -- both via the Internet and through the company intranet --, or if you were seeking ways to successfully bring the latest technology or knowledge sharing into your business communications plan, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Conference in Washington, D.C., presented a feast of real-life successes and plenty of opportunities to augment your knowledge, spur your imagination, and unleash your energy. "Next Wave eCommunication: New Rules, New Roles in Communication Leadership, " a program presented by IABC in association with NetGain, featured five tracks from which to choose: knowledge management, human capital, marketing, public and investor relations, and internal communication. Four post-conference workshops were also offered in all those tracks except human capital.

The superb roster of speakers was particularly noteworthy, all of whom challenged the 450 registrants from nearly as many companies, organizations, and agencies representing the entire spectrum of the private and public sectors. Executives, managers, consultants, writers, and specialists were among the attendees. Perhaps the most difficult part was deciding which of the 30 intriguing scheduled presentations to attend!

GENERAL SESSIONS: The first day offered keynote addresses from two highly esteemed leaders in communications and business. James Taylor (leading Futurist, Author, Lecturer, Consultant, and "Marketer of the Year") spoke in the morning about the role of a communicator in the 21st century. Over lunch, Robert H. Buckman (Chairman of the Board and CEO for Bulab Holdings Inc) demonstrated how his company, like other organizations, must share knowledge to increase the speed of innovation and meet the changing needs of the customer.

Taylor underlined the importance of futuring as a way to bring about what actually happens in the future. Since technology has forced us to live at a pace that is so much faster, the battle is not about getting the share of the market anymore, he said; the battle is about getting the share of the mind and consciousness of people. As communicators, our job is to figure out what the new intelligent machines and technologies of today mean and then communicate it. The most valuable thread to these communications is being able to integrate the ideas and find the story while never shading the facts. As was reiterated frequently throughout the conference, your company's reputation and brand are all-important in this day of wide communication where everyone can publish. Moreover, a company needs a single point of view in the future. Taylor elaborated that this encompasses four parts: know who you are, recognize your seminal moments, have an attitude of engagement, and know where you want to go.

During his presentation, Buckman highlighted how his company embraced the fact of change by incorporating new ways for employees to relate to each other. In his opinion, an ideal system for this is to: reduce the number of transmissions of knowledge to one; give everyone access to the knowledge base of the company; allow each individual to enter knowledge into the system (this unleashes power); allow the knowledge base to cross time and space and be available 24 hours a day; make it easy to use for those who are not computer experts; and communicate in a language most suited for understanding by the user. Distinguishing between explicit and tacit knowledge, Buckman pointed out that the sharing of tacit knowledge by users inevitably generates a marvelous explicit base of knowledge. He also noted from experience with his own company that as the span of an individual's influence expands, the power of the individual expands and her/his value increases which further expands the power of the company. It's a new age; sharing, not hoarding, knowledge is the means to gain power and achieve success - it also brings a higher quality of knowledge to the customer. To do this, however, a company must create a climate of continuity and trust. Further, it must increase the global speed of response (the mobility of an organization at any point of time) and increase the value of the individual (enabling the faster growth of talented people who can then become mentors). The gatekeeper role must be eliminated. Buckman concluded, "Communication is human nature. Knowledge sharing is human nurture."

A SAMPLING OF SEPARATE SESSIONS: The most reasonable way for companies to market today is on the Internet, but that requires a strong corporate brand image, Daniel Janal (Principal, Janal Communications & NetGain Partner) reminded us in the session, "Building Customer Loyalty and Trust Using Online Tools." How to build that loyalty? Take advantage of your company's brand (logo, typeface) and bring it into your web site - clearly perched on top of every web page. Create emotional attachment to your company brand and be consistent throughout your web pages. But Internet marketing is not a vacuum or a replacement, Janal warned (a recurrent concern throughout the conference). All advertising tools must work together and be integrated, tracked, and measured to form the basis of a company's customer relations. The radio leads to the web site, the site leads to the email or a telephone number, the billboard points to the radio; such one-to-one/Permission Marketing is today's trend. Janal suggested the following principles for setting up a web site: determine your mission first, then decide on the message, only then build the web page. To underscore that mission and message, he recommended that web artists not be the ones in control of the web site: it needs oversight. Janal also recommended that every page ask for some kind of action from the viewer (e.g. ask for the order on every page) and then track the response rates. Testing is, of course, key since the web page is never really finished. Realize who your target audience is: many savvy customers do not want to be manipulated but want to decide for themselves. One tip: giving something free for coming to your web site out-polls every other technique out there.

"Using Online Tools to Gain Support in Traumatic Change" was presented by Sylvia Kowal (Senior Manager, Global Communications, Nortel Networks) and Robin McCasland (Manager, HR Communications, Texas Instruments Inc.). Kowal depicted her company's efforts in communicating corporate change to its younger workforce. In efforts to "know one's audience," Kowal's studies revealed crucial differences in the tendencies of younger employees (<35) compared to earlier generations:

Realizing these differences, Kowal's company decided to use a game placed on the company's intranet to communicate the corporate changes. The game was based on questions, using graphics that danced to music if each answer was correct and a whole band playing a song if all answers were correct. A wrong response took the employee to a URL with the correct answer and information about the company's plans and policy changes. There was a high probability of winning, and all questions related to the company changes and policies. This technique was extremely well received, and even managers were very supportive.

McCasland referenced the major change Texas Instruments (TI) went through from 1996-1998 and how it approached new employees differently in an effort to hold onto them. For example, TI began advance processing new employees before they even arrived, giving them forms they could fill out and policies they could read on the Internet (special URL) from home. TI ensured the new employee's desk was set up before arrival and that her/his computer was working the day she/he came on board. It made the first day fun, showing videos, for example. Also, it prepared an acronym intranet web site to assist in the new worker's ability to decipher all the in-house acronyms (a common problem in hi-tech companies).

Eric McNeil (Web Strategist, IBM Mobile Computing) covered the vital issue of "Turning Customers into Advocates." Customers as advocates, as many of us know, have a lot of power and a lot of reach; they are an irreplaceable primary research tool, whether you listen to them or not. The Internet, as an interactive medium and no longer a mass medium, is shifting the power to the individual, McNeil said. This interaction is also laying the ground for a peer-to-peer environment, a community, where the quality of an experience on a web site is key, not the number of hits a web site gets. These communities drive customer loyalty, passion drives customers, and brands still do matter. The tools must be geared to seduce customers into the fold, speaking to the customer with one voice and posting any comments. In fact, psychographics have become more important than demographics - horizontal versus vertical communities. IBM is working on this right now and expects a lot of activity soon. McNeil elaborated that companies should not let members remain beginners, but to drive them up to experts because that is where your advocates really are. He gave Saturn as a great example of creating advocates. Further, customers must be compensated for disclosing data. Always track discontented customers as much as contented ones. Customers will talk anyway, so it is best for a company to be in the loop.

David Frink (Director of Communications, Dell Computer Corp.) presented "Creating One-to-one Relationships on the Net." More than a sales' channel, the Internet's real power is in its ability to transform relationships because it enables conversations. There are high expectations out there today and zero tolerance for site problems. Web sites require different deadlines and a different writing style - they must deliver the great experience. Frink referred to it as the Audience of One - a unique experience based on knowledge. Dell Computers, for instance, has introduced Premier Web Pages for its large business customers (e.g. Ford, Shell), and these are growing by 5,000 per quarter. They are customized for a specific company and its employees, and they are password protected, offering online purchasing/pricing, configurations for procurement, management reports, customer case studies/testimonials, and information about Dell Computers. Dell Computer's founder and CEO, Michael Dell, also has his own executive web site posting his speeches, kids' interests, and products he uses. Online listening is essential - hence "Ask Dudley" is on Dell Computer's web page. To encourage an online orientation, your company must create a web culture. Dell himself mandated that every Dell Computer employee take a web class and pass the test with 90 percent correct. Finally, use the Internet, but focus on your objectives.

"Designing the Communication Function To Meet Knowledge Management Goals," presented by Jerry Bryan (President, Bryan Consulting and Chairman & CEO, Atisma Technologies, Inc.), highlighted the fact that executives and communicators will fail if they ignore what it means to live and work within a web environment. It means there is more interaction among workers, less command and control for managers, more collaborative teams of innovation, and that the chain of command is a web of peers which can motivate by recognition and self-satisfaction. Knowledge management is leveraging the assets of your company. It is sharing your strategic plan (the company secret is in the implementation, not the plan). In a merger, knowledge management means posting the minutes of each meeting immediately, without CEO reviews - giving the employees the straight story. When doing this, it was found that employee morale went up significantly. Bryan emphasized that in leading firms of knowledge management such as Xerox, Ford, and Monsanto (among others), the web is collaborative, interactive, and innovative - not just for getting out information. It lifts the products up, increases productivity, and rises to the executive level. It organizes user groups to give them opportunity to inform each other.

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION:

Shel Holtz (ABC, Principal, Holtz Communication + Technology & NetGain Founder) led this workshop entitled "Integrating the Intranet into Your Communication Strategy." In far too many companies, the intranet is either a replacement for other communication tools or it is isolated from the communication strategy. Holtz insisted this must stop, that the intranet is not a separate set of operations, but is an element of how audiences perceive the company. He outlined the following recommended steps for setting up a web site:

Then Holtz offered nine integration methods:

Holtz concluded with practical exercises, breaking us up into small groups where we discussed real-life problems many of us were experiencing in our own companies and then brainstormed for solutions.

Thus ended a most invigorating and enlightening IABC e-Conference in Washington, D.C. We all left with countless ideas and new insights, and the connections to other professionals were stimulating. The next IABC international conference will be held on June 25-28, 2000 in Vancouver (see www.iabc.com).