Building consensus internatlly: Avoiding the pitfalls when implementing major marketing initiatives / "Plaid" branding / Different generations, different communication / Beer hall trend heats up
BUILDING CONSENSUS INTERNALLY: AVOIDING
THE PITFALLS WHEN IMPLEMENTING MAJOR MARKETING INITIATIVES
Okay, you’ve done it. You’ve gotten a major marketing initiative
through the approval stages and now it’s time to implement it.
Leadership is on board because you used a group approach to arrive at
the strategy, (see last month’s article, How
to Get Buy-in for Important Marketing and Branding Initiatives,) and now it will be smooth
sailing.
Or will it?
According to Jeannie Daniel Duck in her book, The Change Monster, “When people — executives in particular — start a change initiative, they believe they understand what will be involved. But once they get into the process, they are always astonished at how muddled, painful, protracted, tiresome, complicated, and energy-consuming creating change can be.” This is true whether you’re changing manufacturing methods, the way you bring your product to market, or the brand of your company.
A major branding or marketing effort will need to be
understood and embraced by everyone in the organization if it’s going
to truly represent the organization and its products and services, and this
acceptance can be a huge undertaking. In fact, study after study confirms that “most
fundamental change efforts fail to accomplish what they set out to achieve — such
as increased market share, higher stock price, faster and more innovative product
development, lower costs, and/or entry
into new markets,” according to Duck.
Why is that?
The answer that people are resistant to change is too simplistic an answer, however appealing. While it’s true that we are resistant to change, it’s also true that people go through all change in phases, and that just recognizing these phases can be immensely powerful. Change can be accomplished over time, and people can be brought to understand, accept, and embrace change, as long as you’re aware of what’s happening during each phase of the change, and realize that you’re not alone — and you’re not going crazy.
Illustration
from The Change Monster, by Jeannie Daniel Duck
Click
on the illustration to enlarge
The major phases of any change initiative are:
1. Stagnation, where organizations may feel a lack of “buzz” in the press, a sense of status quo, with legacy products and nothing new to get excited about. Sales could be okay, but nothing to write home about, either.
2. Preparation, where organizations recognize the need for change and end stagnation. Roles are defined and plans are made.
3. Implementation, where plans are announced and things start to happen. This is when the emotions of threat, fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty that first appeared in the preparation phase are joined by confusion, apathy, resentment, inadequacy, and volatility — as well as exhilaration and excitement. During this phase, it’s important for leaders to help their people understand the overall plan, persuade them that it will work, motivate them to flesh it out, and work with them to execute it. It helps to identify opinion leaders and enlist their support, and work through them to influence the rest of the organization.
4. Determination, where the initiative is in the most danger of failing. If the other phases have been successful, leaders may take their eye off the ball just when their leadership is needed the most. This phase is critical because the results of the cumulative efforts should be evident, but the organization starts to experience fatigue and many want to throw in the towel. People at last begin to realize that the change is real, they too will have to change, and they long for an excuse to go back to the way things were. Retreat is very good at disguising itself as apathy, hopelessness, anger, cynicism, and even a happy face — a popular ploy explained as a need to get some normalcy. During the determination phase, people need to see successes. While a growth in sales or a rise in share price may be months or even years away, people on the inside want to be associated with success now — and this can be accomplished with small, daily successes such as a productive meeting, an order from a new customer, a word of encouragement, or a completion of a task. It’s extremely important to find ways to celebrate, no matter how small, during both the implementation and determination phases.
5. Fruition, where the hard work and long hours pay off. It’s important to stop and relish the moment, to acknowledge the hard work and success, and share the rewards.
Taking the phases of change into account and dealing with them effectively will greatly increase the odds of your marketing initiative succeeding with its objective. And you thought it was all about marketing!
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"PLAID" BRANDING
Why restrict your branding to the serious
world of black and white? In this
article by Tom Asacker on his blog at acleareye.com,
Tom extolls the virtues of "plaid" branding -- and encourages
you to convey your brand's quirky, spin-free nature.
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DIFFERENT
GENERATIONS, DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION
By 2010, nearly one in three U.S. workers will be over age 50. At the
same time, the Millennial generation (those born between 1982 and 2000)
will become more of a presence in the workforce. Millennials -- who outnumber
Generation X nearly 2-to-1 -- communicate in ways very different from
more senior populations, and value different things. The challenge for
professional communicators will be speaking to both groups, as well as
those in the middle, in ways they understand and will respond to.
Different loyalty, not disloyalty
Generation X perceives loyalty and commitment differently than earlier
generations, but this does not mean that they are flighty or lacking
loyalty. Workers in GenX and younger tend to feel loyalty to mentors,
teams, co-workers, and bosses rather than to a company. With the phasing
out of pension-type benefits, these workers have realized that a company
no longer feels bound to take care of them for life, so they perceive
their connection as being to people, not institutions.
Communication avenues need to be varied
GenXers and Millennials in focus groups have reported that they couldn't
apply to certain companies because one look at the work environment
revealed communication that they perceived to be slow and outdated.
GenX tends to think in terms short interactions and fast responses
(email and other paperless modes of communication), and Millennials
tend to think even faster. These young workers want access to instant
messaging and online collaboration, where you can get your answer and
get out.
One size doesn't fit all
Where possible, it's going to be increasingly important to customize
communication. Your budget is going to limit how much customization
you can do, but it's important for communicators to begin thinking
in these terms and taking steps to individualize the way messages are
delivered. Younger workers may appreciate information on blogs and
via email. Older workers may prefer that your organization still employ
a fair amount of paper-based communication. The adaptation will take
time, but this diversity of communication styles is something that
communicators need to be aware of and be planning for.
Be sure to check out past issues of Marketing Tips for more information about Millennial workers, GenX, and GenY.
Source: Communication World magazine, Jan/Feb 2007
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BEER
HALL TREND HEATS UP
Three of Los Angeles' most influential chefs reported recently that they are
either in the process of opening a French brasserie or are seriously considering
doing so.
Brasseries, which historically were French adaptations of German beer halls and are characteristically large, noisy, and busy, contrast sharply with bistros -- small and cozy restaurants with a personalized menu. Alain Giraud of Bastide, David Myers of Sona, and Michael Cimarusti of Providence restaurant all say they may well be adding a brasserie to LA's restaurant scene. Giraud's and Myers' plans are already underway.
A brasserie is more standardized than a bistro, meaning that patrons will see familiar items like steak frites with béarnaise rather than a highly individualized menu created by the chef. The challenge, say chefs, is executing these standbys at the highest level of quality and consistency.
This trend towards beer hall-style food means new opportunities to feature beer varieties and presentations, as well as more boisterous decor. Brasseries can be large and raucous but the quality of the food can be very high. Giraud says he considers Brasserie Lipp in Paris and Balthazar in New York as his models and predicts that brassieres will grow in popularity in the coming years. The fact that LA plans to add more brasseries to its current group of just a few is an indication that a nationwide trend may follow, as other cities follow LA's lead.
Be sure to check out past issues of Marketing Tips for more information about beer trends and restaurant trends.
Source: LA Times
