If ever there were a Holy Grail of communications, it wouldn't be a prophetic measurement tool or a proverbial seat at the table; it would be the ability to know what keeps
your/your client's CEO up at night - and how to fix it. Granted, mind reading and fortune telling don't rank high on most PR executives' list of skills, but with a little
psychoanalysis - and a lot of research data - they can crack the code and offer the strategic counsel necessary to resuscitate ailing businesses.
But doing so first requires communications executives to take a look in the mirror and see what their CEO sees. A PR News/Counselors Academy CEO survey did just that by asking
PR managers to take a step back and analyze their relationship with those at their organizations' helms. Among the results most relevant to this discussion are the following (for
complete survey results, see PRN 07-23-07):
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When asked which issues/trends they see keeping their CEO (or CEOs they counsel) up at night, the greatest percentage (16%) equally identified the regulatory
environment, crisis management and sales;
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However, when asked for which issues/trends their CEO seeks their counsel most often, only crisis management ranked highly (21%);
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42% of respondents said that their CEO sees PR/communications primarily as reactive damage control, not as a proactive function; and,
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63% said that the following statement was applicable to their relationship with their CEO: "The CEO only seeks PR counsel on tactical rather than strategic
issues."
These findings suggest a disconnect between what communications executives have to offer in the way of strategy and what CEOs actually expect of them; additional surveys
further support that suggestion. For example, a past research program by McKinsey and the Marketing Society among CEOs and CMOs investigated the perceptions of
marketing/communications and found that there was a widespread confusion surrounding what the function actually is (see sidebar).
With the above research as an impetus, communications managers must take the following actions to reassert themselves and their services in the C-suite.
*Formally define your capabilities: Because senior leaders are apparently unclear about the role communications can play within their organizations, marketing and PR managers
must take the initiative themselves. Consider the following guidelines in doing so:
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Don't restrict functional responsibilities to tactics.
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Emphasize strategic areas in which communications can play a definitive roll: thought leadership, talent management and resource allocation, for example.
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Have a roadmap for executing strategies: Rationalize "the brand portfolio so that existing resources could be more effectively channeled to support stronger brands," wrote
Anthony Freeling (McKinsey), Fiona Stewart (Antennae) and Fran Cassidy (The Cassidy Media Partnership) in an article entitled "What do CEOs want from marketing?" (Market Leader,
2004) They encouraged communicators to manage brands as a business; to provide rationale for why organizations need to change the way customer processes operate; and to bring
outside consumer perspectives into the company.
*Focus on providing data that backs strategies, not tactics: "Although companies seem to be awash with data that help them figure out tactics, many CEOs and CMOs are beginning
to question the real strategic insights being generated," write Freeling, Steward and Cassidy. "This means building models of purchase behavior that enable the delivery of a
strong proposition to consumers or customers. Being able to use customer data more effectively is central."
But how can communicators harness this data? According to Matt Gonring, a consultant with Gagen McDonald, thanks to "new macro metrics, we have an opportunity to connect the
workplace and the marketplace in a way never before done. This is based on the fact that no big idea "sticks" with the workforce unless it is rooted in the marketplace." These
macro metrics he refers to hinge on customer loyalty and employee engagement indexes that, at their root, indicate future behavior based on the following questions: Would you
recommend or refer buying this brand/product/service to a friend or colleague? And, would you recommend or refer a friend of colleague to work for this brand of company?
Communications executives can "own" this uncharted territory of customer loyalty and employee engagement indexing and, in turn, build models that define customer behaviors.
"[These indexes] move away from output metrics to outcome programming," Gonring says. "The owner of the indexes will have tremendous leverage to provide the operational
roadmap, identify supportive behaviors, provide a basis for programming and messaging, and replace existing satisfaction metrics."
CONTACT:
Matt Gonring, [email protected]
What's In A Name?
Research undertaken by McKinsey and the Marketing Society entitled "What do CEOs want from marketing?" uncovers some troubling characteristics that CEOs identified when asked
about their perceptions of marketing/communications. For example, the research showed that there is widespread confusion among both CEOs and CMOs as to what marketing actually
means. The following 12 activities were identified as ones that might be included in the function:
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Market research
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Promotion strategy
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Pricing
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Customer communications
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Marketing fund allocation
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Key account management
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Distribution strategy
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CSR
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Sales
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Corporate image and reputation
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Internal marketing and shareholder communication
This ambiguity in the C-suite poses major problems for communicators who are trying to have strategic impact on their organization. The solution? Maybe the function needs to
spend some time rebranding itself before it takes on its corporate brand.