Archive for the ‘mentoring’ Category

Social Media May Be The Answer, But What’s The Question?

Monday, November 7th, 2011

People keep saying social media is the answer, but do they ever stop to ask what the question is?

A case study of how wrong social media can go is when a Guardian reporter recently set up a Twitter account in the name of Shippam’s Paste. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/04/shippams-paste-ben-twitter-shippamspaste Purporting to be a new marketing intern, “Ben’s” naïve tweets displayed his company master’s voice telling him what to do rather than listening to and engaging with his audience. Whilst this has, and will continue to become, an iconic case study, it is true of so many brands and companies up and down the country who “do” social media because they’ve been told to (by someone looking to sell a ‘how to’ course), because they perceive it as free (whoever said ‘time is money’) and/or because they (or their kids) want them to be seen as ‘cool’!

Social media in business is no different to any other marketing communication channel in that it has to be used as part of an overall strategy. You wouldn’t put up a 48 sheet poster on the A4 on a whim or take out a double page spread in the Daily Mail so why on earth do you put you and your company’s message out into the world via social media without first going through the marketing fundamentals:

  • Who am I?
  • What do I / my brand stand for?
  • Who do I want to talk to?
  • Where can I find them?

If the answer is that the right place for your brand to engage with its audience is via social media (and defining which branch of social media as they do NOT all do the same job) then fine. Set a strategy, walk your walk and talk your talk and you should win through. But if you sell technical products or services to multinational conglomerates across the other side of the world, posting a status update on Facebook might not do it for you!

Engaging in social media takes resource commitment. There’s nothing worse than a brand that puts itself out there and says it wants to engage with people… and then doesn’t. If people don’t like what you do, don’t take the comment down or cover it up (unless it’s defamatory), admit your mistake and show how you resolved the problem. A customer who has a complaint properly dealt with is still likely to continue to be a customer and others will be impressed by your honesty. If someone poses a question it must be answered quickly – within an hour, not a week. When suggestions are offered, don’t just dismiss them out of hand, engage with the person as to what you can and can’t do with the idea, always giving reasons. Remember, whatever you say id there for all to see and will remain accessible for a long time so it needs to always be in keeping with your brand strategy and what you stand for.

I looked up an online dictionary definition of ‘social media’ and it said, “forms of electronic communication (as web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).” NO IT ISN’T! They are using “sharing” in much the same way as traditional media is about “broadcasting”. The clue is in the name. Social media is …social! You don’t meet a friend and talk at them for five minutes and then walk away not letting them get a word in edgeways (OK, you might all know someone who does – but how does that make you feel on the receiving end?) Most social interaction is about engagement and that is not token engagement but real, genuine, two-way communication.

Social media may well be the right answer for you – but make sure you ask the right questions first. If you need help setting a strategy, give the Marketing Mentor a call.

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Taking my own advice – consistent communication

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

I’m not sure what the phenomenon is called but it’s often how the the best decorators can have the most neglected home decorations or the conscientious gardener’s own garden is less than perfect. Well, so it has been with me! I realised recently that, as great as I am at giving other people advice (which I do all the time as the Marketing Mentor), about how smart marketing starts with a strategy that should run consistently through all parts of the marketing proposition and that one of the last elements is communication, I wasn’t practicing what I preached.

Fortunately, unlike many of my clients, who jump in at the communcation end and don’t know / forget about all the strategy that should come up front, I was guilty of the crime the other way around. My strategy is, and always was, sound but my communication, i.e. my website, was talking about a type of service I offered a while ago and it hadn’t caught up with the new Barbara Stopher offering. But now it has and you can check it out for yourself.

I guess the two main areas that weren’t on the old version are my marketing health check where I can review your strategy, making sure that it is in line with business objectives and that the results are measurable. I can also take that one stage further. So that, if you use marketing agencies for PR or design for example, I can review their performance and make sure that they are still “fit for purpose”. If not, I can manage a pitch process for you so that you DO have an agency working on your business that will deliver not only great creative work that is on strategy but also sound ROI.

As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and ex Chair of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Marketing Communications Group, I care about this industry. So I want to make sure that people who offer services under the “Marketing and PR” banner do so with the right amount of strategic background, insightful thought and commercial knowledge so that you, as their client, get the best possible results.

So, if any of this reflects your situation, get in touch and let’s start talking.

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The Andy Murray Factor – don’t let your business be second best

Monday, January 31st, 2011

There’s a potential analogy between Andy Murray’s defeat in the Australian Open and running your own business surrounded by a team of people who genuinely mean well, and have your best interest at heart, but have never been where you are trying to get to. So it’s all theoretical, not practical, advice; they can’t lead by example or show by experience. Facing Novak Djokovic across the net on Sunday, Andy Murray looked defeated even before the match started. He didn’t believe he could win; so he didn’t. Now the media are laying into him to say that he might never win a Grand Open. I’m just an armchair tennis buff but my view of the situation is, if he stays with the team he has (his mother and his good friend Dani Vellverdu who chose an academic rather than a sports career after tennis academy), they’re probably right. Particularly when Murray’s ‘coaching consultant’ Alex Corretja, who himself has been runner up in two Opens, wasn’t even in Australia with Murray!

Murray and Djokovic are supposedly friends who often practice together and therefore Murray said that each of their games would have no surprises for the other at the final. Wrong! Djokovic used his knowledge to predict exactly what Murray would do and had him on the run from the first game as his intention was to win the trophy. Murray just let himself be dictated to by his opponent with none of his usual grit and determination. He did not use his knowledge of Djokovic’s play to turn it to his advantage. One fault being commonly attributed to Andy Murray is that he is too cautious and does not take enough risks. Back to my point; none of his support team can show him how to push the boundaries.

What Any Murray needs on his team is a winner. Someone who has been there and got the T-shirt and so can confidently explore with him how to take calculated risks for higher reward. This is exactly the same role that a good business mentor undertakes with their client; helping them to explore options, break boundaries and move forward. But choose your mentor wisely. Look for a recognised qualification and someone who has run a business themselves rather than become a professional consultant out of university and never achieved anything in their own right. You don’t want to be another Murray…

Update 15 Feb 2011: Andy Murray looking for brand sponsor – any ideas? Murray Mints? Talisman? Scottish Gas? http://tinyurl.com/6hymybu

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Coaching & Mentoring best practice

Friday, January 21st, 2011

Whilst each coach or mentor will have their own way of working that is right for them and their coachee, every practitioner should follow a process that allows for effective engagement and plans and thereby strive for best practice.

The process starts with engagement between the coach and the coachee, which is informal and can be face to face or over the telephone. This is really a checking-in process to define and understand what the coachee expects from the coaching relationship and can also involve other stakeholders such as the line manager and Human Resources department. It is our responsibility as coach to explain what coaching is and describe the process so that all parties can discuss what is involved and buy-in can be achieved.

Part of the engagement process is to ensure that the differences between coaching and mentoring, along with other possible interventions, are explained. Some of the key differences are summarised below:

The coachee has to take responsibility to recognise their own coaching need, accept the responsibility for change, agree that they are ready to move forward and exhibit the will to do so.

The next stage is to formalise the coaching relationship via a written contract, honouring the agreement between all stakeholders and agreeing clear goals and objectives. The contract will also detail such terms and conditions as the number of coaching sessions, the length of each session, the content and structure of the sessions, provision of safety and security, the level of confidentiality involved, any reporting structure, the fees and coach access details so that each party understand their role and responsibilities. Should the coaching role develop, for example into mentoring and include the provision of advice and guidance, the contract would need to be rewritten.

Alongside the contract, as coach we need to inform and provide the client / stakeholders with a copy of our code of ethics that sets out the safe environment where coaching can take place and gives manageable boundaries of the coaching relationship. These include what can and what cannot be discussed, ensures that we conduct ourselves in an appropriate and agreed manner and practice within a consistent and ethical framework. We need to ensure that the coachee feels safe in the professional relationship and that signposting arrangements are agreed to support the coachee if their needs fall outside of that relationship.

It is important that the coachee does not develop a reliance on the coach; this is different for mentors where reliance can develop. If the coach is external and recognises that this is happening, they have a responsibility to bring this to the attention of the coachee and, if it cannot be resolved, end the contract. If the coach is internal, they must be sure not to abuse their position of authority.

As coach, it is important to recognise our own value system and beliefs and to understand how these may impact on our coachee. Best coaching / mentoring practice shows that it is crucial to ensure that our own values and beliefs do not adversely affect the relationship; we need to approach the coaching relationship with an open mind and in neutral observer mode. We must also have a good awareness and understanding of the values and beliefs of the coachee and be conscious that they may have a different moral code from us. We should be supportive at all times and not judgmental of our coachee’s views, lifestyle or aspirations. Both parties must feel safe to challenge inappropriate language or behaviour.

It is crucial for coaches to develop and continually improve our communication skills as well as our skills to understand and interpret the communications we receive from others. A good coaching session should be a structured, focused conversation, not an interview or training session. It is the coachee that drives the content of the discussion and so, as coach, we need to be open minded and concentrate on listening to and questioning our coachee. The GROW (Goals – Reality – Options – Will) model works well as a basis for structuring coaching conversations.

By being present in the moment to carefully listen to and recognise the language used by the coachee, the coach should be able to interpret these and extract the true meaning of what is being said. We can then reflect that understanding by using a style of language back in our facilitative style of questioning to increase the relevance to the coachee and elicit a truer response, objectively challenging as necessary.

As coach, we need to ask for clarification of any areas of the discussion that could be ambiguous and avoid using words that are jargon to the coachee. We also need to regularly check where we are in the coaching moment by paraphrasing or summarising the discussion to improve clarity and ensure understanding.

By tracking the response to the questions we ask, we can improve our future questioning and increase our rapport with and level of trust from the coachee. ‘Push’ questioning is designed for problem solving whereas ‘pull’ questioning allows for careful listening and reflection.

Body language is key to judging how comfortable the coachee is discussing a topic and when they may need coaxing to open up more and develop their thoughts for greater clarity and understanding. This means that a coach should be confident in level three, or global, listening skills.

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