Tag Archives: nonprofits

At Connection Cafe: Five Steps To Make Employees Your Best Brand Ambassadors

by on July 28, 2008 in Business

The modern concept of branding and word-of-mouth-marketing focuses primarily on getting customers to become raving fans and talk positively about a company to their friends and colleagues. In the past few years, this focus has come to also include the value of getting employees to be raving fans of their own company, to speak openly and honestly about their company’s virtues, and to share their pride for their own and the company’s work. The thinking goes that if a company employs happy and satisfied employees, then that adds to an overall positive reflection of the company brand.

Yeah, but what does this have to do with non-profits…or maybe more importantly, how does this help you achieve your organizational mission? I’d like to argue that your own staff is the critical, yet underdeveloped, edge you need to meeting your fundraising, advocacy, and other goals. You have powerful resources that extend far outside of your own marketing department. Here are five steps in figuring out how to use them.

1. Know your internal broadcasters.
Your staff can be roughly divided into two groups: consumers and broadcasters. Consumers take in content through various channels like newspapers, blogs, and websites. Broadcasters do all of this and also create the content. They’re your bloggers, Twitterers, Facebookers, Plurkers, etc. They’re the ones who are connecting with others far outside your particular marketing focus. They’re the ones you want to build your employee brand ambassador program around.

2. Reward your broadcasters.
Broadcasters live for information. They want to know all the cool and worthy initiatives that are going on in your organization and be able to share that information with others. Don’t be shy about opening access and sharing this valuable information. And ask for their input and insight into how to penetrate your organization’s messages deeper into your target communities and wider into new areas.

3. Allow for creativity.
The social media space and branding world evolve at a rapid pace, which means that your dedicated and passionate broadcasters tend to live at the cutting edge. Don’t make the mistake of binding them or restricting their platforms. Innovative social media broadcasters are always finding new ways to use current tools. And for every one of today’s Twitters and Facebooks, there are several undeveloped tools waiting to be created and used.

4. Show them how to recruit other staff.
Broadcasters shouldn’t be an exclusive clique within your organization. Help them create more broadcasters and new brand ambassadors. Ask them to do “lunch and learns” about social media. Create knowledge sharing orientations to help them discuss their brand ambassador work when asked by others in your organization. The objective isn’t necessarily to get 100% of your staff involved in social media and branding…instead, show that every individual has an opportunity to contribute.

5. Keep an eye on the relationship.
I can imagine one objection or question that may be sitting at the tip of your tongue: how do we make sure that our broadcasters don’t put the organization or our formal branding work in jeopardy? The simple answer is that you can’t and the brutal truth is that you no longer have total control over the message. Sorry…those days are long gone, which is why #5 is so important.

It may seem obvious, but in order for your staff to speak openly, authentically, and enthusiastically about your organization, they need to be in a positive relationship with your organization. That means being focused on your staff’s level of engagement with their work and tapping into the pride your staff has working for your organization and it’s mission.

If your organization has had great results from cultivating organization-wide brand ambassadors, what’s your story? Share the wealth in the comments below.

At Connection Cafe: Don’t Take Your Staff’s Engagement For Granted

by on June 25, 2008 in Business

Today I published my first post for the Connection Cafe, Convio’s company blog. I’m hoping it gets some energetic and passionate comments so head over there and start a dialogue.

Connection Cafe is largely written to the nonprofit audience, but if you’re from the corporate world don’t let that scare you off. I’ll be dealing with the same themes there as I do here with Bailey WorkPlay…but more pointed to the NPO crowd.

Here’s a snippet:

But then, I would follow this with something usually less obvious: without an engaged staff, there would be no members wanting to bring their dues, participation, and energetic passion. Too often, professional associations and non-profits expend so much of their focus on what lies outside, they can overlook the very people who make things happen inside every single day (don’t worry, for-profits are not immune either). There’s a reason why many non-profits are not run solely by members or volunteers. It’s because the professional paid staff have the experience, skills, and talents to help members and volunteers achieve great organizational goals.

Go read the whole post…

Every Single Person Is Responsible For Customer Experience

by on June 23, 2008 in Customer Experience

Here’s a question that I’ve been pondering for a while and it just resurfaced lately. When management makes a person or a department responsible for customer satisfaction as their primary function, does that inadvertently absolve others of that responsibility? It was an issue I always struggled with as a membership development professional in the non-profit world and I also see it playing out in customer service departments in for-profits.

I guess the answer is that it all depends on the culture of the organization and whether that culture emphasizes that each person who enters immediately understands that no matter what their position is…providing a remarkable customer experience is task #1.

Yet, how many organizations can we personally count that have this type of culture? I don’t just mean they have a nice wall plaque stating that everyone is responsible for customer service; I mean actual living, thriving culture where this is acted out every single day. When you move on to the second hand, please let me know because you’ve just won a prize. And if your own organization is present as one of those fingers, you’ve won the grand prize…and I really want to talk to you because you have a story to share.

If you really want to improve the customer experience, start here: make it clear that every single position in the organization is customer-facing and responsible for their satisfaction. From the CEO to the guy who makes sure your IT infrastructure works, regardless of the position within the company everyone may be called on to speak to a customer about their experience, listen to a complaint, or gather their feedback about new ideas.

Invest In Your Career Through Professional Associations

by on January 3, 2008 in Career

Once upon a time, I worked in the professional association world as a membership development professional. While I may no longer be working in nonprofits or this particular field, I do continue to promote the value of joining and participating in a shared community of professional practice. As Barbara Safani mentioned a couple of days ago at the Career Hub blog…if you’re looking to jumpstart your professional goals this year, consider finding a professional association.

There’s a professional association for you…no matter what you do.
Some professions have easily defined associations (think accountants (AICPA), lawyers doctors (AMA), and realtors (NAR)). But if you think your profession doesn’t have an associated professional community, think again. By some estimates, there are around 70,000 professional societies, trade associations, and chambers of commerce in the United States alone. To find an association devoted to your profession, visit the American Society for Association Executives and search their Gateway to Associations. I guarantee you’ll find something (and if you don’t, contact me and I’ll help you locate one).

Don’t be afraid to think creatively about joining an association. There are some exceptional niche associations that address specialty areas within professions. And if you’re considering making a career leap, think about taking a small step in that direction by joining an association for that particular career. Associations have member resources such as listserves, newsletters, and networks which are great ways to learn about the possibilities and challenges facing you as you think about that potential new career choice.

So, you joined an association…now what?
Once you find and join an association, immediately sit down and sketch out what you want to achieve through your membership. Your membership is an investment in your professional future…take responsibility for nurturing that investment. One of the most frequent mistakes made by new members is not fully thinking about how they want to get the most from their membership. While most associations have a new member orientation program, only you know where you want to go. If growing your network is important, volunteer for a conference or join a committee. If building your prestige is important, write an article or submit a conference presentation proposal. The return on your investment will ultimately be what you’re willing to put into your membership experience.

Play around…see what works for you…then do it.
Take advantage of everything you can. Read the association’s publications, research their website, and contact the association’s staff to learn all you can about the features of membership. You might just find that there’s a little publicized member feature that fits your needs or discover a new feature in the works that will benefit your career. Don’t make the mistake of joining and then forgetting your membership. This isn’t an investment that delivers a return if ignored…you have to actively manage it and take action to see results.

Finally, care for your association staff…and they’ll care for you.
This is my shameless plug for all the hard working folks who make association management their careers. Just like others in the nonprofit world, they usually don’t do it for money, they do it for love. They love their members and love what their members do and they love being able to have an impact on their members’ industry. When you find them doing great things, tell them. If you find ways to improve the association, tell them. Foster a caring relationship with the staff and they’ll be far more likely to think about you when seeking a writer, speaker, or volunteer.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with professional associations. Have they been beneficial to your career?

Also posted at Career Hub…read more articles at the #1 HR Blog according to HR World.

Making A Difference In Associations

by on November 17, 2005 in Business, Career

Are making a difference and happiness linked? Curt Rosengren points to recent research supporting the connection.

Lately, I’ve been having watercooler chats with my staff, trying to get a better grasp of what we can do together to create the kind of workplace that inspires and excites folks. Working in non-profits, you come to understand that you make less money doing this type of work than if you did similar work in the for-profit sector (though, there are notable exceptions). You can’t rely on the paycheck to bring you complete satisfaction. So, why is it that us association professionals choose this field?

I think I can say that it is the feeling that you’re contributing to something greater than yourself. For me and the rest of my colleagues here, we’re working to make a difference in the world by supporting the field of alternative dispute resolution (which happens to include mediators). In a society where its become commonplace to take all of your problems to court and try to achieve some kind of victory in a zero-sum game, it’s incredibly gratifying to know that there’s a group of individuals out there who work to resolve conflicts in ways that benefit all parties.

Yet regardless of the type of association you work within (and trust me, there is practically an association for anything), and you make the work your profession, there’s a certain amount of love you bring to it. For instance, take the main points that Curt pulls from the USA Today article:

  • You need to know your work is making a difference, and for whom…
  • Personal contact with beneficiaries seems to make people happier and boost performance…
  • There’s a high degree of motivation to help others…

The results we receive when our work and our souls are aligned offer far more than the numbers printed on a paycheck.