WAINGER
WISDOM
In this blog, we explore what it takes to engage, inspire and connect whether you are building a personal or organizational brand.
Join us in this ongoing conversation about creating effective leadership communications with strategies and tactics that foster understanding and motivate people to act.
Join us in this ongoing conversation about creating effective leadership communications with strategies and tactics that foster understanding and motivate people to act.
Honesty in Language? Take Off the Muzzle Gently
Why is it that people cannot say what they really mean? Take, for example, the HR representative who says, “We’ll keep your resume on file,” when they don’t plan to consider you at all; or the reporter who responds to a pitch by saying, “thanks, I’ll keep it in mind,” when what she plans to do with the email is hit delete. In this age of uncivil conversation, this may be one of the most uncivil conversations there is.
Komen Foundation and Public Relations – It’s About Regaining Trust
There is not much I can say more about the Susan G. Komen Foundation debacle that hasn’t already been said. They stepped in it and were unprepared for the push back and fall out. But at the core of this mess is that Komen lost sight of what they were all about. And that was why there was such an outcry. In the Twitter and Facebook age, that outcry was immediate and fast, causing a public relations firestorm so hot that Komen had to reverse its decision about withdrawing funds from breast screenings at Planned Parenthood, so as not to be consumed by it.
Best Prep for Public Relations Pros: A Solid Liberal Arts Education
Not long ago, the daughter of a friend asked me what she should major in for a career in PR. Without a moment’s hesitation, I said it doesn’t matter as long as you know how to think and how to write. If you can do those two things, you’ll be successful in public relations or for that matter in almost any career.
Message Development: Make Negative Work For You
Many clients ask why positive news about their organization or company doesn’t seem to get much attention. The answer is simple. In public relations, message development, and elsewhere, negativity is more memorable. And that’s why we are seeing so much of it in this political season.
Communications Planning: Communication Takes Practice
An advertisement on the Washington, DC, Metro stated boldly: “Happiness is being able to order food without having to talk to anyone.” If happiness is about further limiting one’s contact with other humans, even for simple transactions, it spells trouble.
The Customer Service Wall of Shame
A few weeks ago, this blog highlighted some terrific customer service experiences, a rarity these days. Rudeness, inefficiency and callousness seem to be the norm in the relationships between companies and the people who buy and use their products and services. One of the places where customer service can be particularly bad is the doctor’s office and medical facilities where one would expect it to be otherwise.
At Last, They Get It–It’s Customer Service, Stupid!
Many companies have finally realized that customer service matters. After all, competing on price alone will only take you so far. In this age of press 1 for an automated voice that reads out another list of menu items that don’t match your situation, getting a pleasant and helpful person on the other end of the phone or in the store can make all the difference in brand loyalty. And when your product isn’t really all that different from your competitors, you win by making customers happy.
Crisis Communications: Penn State, Now What?
Today I got a notice that the bill for the second-semester tuition for my daughter at Penn State is due. As I read that email, I was reminded of what a colossal failure and tragedy this scandal is on so many levels, least of which is how the university is managing any form of crisis communications with key constituents such as parents, donors, alums and the students themselves.
A Public Relations Lemon Becomes Lemonade
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, a fine, public liberal arts institution, faced a big problem. Mold sickened students and displaced 250 of them from their dorm rooms. What did the college do? It found a cruise ship to provide temporary housing while they remediate the mold problem.
Communicators: Let’s Declare a Language War on Jargon
In a recent post, web PR and marketing guru, David Meermon Scott complained about the use of gobbledygook,which distances organizations from their customers, and urged his readers to start speaking in plain language. The biggest perpetrators of goobledygook are the people who should know better: professional communicators.
Liz Wainger says:
Liz Wainger says:
Liz Wainger says: