By: Samantha Scott, APR

In this week’s blog I’m going to focus on some internal things we can all do to better our chances of customer/client satisfaction and positive interactions with media – i.e. PR or public relations. In the end, we (businesses and business owners) are only as good as our teams or staff, and that’s in more ways than one.

“You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” – unknown

Internal Communication & Teamwork

Your staff, or team as we call it, is made up of individuals, each unique in his or her strengths and each playing a vital role in the success of your business. If you have great people then you probably provide excellent service or products for your customers (hopefully), but what are the internal communications like? Are the individuals talking to each other and forming a unit or working independently without knowledge of the others’ efforts?

Internal communication is often overlooked, but is equally important as external communications, or publicity/PR efforts. If your team isn’t on the same page, the message you communicate outwardly most certainly won’t be cohesive either.

Media Relations / Training

Maybe your staff is working together and your internal communications are strong. That’s great! Are they ready to speak about the business before media or other audiences? Media training is important for the spokespeople for the business (CEO, President, board, Executive Director, etc.), but also for staff.

We love  journalists, but also know they like to pop up unexpectedly or sometimes go by a business to do an interview without notice. If your staff haven’t been trained on how to answer questions or who to defer media representatives to, you could run into a problem.

Alternatively, who’s responsible for your media relations? Is there a designated person within the company who handle media inquiries, distributing news/news releases, etc.? If not, establish that now (or consider bringing in an outside resource, such as a PR firm) so you’re prepared before something newsworthy comes up or media relations is needed.

Customer Service

Customer service is critical to a business’ success and can set it apart (positively or negatively) from competition. Is your staff living up to your expectations? Do you even know? Even if you’re not in the retail business, don’t assume your staff is adhering to high quality customer service. Know for a fact.

There are many ways to monitor this and to enhance it (even if you are on the ball). Consider doing secret shops, adding customer service surveys to the check out or post service process, ask for feedback and/or reviews. If your staff is doing a great job, reward them and try to develop new goals with incentives for reaching them. The positive impact outstanding customer service will offer could lead to positive word-of-mouth and possibly new business, so be sure to keep an eye on this and reward those employees who are excelling.

Reputation & Reputation Management

You’ve got a great team, they’re talking to each other and collaborating, they’re ready for media AND they’re providing outstanding customer service. Great job! Now, are you tracking that and your business’ reputation online? Monitoring customer feedback goes beyond asking a customer about their experience or reviewing a comment card. People are sharing their opinions online. If you’re not listening or paying attention to those opinions, you could end up paying for it in the long run.

There are many review sites that are general, covering all industries, and even more for specific, niche industries. Make sure to claim or set up your business on these sites and monitor what’s being said about your business. Respond to both the positive and negative comments. Learn from them, reward staff based on them, and grow from them. Better yet, get your team involved in asking for reviews on these sites and engage them in the process too.

Moving Forward

If you’re interested in setting your team up for success, or just have communications questions, get in touch. We’re happy to help!