Risks and resource
The next section of the worksheet deals with figuring out assets and risks. Challenges is where you list your risks, plus your potential, probable, and definite difficulties. When you design your proposed customer relationship solutions, you’ll need to keep these in mind.
If anything in this space is too much to deal with, you may need to table this goal and approach it later in the process of assimilating the changed business climate, or let another group take it on.
Partners and Collaboration go together. Partners are the other groups that you need or want to work with to meet your goal. Under Collaboration, you honestly assess whether you will be able to work together and share credit for the solution idea and the work to implement it. If the partner is a team you can collaborate with, then you can work together to propose the response to the new customer need. If not, you are better off making the proposal alone or with an executive champion, and pulling the partner in if your proposal is accepted.
Outcome deciders
Finally, the Decision makers section is where you list those who will decide whether your proposal is accepted and set the parameters of how you implement the solution. The questions “Do they get your role?” and “Do they get your resources?” are very important to your proposal development. If the decision makers don’t understand why your e-Learning team is involved in developing this solution (role), or what you have to put toward implementing a solution if it is accepted (resources), you will have to highlight that information in the proposal.
Case study (very definitely made-up!)
Let’s look at a fictional company crisis, and relate the four rules and the worksheet to it. Here’s the scenario: Small capsules from outer space have landed in many locations across the world. They contain what appear to be tiny insects, some of which have been released into the air. So far, the insects have caused no problems, although governments and people in general are concerned about them.
These bugs have been found in all areas of the planet except strawberry fields and patches. Tabloids, and even mainstream media, are speculating that strawberries repel these “insects.” You are in charge of the training team for a company that makes exclusive strawberry-scented shower and bath products sold at a national boutique. Your team produces e-Learning for sales staff at the stores that carry your products.
At first glance, this might seem to be a great position for your company. It’s a potential windfall! But you know that there is a danger that your company will look like it’s profiting from a panic, especially if it turns out that the “insects” are completely benign, or if it turns out that strawberry scent doesn’t repel them. Here’s how you might use the rules and the worksheet to analyze your possible role in this situation.
Know your business: As soon as the lack of “insects” in strawberry fields came to light, you began paying attention. When the tabloids started doing stories on bogus strawberry hoarding, you knew it was time to start making plans for an e-Learning solution. Since the sales staff in the boutiques that carry your products work on commission, you know they will be tempted to hint that customers should stock up on your products to repel the “insects.” You also know that since the tabloids have picked up the story, and the capsules are already a news obsession, the media will be seeking comment. Your company generally doesn’t get much attention from any media except the fashion magazines, so you know that your executives and scientists aren’t going to be prepared to deal with the press.
Know your culture: Your company makes upscale cosmetics, so it almost has two cultures: executives, Sales, and Marketing are aligned with the Health and Beauty field, while Research & Development is a hard science team. You know that both sides of the business are concerned with carefully protecting the company image. You see your company as proactive but risk-averse.
Forget history: There has never been a need for your company to respond to the news media before, but since your team creates Sales e-Learning with branching video scenarios, you think you might have a role to play in media training.
Be considered but quick: Sales are suddenly on a sharp upswing (which is great, but …) and you’ve seen a few interviews with strawberry farmers on the morning talk shows. You’ve got to do your homework, and then it’s time to make your proposals. See Table 3 for an example of your worksheet for current customers.
| Customer: | Boutique sales staff |
| Effects: | Media reports that strawberry may repel “insects,” may result in increased demand, and may inspire some sales staff to make unproven efficacy claims in order to boost sales |
| New Goals: | 1. Make sales staff aware of facts |
| Team Changes: | No |
| Product Changes: | Changing Content |
| Challenges | Keeping training up to date with discoveries |
| Partners | R&D, Sales, Marketing |
| Collaboration | Yes |
| Decision makers Do they get your: | VP of Sales, Legal |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Partnering | Repurposing | Focusing | Renaming | Restructuring |
|
| Customer: | Media representatives | |
| Effects: | Have to deal with media inquiries about your company’s products and the “insects” | |
| Quick Analysis: | Will want statements on both the products and the science behind them. Will be persistent and will want brief statements in plain language. | |
| New Goals: | 2. Media training for executives | 3. Media training for R&D scientists |
| Team Changes: | Partnering? Restructuring? Renaming? | |
| Product Changes: | Changing content, Providing new tools, Delivering with new vehicles | |
| Challenges | No expertise in this area | |
| Partners | Marketing, consultant? | Marketing, consultant?, R&D |
| Collaboration | Yes | M/C yes, R&D maybe |
| Decision makers Do they get your: | Top Management | Top Management |
|
Yes | No |
|
Yes | No |
|
Partnering | Focusing | Renaming | Restructuring |
||
Your existing customer is the boutique sales staff. Let’s look at one of your goals:
- Make sales staff aware of facts – there is no evidence that the “insects” are dangerous, and no evidence that strawberry-scented bath products repel them. You also want to highlight the consequences of appearing to take advantage of the public by encouraging people to buy based on false concerns by dramatizing the customer reaction in scenarios. This can be added to your existing scenario training, so you have no need of team changes. Your products will need new content. A challenge might be to keep up with new information, but stores have daily stand-up sales meetings, so your e-Learning can catch up in a day or two. Your partners will be Research & Development, Sales, and Marketing. Updates to e-Learning are within your current scope, so you will have no problems with collaboration. The decision makers understand your role and resources. You will definitely propose this solution.
Your new customer group is news media representatives. (See Table 4.) They will want comments about your products as related to the “insects.” They will be persistent, and will want brief, plain-language statements.
Let’s look at two of your goals for the news media:
- Media training for executives – Your role here may be secondary, as Marketing and Communications may take the lead. However, online coaching, Webinars, and Webcam conferencing could be excellent strategies to support face-to-face media training, which would require product changes to content, new products, and new delivery vehicles. Team changes required to support this work will certainly include partnering, and you may also need to restructure to free people up to develop the new tools. You will partner with Marketing, and probably with a media training consultant to provide content expertise. Decision makers will understand your role and resources. You will propose this solution.
- Media training for selected R&D scientists – This is very much like the previous goal, except that R&D may not understand the need for media training, since their scientists are experts. Executives also may not see a need for the scientists to speak to the media, but you (and Marketing) are certain that the media representatives will insist. With the support of Marketing, you will propose this solution.
This is admittedly a silly case study scenario, but it is one that could result in many new customers, customer needs, and goals. I look forward to seeing some of them in the “Talk Back to the Authors” Forum, as well as suggestions for improving the worksheet.
“May you live in interesting times”
At the moment, the world-wide economic crisis has us all feeling like we’re on the receiving end of the apocryphal Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” We do; events move quickly, and are just as quickly reported, judged, and commented upon through dozens of media. And new media vehicles are introduced and adopted very rapidly. It’s a challenge to stay on top of what’s going on, but it’s worth the effort. With industry knowledge and customer analysis, you can help not only your company and your customers, but you can also increase your team’s likelihood of surviving the crisis with acknowledged organizational value.
