Author: Gordon Benzie

Gordon Benzie is a B2B marketing and analyst relations leader with over 25 years of experience helping technology companies increase visibility, strengthen market positioning, and accelerate revenue growth. In his fractional role, he works with enterprise software, SaaS, and hardware organizations to craft differentiated messaging, expand analyst and customer awareness, and leverage third-party validation to build credibility, generate demand, and support business growth.

Business Plan Writing vs. Advising

Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet quite a few people eager to start a new business with ambitions to conquer a market, introduce a new product or to just start something new. Once the idea is born, the challenge is to pick the best path through to fruition. There are many decisions to make with regards to how to spend your time, where to focus your budget dollars as well as reviewing ideas with close friends and family. As part of this decision process, the source of capital for launching or expanding the business will inevitably come up. Can I fund this idea myself and retain 100% of control, or, do I need help via a capital investment?

Those that make it through these hurdles with the conclusion that outside funding is required must then face the task of best explaining their new idea in such a way that it can generate excitement without necessarily giving away all of the “secret sauce” of the venture. It is at this point that the topic of writing a business plan will emerge – do I need one now, or, can it wait?

Given the capital markets, it is likely you will need to make a bit of a time investment to achieve success … you will need to speak with many individuals before finally finding the right match of your opportunity with the investment profile of an angel or Series 1 investor. In the interest of efficiency, it is typical to arrive at the conclusion that another “venue” for telling your story is needed. In fact, you probably need a few different formats to best tell your story.

To start, a 30 second elevator pitch is critical. If you can’t tell your idea quickly with enthusiasm, then you venture will likely die. Add to this challenge the fact that everyone is totally overloaded today, being impacted by literally thousands of messages, images and other distractions all the time. Your communication must be crisp, unique and stand out from the crowd.

Those that you “hook” with this elevator pitch will then ask for more information. This is a good thing – you have their attention. So, the next step is what do you do? If you can arrange a future meeting in person, great. A presentation will be needed, at a minimum, to continue your conversation. I would propose that in addition, now would be an excellent time to have a business plan already prepared to send prior to your meeting. Access to a written plan can be well worth the time and investment to prepare, provided it demonstrates your commitment to the project and achieving success with your venture.

The challenge is that you can’t really wait for the next “chance” encounter to then sit down and write the plan. These documents need time and effort to be invested so they sound good, are well thought out and exciting to read. This type of writing doesn’t happen overnight, nor can you really put something together in just a few hours. You want to show that you have thought through this business opportunity quite carefully, and are ready to go once finding the right partner, employees, or other resources necessary to get started.

It is at this decision point when you must ask yourself: “Do I just need a writer to capture my thoughts, which I am completely confident are all correct?” Or, is it more accurate to consider that you have “pretty much” the idea for the plan in your head, but, there are definitely some of the details, competitive pressures and product / service differentiation that could do with some refinement? If the latter is the case, realize you need more than just a business plan writer. You need an advisor, a person who can help you with not only the writing to ensure it is understandable, but that it can withstand the scrutiny of an investor that is putting some of their own money into the venture. This type of reader will have very specific questions that must be answered before they consider proceeding further.

If you come to this point in your new business process, challenge yourself to really assess if you need a person who is skilled with what business models can actually be executed, or, do you want to hire a writer that will simply replicate what you tell him or her. If it is an advisor or modeler you seek, then look to see what marketing experience in planning and execution that they have. After all, the entire discipline of marketing is focused on planning, strategizing and executing the best way to achieve business plan objectives. Once the plan has been carefully thought out, it then becomes the responsibility of sales to actually execute upon it. Of course, this may be one and the same person for a smaller organization, but, the concept still holds true.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing communications professional and business model adviser that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies. Gordon can be found on Google+.

The Public Relations Transformation

A transformation is underway with public relations The role of a public relations today has changed from what it was a decade ago. Interestingly, in the same way that the Internet has completely changed how we book airline reservations, execute stock trades and write letters, its impact on journalism and public relations has also been nothing short of phenomenal. Those of you who have worked in public relations during this transformation might now think the industry has spiraled completely out of control! Some might even argue that it is now at risk of losing its relevance.

I come from a different perspective. To start, I wasn’t a journalist prior to my current role in the industry. Instead, I began my career in finance as an accountant. After moving my way up the corporate ladder, I found a passion for marketing, which is a discipline I have now been practicing for nearly 15 years.

From what I can gather about the “early” days of PR, strict lines were drawn between what news was published, how it was distributed as well as the role that the newspapers and magazines played in getting the story out to the general public. For example, press releases used to be written just for editors and others working at news publications. It was then at their discretion as to what was printed and deemed sufficiently “newsworthy” to publish.

The Internet changed all of that. Now anyone can post any press release on a website, and with a little effort, can get their release picked up by other aggregator sites. In the end, their target market can find out about their news by simply doing a Google or Yahoo! Search by keywords. This is a completely different news distribution model, and has transformed the role of today’s Public Relations practitioner.

Given the relative ease of publishing content, the value of a public relations professional has now become more about managing that content, driving the direction of what new stories can be told about the topic as well as getting the “right” placements that matter most in the eyes of the public. After all, not all placements are created equal.

It’s a New World

With the breakdown in structure of the “old” model, traditional news organizations have lost some of their power – many more approaches now exist to tell us the news, ranging from tweets to YouTube to a myriad of news aggregation sites and the search engines. But, as the dust settles, I would argue that the traditional news media still have a “trump” card that should be played, and that of trusting their experience and knowledge to report the news accurately and fairly. Unfortunately, it appears that some organizations are not able to embrace this philosophy or execute upon it with 100% success.

We are all quite familiar with the recent events transpiring during the Boston bombing incident on April 16 where false news reports had to be retracted, based on the desire for CNN to be the “first” to break an angle of the story. Clearly this type of news reporting is less than ideal. But, on the upside is the fact that nearly anyone can write about a news event, or a story they deem as newsworthy. And, those with camera phones have given us unbelievable footage of news right as it is happening.

Meanwhile, from a marketer’s perspective, this changing of the guard brings new opportunities for “earned” vs. “paid” placements. It is amazing the amount of exposure that is now possible by applying Search Engine Optimization, cross linking and blog support. Alternatively, from an “end user’s” perspective, I sometimes struggle with how to best stay current with the day’s events as well as knowledge on my craft. But, I am getting better, and the proliferation of smart phones has certainly made it much easier to stay on top of the news that matters most to me.

The question to ask is what is your objective? Here is where my thinking like a marketer has helped my career in public relations. I continue to filter my actions into what can best support my client’s or company’s public relations objectives. If a goal is to position a company as a thought leader in a particular industry, then those are the only types of stories I should pursue. My “news” will then be focused on reinforcing that objective, be it through press releases, contributed articles or quotes in third-party stories, etc. In this regard, public relations is the same as it has always been. What has changed is the rules. The number of venues, distribution channels and publication options has increased exponentially, which is both a blessing and a curse. The complexity and volume of work has skyrocketed, but so too have the opportunities for success. Given all of this incredible increase in complexity, focus has instead turned on just getting a story out and getting it placed. The journalistic quality of articles has sometimes been given a back seat.

Is this a best case scenario? Perhaps not. For me, my goal is to strive to be better, including how I write and the quality of my stories. But, in the end, it is all about getting the word out there so my prospective customers have a favorable impression of my company, ideally just before being engaged with a sales representative from my company. Improved, positive familiarity with the brand helps to facilitate a better sales opportunity and a higher likelihood of closing. Those public relations professionals that embrace this new role and focus on achieving this objective will do well. Those that are frustrated with this transformation and still public relations as being more akin to being a news reporter might not be as well suited for the role of today’s public relations professionals.

Please let me know if you agree, disagree or have any other comments to add to this topic!

Saving Lives with Better Communications

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, The Talking Cure for Health Care, research has long confirmed that improving communications between Doctors and their patients can actually save lives. The news prompting the article is that healthcare organizations are now taking actions based on this knowledge as a way to improve how Doctors speak with their patients.

Some of the stats that came out of research conducted by Doctors Co. indicate the lack of effective communications issue is widespread:

Here is the point I found most intriguing: This type of communication should be the MOST effective, given the setting and subject matter. If you are a patient sitting in front of your Doctor who is explaining something to you that is as important a topic as your health – don’t you think that you would be really paying attention? Given this assumption, the fact that up to 20% of all malpractice claims were derived from communications problems tells me that there are probably even greater issues in communicating effectively on other topics, which are not life and death scenarios.

Take marketing communications, for example, written by professionals trying to convey a message about value propositions, promotions or other compelling cases why a buyer should perform an action. On has to now assume that a big part of the message will likely be lost!

So, next time you venture down the path of writing a webpage, email or sales collateral, think carefully on what can be done to improve the effectiveness by simplifying what you are saying, as most likely, a big number of your readers simply won’t get it.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing communications professional and business plan adviser that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Consultant

By Gordon Benzie

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Most business professionals have a budget or a fixed level of resources to work with. Those working at startups must be extra vigilant, as extended budget overruns could sink the company. When you are operating within these types of constraints, it is easy to get into the mindset of thinking “I can do it all,” or “I have to do it all” because I can’t afford to pay someone else to do what I can do, which in the end gives me a greater chance for survival.

Entrepreneurs justify these actions under the umbrella of “I can do this task better” than anyone else, further validating the decision to “in source”. Interestingly, this philosophy can be either highly beneficial OR detrimental to a young, growing business’ success. It just depends. An Entrepreneur that spends the time to really understand their client’s needs by giving them a lot of personal attention might be doing the right thing. The same logic, however, may not apply to other activities.

Because of this ambiguity, I thought it might be helpful to provide a checklist of five potential benefits to consider in your decision to hire a third party marketing consultant.

To obtain a third party perspective from someone who doesn’t have a vested interest in your current marketing strategy, lead generation or messaging campaigns. A consultant will be more likely to point out an inconsistency or ambiguity of your current programs, simply by what questions are asked. Fresh eyes and ears are valuable as a “bouncing board,” such as what your objectives are or who you’re trying to speak to.
To remove (or at least reduce) politics from making the right marketing decision. Consultants are less likely to be as caught up in office politics for the simple fact that they are typically brought in to “fix” an already acknowledged problem. If you really need to know if a marketing campaign proposed by the founder or CEO, it might be difficult for a Vice President of Marketing to express concern.
To provide a weighted perspective to break through tough, “logjam” decisions. Product naming exercises are one of the most challenging marketing tasks to perform, right before creating a whole new website. In these complex and often emotional thought processes, a third party consultant can operate better as an intermediary to break “ties,” or even better, to provide the rationale and leadership to make better decisions. If you are paying for a marketing consultant’s advice, why not actually use it!
To hear an “outside in” perspective, ideally from a perspective gained while working in other industries. Quite often, the marketing challenge you are facing has been dealt with already in another industry, so why re-create the wheel? Well-seasoned consultants benefit from the simple fact that they have worked with clients in similar situations in other markets or geographies. Embrace these other viewpoints to gain greater value from your investment in your consultant.
To address an issue faster than trying to uncover it yourself, for a problem that might be new or unknown to your marketing team. A consultant typically understands they are there to fix one or a few specific issues, so won’t focus as much on “justifying” their existence to keep collecting a paycheck, as a new hire might be more inclined to do. Of course, there are always exceptions, but consultants typically are laser focused on quickly identify the problem and then remedying it with the fastest solution available. I would propose that this concept further applies to those outside consultants who are in strong demand, as they have other billing clients eager to hire them next.

Hopefully these perspectives help to give you an expanded perspective on why it might not be the right choice to apply the “DIY” philosophy to all marketing activities. It might make sense to hire a consultant if the value delivered is accomplished quickly, or if an issue is fixed that you may not have even understood exists. Of course, there are good consultants and there are bad ones. Each of these objectives all fall by on the wayside if your consultant is not experienced in solving your problem. But, once you find a good one, it can be an excellent investment of your resources to periodically bring them in for a marketing “tune up,” or to review of your current campaigns to help assess whether or not you are on the best path to success!

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

Public Relations on a Shoestring Budget

By Gordon Benzie

Having just discussed the importance of measuring the incremental marginal value and marginal cost of public relations as a way to determine an optimal level of investment, sometimes that option simply doesn’t exist. If you only have a limited budget, then you must simply learn to make do with what you’ve got.

For the purpose of this post, let’s assume you have at least some funds that can be allocated to PR. For your initial public relations campaign, you need to start small. Regardless of your budget, spending a high proportion of available cash flow on an untested, unknown marketing activity is needlessly risky, so don’t do it! Instead, set a few targeted objectives and allocate a modest budget to accomplish.

Most importantly, you must be able to measure these actions with metrics that matter. Then give yourself a minimum of 3-4 months to lay the foundation for your Public Relations campaign to allow for a bit of a “runway” to experiment with a couple of activities. Often a campaign will “grow legs” and set in motion other, related actions that bring rewards and opportunities you never even considered.

First Steps

Once you have mentally committed to this “experiment,” the first step is to identify an objective or goal that can be measured and is a reasonable expectation. You don’t need to talk to a marketing consultant to know that if you are currently ranked #50 amongst your competitors, issuing a press release won’t get you to #1 over night!

To help illustrate, let’s say you own a shoe store, located in a mall. Your customers primarily consist of those who are either already at the mall and see something interesting in your window display, or are repeat buyers. Given your knowledge of the business, you know what a “normal” traffic baseline is, so for this example, our goal is to increase foot traffic by 20 percent. Note I am not directly targeting an increase of revenue, but instead that increased traffic will lead to more sales. My hypothesis is simply that a rising tide will raise all boats, leading to more sales. If increased traffic does not improve sales, then a different problem might exist.

The Campaign

Now we have a goal, the next step is to think about is what event or activity can be established and communicated to achieve more traffic at the store. Perhaps you are friends with a local celebrity in the area, in which case you could advertise they will be in your store next Saturday to sign autographs. With this “call to action,” you can now invest the time (and resources) to draft a press release announcing this activity, which then would need to be published in time for your prospects to read about it and make time in their schedule to visit. You could then reach out to your local paper to make a short announcement, even inviting someone from the paper to attend (if they are available). A few phone calls and some time spent writing the announcement sums up your investment for this trial activity.

Another example might be to sponsor a local school event by providing running shoes for some (or all) participants. This could be a way to raise awareness to the other athletes in the area your commitment to being part of the local activities, helping to make your store be known as one that is investing in the community. In “marketing speak” this is referred to as brand awareness. With this scenario, the investment cost all depends on what you want to give away.

In the end, the activity or campaign will then need to be measured against your objective to see how it fared. Missing your objective can teach you just as much as over-attaining it. Dissecting this activity can reveal enormous intelligence on how your customers perceive you, as well as insights into their buying behavior. From this knowledge, you can then adjust your approach, message or outreach to hopefully continuously improve your results and return on investment.

And that, after all, is the key to unlocking the future upside in any business.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

What is the Right Amount to Spend on Public Relations?

By Gordon Benzie

Once you have made the investment to do public relations, the next step is to determine the right level of investment. While some consider a bus the best way to commute, others might be completely justified to insist on a Lamborghini. Your level of spending must match your business profile, budget and message objective. If you are publicizing a high end brand, a corresponding higher level of PR investment might be warranted. For all other campaigns, return on investment should be carefully evaluated to determine what is right for you.

One approach is to apply the concept of “zero-based” budgeting. Start with nothing, and then only justify incremental programs, starting from a zero baseline. If your ROI is positive, then spend more. As long as your returns continue to be positive, a reasonable case can be made to continue to expand. Note that some returns may be “soft” and yet completely justified. Borrowing from my economics background, at some point, your marginal returns will turn negative. At that point, stop spending more dollars and shift focus to continuous improvement at that spending level.

It is easy to quantify what you are spending on Public Relations. It is the benefits that are more intangible. As a way to help with this process, below is an example of a return on investment of public relations campaigns can be reasonably measured.

Measuring Better Public Awareness

Increased awareness is a benefit that makes sense on paper, but can be difficult to measure. To start, try doing a Google search on your company product name, company name or whatever term you are seeking to measure increased awareness on. In your search query, make it specific to your company market, target audience, geographical location (if applicable), etc. How often were you mentioned? How high up on Internet searches did your terms rank? This is a quick way to gauge a baseline exposure level.

Of course, search engine optimization impacts ranking levels. More news will too. More public relations activity generates additional listings to drive improved web traffic. If your listings doubled, web traffic will likely increase, resulting in greater value with increased levels of prospect engagement.

Another way to measure is with your sales team. As they go out on customer prospect meetings or calls, how often must they explain who you are? This measure will be rough at best, but, you might get answers such as “all the time” or “about half of the time,” which can then give you a baseline to measure against. Less time spent introducing the company means more time for sales people to sell.

In the end, the best measurement strategy depends on what type of business you are in, the competition and what level of existing awareness already exists. Investing in public relations can yield many benefits. Pick your target, implement a campaign and then measure it. Repeat. Over time, your understanding of the market will increase, which can then be used to justify expanding or contracting your existing spend rate.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

Thinking Smarter Isn’t a Business Plan

By Gordon Benzie

Last week I read an interesting and well written article in the Wall Street Journal on the challenges that Alcatel is facing, titled “Alcatel Chief Is Out as Turnaround Stalls.” As you may recall, about six years ago France’s Alcatel merged with U.S.-based Lucent Technologies (former equipment division of AT&T) to create a telecom-equipment giant. Their ambitions to become a global telcom equipment leader have fallen short. Competition is tough. They compete in many lines of business, while at the same time, their revenues trail the competition, which has precluded their ability to make the necessary investments in research and development. These factors among others have translated into massive losses over the past seven years, and ultimately, CEO Ben Verwaayen’s job.

Alcatel-Lucent’s business strategy was to be an end-to-end supplier serving all telecommunications companies in the world, in virtually every markets. That means being everything to everyone, with a product line that includes everything from the submarine cables that wire together continents to the software that phone companies use to calculate and send out phone bills every month. Wow. That is a “big ass” strategic goal. In fact, I would argue it probably isn’t feasible, at least not within a high technology industry where product innovations are significant and competition is fierce.

Interestingly, when asked what the management team was going to do differently to avoid continued year-over-year losses, one of the “official” responses was “they simply have to be smarter than competitors about where they place their technology bets.” I am sure this statement sounded good in the interview, and certainly no one would argue against it. But, I am not so sure I would feel comfortable with this response if I were a member of their board of directors.

There are a few things wrong with the statement “we’ll just have to be smarter.” First, if that is all it would take, then why didn’t you do it six years ago when the merger was first completed? My next concern is that of execution. How do you lead a company to change its decision-making and business strategy by just “being smarter”? Is there a course you can take to accomplish this goal? If so, sign me up … I could always use with being a bit smarter.

The reality is that you simply can’t expect a group of employees and their managers to “get smarter” so they can make better decisions. You can lead by example as CEO, providing insights as to where new market opportunities might be, as well as to show how to operate more efficiently as an organization. I am with the belief that people are probably already doing the best work they can, or least are making the best decision they know how to … the idea to simply “make smarter decisions” is not likely.

Is it possible to embrace a new strategy and take a different direction? Of course. In fact, that is exactly what is needed. The expression of “you can’t please all the people, all the time” comes into play. Perhaps taking a perspective to consolidate and further refine their business might work better here, as a way to be more effective and focused with both strategy and execution. However, this shift would likely involve closing down divisions, which might be difficult for a French firm where strict labor laws prevent such actions.

Sadly, I suspect that if something isn’t done soon, there will be a far worse situation than just a few divisions shutting down … the entire company may go under, which certainly would be a shame. Should the management team try to make the smartest decisions to avoid shutting down? Of course. Making the smartest decisions you can is always the best course. But maybe a bit more strategy is needed than simply making smarter decisions.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

Why do Public Relations?

For this post, I thought I would challenge what the role of public relations is, with the objective to provide a thoughtful perspective on what value PR plays within an organization.

To start, the objective of public relations or PR is to raise awareness of a company, non-profit group or any other organization. Why does this matter? Well, to start, it is a lot easier to sell products or services if your audience has heard of you. Simply stated, no one wants to buy from a stranger. Public relations overcomes this sales hurdle by creating stories about the organization that will be viewed as interesting, or at least interesting enough to be read about by your target audience.

Note that this methodology must be applied with the sole objective to engage your audience. If other people find out, that is fine. But, you must be careful to not waste limited resources reaching individuals that will never be part of your buyer’s purchase lifecycle. This philosophy must be applied religiously to every opportunity for contributed articles, guest blog posts, speaking engagements and award opportunities.

My Audience Already Knows Me

I have spoken to some business owners who state that their target audience already knows who they are, and they know all about their company’s product or service. If this is the case, why spend the investment to reach out to them again? The reason why this investment makes sense is that it is going to help you to continue to best serving your market segment. Just because a customer has heard of you doesn’t mean they will continue to purchase or renew their existing services with you on a consistent, never-ending basis.

The Risk of Complacency

Imagine this scenario as a theoretical a case study. A new competitor enters your market. What do you think will be the first thing they do to introduce themselves to your customers? Odds are some sort of PR campaign, including announcements, special offers, grand opening day parties, etc. They must make this investment as they are coming into your market as a “disruptor,” which must be announced in order to be effective.

Now let’s say that you haven’t been investing your own PR campaign. Maybe funds have been tight as you have neglected this activity for the past year or so. Maybe your website and social media channels are a bit out of date too, falling into the category of something that could be deferred for a year or two.

Unfortunately, you are now a sitting duck for this new competitor to come in and eat your lunch. Once they begin making noise, you will be caught off guard. Assuming you move quickly and start to invest in getting your PR program back on track, it will still take time. Days, weeks or even months will pass before you are able to first get your routine changed to re-focus on this topic. You will be in “catchup” mode for some time. Every month you are behind is a month where you are at risk of losing customers. Think about it … what is the opportunity cost that someone might come into your market and try to steal market share?

At minimum, it might make sense to at least keep a few programs running, even if funds are tight. This way you still have a “toe” in the water, as a steady “beating of the drum,” to remind the market and your audience of current customers and prospects. This activity states that you are still there, and are actively reaching out to them to continue to help better address their needs with your product or services. Seems like a good investment and an even better business strategy decision that can be easily incorporated into your marketing communications strategy.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

Are you Ready for the Mobility Revolution?

A couple weeks ago I saw the latest Top 10 IDC predictions for the IT industry. It is always good idea to seek an “outside in” perspective on your business positioning and marketing message. A prediction that caught my attention was that in 2013 there will no longer be growth in the use of traditional desktop computers and laptops to access the Internet. By 2015, it is expected that more people will surf the net from their “Smart Mobile Devices” instead.

From a marketing communications perspective, this is pretty big news.

To start, one of the most important communications venues is a website. The growth in tablets and smart phones to access the Internet is hardly surprising. A year ago I wrote this post: 5 Ways to Improve Website Usability on a Mobile Device, which pointed to this growing trend, and what to do in preparation. Regardless, the expectation that more than half of all website visitors will be on mobile devices is shocking! No longer is it prudent to just think about formatting and display issues … a complete reevaluation on menu navigation and accessibility should now be considered. Ignore this audience and you will be at risk of losing up to half of all visitors in just two years’ time.

Here is something to consider: do you have flash running on your site? If so, then you might want to set a plan in motion to remove it. Apple mobile devices have a significant market share, and Flash doesn’t work on their systems. And, the new Microsoft Surface tablet doesn’t run flash either.

Here is another thought to consider: Windows 8 is out and on the shelves. In the next 12-18 months a much larger percentage of website viewing activity will be done from this operating system, which will run both desktops, laptops and mobile devices. This OS favors a content structure that moves from left to right instead of from up to down. Translation: you might want to start thinking about how to arrange your website navigation accordingly.

Lastly, take a moment to recognize that touch screens are steadily becoming more prevalent. Apple is the one to “blame” for this transformation, with the launch of their iPhones and iPads. Their popularity demonstrates the benefits of this type of user interface – it is just easier to touch a screen to navigate a user interface or website. This is another design element that should now be considered as part of your website layout. Big buttons will need to be incorporated to activate menu options or to request more information.

My prediction is that 2013 will be a great year for web design firms. If I was running the marketing program at one of them, I would be sure to kick off the year with a special message and marketing communications about the results of the latest IDC study coupled with a free “mobility compatibility” evaluation offer.

There might even be a reasonable business plan that could launch a new company offering this service …

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

Did Labor Unions Really Kill the Twinkie?

The nostalgia world may never be the same after the events from earlier this month. After 88 years, Hostess, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business. According to the story that ran on NBC.com, the CEO blames the unions, which made the decision to go on strike as part of the latest round of labor negotiations. The company has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for the past 10 months or so. Last week it was announced that all assets will be liquidated, resulting in about 18,000 employees losing their jobs – certainly an unfortunate turn of events.

When I first read this news story, it struck me as interesting how strong the focus was about the role that the Labor unions played in “bringing down” the company. Since the labor unions would not accept new lower salaries, the only choice CEO Gregory Rayburn had was to shut down the company.

That is one way to tell the story.

Another angle is that the company failed to adjust to the times. Over the past decade or so, eating habits changed – the focus today is on eating healthier foods. Given this trend, it is not surprising that a company such as Hostess began having problems, given its product line. I don’t think anyone will argue that the nutritional value of a Twinkie is not too high … according to info published on Livestrong.com. At 150 calories per Twinkie, it has 4.5 g of fat, 20 mg of calcium, 20 mg of cholesterol and 19 g of sugar, equivalent to almost 5 tsp. Double each of these figures for the typical way this product is sold, as a two pack. Other Hostess products don’t fare much better.

This brings me to my point. When you are crafting a story for the press to cover as a business communications or news announcement, there are many options on how to pitch it. Seldom is there just one story. In this case, perhaps the Hostess CEO and management team sought to blame the unions for the downfall of their iconic institution in order to deflect a different line of questioning – such as what were you doing about new product introductions a decade ago when this trend first became obvious? A few days later, more details began to emerge indicating that maybe there were other issues impacting sales. Clearly their cost structure was not well aligned to revenue. It might be that there is no business model that could work for these products today; however, a story focused on that theme wouldn’t do well to help the company find a new suitor. When faced with these alternative stories, portraying the problem on the unions was probably the best way for them to deflect blame while keeping the door open to a new buyer that believes they can address the labor issue.

When you have a business communication to address, sometimes you get to choose what the lead in story and news will be – more often if you proactively make an announcement or hold a press conference. If this is the case, best to take advantage of this opportunity. Other crisis communications, such as an oil drilling platform explosion and fire, can’t really be modified to give it a good “spin.” Over time, if your story has more to it, then it is most likely that the rest of the story will follow. But, it will be secondary to the original announcement, which might just buy you some time to get through your crisis, should you have to experience this type of announcement.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.