Enlist grass-roots support early

There were merits to the New York Regional Interconnect project recently abandoned by its sponsors.

It was the first serious project put forth since the blackout of 2003 to prevent one from happening again. It was a blackout that crippled New York City, the Hudson Valley, and the Northeast and left 55 million people without power for several days in the muggy heat of August.

It would have reduced electricity costs, generated hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in new property tax revenue in the affected communities.

There were also environmental reasons for the project including reduced dependence on fossil fuels and coal-generated electricity, cleaner air, greater use of renewable energy, reductions in greenhouse gases and new investments in renewable sources of energy.

It you were unaware of the benefits of the project, it isn't your fault. Few were. NYRI's sponsors invested comparatively little in a pro-active campaign to advertise its benefits, opting instead to cast its lot almost entirely with lawyers and lobbyists.

The result was completely predictable. From the moment the plans were announced and communities along its proposed route faced the prospect of 10-story-tall power lines in their backyard, grass-roots opposition ignited. Mayors, county executives, senators and congressmen quickly condemned the project, vowing to do all in their power to stop it.

To be sure, NYRI did finally hire a very capable New York City public relations firm, which made a valiant last-ditch effort to tout the merits of the project and enlist grass-roots support. But the firm was brought in long after the damage had been done, and was given too few resources to combat the din of forceful and vocal local opposition.

The lesson? There are several.

Public and community relations on any large or potentially controversial project should begin before the rollout with meetings and conferences with key players, stakeholders, public officials, community leaders and bloggers. They don't react well to reading about a project in their backyard if they have not first heard about it from the project's sponsors.

Natural allies of a project must be enlisted early and be willing to echo the merits of what is being proposed. If they are not, the message will never be validated. NYRI had natural allies that were never enlisted, allies that largely sat silently on the sidelines, unwilling or afraid to say anything positive. Think of the teachers who would have benefited from new money for schools, construction unions that would have benefited from the jobs, environmentalists who like clean fuel, business entities that need cheaper energy and property taxpayers who would have seen their tax rates cut thanks to NYRI's property tax payments.

The public matters — a lot. Regardless of the merits of a project, the jobs it will generate or the tax revenue it will produce, it matters not one whit if the project sponsors do not take proactive steps to inform the public through paid advertising and by building support at the grass-roots level. As NYRI's sponsors learned the hard way, regulatory agencies and commissions are not immune to public opinion. Neither are judges, planning boards, town boards, city councils or zoning board of appeals or any other body that includes those who face the voters or those who are appointed by politicians who answer to them. Not the Public Service Commission. Not even the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

NYRI's failure is a powerful public relations lesson to any developer putting forth a project with a level of controversy. Leverage proactive public relations to educate the stake-holders, enlist your allies and engage the public.

GM ads seek to soothe public's fear of buying

So if you're selling popsicles in a snow storm, nobody is going to want to buy any. Right now, in the midst of a recession blizzard, consumers have turned a cold shoulder to buying new cars. It's no big secret. American consumers are mostly afraid of taking on new car payments and then losing their jobs. This fear has caused auto buyers' confidence to plummet and is burying the auto industry, including America's top domestic manufacturer, GM.

Aim to boost confidence

As a self-proclaimed car enthusiast and Caddy owner, I want these guys to win. In fact, GM is a big part of making our economy go round and round. Everyone loves a comeback, and GM's latest campaign proclaims that it's time to put on our rally caps. This ad is part of the company's ambitious new marketing program themed the Total Confidence Plan (http://www.gmconfidence.com/).

The first part of the plan has similar features to a recent and innovative Hyundai program. If you lose your job during the first two years of ownership, GM will cover your payments. There are some caveats to this deal including, that the coverage is up to $500 per month and for no longer than nine months.

Vehicle-value protection offered

Another new ground-breaking part of the Total Confidence Plan includes vehicle-value protection. This provides buyers with insurance should they be upside down with negative equity and decide to trade in their vehicle early.

These two new offerings are packaged with GM's 5-year or 100,000-mile warranty and one free year of OnStar. GM's plan is smart marketing. It's on message with what will likely move their sales needle. The program effectively addresses consumers' fears of losing their jobs. Giving payment protection for a buyer who becomes laid off will resonate with consumers. GM isn't the first to offer this program, but so what; Hyundai should be flattered.

GM is also on message taking on the perception, and sometimes fact when compared to many
imports, that domestic cars don't hold their value. This is especially true since, not long ago, consumers got stuck with undesirable, domestic SUVs when gas prices skyrocketed. So now GM is going to back the value of your new car should you trade it in early. This part of the program is refreshingly authentic and on-message advertising for the buying public. At this point, we don't know if GM's confidence program will help the company's sales rebound, but it is a good lesson in responding to market demands.

I'll bet on GM continuing this program past April 30, the current program end date. But that's just me wearing my rally cap.

Give everyone reasons to return to your site

You are interested in doing business with a local company. So you check out their Web site. This company's Web site design was clearly a creation from the late 1990's, looks amateurish and is so generic you can't tell what services the company actually provides or if the owner is in China.

Game over.

It is a very sad fact that you are better off not having a Web site than having a bad one. Your company's Web site is your front line and should demonstrate your company's level of sophistication.

Get right to the point. Visitors to your Web site should quickly understand who you are and what makes you different from the competition.

Provide a compelling introduction on the home page, outlining what you do and your firm's core values. Then develop throughout the site snapshots of your company's primary competencies and descriptions of the people behind the company.

If permissible in your industry, make your Web site a research tool with case studies or portfolio pieces. For example, a company that designs and constructs luxury homes can legitimize claims of being an imaginative and quality builder with a portfolio of completed homes right on its Web site. A consulting firm that provides crisis management can demonstrate its experience by providing anonymous client case studies detailing how it helped a client manage internal and external communications during a crisis.

You probably want to avoid hiring a non-professional to do your Web site design. Many companies in the region have horror stories of Web sites that never got finished or that can't be updated since the cousin's boyfriend who was hired skipped town. Your company Web site is simply too important to play games.

Since your Web site is often the first impression on a new customer, count on a quality Web developer to leverage tools like flash animation and design with rich images that create a visual medley to accompany the words that describe your company.

Finally, give visitors to your site reasons to come back.

Write a blog with useful tips and advice and post regularly on your site. Write news releases of company news and happenings and create a link to those stories on your home page. If you are in a retail-oriented business, post specials or offers on an ongoing basis and update those offers frequently.

Don't get caught having a Web site that hinders your growth. Make your Web site an asset.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

To meet the right folks, choose the right groups

Effective networking is a critical tool in a marketing program, particularly for companies focused on business-to-business sales.

The most effective business people understand that if you don't put yourself out into circulation to meet lots of people, your odds of connecting with opportunities are slim. Smart business promoters make it a point to shake plenty of hands and get involved in the community.
Since no business owner or executive has unlimited time, choosing the right groups to meet the right people is vital. Determine which associations or events will get you in front of business leaders from the industries you want to service.

Fine-tune your networking

Chamber functions, annual corporate dinners and galas are usually good bets for meeting decision-makers.

There is also ample opportunity to target your networking further. For example, if you sell construction equipment or materials, you will likely find the right audiences at events held by builders associations or economic development agencies. If your company provides title insurance, networking with associations that serve bankers, Realtors or lawyers would be a strategic investment of your resources.

Socialize first, then get to work

In the end, you can schedule some type of networking event almost every day of the week. But who has that much time? Make your efforts count by networking with decision-makers who represent industries likely to do business with your company.

We've all been worked over by a salesman at an event who was too pushy and crossed the line of appropriate networking behavior. The last thing you want to do is put people's guard up.

While everyone has his or her own style, I have found significant success in making networking a very social experience. Try not to talk turkey in the first 10 seconds. When meeting other businesspeople, take an interest in their professional story and always make it a point to inquire. Then after listening, have your 20-second summary ready about who you are and what you do.

Making networking more casual, but still getting to an exchange about business, is a terrific way to meet potential customers and foster strong business relationships.

Now it's time to ramp it up

Finally, after you have a fruitful introduction with someone you would like to do business with, ramp up your efforts. Follow up with an e-mail within the next day saying it was nice to meet him or her and provide your company Web site. You may also have specific ideas to share in how your companies can do business together.

Leverage your networking efforts by following up more formally through an e-mail or phone call. This may reap significant rewards or plant seeds for the future.