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Toray Group Website — Effective Use Of Visuals

Based in Japan, Toray Group is an integrated chemical company. The company has 37,924 employees and 1,471.6 billion yen (2009/03) in sales. First let’s go to About Us

Toray Group: About Section

Note the use of image visuals. This gives a personality to the website. You get a feeling that there are people are behind this site. Profiling the message from the CEO also is an effective technique. Also deciding to put “Our People” is telling, hmm what’s that phrase “people are our most important asset”.

Navigate to Corporate Governance. There is a comprehensive description but not overly wordy explanation of the company’s Governance process supplemented by a visual diagram —

Toray Group Corporate Governance

The visual is a good supplement to the text and enhances communicating Toray’s Governance process.

Now let’s view what is an excellent use of a video, Toray at a Glance, to explain the company’s businesses, performance, strategies and at the end links to more information.

Toray Group At a Glance

This is one of the most effective website communication techniques I have seen.

Lesson Learned — enhance your website communications by thoughtful use of visuals.

Creating Value on Your Facebook and Twitter Social Networks

If you’re a Twitterer or a Facebooker, do you have something of value to say? Are you able to help broaden the mindset of your followers with your words of wisdom?

This article that I came across on a sports-related website is actually what got me thinking about that question as it relates to social networking in business. As an avid user of both Facebook and Twitter, I enjoy them both immensely and have gotten a lot of good information and business referrals from those on my friends list. I have connected with high school classmates, established new business contacts and have even enjoyed repeat business from existing clients. Yes, for me the social networking scene is good for my business, but am I contributing enough for others in my circle? Are YOU giving out value-laden advice and pearls of wisdom?

Social Sites Popularity

When the Facebook platform first became popular, it was primarily with college students who socialized about things that interested them: parties, test scores, campus events, etc. After a while (like these days), you can find a lot more diversified audience of moms, freelancers and a host of businesses who connect to their own websites and product lines. According to Facebook’s statistics page, there are now over 200 million users on Facebook – – and that’s a lot of people who have something to say!

With Twitter, it’s quite flattering to get a “ding” in your inbox announcing that someone is “now following you on Twitter.” I’ve had that happen to me countless times, and I never tire or get bored with reading who’s following me and wanting to learn more about them. I think that’s one component of Twitter that’s pretty cool. And since Twitter responses are more succinct than Facebook’s (generally speaking), when you Twit, you’d better be sure to have something to say, say it quickly (or succinctly), and move on. But what if you’re like me and you like to go on and on and explain things better?

Finding that Value

These are only two social networks that I’ve mentioned, but there are countless more with new ones popping up all of the time. They certainly are here to stay, but are you as an individual, a business person or a corporate representative getting any value from those sites? Are you finding that they enhance your business knowledge, or do you find that you’re trudging through a lot of unnecessary information to get to the pearls?

How can you provide value and make Facebook work better for you?

1. Engage the reader. Ask him questions about his business. Show interest in them, and they will show interest in you.

2. Be gracious. Thank them for being a follower. Thank them for friend-requesting you. Always say thank you.

3. Reciprocate. Return the tweet by commenting on one of their tweets or blog posts. Tell them you like their site, their profile picture, etc. Say it and mean it.

4. Create Passion. Write and link to content that not only will interest the readers, but will also interest you. Readers can tell when you’re writing about something that you’re mildly interested in and something that you have a passion for.

Being a part of a social site needn’t be about who ate lunch where or an outline of your daily habits. Add value to your pages and keep the readers coming back for more by giving them that value. Write about interesting topics. Write about unusual practices. Blog about changes in your company’s industry. Blog about blogging and how it has helped you online.

Whatever you find that adds value to your online presence, use it to its maximum and your readers will fill in the rest of the puzzle. Build it…and they will come!

What kinds of other ideas can you use to add value to your site?

Has Google Lost Focus?

google_chrome_os_microsoftOne of the rules of branding from the classic The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries is the law of contraction, which tells us that a brand becomes stronger when you narrow its focus.  The marketplace is teeming with companies and brands that have lost focus, overexpanded, and are now scrambling to contract to regain brand value.  Think of how popular niche marketing is these days.  There’s a reason — focus can be very powerful.  However, it’s hard to stay focused when stockholders are demanding double digit growth year over year.  As a result, most companies find themselves growing too big and brands find themselves overextended all in an ill-conceived attempt by managers and executives to deliver those expected returns or face the unemployment line.

This week, Google announced the launch of its new web-based operating system — Google Chrome OS.  Google expects Chrome OS will give Microsoft some competition for its Windows operating system that has long owned the market for space on desktops and laptops.  The questions are these:

  1. Will Google succeed in taking a sizeable chunk out of Microsoft’s market share with Google Chrome OS?
  2. Will individuals and/or enterprises make the shift to a web-based open source operating system from Google?
  3. Will Microsoft care or continue to think they’re untouchable?
  4. Is Google forgetting the law of contraction?

It’s hard to say what affect Google Chrome OS will have on the market in 1-year, 3-years or 5-years.  It’s certainly going to be interesting to watch the power players position their products and brands for battle.  On the other hand, it will be equally interesting to see if Google’s expansion beyond what it does best – online search and helping people find relevant information — will be successful at any level. 

Google is a recognized brand name but it’s not perfect.  Will forgetting the law of contraction hurt the brand in the long run?  Again, we’ll have to wait and see.  In the meantime, most consumers are still not satisfied with online search results, but Google seems to be following the path that so many companies before it have done, it’s easier to see dollar signs in expansion than fixing what ails the core brand promise through focus. 

Your thoughts?

Image: Flickr

Italy’s Edison — A Model Website

I have reviewed many corporate websites. Many are acceptable, some quite good, but few are model or benchmark sites that really stand out. Edison, an energy company based in Italy is truly a stand out.

First, look at the Home page.

There is much information but because of a good design, it is not overwhelming. Noteworthy items starting from the upper left —

  • A noteworthy corporate award is prominently displayed
  • Share price
  • Links organized by stakeholder class
  • Bravo, an interactive Annual Report is available

Many other information sources are also nicely displayed.


Next, another aspect of an effective corporate website is that Edison describes its Strategy and performance measures. (Click on the image for a clearer view)

You don’t have to give away the “Corporate Jewels”, but companies need to communicate where they are headed. Edison does this well.

Next, navigate to the the Management Structure section and see an organization chart. Do a mouseover on the titles–

A picture of the senior manager appears along with links to more information. Good communications via the corporate website must include telling visitors about the leadership team. Venture capitalists look at who runs the company before reading the business plan. This is also true for stakeholders of an existing company.

Edison’s website includes much more. For example, The Market section includes —

Once again, more information for stakeholders to learn more about the company.

Final comments, visit the Governance page and note the use of word clouds and page reader options. Bravo Edison for a website that is comprehensive, well organized and provides a model for other companies.

Google Comes out of Beta

Google Apps that is — and Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Gmail.

In preparation for a brand battle between Google and Microsoft’s suite of Office products, Google has officially removed the “beta” reference from Google Apps, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Gmail.  According to the Official Google Blog, “beta” has been dropped in an effort to specifically target companies who find the beta brand label too risky to take seriously.  And if you want to compete against Microsoft, you’ve got to be serious (notice my sarcasm?).  Matthew Glotzbach, director of product management for Google Enterprise wrote in his post on the Google blog, “We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase.”  Look out Microsoft.  Google has taken off its glove and is ready for a fight!

Let’s face it, Google hangs onto the “beta” label for a long, long time.  Gmail has been in beta for five years!  “Beta” seems like more of a crutch (i.e., excuse if anything goes wrong) than anything else.  In marketing and new product development, we call it a “pilot” program.  But for five years?  “Beta” seems like a stretch after half a decade of active use.  Did anyone really even notice the “beta” label in the logo on Google Apps, Gmail, etc. anymore?

gmail-beta-server-error

The question is whether or not companies will feel comfortable using online applications rather than offline applications for word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, email, etc.  The idea of having many of a company’s critical and/or daily workflow applications hosted by a third-party can be a difficult barrier to cross.  It’s a mind-shift that most people still have trouble making.  Google will have a lot of work to do to make companies feel comfortable making this kind of switch.  Google has the strength of its brand to back up its products. but that power has to be transferred to a new way of thinking and consumers need to feel secure in that new way of thinking before we’ll see a broad shift from offline to online apps.  I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it will take a lot more than, “but hey, we’re Google,” to get it done.

Your thoughts?  Who will win this battle of the brands?

Image: Flickr

(Hello and) Good-bye to KSAs


stack-of-papers

I admit that I hadn’t even heard of KSAs until today.  I’ve never worked for the Federal government, or even known anyone who worked for the Federal government, so I had no idea that most agencies require applicants to write extended essay answers (sometimes many of them) explaining specific aspects of their Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.  These documents go by the nickname KSA, and apparently are widely dreaded by job-seekers.

For background:  KSAs are written not only by people trying to break into government employment, but also by government employees trying to advance or reroute their careers.  They are submitted in addition to resumes.  Each response is expected to be one-half to one page, and there may be a five or ten of them (or more) for a given job.

Here are some examples of generic KSA topics that might be required for many positions:   Ability to communicate in writing; Ability to manage a program; Ability to analyze problems and develop solutions; Ability to use and maintain tools and equipment.

Then there are more specific and/or complex topics, such as:  Ability to make critical judgments about biomedical research projects; Skill in applying engineering concepts and theories to the solution of engineering problems; Skill to function effectively in a stressful environment; Knowledge of anti-terrorist tactics . . .

And where did I find these examples?  Why, at one of the dozens of sites that sell pre-written KSAs and/or “custom” KSA writing services.  (I won’t provide links–just search on KSA and you’ll get pages of them.)

I stumbled into the wonderland of KSAs by reading Hiring reform: KSAs to be phased out within a year, a news story on FederalTimes.com.  At first I was overwhelmed by the mere idea of all those papers–having taught freshman composition at one point in my life, this just seems like a nightmare.  How does the HR staff find time to read them?  Do they read them?

Many of those staffers are reportedly thrilled at the news that KSAs will go away.  But on the other hand, according to the FedTimes story:  “Some HR officials feel that if someone can’t be bothered to put time and effort into answering KSA questions, they may not be that interested in the job after all. ‘If you can’t address these KSAs, how thorough are you going to be on the job?’ asked one HR director at a small agency, who asked not to be identified. ‘If we do away with KSAs, we’ll be moving away from information we need to properly evaluate people.  I’m not sure this is going to work.'”

So do they NOT KNOW about the apparently thriving KSA marketplace?  That seems unbelievable, since I found out in less than five minutes.  Or is buying good answers interpreted as “addressing these KSAs,” thereby indicating the applicant would be “thorough” on the job?  Or in reality do most people write their own KSAs and this is not really a problem?

And by the way–I read several official government documents explaining the importance of KSAs and offering advice on how to write KSAs.  But nowhere did I find a basic statement such as:  “You must write the KSA yourself.”  So maybe that’s not even a rule?  But then–what’s the point?  It’s one thing to have someone else reorganize and reformat the facts on your resume for better effect, but it’s really different to have someone else write your writing sample.

That must be the most question marks ever stuffed into one post, but I really am flummoxed over this!  Even if KSAs do go away (which will leave some “writers” scrambling for a new product line, I suppose), the whole business seems to indicate a serious disconnect somewhere.  Or am I wrong?

Anyway . . . from the corporate side–this topic started me thinking about the whole matter of “candidate packaging.”  Is what you “see” what you “get”?  But that’s another topic.

(Thanks to Bryan Partington for the handsome stack of papers.)