Stakeholder Archives - Page 58 of 317

February 3, 2010

Annual Reports, PDFs and Printing

I was interested to see that Nexxar have been assessing the size of Annual Report PDFs from DAX-30 companies.

Marco Schueller is right to point out that bandwidth is still an issue – though I think this continues to affect desktop-internet to some extent, not just mobile-internet. In many areas here in the UK, at least, broadband is still only up to 2MB max, not the superfast 20MB version available in cities. And in a very few places, broadband is still not available at all.

The large file-sizes that he points out (10MB-11.6MB) would indeed take a while to download.

Of course, downloading the entire file isn’t always what visitors want to do. Many companies offer indexed versions, so that the desired parts of the document – such as the financial statements – can be selected for download. Some offer the option to add individual sections or pages to a print/download basket, or to be collated into a single PDF; usually this is from within the online annual report. BMW is an example of this service; I was intrigued to notice that BMW suggested additional sections of the report that might be of interest to me, along the lines of Amazon’s well-known cross-marketing software.

A few – very few – offer a printer-friendly version of the complete annual report (see Standard Life, for example), which seems like a good idea. After all, we don’t really need the decorative images, although they do help to convey the corporate brand and messaging. One option that Deutsche Post uses is a print-page facility, so without the background and purely decorative graphics, but with the additional option to print with/without images. (Of course, it would take a long time to print the whole report like this, so a print-whole-report facility like this would be great).

Does this mean a company should come up with three versions in addition to the online annual report? One for hard-copy glossy print, one lightweight for download and one for individuals to print out on their desktop printers? Or more: large-print, audio, braille…

Once the hard work of developing the annual report is done, I think a lightweight version and a printer-friendly version should be relatively straightforward. I’m excluding the online annual report here; I know that’s a significant piece of work. And I can see that versions in alternative formats are also a significant exercise. But I think that providing multiple options for the reports serves the needs of different visitors, such as those who want:

to download the full-on beautiful version with lots of images and graphics
to download quickly to browse off-line
to download and print the information (no images)
to download key sections only
an accessible version
and not forgetting those who want to order a hard copy.

And that, surely, is user-friendly.

May 11, 2014

How Brands Can Leverage the Social Impact of Facebook

Your brand is probably already represented on Facebook. It probably has a Facebook Page, and one or more people from your company probably publish content on that page and respond to comments published by other users throughout the day. You might even place ads and hold promotions or other marketing campaigns on Facebook. But is your brand truly leveraging the social impact of Facebook?

According to the Social Media Update 2013, from Pew Research Center, social networkers have been significantly impacted—psychologically, behaviorally, physically, and socially—be social media tools. A study of adult internet users from the United States found that social network usage has improved social relationships and reduced isolation. For example, the average social networker is half as likely to be socially isolated than the average American. According to the data, nowhere is that shift more apparent than Facebook.

There are several social effects that brands can leverage on Facebook. By understanding varying social behaviors and how Facebook users’ social relationships and support systems work, the more successful brand marketing investments in Facebook will be. Here are four of those social effects that brand managers can leverage.

Trust

The Pew Research Center report found that Facebook users are more trusting than users of any other social network studied (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn). Building brand trust is essential to brand growth. Knowing that Facebook audiences tend to be more trusting than other social network audiences should be factored into your marketing decision-making.

Social Ties

The report also found that Facebook users have more close relationships than users of any other social network studied. In other words, there are fewer arms-length relationships on Facebook and more personalized and committed relationships. People are more invested in each other on Facebook, and that closeness can lead to stronger word-of-mouth marketing.

Support

According to the report, Facebook users get more support from their social relationships than users of any other social network studied. This social support can lead directly to powerful brand advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing.

Politics

Facebook users are significantly more politically engaged than most people, which is very important if your brand is tied in anyway to politics (directly or indirectly). The Facebook audience is more likely to be interested in and interact with politically-relevant brand content. Tread carefully in this area, but for some brands, it’s a natural fit.

Of course, you need to analyze your brand and target audience to ensure the content and conversations you publish on Facebook are representative of your brand promise and help you reach your goals. Use these Facebook social nuances to develop better brand marketing initiatives and your results should improve.

Image: Iwan Beijes

November 30, 2012

Nine website metrics to achieve zero landfill waste | Part 2 of 2

(This is the second of two posts looking at nine website metrics which can be used to achieve zero landfill waste and is based upon General Motors’ blueprint for achieving zero landfill waste. You can read part one here).

Strengthening Supplier Partnerships

All businesses large and small have suppliers, so you should look upstream to try and work co-operatively with your suppliers to eliminate waste. For example, useful discussions can be had around packaging, or suppliers may be interested in taking your waste for reuse in their own processes.

Ultimately, looking at the supplier partnerships and building a sustainability culture will bring the business’ strategic aim of achieving zero landfill waste into reality as employees and suppliers self-select depending upon their compatibility with the company’s long term goals.

Resolve Regulatory Challenges

Although sustainability and waste reduction may be high on your company agenda, the regulatory structure supporting them is nowhere near as developed or in depth as is it in many other aspects of business life, especially at the local level. It’s therefore a good idea to be proactive and seek out associations and groups who share the same objectives as you so that you can face any regulatory hurdles together.

Achieve Landfill Free

It may sound obvious, but once all of these steps are in place you can now start to move towards achieving zero landfill waste. It will not happen overnight, which is why having the metrics in place will help you to measure the effectiveness of various activities and adapt and improve them as necessary.

It’s also important that these metrics are published on the company’s website. This is not just to give a data-driven view of the success of your ambition but also to communicate it to other stakeholders: for example, detailing those associations you belong to as part of your zero waste drive can help to attract suppliers who are in tune with your long term goals.

Improve Efforts

Of course, achieving zero landfill waste is not the end of the story. If you’ve defined that as over 90% of waste going to landfill then there’s always room for improvement. However there’s always other areas which can be improved upon as well because as waste production falls so do costs and environmental impacts.

Remember: reduction should always come first before reuse and recycling, so until your enterprise really does produce zero waste (landfill or otherwise), there is always scope for improvements.

Share Best Practices

One of the most interesting things about the drive towards sustainability is that it has opened up the whole spectrum of best practice to all comers. Businesses which have a success in driving down their waste production should be prepared to stand up and speak about their experiences, offering them as best practice and being willing to see them improved in a stepwise manner by other companies.

Similarly a company should not feel bashful about joining in the debate with other businesses and helping to improve their best practices. This is why talking to suppliers and participating in associations with non-financial objectives are key to attaining business sustainability.

Ultimately its all about communication and co-operation, which is why the publication of metrics on corporate websites is such a critical factor.

^{Image © General Motors.}

March 31, 2010

Consumers Want Transparent, Honest, Socially Responsible Brands

Earlier this year, I wrote a post here on the Corporate Eye Blog called 2010 – The Year of Brand Transparency, Honesty and Trust, and now, research is in that supports that prediction. Weakened economies and uncertainty have caused consumers to be less naive in terms of simply believing marketing messages, and the power of the social Web in boosting global communications to new heights of access and information sharing has created a new world where consumer expectations are less accepting and more “prove it to me” than ever before.

According to an article on Brandweek, A new study by Landor Associates, Penn Schoen Berland and Burson-Marsteller reports that, “75% of consumers believe social responsibility is important, and 55% of consumers said they would choose a product that supports a particular cause against similar products that don’t.”

The study also revealed some opportunities for brands to differentiate themselves from the competition not just with cause marketing and socially responsible programs but through education. Many consumers still don’t understand what “corporate social responsibility” is. At the same time, many consumers in the aforementioned study revealed they would be willing to pay more for products from a socially responsible company — as much as $10 more. The opportunity to educate consumers about a socially responsible brand, differentiate it from the competition as such, and attach a premium price to it could be significant.

Furthermore, 50% of 18-34 years olds surveyed in this study claimed that they would be willing to take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company. That leads one to believe that socially responsible brand messages could have a bigger effect on brand building and sales in specific, younger demographics. Again, this is an opportunity to craft effective messages for specific audience segments.

Consumers have changed over the course of the past few years. Your branding and marketing messages need to change with them.

June 14, 2010

Connecting Brand Messages with Teens on the Social Web

The teen demographic is a coveted consumer audience that can drive big bucks to a business, and these days, teens spend a lot of time on the social Web. Whether they’re exchanging messages on Facebook or uploading videos to YouTube, they’re an active, influential group, and brands are desperately trying to connect with them.

In a May 2010 report, myYearbook and Ketchum revealed data about online teen influencers and how brands can engage them on the social Web. The most interesting results show the sources of information that U.S. teen influencers (i.e., the top 15% most active and engaged myYearbook members) trust the most are as follows:

52% trust friends
13% trust consumer reviews
9% trust adults
5% trust what they hear from ads
5% trust information that comes directly from companies
4% trust celebrities
3% trust bloggers
3% trust news reporters
7% trust other sources

If you try to remember what you were like as a teenager, then these results probably aren’t too surprising. The key for brands to connect with the teen audience on the social Web is to get teen online influencers to talk about them, recommend them, and share content from them.

Interestingly, most teens who responded to the survey indicated that they prefer to share humorous content with their friends online but prefer straightforward content from companies and brands. This shouldn’t be that surprising given that 2010 is the year of brand transparency for most consumer demographics.

Considering that the study also found that, “the top 15% of teen social network users are 70% more likely to share purchase decision information with their friends” (via eMarketer), brand managers would be wise to take note of the products teens are most likely to recommend and talk about with their online friends. As shown in the chart below, entertainment, electronics, new food or beverage, clothing, footwear and sneakers, video games, and makeup and skin care products are the most talked about products among teens who spend time on the social Web.

It’s important to note this doesn’t mean that other products aren’t discussed by teens at all on the social Web, but brands that operate in the channels listed above are missing a big opportunity if they’re not trying to engage teens on the social Web where they’re already spending time.

August 6, 2010

Brand Confusion Always Benefits the Category Leader

Every marketer should know the theory that a focused brand is usually a stronger brand. But what happens when the entire category is unfocused and confusing to consumers?

The leader always wins.

Here’s why — the majority of consumers aren’t interested in doing the research to figure out claims, terms, guarantees, and so forth. If they feel overwhelmed within a category, they’ll usually choose the most well-known brand assuming there must be a reason why it’s the most popular. The problem is that the leader isn’t always the right choice for every customer.

That’s why it’s essential that you make sure your category is not confusing to consumers, particularly if your brand is not the category leader. Sure, in so doing you might actually lose some potential customers who realize another brand is better for them, but in the long-run, you’ll do better because consumers who may have settled for the category leader in the midst of confusion can now make an informed choice and choose your brand. These customers are more likely to be happy, make repeat purchases, become loyal customers, and spread the word about your brand.

The wireless carrier market is a perfect example of a category that is incredibly confusing to consumers. No one really understands all the fees, terms, and conditions in wireless carrier contracts, so consumers typically choose a category with a brand name they’re more familiar with. That brand instills more trust in consumers than the lesser-known brands, even if one of those lesser-known brands has a better plan for a specific customer. It’s just too confusing to compare plans, so consumers settle for one of the leaders.

The same could be said of financial companies that offer mortgages, bank accounts, and other financial products. Financial contracts are impossible for most consumers to understand, so they stick with leading financial institutions even though a smaller bank might have a better product or option for them.

The lesson to learn is this: if you’re not the category leader, make sure consumers can easily understand the various brands and products offered in the marketplace so they can make informed purchase decisions. Be honest and you’ll be more successful than if you simply try to persuade consumers to choose your brand without all the facts.

Afterall, 2010 is the year of brand transparency, honesty and trust!

Image: stock.xchng

Annual Reports, PDFs and Printing