As business people, we can't predict all of the
economic and environmental shifts that will occur in the coming year. Things can
happen suddenly. However, by stepping back from the often myopic view that
occupies our day-to-day vision, we can easily spot five trends that will affect
many businesses and organizations in 2005.
1. Companies and organizations will have to
engage in more active communications to their stakeholders.
Thanks to the corporate scandals of the last few
years, lawmakers passed new legislation that makes it mandatory for publicly
traded companies to operate in an ethical and open manner.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 created a new
business environment for everyone whether or not they are publicly traded. In
fact, many are predicting it will expand to include nonprofit organizations
since they also operate in the public trust.
Be aware that companies of all types are being
encouraged and expected to "live out loud" via regular communication
to their stakeholders. Those stakeholders go beyond investors and members of the
board. They include employees, retirees and vendors, to name a few.
You can expect to hear the term transparency a
lot. But while the word will get old very soon, the concept shouldn't. As part
of this new emphasis on communication, it's imperative for companies to have a
set of principles that guide them. In addition, those principles need to be put
into action in a crisis plan that's created well before it's needed and covers
how to share information if something occurs that stakeholders should know about
immediately.
2. Corporate and social responsibility will
come back
into fashion.
Companies of all sizes are returning to pre-911
levels of philanthropy. Doing good for the community, and getting credit for it,
is one of the most powerful ways to build a strong public image and improve the
bottom line.
Companies like Proctor & Gamble, Starbucks,
Aetna and The St. Paul Companies have always found that doing good is good for
business. All are consistently sited in Business Ethics Magazine's 100
Best Corporate Citizens. We expect more smaller companies to follow suit in 2005
and to make corporate citizenship part of their measure of success.
Programs like Starbucks' Living Our Values
project should be emulated by companies of all sizes because they combine doing
good with good business practices. It makes sense on all levels.
3. PR will go beyond the "classic"
media to include the Web, e-zines.
Corporations and larger nonprofits are already
conscious of the impact that e-zines and the online versions of print media have
on their stakeholders.
Smaller entities have
ignored this new media universe. E-zines are giving many companies and their
stakeholders a public voice. Now that their quality is improving, companies
should send articles to these online publications. Many are hungry for material,
which can make getting pick-ups easier than in the printed media. The key to
using them wisely is to customize material for them. They value unique stories
that don't appear in other media and, in many cases; they require exclusive use
of a particular story. In the past, meeting those needs was often not worth the
effort, but that's changed with their improving quality and impact. Think Drudge
Report or online version of The New York Times.
4. Your company's online presence will be
critical.
Not only is the general public routinely
searching the Internet for information, but 98 percent of reporters research
information online before they write a story. That means a company's Web site
needs to be searchable, regularly updated and free of out-dated information.
It also means that successful companies will make
it a regular practice to monitor the Web for what's being said about them on
other Web sites and in chat rooms. They'll view the Web as a new survey tool: If
there's a problem anywhere in their business practices, chances are it'll show
up somewhere on the Web. The key is to fix the problem and let the world know
about it immediately and aggressively.
5. Crisis proofing will become more
fashionable.
Smart companies will crisis-proof themselves
before something bad happens. That means identifying as many negative situations
as possible and deciding how a company will deal with them. Why will this be so
important in 2005?
Because of an increasingly short news cycle. A
company used to have a full 24 hours to respond in a crisis. Thanks to the
sped-up news cycle, it's now 30 minutes.
You can't respond appropriately in 30 minutes
unless you have a crisis plan already in hand. What's the down side of delaying
a response? Just look at what happened to Martha Stewart. The court of public
opinion can have a bottom line effect on juries (they read newspapers too) and
on punitive damages.
Clearly, the trend in business communications
during the next year is: More is better. More honesty, more frequency, more
online media, more stakeholders.
Fortunately, it doesn't take a wizard to see this
coming, although it may take a wizard to pull it off in some companies. If this
way of working is new to your business or organization, just remember this: Good
communication is the key to building good relationships. You don't have to be a
wizard to know how important that will be in 2005 and beyond.
Andrea Obston is the president and founder of
Andrea Obston Marketing Communications. The firm specializes in the creation and
execution of marketing strategies through public relations, crisis management
and media training. The 22-year-old firm's clients include: Integrated Loan
Services, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Filomeno & Company, The YWCA of
the Hartford Region and Tallán, Inc.
