By Myra Norton on 5/19/2008 7:36 AM

Client Connectivity

Last week I focused on the importance of efficiency within the organization. What I didn’t talk about however, was the fact that this type of effective behavior extends far beyond the bounds of an organization.   There are ways to not only successfully operate your business, but also work to better serve your existing clients and obtain new clients as well.

 

How? By identifying and fostering the existing relationship capital of your company and your clients. Termed Client Connectivity, this form of analysis helps you identify and build on the connections between and amongst your (1) clients, (2) potential clients, and (3) employees. In its most simple form, this analysis draws from the ability to cross reference these three networks and use them in a way that adds value to your firm and to your current and prospective clients. For example, if two distinct sales teams are selling into the same company, they can utilize this knowledge to reach the prospect with one united message. From the client’s perspective, this means an interaction that is at the same time more efficient and comprehensive.  In addition to exploring shared connections, Client Connectivity studies also offer the ability to see who the most central individuals are, both inside and outside of a company.

 

 

What is important to note about Client Connectivity is the fact that you are engaging known entities. There’s no guesswork or speculation here; rather, all of the variables are already identified for you – either though organizational or external network analysis, as illustrated above. The applications for thi ... Read More »

By Myra Norton on 5/13/2008 7:52 AM

The other components of WOMM-U have been even more exciting from my perspective. There are 12 "faculty-led" tracks that occur 6 times throughout the two days. I have the honor of leading one of the groups focused on activating word of mouth in social networks. What has been so wonderful about this approach is that we have 10 to 14 folks around a table who are sharing their very real struggles with the tactical side of WOM, and their peers around that table then help to offer guidance and suggestions from their own experiences. I am working to compile all of the great ideas that are coming out of the discussions in my groups and will be able to share them with all of the participants sometime next week. How great to have the ideas, struggles and thoughts about WOM in Social Networks from more than 50 practitioners! My only wish is that I could participate in other sessions as well as my own.

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By Myra Norton on 5/9/2008 12:27 PM

It’s hard to know where to start with this post – there are so many exciting learnings to share from WOMMA’s first Word of Mouth Marketing University (WOMM-U).  Yesterday we had the pleasure of hearing from Joseph Jaffe, Jeffrey Graham, the good folks at OPI, and Carla Hendra.  In these keynotes and case studies were many nuggets of wisdom about the importance of WOM, Community and the new frontiers of customer engagement in general. 

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By Myra Norton on 5/6/2008 7:17 AM

A lot of people asked me about my posting last week, Human Networks Have Power in Uncertain Times, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk a little more about how relationships are important over the course of the next few weeks. In what ways are relationships important when the economy is weak? This can be answered from a number of perspectives.

Organizational networks are a good place to start.  By definition organizational networks are the informal knowledge communities within the workplace.  In today’s information economy, there is recognition that the flow of information inside organizations is not limited to the hierarchies of formal organizational charts. In fact, extensive research shows us that advice seeking is not bound by these structures, and often even detailed maps of organizational structures cannot accurately depict the informal interactions that occur amongst employees. 

 

So what does this mean? Well, from an organizational standpoint, these uncertain times in the economy often limit a firm’s ability to hire needed additional staff. Therefore, it’s critical to empower your team to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. The need to restructure part of a department would be a good example of this. The same is true in times of layoffs or workforce reductions. Not knowing who your top performers are from both a formal and informal standpoint could prove to be detrimental to your firm. The manner in which you utilize these key players and position them in ways that help transfer the flow of information is critical.

 

Some of the most important internal teams in an organization are customer account teams. How can you make sure you’re leveraging their relationships and supporting them so that they are able to build stronger and more solid connections with your customers and prospects?

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By Myra Norton on 5/2/2008 7:57 AM

For all of you who are members of LinkedIn, you may have noticed an unusually large amount of activity coming from my account. Katie brought it to my attention that I have over 1200 contacts in my outlook, but had only connected with a mere 70 of you on this platform. I must admit, I have held out for a long time in terms of actively using the platform. 

 

I read an article recently that stated, “499 of the Fortune 500 companies have director-level profiles and higher on LinkedIn. Even Barack Obama recently teamed up with LinkedIn to reach entrepreneurs, small business owners and executives, asking them very pointed questions regarding their needs from the next U.S. president.” 

 

Isn’t it amazing how easy it is for all of us to connect in one spot? It’s also hard to believe that this is the standard resume for all professionals; who would have thought this would be the case 10 years ago? Although I’m a novice to LinkedIn, I’m quickly learning about how helpful it can be. My past hesitancy was born out of a strong feeling that relationships of trust and advice-seeking are not built and sustained online.  But what I’m learning is that tools like LinkedIn can actually help us communicate more efficiently with individuals in our networks – in a way, these tools help us leverage that relationship capital I talked about in a previous post.  I’m glad that Katie convinced me it was time to get more involved – it’s been great to “connect” with many folks who I have not had the pleasure of talking with in a while.

 

Now I’m considering using LinkedIn as a recruiting platform. Do you have any experience with this?

By Myra Norton on 4/29/2008 8:33 AM

The buzz is all around us these days – talk of recession and unstable markets.  How do companies weather these times, continue to increase revenues with limited resources?  In this economic environment, it is the human and relationship capital that will determine which firms rise and which will fall.  Relationships with customers, suppliers, partners; and the effectiveness of knowledge networks inside organizations become increasingly valuable when budgets are tight and we all feel the pressure to make the best use of the resources we have.

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By Myra Norton on 4/8/2008 9:56 AM

I recently came across an article about the implementation of a graduate business course entitled “Social Networking for Industry Leaders.” I’m not talking about a class in Facebook or Myspace; rather, this course stresses the importance of how to recognize and make use of the webs of relationships and trust within your organization.

 

Taught by industry leader, Dr. Karen Stephenson, this curriculum program is aimed at managers and executives who seek to optimize and re-align their organizational culture. According to Stephenson, this course hopes to leave managers with the practical steps to find answers to such questions as, “Who are the key innovators? Who naturally seeks new solutions to problems? Who bounces their ideas around with one another? Who’s hidden in hierarchy yet very effective in spite of it?”Here again we see an example of social network analysis going mainstream!

Although network analysis has been around since the 1930s, this sudden wave of popularity may actually weaken the legitimacy of this discipline. We hear managers throw around terms like dynamic relationships and tie strength, but only few know how to use that information in ways to identify authentic relationships of trust and advice-seeking on which we rely to make decisions and take action.

Organizational Network Analysis is hot topic right now. I’ve noticed more and more companies sign on in hopes to make those invisible lines of corporate communication ones of concrete leverage. As relationship capital becomes the currency in which organizations operate and are valued, I think it is imperative that firms first recognize the need to improve personal and group-level networks within their own organizations.
ONA is a fantastic diagnostic tool that aims to enhance the development of individuals and teams in support of key organizational objectives. Watch out though; this too ... Read More »

By Myra Norton on 4/1/2008 8:55 AM

As I leave Denver, I am energized by all of the great learning I was privileged to be a part of this week.  In the last two days of the Academic Impressions conference on Alumni Affinity Groups, we talked a great deal about what “affinity” means to different institutions.  For some, the term refers to alumni groups defined by their ethnic affiliations.  To others, it is the various interests of the alumni that define affinity (athletics, music, business networking, etc.).  And then there are those institutions who define affinity in terms of affinity programs – license plates, credit cards and other merchandise branded by the school.  As this new approach to engaging alumni emerges, it is clear that we need to nail down some common language – something that will take some time.

One of the interesting conversations I had was with an alumni relations professional who has been tasked with creating an “alumni affinity model.”  When I reviewed the draft model prepared by the consultant hired by her school, there were four pages and more than 100 inputs.  When I asked what the purpose of the model is, and how the various alumni relations and development offices intended to use the outputs of the model, it became clear to me that no one had asked or answered that question.  Needless to say, this was incredibly frustrating for the staff member who had been tasked with developing a model for which she had no concrete application.  My intuition is that the purpose of the model is to assess the level of “affinity” an alum has for the institution; but the recommended model combines entirely too many inputs that actually indicate different aspects of affinity, involvement and support.

This raised an issue that we talked a great deal about for the remainder of the conference – the importance of “beginning with the end in mind.”  The Stephen Covey mantra is very appli ... Read More »

By Myra Norton on 3/27/2008 9:06 AM

This week I have the privilege of serving as part of the faculty for a conference on Alumni Affinity Groups. The conference is run by Academic Impressions, and is really more of a hands-on working session for alumni relations and development professionals. Yesterday was the first day, and we had a very fruitful morning session on rethinking alumni social networks. We talked about the misconception that social networks = Facebook or MySpace; and that the reality is that social networks are about human relationships that form for a variety of reasons. Facebook, MySpace and other online social networking sites are tools alumni may use to connect; but they do not define the social networks among them.

One of the points we’re continuing to hammer on is the importance of asking alumni about the people who are most important to them – the connections they cherish from their time at your institution. So often, we identify alumni leadership by default – selecting those who volunteer or those who are most visible to the institution. This approach leads to overuse of the same alumni in multiple capacities, and doesn’t foster growth in alumni participation and engagement with the institution.

Brenda Morris, from Baylor University, shared some of the great work she and her team are doing at Baylor to grow the Baylor Network, a wonderful set of alumni affinity groups led by alumni and supported by the institution. Wayne Cozart, from the University of Virginia; and Jeff Schantz, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, are fellow faculty with Brenda and me. I look forward to learning more today about Wayne’s programs for alumni that have grown out of student organizations and Jeff’s programs for alumni volunteer training.

The talented alumni relations and development professionals participating in this conference developed great strategies for building alumni affinity group programming; and I am excited to see them pu ... Read More »

By Myra Norton on 3/17/2008 8:00 AM

I was meeting with administrators from a University in the Northeast last week to help them improve overall Alumni participation, and more importantly, engagement. I have to say this was one of the most refreshing meetings I’ve had in a long time with a group like this because they actually said to me, “We have no interest in developing a strategy to raise more money from our alumni – we just want to serve them better and improve their experience of the University.” What a breath of fresh air – they get it!

Alumni are an interesting group because they already have a natural affinity for each other, and that often extends to the institution as well. But time after time I see Colleges and Universities make the mistake of valuing the relationship between an alumnus and the institution above the relationship of the alumnus and his fellow alumni – and not the alumni the institution thinks he should be connected with – the alumni who mean the most to the alumnus. A great deal of research has shown that we form some of the strongest and most enduring bonds with folks we met while at undergraduate and/or graduate school; and beyond the research, I think we all know that to be true in our own experiences. Yet, when we look to engage alumni, we revert back to the same demographic models employed by our counterparts in B2B and B2C marketing to predict likely relationships and behavior. Those models aren’t working in the traditional realm of marketing, and they certainly aren’t working in the context of alumni engagement.

For those schools making the effort to understand and support the relationships that matter to your alumni, I applaud you! But more importantly, your alumni applaud you – of course, you probably already know that.