April 22

WFED 881 – Lesson 14 – course reflection

  • Paragraph 1: In thinking about the challenges to selling (you don’t feel like you have the best selling skills, you are afraid of failure, you have too many competing priorities, you don’t have your heart in the game, you think selling is distasteful), do you feel you now have the tools in your grasp to get in the game? Write a paragraph describing the tools you feel you now have and any you will continue to develop throughout the WF ED program.

This is the end of my second semester. pursuing this degree has given my such joy and purpose. I know that there is still a lot that I need to learn, so as I sit here contemplating if I’m ready to go out and sell my services, the answer is no. I don’t think, at this time, that I have what it takes to be an OD consultant. There is still so much to learn.

Wanting to learn more has always been the tool that I select for procrastination. I want to learn more about the business or the client or deepen my skills before I try to make the sale. The trick is to know when I know enough and when I don’t. At this point, I think the place where I will excel is as an internal consultant because I can start small (as in I will already know the company) and can build my experience at one organization.

There will be a lot that I take from the class to an internal consultant, the most important of which is building my personal brand. That can be done both as an internal consultant or external and they are both equally important. The other lesson from the class that will be the most important is RAIN selling. It can be done both as an internal consultant and external consultant because at the end of the day it’s about knowing your client and providing them with the best possible service by truly understanding where they’re coming from and where they want to go.

  • Paragraph 2: Now that the class is finished, what are the most important things that you have come to discover about yourself, in the context of marketing OD? What have you learned about yourself that you will take with you to your next classes? Did you have any “Aha!” moments that you want to make sure you don’t forget about? Use the last paragraph of your WF ED 881 blog as a reflection on the class and its impact on you as a future OD professional.

I think the greatest aha moments were those when I was struggling and I would see my classmates struggling as well when I didn’t feel that I was alone. It was invaluable talking through different portions of text or marketing plans because it provided us both with a deeper understanding. When I complete this degree, and head out into the big new world, having a rapport with my classmates will be a tremendous help when I’m out there trying to tackle a problem. Knowing that I’ve established a “working group” per see to bounce ideas off of.

The other thing that I’ve learned, the greatest “ah-ha” which hasn’t been apparent in my other classes, is how different our experiences have been, and how much our experiences will shape where we go to practice OD. This class has helped me to build a strong network of extremely bright OD practitioners who I’m sure I”ll be calling on for help a lot in the future.

 

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April 7

WFED 881 Lesson 12 – Persistence

Paragraph 1: Have you ever been in a situation where you approached someone new and they rejected or ignored you? How did that experience impact you? Did you give up or push forward in order to overcome the initial reaction?
Paragraph 2: What has this experience taught you about being persistent that you can leverage in your future as an OD professional? What has this class taught you that could have helped you handle the original situation more positively?

2005 to 2011, I sold skincare through a direct marketing company. I learned about it from one of my yoga students and loved what the products stood for, and I loved that I could build my own business on the side too. So, I did what they told me to, go out and talk to everyone I could about the product and the business. No one should stop you, because we all have skin, was the motivational line. I can’t tell you the number of people who told me to buzz off, they weren’t interested, they didn’t believe me. It was awful. I started to second guess myself and my decision to start my own business. I attempted to join networking groups, but because my business was direct marketing, they didn’t want me. I persevered for a few years and was able to share testimonials from my own clients, which was helpful. I was also able to support myself with my business, which made me proud.

Ugh. I wish I had known then what I know now. First, I’m not sure that I would have done it, although personal care was in my blood, I grew up in hair salons, working as a receptionist and could sell shampoo to anyone. I was very good. I asked a lot of questions and knew the product very well.

But, with the skincare, there were limited lines and not everyone wanted anti-aging. If I had to do it again, I would do a better job of targeting my demographic. I would focus primarily on a single age group so that I could develop the right type of communication for them. Whether it was about the business or the skincare. The company provided us with marketing materials, but not how to use them most effectively.

I also wasn’t an expert in skincare- I used it, but that’s about it. I wasn’t an esthetician, or have any credentials that made me appear as more of a resource for my clients, I was just a vehicle they used to get the products that they wanted.

So, as I look back, two things strike me as very important, the first is to outline a market, know who you’re targeting in order to develop the right messaging. Second, become an expert, get the credentials, understand the product or service, and use that knowledge and experience to foster current and new relationships as it relates to the business.

I believe wholeheartedly that getting my masters in OD&C will provide me with a huge amount of credibility in the industry. Not only that, but the story I can now tell, I believe, is impactful. I’m heading into a new career in my mid-40s. I’m working full time, I’m a mother, a wife, and getting my Masters in something that I am passionate about. Who wouldn’t want someone as driven and focussed as I am to help them with their organization? But seriously, this course has helped me to ask questions which will help me to better target the areas and industries, where I can make the most impact and bring the best perspective and understanding to my future clients.

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March 28

WFED 881 – Lesson 10 Content Marketing

Question: Is content marketing worth it or not? Is it the way of the future, or will it be the death of all of us? How will your feelings about content marketing influence your real-world work and decisions?

I don’t think you can run a business without content marketing. Earlier in the course, we were asked if we can name a Fortune 1000 business that does not sell goods online. I mentioned Exxon and Primark. I’ll compare the two below in regards to their content marketing efforts.

Primark sells homeware, clothing, and accessories. They don’t sell online but direct to their brick and mortar stores. When I went to their homepage at the end of January, they shared ways to put outfits together, how to create a warm and inviting home and the latest fashion trends. If you go to their home page today (in the thick of COVID-19) all of their content is for today’s self-quarantine/ work from home (I took a screenshot since I don’t know how long we’ll be living like this) their lead story is a podcast list for self-isolation – it’s really informative, shows how in tune they are to the feelings of their customers, and offer a bit of solace and escape in these uneasy times.

Primark homepage on March 28, 2020, in response to social distancing.

In keeping with their brand, and the blogs on their homepage, they offer family-friendly listening options as well as work from home podcasts, and songs. Their content marketing strategy is very relevant to the times, is worthy of sharing (ha! I just shared Jodi Sprague’s “YOUR SELF-ISOLATION PODCAST PLAYLIST” with my friends).

Primark's homepage bottom half, under the page break on March 28,2020

This is Primark’s homepage on March 28, 2020. It’s on the bottom half of the page under the lead content article of podcasts for social isolation

Which is exactly the point of content marketing – to spread the word, spread the brand. It doesn’t have to be completely relevant to what they’re selling. In this example, what Primark has sold is a “we’re with you through this” come to us for comfort and knowledge, and current trends. That’s exactly what their brand sells – clothes that are current.

Exxon Mobile was another example that I used earlier this semester as a brand that doesn’t have an online retail presence. So I looked at their site and were before I found it interesting in the articles they wrote that support women, education, and finding the balance between their core mission of providing energy with their influence on the environment, I found their messaging today as it relates to COVID-19, very cold. What they’ve posted on their site looks like it was written by their legal department. They are missing the piece of humanity that they so eloquently sold to me through their content when I checked in on them in early January 2020.

Exxon is looking at ways to cut expenditures during COVID-19. A stark contrast to its competitor BP.

I kept scrolling to see if some humanity would show through. It came to me in a corporate statement that was issued March 16 where they said that their shareholders were their priority. I understand that energy prices have fallen and that cost-saving usually means a reduction in the workforce. I think it’s a missed opportunity when they could have focussed on building consumer and employee morale, they focussed on their shareholders’ pocketbooks.

A subsection of their website talks about community initiatives – I wonder what the impact would have been if they had led with that section on their website and focussed on the good, instead of adding to the doom and gloom that we get everywhere else.

A quick comparison to BP oil and I see that the two companies have taken drastically different stances. BP is looking at the community. BP’s website leads with this #InThisTogether

I’m far more apt to share information from BP then Exxon- in fact, if given the opportunity to stop at an Exxon station or a BP station, I’ll go to BP hands down (thankfully there’s one in my neighborhood).

BP and social responsibility and care during COVID-19

https://www.bp.com/ Retrieved March 28, 2020

 

That’s the power of content marketing – the values and priorities of a company can come through loud and clear without even trying to sell a product.

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February 21

WFED 881 Lesson 6: Perceptions

I found a company that offered white papers and blog posts on how to build a customer service team. I followed the company, was an avid reader of their weekly email digest and used a number of their suggestions to build up our customer service team. When I had questions on types of metrics, employee rewards, even how to phrase difficult responses, I went straight to them.

After a year of using them as a resource, it was time to find software to bring to our service desk. I tried two other companies before trying them. The reason I tried them last is that I needed to have three bids and I knew that I could persuade my organization to select the company I had come to rely on for over a year. I was successful and have been using their tools for the past two years.

I regret my decision every day. They write article after article on how to create meaningful interaction, but they don’t do that for their own customers. They talk about chat and how important it is for customers to be talking to a live person, but every single time I use their chat feature, it’s transformed into an email and response within 48 hours. When I need to talk to someone about my licenses, I can’t find a salesperson to assist me. Their service is abysmal. I am actively looking for a new provider when my license is up. I’ve told the company how they’ve let me down because they don’t practice what they preach.

I have learned a lot from them on how to market – mostly how to be subject matter experts, how to build trust to get a sale. I’ve also learned from them the importance of maintaining that trust. They educated me on what good customer service is and how to execute, but they don’t heed their own lessons. I don’t want to be like them.

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February 5

WFED 881 – Pitfalls

The following is an example of pitfall one (force compliance without getting buy-in and commitment from the team) in action, and then pitfall three (ignore others because the industry is different) shows up.

We had a project that had been approved by senior leadership. It involved a marketing campaign through a third party asking for people to update their contact information. My team, who was responsible for answering all questions, fielding complaints, and verifying that it was not a scam (because the communications were not to our brand). The campaign was done via direct mail, phone calls, and email. The number of complaints we received was beyond anything we’d experienced in the past. When we shared the issues, we were told, “that’s ok, for every one complaint, we’re getting 10 people who comply”. 

That’s fine, but the statistics showed that for every one complaint, there was another twenty-five that we didn’t hear. When it was pointed out, pitfall three showed up. I was told that the statistics don’t reflect our industry and that we’re actually doing much better than other institutions of our size.

When I saw the fall out on my team, I went to my supervisor and our contact at the third party to get more information on why we were running it, what good was coming out of it, how was it aligned with our goals, how was it supporting our mission? Once I was able to get a sense of the good, I was able to educate my team on why we were doing it. We then worked on improving our communications and responses to the calls and emails that we received. Had we been more involved with the plan, the rollout and understood the reason behind it, I would have been able to have better prepared my team for the issues that may have come up. If leadership had considered the statistics around complaints, then maybe we could have done something else, but instead, we caused a lot of anger and resentment amongst the population we were trying to engage.

Following the project, I met with my manager and presented to her the number of calls and email complaints in response to the project. I multiplied the number times twenty-five to get a sense of the sheer number of people who were upset by the project – and it came out to about 25% of the total participation number. I shared with her the messaging that we came up with to explain what was happening and why it was done, but showed that the messaging didn’t appear until later in the project. I asked if I could be included in conversations in the future around marketing decisions that will affect the support team. I would have scheduled differently, been more proactive, and worked with my team to explain why the initiative was important.

I learned that when the time comes for me to run my own business, the more transparent I can be with my staff, the better. I will also think very hard about the trust that people have in my company and weigh their trust into many of the marketing decisions that I make. If it enhances trust, it’s a good campaign, if it causes them to question the trust they have in my company, it shouldn’t be run.

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January 14

WFED 881 Welcome post

Hi class!
My name is Sara Schumann. This is my second semester of the OD&C Master’s program and I’m loving it! I’m rarely available after 8 pm, my bedtime. I’ve found that the best time for me to get my homework done is between 4 AM and 6 AM.

At work, I manage a team of seven students who spend a lot of their day moaning about their group work 🙂 And then I was introduced to group work for the first time last semester. In undergrad, I was an English major and there was little to no group work, so the concept was pretty new. I loved it. I found that when we had an understanding of when each other was dedicated to school work was very helpful so that we had an idea of when each of us would be working on the assignment and when we could expect our questions to be answered. It was also helpful to set very clear expectations of who was in charge of what and when that portion would be completed.

The biggest challenge I see in marketing myself as an OD consultant is getting over the thought that although I’ve learned a lot over the course of the program, I’m afraid that I won’t have enough real-world knowledge and experience to start my own practice or get a job in the field. I think it can be solved by speaking to the work that I’ve done through my courses, and what I’ve learned, but that’s my biggest fear/ hurdle – not thinking that people will want to give me a chance because of my lack of real-world work in OD. So if you have any suggestions or insights on how to promote the fact that being fresh out of school, is an asset, I’m all ears!

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