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Enabling a brand conversation - it’s easier than you
might imagine
by Simon Wallis, Chief of Dialogue
How many companies and brands just talk at their stakeholders – sending out communications that are blandly generic? The smart ones listen and capture the essential intimate details and personal preferences that make a long-term relationship tick. Proper dialogue with a planned outcome - the next step for truly effective public relations. Listen carefully and choose what you want to say and the exact moment you want to say it. It’s a bit like a successful marriage really and I should know, I’ve been married twice!
At ROAD we’ve been able to shift this paradigm with our proprietary DataCentre management tool. While the rest of the team at ROAD is planning the media, developing the content and creating the communications platform, I’m busy figuring out how to handle the outgoing and incoming communication and the data it holds.
Firstly we manage responses, information requests and personal detail across incoming email, telephone, and websites. Then we seamlessly and securely profile each stakeholder in a simple to view database. DataCentre firstly gives an overall view of your stakeholders’ attitudes and preferences, and then enables us to plan and execute responses.
  This way we can easily and quickly deliver relevant and timely content to each person via e-mail, sms or any other means as required. And so the process continues. As you build a rapport with each data point (sorry… stakeholder!), offering further content, information and rewards, so the relationship moves from one of marginal interest to one of advocacy.
Of course the planning team is vital but so is the software. But don’t worry, we know PR people and marketers want nothing to do with software – that’s why we take away all the pain that lets them get on with their lives. We just provide the process plus the comfort factor of full results reporting, measurement of effectiveness and changes in attitude of responses. Clients include AstraZeneca, MultiYork, Oddbins and Hoverspeed. And I can touch my toes! (just!..ed)
Simon Wallis, ROAD’s super supple Chief of Dialogue, – contact him at info@roadcommunications.co.uk’
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