The upset by Scott Brown in winning the election in Massachusetts to fill Senator Edward Kennedy’s vacant seat was a real shocker.  A Republican in the most Blue state in the nation?  But maybe rather than an anomaly, it portends the future.

Communication is a two-way process and the politicians in Washington have proven themselves tone deaf.  They didn’t listen. The labels Democrat and Republican have lost their currency.

Voters in America are angry at the direction of the country.  Thanks to the Internet and Social Media, they have developed their own communities to exchange ideas and vent.  Why weren’t Washington and the politicos tuning in?

They are way behind the curve when it comes to understanding what their constituents are communicating to them:  We want you to keep your promises; we want over-the-top spending stopped; we want jobs more than we want health-care reform, or at least health care we can afford as a nation.

I predict that Congressmen and Senators up for re-election this year – regardless of party – are in for a shock.  Republicans may be gleeful that they got their 41^st vote to prevent a super majority.  But they are in jeopardy just as much as Democrats who will be on the ballot, because people are disgusted with the governing class, who have not been listening to them.

My sister-in-law Susan Paladino, who lives in Massachusetts and followed the campaign closely, summed it up in a note she sent to friends.  Here are some highlights:

“Last night after the election was decided I listened to radio news programs and talk shows at several times throughout the late night, early morning and the next day.  The focus of EVERY report of the election results was: What went wrong?  The analysis centered on Martha Coakley’s abilities as a candidate (remember that AG is an elected position and she has run other campaigns), the inabilities of the Democratic machine (their designation, not mine), the timing of the election, and the weather.

“A British broadcaster asked her correspondent in the US if Martha Coakley had run a poor campaign.  The answer being yes, she then asked if Scott Brown had run a good campaign.  After a noticeable pause the reporter said that Brown had driven his truck all over the state talking to everyone who would listen to him – the inference being that this was a strange way to run a campaign.  Not one reporter said that Brown was an effective campaigner who listened to people.  Still no one asks: What went right?

“As the money poured in for Scott Brown from around the country a tipping point was reached, the tide turned, and more and more people joined the fiscally conservative side with the thought that they would be heard in Washington.

“If there was one salient point about this Massachusetts election it is that people realized that they had a voice and it could be heard. As that point began to come across the tide turned.  “Yes we can” reverberated around the commonwealth.”

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln:  we’ve entered an era when communication of the people, by the people, and for the people will determine the course of our country.

Andrea Nierenberg

One of the easiest and most effective ways to stay in touch is with the power of the personal note with a “thank you” to a business associate. In research I’ve conducted, I ask the question, “How many of you send out personal notes?” I also ask, “How many of you receive personal notes or cards from clients or business associates?” The response indicates that few people take this practice seriously. As a follow up, I ask, “Has anyone received notes of appreciation, and how does that make you feel?” I trust you know the answer to this last question.

Here are eight opportunities to send a “thank you,” and when and how to do it effectively:

1. When customers do business with you, every time. Write a short, personalized “thank you” on an interesting card, letterhead, or even a postcard that says, “I appreciate your business, thank you.” You can never say thank you to someone too many times. We all appreciate the fact that people go out of their way to make us feel important and recognized.

2. When they compliment you. When a client compliments you about something, it’s an opportunity to jot off a little note of thanks, saying, “Thank you for taking the time for making my day. I appreciate it.” Compliments are given so rarely, so take the lead to say thank you when you get one.

3. When clients offer comments or suggestions. It’s a wonderful gift when your clients give you a suggestion or comment on how you might do something better or different. They’re also giving you an incredible buying signal. They might really be saying, “If you make that change, your product or service will be more attractive to me.” Here’s how to start this type of note: “Thank you for your suggestion on how I can better serve you. I’m in business to do exactly that. And you make my job easier and so much more enjoyable when you provide input.”

4. When customers try something you recommended. When clients buy into something new, solely based on your suggestion, they’re going out of their “comfort zone”. They’re putting trust in you and your product. This calls for a special note that could read, “Thank you for your trust in me. I value your business.”

5. When customers recommend you. This is the best form of advertising you can ever get. It’s so easy to take the time and go back to our advocate, and say, “thank you for referring me to —–. I will keep you posted and informed on what develops. It means a great deal to me to know that you’re willing to recommend me. I appreciate it.” This type of “thank you” might include a small gift as well.

6. When customers are patient, or not so patient. Our clients help us when they give us time to learn how to best serve them. Often this requires their patience. On the other hand, they give us a “wake up call” when they ask us to hurry up. When this happens they might really be saying, “Hello, remember me? Keep me in mind, or I might get swept away by the competition.” In either case, pull out a note card again, and let them know how important they are to you. Perhaps say, “Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I appreciate how you help me keep your business.”

7. When clients say “no” to you. You’ve just pitched an account and you didn’t get their business, this time. It’s still the opportunity to write a short note. Thank them for their time, their consideration and their honesty. Keep the door opened by being friendly and courteous. Research I conducted in the last three years shows that almost 20% of my business comes from prospects that said no the first time. People remembered the notes I sent and it made a difference. Such a difference that I got referrals, even from contacts that were not able to use my services themselves.

8. When customers make you smile. I have one client who e-mails me jokes all the time. Another one will call up and just give me some good news. Whatever it is, it makes me smile, and I want clients to know that they’ve made me feel good. I’ll send them an interesting note or card. This technique always gets noticed and remembered.
So, if you’re not using personal thank-you notes, you should start now and watch how they help your business grow.

Andrea Nierenberg is president of The Nierenberg Group , an international business consulting firm specializing in customized training, workshops and keynote addresses that equip executives with the tools they need to “Find, Grow & Keep”® the clients that are key to their success and to be more effective business communicators.

I’ve posted a simple 5-question poll on Linked-In: Does Your Company Have a Social Media Director to Manage the Company’s Social Media Strategy? Click on Social Media Poll if you would like to take the poll.

I’ll be posting the responses.  Also, please use the Comment section in this post if you would like to add your thoughts on the topic.  I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

Much has been written about the shocking and untimely death of Michael Jackson.  He was truly one of the greatest communicators of all times.  There is unlikely to be anyone like him again. As David Segal wrote in The New York Times, “On the most basic level, this is matter of business and math. Michael Jackson has sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide of the 1982 album ‘Thriller,’ which spent more than 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. It’s one of those high-water marks that nobody  will touch because record stores are vanishing, and along with them, megahit albums are vanishing, too.”  Today’s performers also are contending with the distractions of the Internet, hundreds of cable channels and social networks, which drain away potential fans.

While his passing is sad, Michael Jackson’s great legacy will be his uncanny ability to communicate through the language of music — in words, pictures and actions.  The lyrics from his most famous albums resonate with passion – “The way you make me feel,” and “I just can’t stop loving you” are just two examples.  In reality, these were odes to his fans.  They understood that he was really talking about them.  And the love was mutual.

His dancing and mesmerizing moonwalk took his music to a new level.  He captured the hearts and imaginations of fans around the world.  From the tips of his toes to his sweet high-pitched voice, he was communicating with everything he had.  He held nothing back and his fans loved him for it.

There is a lesson here for company CEOs.  As I said in an earlier post, a CEO’s honest passion and belief in the vision he has for his company will inspire people to follow.  You get more people to change by showing them something that affects their feelings than with a detailed factual analysis.  Michael Jackson was a shrewd businessman when it came to striking deals, but his ability to communicate his passion through the language of music will be his most enduring legacy.

Whenever change permeates a big company, resistance is inevitable.  The announcement of change itself raises anxiety levels, creates doubts in employees’ minds, and makes them feel vulnerable and uncertain.  And it raises serious questions:

•    What will this mean for me?
•    If I must operate differently, am I up to it?
•    Do I really believe what I’m hearing about the future of the company?

Sound leadership and a clear vision are required to answer these questions.  Straightforward communication is essential to calm fears and build support for change.   But most important, the CEO’s honest passion and belief in the vision will inspire people to follow.

Imagine if Martin Luther King Jr. had stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and said, “I have a business strategy.”  King didn’t do that.  He said, “I have a dream,” and showed us what his dream was, his picture of the future.

You get more people to change by showing them something that affects their feelings than with a detailed factual analysis.

It takes passion to break out of habits.  Ask dieters.

This morning’s newspapers were filled with stories about two Domino’s Pizza employees videotaping a prank in which they do pretty disgusting things to a pizza they were preparing for delivery.  They put the video up on YouTube and the rest is history.  The viral community swiftly carried the story to a world-wide audience eager to spread the dirty word about Domino’s.  Too late, the company realized that the traditional response — send out a press release and hope for the best wasn’t going to work.   This is the lesson they learned.

The company has since opened an account at Twitter and the comments are beginning to turn positive.  But the damage to the company’s reputation will take a long time to heal.  And the company still isn’t using all the viral tools at its disposal — at the writing of this post, the company had nothing on its corporate website to reassure its customers nor a link to its Twitter account.  This may be a calculated decision, but they need to be in control of the message.  It is naive to think that customers and investors aren’t online getting the most up-to-date commentary on the crisis.  Shouldn’t the company’s official website be carrying the key messages the company wants to communicate?

Did Domino’s have a crisis communications plan in place for this kind of event?  As a company in the food business, didn’t they know that the potential for bad news — food contamination high among them — could turn into a reality they would need to address?

Savvy companies will stay tuned into the viral community 24/7 and be ready to respond at the speed of light — which is the speed at which news about a company circles the universe.

[tweetmeme]Spring is coming and so is the avalanche of annual reports that public companies send to their shareholders.  And, as usual, most of them will be as dull as dishwater.  Think about it.  When was the last time someone told you he had curled up in bed with a good annual report to read?  Not likely, unless sleep was the primary motivation. Annual reports can be real dullards.

In an effort to avoid offending any of the organization’s constituents, not step on the toes of regulators or in the rush to get the darn thing out, the people who produce them for a living often take the easy way out.  Change the wording a little of last year’s CEO’s letter, revise the financial charts, drop in photos of the new trustees, add a dollop here and there of new initiatives, and that’s it.

It’s time for a new take on these angst-producing documents that so often lie dormant in the storeroom after the initial distribution.  Years later, musty copies are still taking up space.

We need to look at the annual report more strategically.  How can it advance the goals of the organization?  How can it support the sales team or development director?  Who should be involved in the process of defining the content?   Who will most benefit from an annual report that demonstrates the dynamic nature of the organization, its vision, and its role in society?

Make it sell

The report should very strategically position the organization as the leader in its space, developing new paradigms of products and services.

In creating the annual report for a nonprofit in the healthcare field, I worked closely with the director of development to understand his needs so we could present the financial results and new strategic initiatives in such a way that it would be easy for him in personal meetings to walk potential donors through the report, hitting the high spots to pique their interest and open their wallets.

Use Testimonials

Use testimonials from the company’s customers and employees to bring the vision statement to life.  Let them tell the reader what a great company this is.

So, if you’re assigned to create this year’s annual report, how do you ensure it accurately represents the organization and has a long, active life after it’s been printed and distributed?  Here are my suggestions:

•    The CEO needs to be involved from the get-go.  Do not even think of hiring a writer or design firm until you have met with the CEO to understand how s/he wishes the organization to be positioned in the document. S/he cannot delegate this discussion to someone else.

•    Armed with this information, write a creative platform that describes the overall theme and tone of the annual report, its content and “look.”  Get the CEO to sign off on it.

•    Meet with key people in the company or organization who would most likely use the annual report throughout the year such as the head of sales, director of development, director of public and community affairs, and so on.  Get their ideas of what they would like to see emphasized in the report.  Find out what would make them use it during the year to help them achieve their goals.

•    Make a mock-up of the report, page by page.  It doesn’t need to be fancy. Take some legal paper and fold the sheets in half.  It’s essential to know the content of every page and ideas for photos, charts, etc.

•    Now you can meet with your design firm and writer, if that’s not you.  Everyone should be working from the approved creative platform and mock-up.  Believe me, they will love you for it.

•    Show two to three designs to the CEO with the mock-up.  If you’ve done your job right, s/he will have a tough time picking out the winner, because s/he will love them all.

Be true to the creative platform as you go through the process of developing the report.  Be excited as it begins to unfold as a living, breathing document that will take on a life of its own for a year.  Don’t be afraid to be a little gutsy with the copy and design.  You’re not creating the next Bible, after all.

While your readers may not take your annual report to bed, at least you can be confident they won’t fall asleep at their desks as they read it.