| Spring 2008 |
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Dear Friends:
We also have some tips on spring cleaning for your office from our client expert Laurie Shufeldt and fun facts about Carabiners. Hope you enjoy the issue and happy spring to you! Warmly,
Blue’s the New Green: A PR Discussion on the Benefits of Honesty in Environmental Marketing Put your ear to the blogosphere on environmental marketing and you’ll catch a green-rush of ideas: Greenwashing. Greenmuting. Blue’s the new green. Green-tech start-ups are the hottest new investment. Most investors think companies focus on green for PR value. Studies find green marketing is just a series of lies. This smattering of examples comes from just a few searches on Google news, GreenBiz.com, and blogs. And, as it relates to PR and marketing, it makes me think how everything comes down to the fundamental ethics of our business: effective campaigns, messaging and stories must be based on the truth. And, in green marketing, the truth companies present will continue to come under tighter scrutiny from consumer groups, environmental initiatives and government agencies. While a recent study that I’ll cite shortly finds a near zero-positive status report on the current truth of environmental marketing for US consumer companies, I’d like to be one of the PR professionals who uses this example as a learning tool for my clients and my agency’s marketing ideas.
Before I get into a green discussion of any kind, I find myself Googling terms just to get the main definitions. To start, “greenwashing” refers to companies that make their products appear to be environmentally sound and marketing them as “green” (i.e. biodegradable, all natural, eco-friendly, etc.) when in fact they are not. And, the latest term I’ve heard created in blog conversations is “greenmuting,” which refers to companies that are reluctant to publicize their environmental issues or practices for fear of it backfiring. In a blog post entitled, “The Six Sins of Greenwashing”, sustainable business and clean technology expert Joel Makower reported on the Spring 2007 TerraChoice Environmental Marketing study. TerraChoice researchers went into six big box retailers and recorded every product-based environmental claim they observed. According to the report, researchers were to “record the product, the nature of the claim, any supporting information, and any references offered for further information.” Of the 1,753 claims they found on products located in every American home, only one – yes, one – passed the test for truth in its green marketing. The rest made claims “that are either demonstrably false or that risk misleading intended audiences.” Wow. Not such a glowing report on honesty and truth in green marketing. We go from that to the argument of “‘Greenwashing’ v. ‘Greenmuting: Which Is the Lesser of Two Evils?’ by McDonald’s VP of Corporate Social Responsibility, Bob Langert. In it, he summarizes six points that argue the other side of the story – what can happen if companies don’t discuss their green issues. I found his sixth bullet, on the importance of keeping green discussions in the public discourse to be the most notable and socially responsible. In it, he argues that “while concerns about ‘greenwashing’ are legitimate, they should not create a parallel attempt to mute green efforts… (It) will only prevent the sea change in consumer awareness that is building toward real progress on the environment.”
After reading these two arguments, one can go from thinking environmental marketing is a hoax to considering the discussion of green issues to be a business’ social responsibility. Somewhere in the middle lie the key issues for how marketers can overcome their previous shortcomings and how the public as a whole needs to change in order to conserve our environment. In the near future, the current green-friendly ways on which businesses form PR buzz will become basic standards of doing business. This will also affect how businesses can really set themselves apart by marketing how much greener they are than the next guy. Just as competition is great for building an economy, I foresee businesses competing with each other to see who can be greener as having a similar green-effect on the environment. In this way, the laws of business in a free-enterprise society may accelerate the benefit to the environment. When I recommend clients pursue any type of “green” angle, I do so with the 20/20 hindsight of what’s worked and hasn’t worked since the start of environmental marketing in the ‘80s to what I foresee happening in the marketplace in the future. Below are a few staples to live by when marketing on any basis involving the environment:
Just as being environmentally friendly is eventually going to become a general way of operating a business, instead of an extra-credit incentive, the way to effectively market oneself as being green is to go organic. Look at the ways in which your company is a responsible citizen of the business community. Base all of your products, messages, and employees’ work practices on truth and you’ll not only be recognized as being green – you will in essence become an example of how others can also be friendlier to the environment. Finally a type of contagion that’s good for us. Before you know it the new “blue” will be green again. And, striking green in business (instead of gold) will be the real measure of your company’s success.
Office Spring Cleaning Improves SMB Productivity
Traditionally enterprise content management (ECM) systems help organize and maintain office information for large corporations. However, for non-enterprise size companies like small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), without sophisticated systems and processes in place, organization of information is a challenge that affects everything from productivity to cluttered filing cabinets and desks to loss of profits.
TIP #1: Organize data and documents
Office organization affects the entire business. Today’s customers are savvy and expect the companies they do business with to have immediate access to information. Good customer relationships require organization and quick access to data so customer needs can be met. Hassan Beydoun, Small Business Services leader for The Small Business Technology Institute, says, “Running a successful business is all about having the right information at the right time and the right place to make decisions. It can make the difference between winning or losing a deal. Satisfied or disgruntled customers. Profits or losses.”1 To bring maximum organization to an office, streamline how information is identified, located, obtained, and maintained. Implement a good search and retrieval system that provides instant access to information through multiple search tools for documents, content, relationships and data. Digital versions of documents should be quickly and easily found through user-defined key words and criteria or through full-text search.
Automation boosts productivity. Evaluate all processes in the SMB office and measure how much time each task takes. Seek out technology solutions that automate tasks that would improve employee productivity. For instance, document scanning allows data to be stored for future reference and recalled by multiple criteria. Employees could save time entering data and searching files for paper documents during customer inquiries and also answer questions more quickly. All relevant data for a customer could be available quickly rather than requiring employees to conduct multiple searches for documents.
Unstructured content represents much of a company’s information in the form of electronic files and documents, emails, instant messages and Web content. Internal communications fall under record retention requirements and should be classified and stored in an organized manner with other documents. Internal communications help keep the separate departments of a company cohesive and provide a collaborative environment for employees to share good ideas. SMBs that have inefficient internal communications suffer lower productivity. A company’s information knowledge base includes all methods in which team members communicate. These communications need to be integrated into the overall organizational plan. For example, an employee’s email response to a customer inquiry should be automatically tagged to the customer’s profile in the database. Similarly, voicemail messages should be notated electronically and routed to the record to which they correspond. Any communication that affects data will be automatically linked to it so future reference will show all communications and updates. It makes the company and its employees credible.
SMBs that lack workflow plans and processes suffer a poor productivity rate. To get started, organizations should research and identify a workflow system – most likely a technology solution combined with existing office procedures. A good workflow system should automate and monitor internal procedures, allow critical path processes to be assigned to tasks and information, and enhance existing processes for improved task management with multiple levels of accountability and security. Integrate workflow processes with automation. Smooth workflow means less business interruptions with frantic searches for missing information.
Don’t handle the same papers (or data) more than once. This could take many forms – from making duplicate paper copies of the same document for different filing systems to multiple people reviewing information independently of one another. Create one file that can be accessed, updated, and shared from one central information management system. Andrea Peiro, CEO of the Small Business Technology Institute, says, “If you have to open your book, look at all your papers, and look at all your customer records to see who is a good customer and where the money really comes from, it can take an unreasonably long amount of time. On the other hand, if you have a good yet simple baseline of technology in place, these are simple questions to answer. You could set up a CRM database, integrate it with your accounting system and, if applicable, your Point of Sale and Inventory Management Software and print targeted reports based on the answers you need.”2 While many SMBs can’t afford full-fledged ECM systems, finding the right technology solution that enhances your office’s established work processes can help turn information organization from an annual spring cleaning ritual to an ongoing daily process that increases productivity, efficiency and communications internally and with customers.
1 Beydoun, Hassan. “Destination: Moblility” Small Business Technology Magazine. March 31, 2006. Issue 14. 2 Andrea Peiro. “A Passion for Small Business.” Inc.com. August 2005.
Carabiner Lands AnyTrack in the New York Times
BusinessWeek Reviews Carabiner Client AnyTrack GPS
Wall Street Journal Bases Marketing Column on Carabiner Client ThePort
“We conducted this study to examine the issues of online fraud within the securities and brokerage industry as well as to evaluate the marketplace’s readiness to circumvent the attacks associated with this fraudulent activity,” said Dennis Maicon, executive vice president of Digital Resolve. “A secondary goal was to look at the type of solutions security professionals were employing. In today’s rapidly changing online criminal environment, effective security cannot be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. It is important to implement technologies that address all of a firm’s top security concerns while covering every customer touchpoint.” Although a majority of security professionals at these firms say they have already implemented technology to proactively address the growing issue of online fraud and identity theft, almost one-third have not yet employed solutions to address these threats — many are still evaluating options or taking a “wait-and-see” approach. A large majority — 82 percent — of respondents do, in fact, anticipate regulations for strengthening online security (such as those introduced for the banking industry by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) will soon be mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition to regulatory compliance concerns, survey respondents list unauthorized systems access and customer data breaches as their top-three security concerns. An executive summary of the survey results is available in the online Digital Resolve Resource Center.
Get to know us better with these fun profiles: Kathy Cabrera, Account Director & Writer
Cartoon headshots provided by Atlanta-based caricaturist Justin Galloway, more information at studiogalloway.blogspot.com. |
As the precipitation of the mild Atlanta winter tapers off, it’s my natural reaction to look forward to the early spring sun shining again. I do so, however, with a newfound appreciation for the rain and natural resources following the major drought Atlanta had this past fall. After that near disastrous water shortage that negatively put Atlanta in national news headlines, it makes me want to do more to push eco-friendly practices in my personal and professional life. As a marketer, it also led me to engage in thought-provoking discussions on green marketing, which is the topic of this issue’s feature story. Please share your thoughts with me at 
By Laurie Shufeldt, FileVision
SEMDA, a non-profit trade association designed to promote medical device companies in the Southeast, held its annual investor conference in Atlanta on March 13th. Carabiner helped to sponsor the event and increase awareness for attendees’ opportunities to present and network with leading VCs for those seeking funding, as well as the event’s dynamic presentations by nationally known keynote speakers and helpful workshops for companies and entrepreneurs. More information at 
The 2008 AMY Awards gala, held at the Fox Theatre on March 27th, recognized companies and individuals who made their mark on the Atlanta marketing scene during 2007. AMY awards were presented for 17 different marketing categories, and two Marketer of the Year awards recognized an agency and corporate individual for outstanding marketing achievement. Carabiner’s agency principal and founder, Peter Baron, was recognized as one of three finalists for the Agency Marketer of the Year. Carabiner’s Wren Solutions account team was recognized as one of three finalists in the Integrated PR Campaign category for its work on Wren’s PR launch into the education market.
What is your favorite movie?
Dana Cogan, Vice President
Suzanne Moccia, Vice President
Marcy Theobald, Account Director| About Carabiner Communications Your high-tech business needs help scaling today’s competitive markets. Carabiner Communications is a technology PR firm that helps you connect. With 80-plus years of high-tech PR and marketing experience and over 500 product launches under our belt, we can hook directly into the core of your business, without the learning curve of other agencies. |
