Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
As any businessperson or entrepreneur knows, if you want to successfully scale your business, goals must be established. Objectives need to be set. Strategies and tactics must be in place. Each of these concepts plays a significant role in business planning – they set the very framework of guiding the direction of your organization.
And yet, it’s not uncommon for many businesspeople to struggle differentiating these terms from each other. Objectives may often be mistaken for goals, while tactics may be confused with strategies.
While these terms share similarities, discerning each for the unique concept it conveys helps paint a clearer picture of how businesses will achieve success. Below, we take a closer look at goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.
A goal is a broad outcome, which may take years to reach. It is often a brief, general and clear statement that illustrates what your business wants to do or where it aims to be. It is lofty and ambitious, focusing less on how your business will do something and more on what the desired outcome will be. An example might be that your organization wants to “become a market leader in its field” or “increase profitability.”
An objective is a measurable step taken toward reaching that goal. It is specific, actionable and defines progress made toward achieving your goal. If your company’s goal was to “increase profitability,” an objective may be to “boost revenue by introducing a new product in Q2” or “cut a percentage of overhead costs by the end of the fiscal year.”
A strategy is the approach taken toward achieving a goal. It focuses on how and less on what. Strategies can define your organization’s approach toward competing with other businesses in your field. They may guide the launch of marketing campaigns to influence customers and audience regarding the capabilities of your product or service. An example could be “inform customers of our new product launch through online and social media advertising.”
A tactic is an action or tool that an organization uses to achieve an objective associated with a strategy. A tactic is a what and not a how. While a strategy deals with the long-term direction of a business, a tactic takes advantage of opportunities as they happen and deals more with day-to-day matters. It’s important that tactics align with strategies and work in tandem – tactics serve as the action to a strategy’s larger approach. An example of a tactic may be after a bakery raises its pastry prices, a competing bakery that’s looking to increase revenue long-term slashes its pastry prices by 20 percent to capitalize on customer backlash.
It’s important to remember that each of these concepts relies on the other, as they all work in tandem to promote the advancement of your business. Organizations that understand and can differentiate these concepts are the ones positioning themselves for success and to best handle whatever the market throws their way.
Earlier this year one of our esteemed clients, Western Governors University (WGU), partnered with Lifetime™ for #SheDidThat – a campaign that celebrated four exceptional women who earned master’s degrees from WGU and have gone on to better the world as teachers, nurses, innovators, entrepreneurs and glass-ceiling breakers.
Out of the hundreds of nominations, Michelle Johnson, a language arts and student leadership teacher at Legacy High School in Kennewick, Washington was selected to be featured. Michelle is a graduate of WGU Washington’s College of Teaching and works with at-risk students who are vulnerable to problem behaviors, along with mental health disorders.
“So many of them have overcome so many of life’s challenges,” said Michelle, when describing the grit and determination of her students. “I tell people all the time, my students have a Ph.D in life – they’re just working on getting their high school diploma.”
Michelle works to make sure all her students have what they need to reach their potential, whether that means providing them with basics like clean clothing and toiletries so they can attend school with dignity, or teaching them the leadership skills they need to succeed after graduation.
Outside of the classroom she is making an incredible impact on the local community. For example, Michelle created a leadership program where students are given opportunities to volunteer with organizations such as Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
If you ask Michelle why she wanted to teach, she’ll tell you that one of the reasons has to do with the kids in the park, across the street from her school—the ones who’ve spent the night sleeping on picnic-tables.
“We have kids who are homeless and sleeping in the park across the street and as soon as we open the doors in the morning, they’re coming in to get warm,” said Michelle.
Michelle was also drawn to teaching from personal experience – her little brother was an at-risk teen, too. It’s all of this that led her to a career in education. She nearly chose a career path in marketing but soon realized where her true passion lay when working in education for some extra income. After excelling in her role as a para-educator, her colleagues noticed her knack for teaching and encouraged her to earn her bachelor’s degree and a position as a full-time teacher.
She soon realized that not only could she teach, but she could continue to expand her career and become an education leader in her community with flexible, online courses. Michelle earned a Master of Education degree in Learning and Technology from Western Governors University’s Teachers College.
Michelle hopes that one day she won’t hear about teens sleeping on park benches anymore. She’s working hard to help teens avoid that and similar challenges – like the ones her little brother faced when he was in high school.
It was our distinct pleasure to share Michelle’s inspiring story with media to highlight the impact she is making on her local community. We secured two broadcast interviews with the local NBC (KNDO/KNDU) and ABC (KVEW) affiliates in Kennewick that illustrate how Michelle is paying it forward.
To learn more about the extraordinary accomplishments of these four WGU grads and the #SheDidThat campaign, please visit wgu.edu/shedidthat.
An article in The New York Times highlighted a recent study around how team size impacts innovation. The research report from Nature titled, “Large teams develop and small teams disrupt science and technology,” exposed how small teams can produce more innovative (disruptive) work than larger teams.
These findings may be surprising to some, especially given the increased glorification of group work in education and investments in collaboration tools for businesses. However, after reviewing the takeaways from The Times’ article and taking a closer look at the study, I must admit that I was not surprised. Growing up I had the opportunity to experience small and large classroom sizes (from 10 to 300 individuals), as well as have exposure to a relatively larger work environment before joining Communiqué PR and our amazing team of seven.
For me, the smaller and sometimes more focused environments were the ones where I witnessed a greater impact and felt more comfortable contributing and questioning creative ideas. Of course, I recognize that this is my personal anecdote and that an individual’s comfort level to participate within larger groups can largely vary; however, my experiences echo the findings from the study and might be interesting to consider when scheduling your next meeting.
Further, from my experience participating in different sized internal and external planning and brainstorming meetings at Communiqué PR, I’ve witnessed that some of the most productive meetings occur when the group size is small (two to four individuals), and where participants are focused and feel comfortable being vulnerable and taking risks with their ideas. I would specify that in addition to group size, the overall attitude of the group and its receptiveness to ideas are vital elements that can impact the success of the meeting and its results.
Why small groups?
The research team developed a series of tests to determine how group size could impact effectiveness of results. They created a “disruption” ranking system based on citation patterns in past research papers by examining the frequency and content of citations, not the number of citations listed.
Through this ranking system they analyzed the group size of the team responsible for the papers securing the highest number of citations. Through this analysis they found the team size of these groups were often smaller. This then outlined a pattern, that “smaller groups were more likely to produce novel findings than larger ones. Those novel contributions usually took a year or so to catch on, after which, larger research teams did the work of consolidating the ideas and solidifying the evidence.”
This pattern illustrated that with every person added to a group or project, the results become less innovative or disruptive.
When to work alone?
Despite the creativity that can stem from small groups, the study also highlights the power of individual work. Suparna Rajaram, a professor of psychology at Stony Brook University, shares, “The product of three individuals working separately is greater than if those three people collaborate as a group. When brainstorming, people produce fewer ideas when working in groups than when working alone.”
Dr. Rajaram’s insight is also important to consider and rings true. Prior to brainstorm meetings at Communiqué PR we’ll take time to think of ideas alone, so that we can come to the meeting ready to share, create and critique as needed.
What does the future hold for large groups?
Despite different evidence around the benefits of small groups, it is important to note that there is still a place for large groups. The report highlights how “large consortiums are still important drivers of progress, but they are best suited to confirm or consolidate novel findings, rather than generating them.”
This perspective calls attention to the need for diversity of group sizes in order to bring creative ideas to life. For example, a small group can come up with a creative or ground-breaking idea, however, in order to implement and bring change, a larger group is often required for development.
The idea of “small groups disrupt, and large groups develop” is an interesting idea to consider when evaluating how to increase productive or creative results in meetings. For example, does your culture embrace or encourage group work (large and small)? Is your team one that suggests disruption or creates development? Can you or your team thrive in group sessions or are there too many distractions? Is your team efficient in solo idea generation? Are ideas actionable?
These questions can help to better approach group work and creating a balance of large and small teams moving forward. Further, the reports’ findings are a helpful reminder that while we don’t want to diminish or discourage practices that generate creativity, we must also consider reality and the ability to develop ideas into action.
In March, we hosted a party to celebrate Communiqué PR’s 15-year anniversary. Current and former clients and employees, colleagues, partners, friends and family joined us to commemorate the milestone and reflect on our successes over the years.
With our focus on helping our clients achieve their business and communication objectives, we don’t often take time to reflect on Communiqué PR’s past. A lot has happened since Jennifer approached me at our family’s Thanksgiving dinner in 2003 with a draft business plan for our firm. Shortly after that fateful day, we secured our first client, Knowledge Anywhere in mid-January 2004 and hit the ground running.
Within the first year of business, we moved from our home offices to our first space on Queen Anne, which Cara Jacobsen suggested after she noticed a leasing sign while on a run. When we leased the space from Bernard Jalbert and Carole Jones, we had no idea how lucky we were – they provided incredible mentorship and encouragement over the years! During our time in the Queen Anne office, we developed strong partnerships with our clients, grew our team and expanded our areas of expertise.
While there are a number of metrics to evaluate our company’s success, it is the people – our staff and our clients – we have been privileged to work with over the years that have had the biggest impact on our achievement.
We have been fortunate to have hired and worked with amazing PR professionals throughout the years – some were just starting their careers, others were seasoned communication experts. These individuals have influenced Jennifer and me, helping us develop as managers and deliver stellar results for our clients, ultimately building and reinforcing Communiqué PR’s reputation. We have also had the opportunity to expand our work internationally through our partnership and involvement in the global Public Relations Network. This has led us to work with Dürr, Interroll, Siemens Stiftung, sphingotec as among others.
Our team’s commitment to driving quality results has led to client relationships that span years and across different organizations. Jodi Sorenson, for example, has been a client for more than 10 years with three different client companies – including Smartsheet and Spaceflight. Similarly, we have had the pleasure of working with Pam Cory throughout the past several years on behalf of Serial Solutions (now part of ProQuest), Dell EMC and now BitTitan. Andrea Mocherman has been a client while working with SNAPin Software (acquired by Nuance), Flowroute and now K2 Software. Tideworks Technology, which was Communiqué PR’s second client, has been a client throughout the past 15 years, allowing us to collaborate with the company’s marketing team – Harvey Bauer, Erin Leahy and Pearce Cobarr.
We are grateful for all the companies, staff and partners who have been a part of our exciting journey. In addition to the clients mentioned previously, we are honored to work with A Place for Mom, Darigold, Dell EMC, Delta-Q, HNTB, Intentional Futures, LeoStella, Schnitzer West, St.Thomas School and WGU Washington.
As we plan for Communiqué PR’s next 15 years, we remain focused on surrounding ourselves with amazing people – clients, team members and partners – and ensuring we are making a positive impact.
One of the most useful strategic-planning tools for any business is conducting a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. This technique is used to guide planning and decision making by identifying four key components that factor into meeting your business objectives. A foundational element of our strategic planning at Communiqué PR is to consider a business’s brand positioning and the overall environment in which the business is doing business.
Conducting a SWOT analysis is advantageous for many reasons. It can guide any business decision large or small, whether you’re introducing a new process for employee onboarding or managing finances and physical resources.
Identifying the four elements of a SWOT analysis is only the beginning – the real value lies within addressing your SWOT analysis findings to strengthen your business. Before Communiqué welcomes new clients, we research and speak with the business to determine where their business is at in whole, using some of the questions below as a framework to obtain deeper and more meaningful insights. For example, we may ask, “What publication would you like to see your business in?” This question addresses the opportunism that lies ahead.
Here are a few example questions to guide the development of a SWOT analysis:
Strengths and Weaknesses. You’ll want to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the business or brand in the marketplace. Please note, these should focus on the internal business or brand and not the market conditions. Here are some example questions to identify business strengths and weaknesses:
- Where is your business most proficient?
- What driving factor(s) result in making sales or generating new business?
- What is the strongest product or service your business offers?
- What are the sales figures and profit margins of your business’s key brands?
- What is your product’s positioning and how does it resonate with key audiences?
- Where do you need improvement most?
- Where are you lacking growth?
- In what areas have you experienced failure? What led to it?
Opportunities and Threats. Considering both opportunities and threats is crucial to a business’s long-term success. Both of these elements are external and represent ways your business will be impacted by market conditions. Some examples of questions to ask when identifying business opportunities and threats are:
- What is the market health?
- What are the industry’s trends?
- How is your cash flow and how can it be improved?
- What events, speaking opportunities and awards can you take advantage of to boost your presence?
- What is the status of your competitor’s products or services?
- Are there forecast shifts in consumer behavior, governmental regulations and the economy?
- Will supplier costs eventually increase?
- Is emerging technology changing how customers or clients interact with your business?
Working toward a PR major at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, Wash., I took marketing courses where we frequently conduct SWOT analyses for projects. By doing this, we better understood how businesses achieved better results.
One of these projects included creating a PR campaign and SWOT analysis for a local non-profit business, Backyard Harvest – they work to provide fresh produce to the communities in the Palouse and Lewis-Clark Valley. Two outcomes our class procured by doing this were:
- Launching a discussion focused on improving the non-profit business.
- Developing materials that would likely increase the number of volunteers among WSU and University of Idaho students.
In any industry, and especially as PR professionals, it is important to conduct a SWOT analysis, as it enables professionals to develop a plan that leverages their business’s strengths and capitalizes on broader market conditions. Most importantly, SWOT analyses allow companies to implement the appropriate strategies to achieve key business and communication goals.
Every morning as I slog my way through Seattle traffic, I am thankful I have satellite radio. Like many other commuters, I enjoy listening to my own collection of music and podcasts. However, my least favorite morning ritual is the task of organizing playlists and picking songs on my hour-long drive to work.
With the turn of a dial I have access to professionally curated music stations, exclusive interviews and informative talk shows—a few of the many reasons I appreciate my satellite radio subscription. As a consumer I recognize satellite radio as a quality service, but as someone working in the PR industry, I can see that this platform offers more than just entertainment on my drive to work.
For background, SiriusXM, the lone satellite radio provider in the U.S., is the result of a 2008 merger between the nation’s only two satellite radio companies XM and Sirius satellite radio. Listeners can stream content through select car stereo systems as well as certain platforms such as LG Smart TVs, Amazon Alexa and the Sonos One Bluetooth speaker. Additionally, users can stream SiriusXM on devices through their web browser and the SiriusXM app.
With over 65.4 million listeners, a full year income growth of 81 percent in 2018, and its recent acquisition of Pandora Media, SiriusXM is a serious force to be reckoned with and a leader in the broadcast space. Additionally, these numbers show that SiriusXM influences many consumers, and therefore, why savvy PR professionals should consider using SiriusXM to their advantage for potential interview placements on behalf of clients.
SiriusXM subscribers can pick from genre-specific channels, which are frequently hosted by celebrities and famous radio personalities. Many of these shows and stations are unavailable on any other platform allowing SiriusXM provide niche content to listeners. PR pros should know that these audiences can be influenced by strategic messages, when the information is presented in the right way, and therefore consider SiriusXM when brainstorming for communication mediums to place messages.
If you know the demographics of your audience, you can likely figure out which programs would be a good fit for your messaging. For example, let’s say you work with a billboard company that sells signage to small business owners, and you’re tasked with getting your brand in front of this audience. According to a 2017 State of Entrepreneurship study, your target demographic identifies as male around the age of 50-59. Genres that appeal to this demographic include News programs, Classic hits, and Adult standards. After some research, you’ve identified satellite stations like NPR Now and RadioClassics, which according to their preferences, should be of interest to this audience. Once the process is complete you ought to have a clearer sense of where and how you can effectively reach this group.
With this targeting strategy in mind, we recently arranged an interview for Sue Johansen, vice president of partner services with A Place for Mom and SiriusXM Canada’s Bruce Sellery of “Moolala: Money Made Simple.” This show is aimed at individuals, business leaders and investors looking to make sound financial decisions, as suggested by experts.
During her interview, Sue shared her expertise on themed retirement communities including places that cater to pet owners; communities that are affiliated with universities; and technology-oriented communities that offer iPads for ordering food and virtual reality theatres. After talking about the themed communities Sue shared some of the benefits of working with A Place for Mom to find housing or care for a senior loved one.
The opportunity to participate in an interview or sponsored segment can be very valuable in building thought leadership and brand credibility. Further, securing these opportunities with a station with a prominent following allows you to increase awareness around your company or service through engaging content.
Satellite radio can be a powerful PR tool; however, prior to booking interviews with station producers, make sure to do your homework. It’s a good practice to ensure you are targeting the right station and have a firm understanding of what content the station’s listeners like to hear. Targeting a specific audience while also establishing your client as a thought leader is a twofold approach that can cement your brand and provide unique prospects for exposure.