Category: ABT Culture

Any business can only thrive if there are clients who have a need for them. So, no matter what level of success a business achieves, it is still in a constant state of vulnerability. This isn’t something most companies would want to admit. Strong corporations are exactly that: always confident and daring without fear. But as our culture shifts, is this lack of honesty still the right tactic?

The Connection Economy is a term and theory posited by entrepreneur Seth Godin. The mass market, as he sees it, is phasing out. Consumers are looking for sincerity and authenticity. To achieve that, companies must be comfortable with vulnerability.   

What is True Vulnerability?

Research has shown that those who believe themselves worthy of acceptance achieve this by embracing their imperfections. They do not hide who they are, flaws and all. They are honest about areas in their lives they need to work on to grow. These acknowledgements place them in a vulnerable position. However, they are comfortable with that. Can companies do the same? Yes. They can and they should.

The Need to Connect

Marketing researchers have been speaking about the benefits of the Connection Economy for years. As the economic baton passes from the Boomers to Millennials, companies need to change how they approach their public persona. Consumers want brands and businesses that are authentic. They respond positively to companies that are honest and transparent. Also, they appreciate a business that can admit to mistakes, as well as those who take political stances, staying true to their social values. These company choices are risky but well worth it, as they foster customer loyalty and organic growth. Let’s look at how a variety of companies chose to be bold with their sincerity. 

Honesty is the Best Policy

Telling the truth can oftentimes be terrifying. What will the response be? What if others don’t like who you truly are? Even worse, what if they decide to abandon you as a result? This kind of exposure demands heaps of vulnerability. But, many companies value transparency and how it affects their consumers and brand. Not only are they willing to put all their cards on the table, they also can admit when another company may have a better option for their customer. Then, the customer is no longer making a choice based on finances. It’s now based on which company they trust more.

Southwest Airlines launched their Transfarency campaign in 2015. It demonstrated their commitment to spurning hidden, non-disclosed fees. Most notable about the site is the Fee Hacker section. Southwest is still offering assistance even if you don’t choose to fly with them. The company’s priority is clearly the customer. This year, Southwest took this value even further with  175 Stories. With this campaign, Southwest is saying “Travel is personal and we know that”.

B2B social media managing platform Buffer makes transparency a top tier value as well.  Their website page on the matter includes everything, from team members’ salaries to open source code. And Burger King created an award winning ad campaign that poked fun at one of the truths about the company. Since 1954, more Burger King restaurants have burned down than any other fast-food chain. It wasn’t a flattering fact but it was true. Burger King was willing to admit to it. It was the perfect balance, connecting with print and social media users alike. Most importantly, it was authentic.

Taking a Stand

Brands having an opinion on social issues used to be unheard of. Doing such a thing would surely isolate a slew of potential costumers and damage public good will. But these times, they are a’changing. When new, controversial laws are passed or a hot button topic is dominating the social conversation, consumers look to companies to have a say in the matter. This significant change in public discourse puts companies in a vulnerable position no matter what they decide to do. They can risk public backlash by speaking up or lose their narrative power by remaining silent and letting customers infer the company’s beliefs based on their non-action.

This topic hits home for us at Atlantic BT. After North Carolina Republicans passed laws that threatened the safety and well-being of the LGBTQ community, most of the country was outraged. And numerous brands had something to say about it. Google, PayPal, and the NBA were among many who spoke out against the laws. The NBA threatened to not have Charlotte host their All-Star Game, costing North Carolina millions of dollars. Such a stance that is coupled with direct action, creates change. Companies are realizing this and consumers are saying “It’s about time”.

Consumers also care about how products are made, preferring companies who value sustainability. And they care about how a company gives back to the community. When a company advocates for a specific cause, customers are more likely to want to engage. Supporting a business that supports others adds value to the brand/customer relationship.

How to Say ‘I’m Sorry’

Every once in a while, a company is going to make a terrible mistake. They are more likely to recover from that mistake if they own up to it and sincerely apologize. Saying you’re wrong is peak vulnerability. But if businesses want to maintain their consumer base, they have to show humility.

Long, long ago, Netflix mailed DVDs to customers’ homes. Then, in 2011, the entertainment giant decided to make some changes. They separated the DVD and streaming options into two different plans. If a customer wanted both, they would have to pay extra. The backlash was swift. Netflix listened to their customers and reverted their policy. The CEO released a thoughtful apology. Good will was restored and Netflix went on to become the behemoth it is today.

Some companies take a different risk. Earlier this year, the unthinkable happened to KFC in the UK. They ran out of chicken. Many KFC restaurants were shut down. Weeping could be heard throughout the land. KFC issued an apology that got right to the heart of the matter. It was short, to the point, and funny. KFC showed real authenticity. It was appreciated.

Be You

Courage was originally defined as the act of telling who you are with your whole heart. This means presenting yourself as is, with every strength and every weakness.The companies that embrace that kind of vulnerability will draw in loyal customers. But most importantly, they’ll be a part of something great, producing work they can be proud of. Stand out and stand strong. 

Let’s imagine you have a business website or application you need built. In this case, we’ll say it’s a corporate marketing site to inform services you provide, generate customer leads, and promote job openings for prospective employees. Your staff isn’t technical, so you go to a vendor to have this site built. Some agencies may dive right in, saying, “Sure, got it. We’ll go build it now.” No questions, no research, just build the site and deliver it as soon as possible. What could go wrong?

A good digital partner understands a website is more than just features. Features may be what is being built, but it doesn’t answer why. (“Why” may sound like a superfluous question, but see Randy Earl’s article Are You Looking at the Trees or the Landscape? on the power of this question.) Take promoting job openings from our example of the corporate marketing site. Is your company trying to attract the top talent in the area? In the country? Or, have you had an influx of funding in order to grow extremely quickly? Knowing your company’s goals can heavily influence both the features and the visual design. Maybe you need a classy screening tool to get only top talent, or maybe you need a pay-per-click campaign to heavily promote a warm and welcoming job listing page.

Who is browsing the site also has a large impact. When trying to portray your brand and acquire leads, are you targeting millennials or CEOs? Maybe they’re millennial CEOs? In our example, we’ve already identified new customers and employee prospects as two different user groups. Shouldn’t the vendor building your site understand these groups in order to try and appeal to both?

Great Projects Begins with Research

At Atlantic BT, the first “D” in our 5D Process for projects is Discovery.  (The other four phases are Design, Development, Deployment, and Delight; stay tuned for more posts on each.) This phase starts with research, and a primary goal is to answer these questions of what, why and for whom. Armed with an understanding of company goals, requested features, and the target audience(s), we can begin creating a comprehensive strategy for a successful website.

The research half of our Discovery Workflow

So you’ve chosen your digital partner, and you’re assigned a discovery team. What should you expect from their research (which is a broad term, so could mean anything.)? Here are some methods Atlantic BT uses in discovery. 

This list isn’t comprehensive, as a well structured discovery process is flexible. We only use methods that will add value and understanding to your project, and new information could always change that direction. Some methods, such as the content inventory, are only applicable if we are migrating or redesigning an existing website.

Stakeholder Interviews

Stakeholder Interviews are simple, semi-structured interviews with key members in the client organization; typically members of the executive team and any closely related functional management. These interviews focus on high-level requirements and business goals, and generally avoid technical specifics of features, functionality, content, or any other detailed aspects of a solution. The objective at this level is to focus on defining the need, not the solution. This information helps determine further steps in the discovery process, and is useful material for the entire project.

Lean Canvas

The Lean Canvas is a one-page business model diagram which summarizes the key elements of a comprehensive business plan. It focuses on problems, solutions, key metrics, and competitive advantages. This workshop is instrumental for new product development, especially entrepreneurial ventures. This method enables us to identify opportunities in multiple aspects of the business process where we can help the client to leverage technology to achieve their vision for success.

Content Inventory

A content inventory is the process and result of cataloging and organizing the entire contents of a website. It functions as a quantitative analysis of the site, answering the question of “What is there?” With a full inventory, we can better understand the breadth, depth, and general volume of information on a site, as well as existing technical issues, configurations, and functionality. This inventory can be the basis of a follow-on content audit, utilized for information architecture, content migration and general digital strategy of a new site.

Analytics Review

An analytics review is an opportunity to explore the existing web analytics data of a client’s current site or application. The objective of this review is to aid other departments with critical data points to better understand the existing architecture, traffic patterns, trends, outliers, and usage points of the site. Results can help reveal hosting and architecture needs, identify user groups, or provide guidance in the content strategy.

Technical Audit

We designed our technical audit to identify existing programmatic functionality and configuration. It focuses on features which include database access, internal or 3rd party API communications, advanced forms, or other custom programming. The audit is not designed to specify which features will or will not be implemented in a new site. Instead, it works as a reference when discussing features to implement and when planning data migration.

User Understanding

User understanding research encompasses all activities/exercises that aim to improve insight into who the users of a given site/system are, and how they use or interact with the site/system. This research also helps validate (or refute) any preconceived notions or opinions around the user base. User research can take any number of forms, including persona workshops, contextual interviews, focus groups, or surveys. We choose the research techniques based on client need.  The output of this research is greatly important to the rest of the project, and especially critical to methods such as information architecture, content strategy, and visual design.

Wrapping Up Research

Research is just the first half of Discovery. Now that you and your digital partner understand why you’re building a website, who it’s for, and have some requirements for what’s to be built, it’s time for strategy. Coming Soon: Continue your project journey with details about the second half of Discovery, Strategy.