Joint efforts needed to enhance efficiency in regional cargo business

This article was also published in the  The Standard

Seaports play a key role in in the economic growth of a nation and neighbouring land locked countries. With the majority of global trade facilitated by sea, developing strong, well-functioning transport infrastructure that connects with the hinterland is a key element of growth for emerging regional markets.

Given the importance of the Port of Mombasa for international trade for Kenya and countries in East and Central Africa, efficiency and unified operations, cannot be taken for granted.

Development and management of ports is a major objective of economic development in many countries. As ownership and operations of seaports have traditionally been in the public sector, restructuring has often been a slow and frustrating process.

However, for Kenya, the new Kenya Transport and Logistics Network (KTLN) is meant to enhance efficiency and coordination by fortifying public-private sector dialogue and leveraging on the efficiencies and synergies of relevant state agencies.

It is hoped that through KTLN, Kenya will achieve its strategic agenda of becoming a regional logistics hub. Additionally, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport corridor (LAPPSET) is expected to give Kenya an edge over other players in the region.

Without a doubt, efficient transport and trade facilitation require highly specialized managerial and operational skills as well as use of modern technologies.

In recent times, the Port of Mombasa has reported improved efficiency it attributed to construction of the second Container Terminal, improved cargo handling services and faster transfer of cargo via the standard gauge railway. In 2019 alone, the port handled 1.425 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (teus) representing a 7.3% growth over the previous year.

The Port of Mombasa is projected to handle above 2.5 million teus by 2022 after the completion of the second Container Terminal, which is expected to increase the holding capacity by more than 950,000 teus.

Actually, rail freight demand between Naivasha and the Nairobi Inland Container Depots (ICD), and the Port of Mombasa has significantly increased, with the operator hauling 264,696 containers between January and August this year.

Despite the growth, partnering with business operators remains critical, to ensure efficiency and sustainability of transport and trade not only in Kenya but the larger East and Central Africa region.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lower trade volumes and falling freight rates, governments have to increasingly seek partnerships with private sector players for strategic engagement in operating and maintaining port infrastructure and services.

However, all is not lost, the current construction, modernization, and upgrading of our dry ports with associated rail and road networks will definitely facilitate the trucking of cargo between Mombasa to designated intermodal yards.

The movement of cargo from the designated intermodal destinations is an ideal platform for private sector players to ensure the efficiency and sustainability of transport and trade in order to leverage private sector capital with the aim of redefining how goods flow across the continent.

As we ponder over our COVID-19 recovery, and assume a new normal, this is an ideal time for all stakeholders in the transport and logistics industry to work together to bring about the growth we have always desired as a regional business hub.

The writer is a Communication Consultant

Ends

Cargo transportation could heavily contribute to post COVID -19 economic recovery

This article was also published in the Star Freight is key in post COVID–19 economic recovery and in the Business Daily How cargo will play key role in economic recovery after corona

Kenya as a country is currently going through a bruising cycle. From the sporadic inflation movement in 2019, to the current Covid-19 pandemic that is yet to fully showcase its impact on not only Kenya’s economy but the continent at large.

Already, unemployment is on the rise, the economy is taking a hard beating and we do not know for how long.

The government is working on stimulus checks to help jump start the economy during our recovery journey. Indeed, the ability of stimulus programs to boast the economy quickly by getting cash into mwananchi’s hand is welcomed. However, this has to be complemented with many other initiatives.

Job creation and optimization of existing infrastructure will be key in the next phase of recovery as we seek to create jobs, raise real wages, and bolster the various sectors that have been hard hit including hospitality, aviation and manufacturing. To the greatest extent possible, these investments should be targeted to the workers, families, and communities and lowest end of the economic pyramid.

As the supply chains around the world are disrupted, business leaders must prepare for the effects on production, transport and logistics, and customer demand.

For a start, the country’s investment in the sea, air and rail networks provides an ideal platform to rebuild our economy and safeguard our position as the regional economic hub. The Port of Mombasa in conjunction with the now fully operational Standard Gauge Railway cargo transport network should lead in generating revenue for our country by ensuring that we efficiently deliver all the delayed cargo to the hinterland- not just in Kenya but the region at large.

For Kenya Ports Authority, this is the time to optimize the expanded yards and berths to handle more cargo, ride on the revamped ICT system and modernized cargo handling equipment to literally dominate the EAC market.  The Inland container depots (ICD) should be a beehive of activities, that will employ and re-engage the youth labour resources in clearing and processing the cargo to regional markets.

On the other hand, rail transporters like Africa Star Railway Operation Company should be at the forefront in offering significant cost efficiency for cargo haulage into the ports to enable the truckers and other last mile players to deliver the goods to the end users at an affordable cost. As a local feeder, an affordable road transport will definitely impact the cost of consumer goods.

Even at its lowest, once back in operation, our regional flier Kenya Airways, has the ability and capacity to airlift cargo shipments that will be vital today in the re-connectivity and regional economies.

To ensure these measures deliver all round economic value to the different economic segments, all the industry beneficiaries of the tax waivers and exemptions should be required to retain all their workforce and ensure that they are optimizing the youthful resources in linking up the regional market partners.

Even as we grapple on where to channel our resources in the recovery stage, we have to be cognizant that infrastructure optimization has the effects of contributing to this ‘economic resuscitation’ and is expected to contribute to future economic growth.

To set priorities and better evaluate potential outcomes, the government could set a mechanism for calculating projects’ economic and social impacts, and a system for measuring and reporting performance. For now, a transparent pipeline of well-planned projects, with appropriate risk-adjusted returns, could help to attract public and private investment into the infrastructure ecosystem.

The uncertainty and turbulence in the economy locally and across the world, the reality, of course, is that many players in the transport infrastructure sector will have some level of debt going into this. Some layoffs and drastic cost measures will be inevitable, however, operational improvement might just be the pivot point in ensuring that the costs of transport is fairly shared across the different players and not hipped onto the consumer of the transported goods.

Millennials have driven brands to Influencer Marketing

This articles was also published in the Business Daily

Today’ consumer behaviour has fundamentally changed. The millennial generation has changed the way we do business. This generation has not only influenced how products are packaged but how they are marketed.

In less than a decade, everyone is rethinking on how we to advertise their products; how to communicate without being intrusive- brands are no longer riding on billboards to launch their campaigns. Instead, everyone is directly engaging with the consumers or get them through their peers.

In 2015 alone, there were over 2.5 million Facebook posts and 277,000 Tweets. Moreover, 347,000 photos were shared through WhatsApp and Instagram. Without a doubt, marketers can no longer afford to ignore online platforms and in App Messaging considering that users remained connected for 23,300 hours during that year.  

But amid this content explosion, consumers and product manager alike are turning to peers and recognized voices online to inform purchase decisions whilst closing an eye on branded content and advertising.

Already, innovative marketers have shifted their investment focus to social media and the more disruptive and collaborative brand communications tactics as priority investments. The aim is to cut through the noise and deliver lasting impact on the relevant authoritative conversations for their products.

As we start planning for the 2017 budgets, brand managers the world over have to figure out how their brands can effectively future-proof their marketing strategy and spend and reshape brand communications activities to cross the chasm towards social media driven sales initiatives.

People trust people over brands. 77 per cent of consumers say they do not want to have a direct relationship with a brand, according to the Harvard Business Review. Consequently, word of mouth, peer recommendation and review culture are powerful and are here to stay: we look to each other and to our favourite digital personalities on Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and other social platforms to be informed about the experience of a product or brand prior to purchase. And the influence is considerable.

With consumers spending more time on social media every day, it is only natural that all increase their social media presence both through paid and non-paid forms. However this rapid flight of brands craving to tap into the social media frenzy has led to considerable lack of interest from consumers in branded content.  The millennial can sniff branded content and discard it with a click; hence the need to have a strategy anchored on strategic partnerships with social media influencers.

While this shift continues to challenge marketers across the board, it at the same time creates a new art form and platform for creative young minds to light the way for future content development and monetization. Through this new form of marketing, influencers ranging from musicians, actors and other mentors that the millennial generation look up to can now capitalize on their influence to earn revenues from their art forms.

By co-creating content directly with social media influencers—that is to say providing the right kind of assets and opportunities for influencers to share and create relevant messages—brands will be able to amplify their presence in the right way, targeting the conversations that their audience is interested in.

As communicators we are cognizant of the fact that conversations and engagement are created by a very small number of people within each conversation topic: and it is the top 3 per cent of social media commentators who drive 90 per cent of the impact. 

Indeed, influencer marketing isn’t just an alternative to traditional media activities —it’s turning the traditional model completely on its head. It’s a longer-term investment that requires a structured approach and time to onboard the right influencers, and together, to generate the right kind of content that they can tailor and that will resonate. But the impact is laudable and delivers invaluable consumer data and a brand voice that is deeply persuasive, engaging and palatable to the consumer.

Sports Sponsorship should be made more impactful, sustainable

In the past five years, hundreds of millions of shillings have been pumped into various sponsorship initiatives in this country.

In addition to soccer and rugby, which have received immense support from betting companies, telcos and beverage manufacturers, athletics has also been at the funnel-end of a lucrative web of organisations keen on contributing to Kenya’s economic growth through sports.

A decade ago, the sponsorship conversations revolved around specific initiatives like stadia development and specified tournaments or partnerships with sports governing bodies. The board leaders then were Safaricom and EABL, yet little did we know that those would not be long term flicks. The betting companies moved in and changed the sponsorship game not only on the numbers front but also in regards to the objectives of sponsorship.

Considering the huge amounts involved, you would imagine that sports and event sponsors would have clear answers when asked about their expected return on investment (ROI). You would be wrong to assume that.

A simple dipstick survey among key stakeholders reveals that about a third to half of sponsor companies do not have a system in place to measure sponsorship ROI comprehensively, which potentially costs these organizations in many ways. Failure to comprehend the impact of sponsorship on our economy through sports might just be one of the key reasons for our poor performance in various sports. .

To manage sponsorship spending effectively, stakeholders must first develop a clear sponsorship strategy—the overall objective of the sponsorship, the target demographic, and which area the sponsorships can support. For instance, a lot of funding has been pumped into the soccer arena in this country; the national league plus the top five league teams command a staggering one billion in terms of sponsorship.

While this figure looks appealing, the general growth of the sport is wanting. All we have been doing is adopting short term measures of branding team apparel and stadia, which has contributed zilch to the growth of the sport.

In an ideal situation, potential sponsors should be jostling for strategic opportunities to put up or revamp stadiums in the outskirts of Nairobi which would serve as feeders to the league groups. Granted, we have Wanyama at Tottenham in the English Premier League, Mariga in Serie B, Italy. But what we require to drive the sports agenda as a nation is a strategic plan that is supported by a talent identification mechanism at the grassroots level as well as development of sports infrastructure that is driven by government in collaboration with sponsors.

Without a doubt, sponsorships have the potential to reach beyond short-term sales to building a brand’s identity. Brand strength contributes between 60 and 80 per cent to overall sales, making this benefit critical for sustained, long-term sales growth.  

While in the beginning it might make sense planting all your logos on Yego’s apparel for visibility and brand identity, as a brand you are likely to reap more value if you took the bold step of establishing where Yego and his javelin prowess originated from and set up a world class Javelin training facility that is open to locals. In five years, your brand could be hosting its colours on 10 athletes flying high in the junior championships and by the time you are done with the medal marathon in junior championships, half of that team will have joined the national team. At this level you could get nothing short of Olympics glory for your brand!

On soccer, the journey to the EPL might not be just through the apparel. It should be be a journey for many local stars who in return will deliver national glory for the country and your brand too.

This article was also published in the Business Daily 

Climbing The Ladder Of Social Engagement With Influencers

Climbing the Influencer Engagement Ladder by Traackr

Leveraging Public Relations to grow the Kenya Rugby brand.

Every so often, I get opportunities to shed light about PR as a profession and the opportunities that this practice can provide to many organizations. For the longest time, my presentations were always for aspiring PR practitioners in schools thank to the Public Relations Society of Kenya that has been spearheading this initiative of knowledge sharing with upcoming practitioners.

However, one week ago, I got a totally different assignment. The Kenya Rugby Union, which is the governing body for Rugby in Kenya, was hosting their second National Rugby Conference.   This is an annual conference that brings together all the rugby stakeholders across the country. Essentially, this delegation meets to deliberate on issues that revolve around the growth of Rugby in Kenya. This year’s conference came at a time when Kenya is preparing to make the maiden appearance into the Olympics with our Rugby Sevens team. This team has been awesome all through the season bashing many renowned nations in the World Series before walloping other African teams (apart from South Africa) to book a slot in the cherished competition.

Alot has been said about this team that is yet to become a professional team but has overcome many hurdles to stand on the same medal podium with other great rugby nations.

Yet, as a nation we have not optimized our efforts in building this Rugby bran. All people think when they see Kenyans is a group of long legged athletes ready to conquer another marathon.  From a PR perspective, the Kenya Rugby Union has an opportunity to profile this sport as a Kenyan brand.  That’s all I was tasked to talk about at the Rugby Conference. Feel free to share your views too. 

With digital migration, market segmentation has moved a notch higher in Kenya

We live in interesting times. In today’s world of crisis and scandal, all we look up to is an avenue to unleash our positive or negative energy.

We have evolved as a species. But so has the media we consume. Forget about the chariot-led armies that ruled the world. We now live in or are part of the strong-fingered, yet faceless online army.

Once upon a time, all you needed as an adman was to feature a product with a short description of its uses. For the platforms, all you needed was to plug the commercial onto any television channel.

In Kenya, digital migration gave birth to tens of new television channels, from a nation that thrived on very structured news segment that was dominated by political, business and sports news to targeted channels that are sector-specific in terms of content. 

In 2015, Elimu TV became the first channel to deliver digitized educative programs that are aligned to the country’s curriculum. The launch of Farmers TV, which is purely an agriculture-based station, has opened up a direct forum for engaging farmers in the East African region.

As we migrated Kenyan eyeballs to segment-specific television channels, the ever rigid print publications were also on a revolutionary trend, moving from the typical full page adverts to customized special covers with defined numbers of issues set for delivery to certain towns.  Furthermore, publishers have taken it a notch higher by mapping databases that can deliver the specific publications to the relevant target. How about running a cough syrup advert in a daily that will be delivered to all the new mothers in all the leading hospitals in Nairobi and Mombasa? Clearly, market segmentation has moved a notch higher.

What we are experiencing in Kenya is an evolution of communication channels. With digital embedded into more traditional channels where most radio, TV, print channels now have an active social media page, always competing to broadcast their content online while engaging their consumers.

Programs on radio and TV are keen to push their Twitter and Facebook assets as the points of engagement rather than the usual call-in sessions that we were accustomed to.

With over 70 per cent of the county’s population being youthful, the entreprenual nature of Kenyans will drive media consumption to another level, whether you either target your communication to the right audience or your brand will perish. Truly, the combo of a devolved government and a fully digital television platform riding on our high internet connectivity is poised to drive this youthful economy. 

Corporate Social Responsibility is not a one day affair

A colleague of mine has been playing Christmas jingles for the last one week. My local mall is already glowing with the Southern stars only that this time round the stars are centrally controlled by our unreliable power provider. Wait, I even spotted a Christmas tree in town, complete with Father Christmas watching over.

That time is here with us. Exactly 32 days left, before Christians troupe back to “Bethlehem” to offer their gifts. Corporates are not left out. This is the time when they are all competing to pay their “annual dues”  to children homes, old people homes  et-al. Christmas is the time for giving and corporates are about to open their wallets to give back to the community.

Marketing and communication organisations will come up will come up with unique fundraising tactics to top up their corporate wallets before they throng into children homes to give back to the society they never thought about the whole year. Is that the best way to do it?

Businesses in almost every industry wind up with unused or obsolete (at least from a sales point of view) products and supplies. Give out the many promotional items that you kept on saving for the next big event. You won’t need them next year because they will be old fashioned and your brand strategy will most likely change. While at it, don’t rush to Mama Ngina Children’s Home, start with your guards both at the office and in your estate, they surely deserve an umbrella and a cap this rainy season.

Volunteerism is the best way to make a long-term impact. Teach, teach and teach. You can teach an organization to maintain its own website, or handle its bookkeeping, or create more effective outreach materials... charities are often the ultimate in bootstrapping. Anything you can help a charity, or the people it serves, do more efficiently helps their dollars go farther. Imagine if you offered to spend 6 hours in December to impart photography knowledge to the youth in your local church. Giving should be voluntary, not mandatory.

Apart from soup which is averse to many cooks, everything else can be made easier when you work together.  You don't have to spend money from your own pocket. Sparing your team lunches for a week would make an enviable kitty for countable gifts this Christmas. The more specific the cause, the more likely people are to participate. You can participate in an established event or create your own. The more creative the better—and the more likely you will be to inspire others to give. In the process you will create a sense of community and shared purpose within your team.

I hear of companies that contribute each month Ksh 1 which goes into this kitty. This could be a noble idea; however do you think this can grow your social capital. Why wait until the end of the year to donate few packets of unga, sodas and bread to children who have been suffering the whole year?

Again I ask why should Corporate Social Responsibility become a one day affair? Let’s not make Christmas a one off affair but strive to support families throughout the season.

Brand Managers: The Final quarter of the year is here.

It’s almost one week since we checked into Q4 2015.  The magical corporate budget season.  You survived on lean budgets all through here cometh a budget coupled with a brand manager who is now ready for business.

Remember that great PowerPoint presentation that was stopped midway for the client to go and confirm if ‘her’ banners had been delivered? That day should be vivid, considering that the whole agency had to keep off the printer as you went to press printing bound copies for the brand manager, the Marketing Director and the Managing Director respectively. Am sure you still emailed it to them after the presentation.

Well, that presentation is now a gem, not because you are an award winning practitioner but because the numbers are looking bad, really bad. The last three quarters are way below the Q1 targets. The PR agency has to do ‘something’ to support the brand. 

It’s running really fast, we missed the elephant target, still couldn’t reach the antelope target that PR budget reflected and now even the squirrel looks like a pipe dream. The number four player in the sector is quickly catching up with our brand. We have lost significant market share, dealers have swapped our branding with the competitors.

Anyway, back to the business that I am passionate about. “We have budget can you guys come up with some kick-ass idea that will help us to drive sales” roars the brand Manager. “Remember we will gauge your performance on this, we pay you guys so much retainer “She further roars to remind you that you are seated next to the user department boss.

The meetings ends prematurely as you all head back to the agency to prepare a week by week plan on how PR will support the brand and push the overall sales. Thanks to the great minds in agencies, the geniuses, the untrained magicians, the ever ready energy bunnies-a great plan will be developed.

An inter-agency meeting will be held, rival agencies - PR, Advertising, Experiential and Digital will finally sit together and deliver a pre-Christmas campaign. The campaign will be aimed at driving sales in our key areas; the media buying team will redo the media plan and squeeze all the possible discounts from the media houses. The digital team will go for the low hanging fruits which have been hanging since January, unless they are coconuts, those fruits must be dry by now.  The PR gurus (are well really gurus) will leverage advertising to get strategic interview in key outlets to support the sales drive.

Welcome home quarter four. We missed you.

Media exposure can fuel a crisis too.

Effective crisis communication is about saying the right messages to the right people at the right time.

It is about seizing the initiative and taking control of the narrative, explaining what has gone wrong, how you feel about it and, crucially, what you are doing to make things better.

For PR practitioners, this is easier said than done, considering that our role is always advisory. Many times, we end up playing the guitar to clients with muffed ears. We live in an era where media is constantly evolving; an era where conventional media is live and livid to digital migration. You no longer need masts and extraordinary infrastructure to own and run a Television or Radio channel. While it took decades to have KBC, KTN, NTV and Citizen TV respectively, it has taken months to have Njata, Lolwe, 3stones, Utugi and the soon to be launched Inooro TV.

While media remains one of the most heterogeneous forms of communication during a crisis, sometimes, it becomes too costly to hit the media waves and pages before you engage your stakeholders through conventional crisis communication channels such as phone calls, meetings or town halls that are able to convey empathy, concern and two-way communication, which media cannot- not even Facebook and Twitter.

Recently, embattled Pastor Ng’ang’a of Neno Evangelism Centre took to the media to redeem his brand equity after he was arrested in connection with a fatal car crash whose case files have been shuffled like  bingo cards between the Executive and the Judiciary. Well, the case is currently in court but from a communications perspective, the ‘man of God’ opted to bungee jump with a sisal rope.  You do not turn up for a live media interview without a tailored message when dealing with a crisis. That is akin to committing suicide with a wet sisal rope, you won’t just die, but you will also endure the sisal induced skin aches before your untimely demise.

Nonetheless, crises by their very nature, however, are unique, complex and fast-moving. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach or communications playbook for how to respond. Each crisis will require a communication strategy tailored to the particular incident or issue, and a bespoke tactical plan for how to engage with key audiences. For this case, it appears the cart was placed before the horse, the legal team was most likely not involved or his communications team, the church elder ended up throwing salvos at non-existent devils.

As we wait for the judge’s call on this case, we are keen to see if this will erode or build the brand equity of the religious leader. After all, religion remains the opium of the masses.

Using events to sustain brand communication

It’s over two weeks since the great departure, a departure that was filled with sighs, but not of relief. A departure that marked the end of two great days that were packed with tonnes of inspirational and eye opening conversations. A weekend that we played host to our very own son, the leader of the free world, President Obama.

We were good hosts: KNUT opted to remain silent, COTU went on ‘leave’, we quashed the Al Shabaab to smithereens hopefully and to cap it all we had artificial turf. Sorry, I meant Kidero grass.

The Global Entrepreneurship Summit was fruitful but before we could settle, it had come and gone. And as they say, “a good time was had by all.” Now, all the brands that played can bask in the post-event glory. But is that sufficient for the millions that you pumped into this milestone event?

As a brand custodian, if you succeeded in delivering an event that combined relevant learning experiences with quality networking sessions, your attendees have left feeling energised and enthusiastic about everything that transpired. As a result, attendees as well as the public are keen on what will happen next. As a brand this is not the time to take a break; while the appetite for information is high, feed that post-conference enthusiasm!

By now we know the winners from the summit, the amazing entrepreneurship journey, the organisations that promised to support entrepreneurs and even the investors that showed interest in the different sectors. This is the right time to focus on their stories. Optimise the goodwill that you had created with the media partner during the summit to highlight the success stories through media interviews, special features or even guest blogs.

For the young entrepreneurs, it’s time to start documenting their journeys now. What happens to Judith Owigar and Akira chix after the Ksh154 million funds injection? Who qualifies for the funds that Chase Bank promised to local entrepreneurs? What are the focus sectors? All these questions are potential content generators for the post-summit communication.

The media will definitely be the perfect conduit for these rich messages. However, tactical forums with well mapped stakeholders can also help in entrenching the brand and creating a lasting connection with the first ever Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Africa. Probably, it’s time to start a Kenya techprenuers Summit sponsored by Chase Bank or Kenya Knowledge Exporter Forum courtesy of Kenya Ports Authority.

The moral of the story? Begin with the end in mind for creating a complete event promotion strategy that includes engagement methods that target your audience after the event. The post-conference glow fades fast once we return to the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. Nurture that enthusiasm by providing value that extends beyond the conference dates.  Your efforts will keep your brand top of mind and create a compelling reason for attendees to engage you.

This articles was also published on http://www.businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1439277423/using-events-sustain-brand-communication

Networks are invaluable in business

Besides belonging to the fourth Estate in a world that did not recognise the fifth estate, my introduction into the world of banging copy was full of learning. A world where conversations were filled with anecdotal phrases revolving around word count, deadlines and trash. One immediate reward for choosing journalism and not engineering like my father had wished was the number of events I attended with the intention of nosing for news.

In all these events, networking was the key word. Not just for the swift adoption of network technology that many establishments in the city were undergoing, but the interaction between the different stakeholders who attended these events.

Networking has long been recognised as a powerful tool for business people and professionals.  Knowing more people gives you greater access, facilitates the sharing of information, and makes it easier to influence others for the simple reason that influencing people you know is easier than influencing strangers. 

I bet even the creators of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter knew very well that the social nature of the Homo Sapiens was a perfect spot to touch. Does it follow, then, that social networks, by making connectivity easier, make leaders more powerful? That’s why we worry about what administrators of populous social media groups say or do because they are likely to influence the direction of certain conversations.

While traditionally networking was viewed as a natural trait for man, it’s quickly becoming a science that a successful PR practitioner should possess. The curiosity of the proverbial cat, the ability to fluidly pick up conversations like a matatu tout, the ability to passionately share on a common subject like newly-met Arsenal fans contemplating on another loss.

Networks too have levels. It’s up to you to build the level you want to be, either the network of people who know all the joints were second generation drinks are sold or a network of the regional economy policy makers. Remember that whatsApp group that got 80 % of its members in key parastatals in the country?  Well, it’s time to ditch, your ‘alcoblow checking’ networking group.

Network power depends on how strong your relationships are, on how much attention you command when you engage people in your network, and on how attractive you are as a member of other peoples’ networks. 

If you are known as a source of deep expertise, for instance, and people can rely on you for expert solutions or creative ideas, you will be a more attractive network partner than someone who lacks that.  If you know other powerful people and can access them whenever you need to, you will be a more attractive network partner. 

Similarly, if you are in a position of authority in your organisation and can make things happen, you will be a more valued network partner.  Finally, you will have more power in your network with the people you know best — with long-time colleagues, close friends, and others with whom you have developed mutual trust and respect.

This article was also published here the http://businesstoday.co.ke/news/management/1437632428/well-managed-networking-can-power-your-business

The Science of Account Management

The business of client servicing definitely goes beyond the perfect brief. Every now and then one has to ensure that the client is well handled and the promises made are delivered to ensure that the business objectives are met in a timely manner. Whether your client is an entrepreneur or the marketing manager of a listed company, once they have signed your contract they will experience the same feeling: a combination of excitement at the wonders this top notch agency is about to deliver and fear that by appointing this not so affordable agency, they have made a very costly mistake. Probably, that six figure retainer fee could have been used to redo the interior of several of their branches across the country.

As an agency, the first task is to reassure the client that they have made the right decision. Despite the fact that you are still in the process of immersing yourself into this new brand, the first week should be characterized by very few mistakes, always make sure that the entire team is enthusiastic and aligned with all the contractual obligations. 

Your next step is to learn everything you can about the client’s business. Ask heaps of questions, be curious, subscribe to their media outlets, follow their competitors on Twitter .and make sure your institutional and industry knowledge is unparalleled. Always, remember that during the 45 minutes pitch, you promised to be part of the market intelligence team. To further allay their fears, you should dedicate disproportionate time to exceeding their expectations.

During the emersion process ensure that you establish and collectively agree with your client on the proposed metrics on which your work will be measured. For some clients, it may be as specific as the number of links to the website or new business enquiries. Others want something less tangible, such as ‘better awareness’. Whatever it is, you cannot measure your impact until you have established a base case. That could be an awareness survey, a coverage count pre-you, or a system for establishing where enquiries are coming from. Use this particular session to manage the expectations of this new client because from this particular point, all promises will be deemed as deliverables to the client’s business objectives.

Once the relationship has been established, by the way the agency & client relationship is more complicated than a marriage just that for marriage the retainer is paid well in advance in form of dowry. Anyway, always communicate the good and the bad in equal measures. The client needs to know when things are going well and when they are going bonkers. Make sure you are the first to tell them either way. That article in the Citizen Weekly, Oh My!! The number of times this publication has caught me napping on the job of handling my brands-should be emailed to them before their peers send them the article on WhatsApp. Likewise, when a key journalist says she just isn’t interested, the client has a right to know. Trust you me, the modern client, knows when you are buying time on something, they no longer believe in “To Be Confirmed” interviews.

Remember the metrics you agreed on? Ensure that you measure and report against base case. Please note, my few years in PR made me to learn that, all the urgent board and senior Management report request only come on Friday afternoons. So with reports, make sure you revisit them regularly (weekly, monthly, quarterly), and identify how you are doing. This might save you from the annoying Friday call, asking for a media performance report for the quarter.

One more thing, every now and then the strategy might not work, it’s normal, how many times have you restarted your computer? It’s always not about you; it might be due to some external factor. In case you want to change the strategy, discuss and discuss again with the client. Account managers all too often see themselves as coverage machines, whose role is to churn out column inches. Remember, your client is running a business, and great coverage may not be everything to them, so make sure you are in tune with what they are thinking.

Lastly, one of my secret weapons in this business has been to always assume that the client is a busy, disorganised person- not my current clients though.

Just because you said something once in an email to a client, or reported something in your activity report does not mean that the client has read it or remembers it. Provide detail and context to every piece of correspondence (e.g. further to my email of 30th June…) and regularly summarise results in the body of an email (not just in your activity report) and provide summaries of outstanding actions and next steps.

This Article was also published in Business Today. 

Kenyan PR blogger resurrects

Blogging is not one of the easiest routines, nobody was honest enough to tell me that when I decided to blog. I have had to find out after nine years of blogging. Honestly I still find it hard to blog consistently, probably because I chose not to go for the hard news kind of blogs.

After discussing this with a number of bloggers I admire in our local space. Kachwanya and Reyhab you hear me!!! I decided to come up with a strategy that will address the issue of consistency and deadlines for my blog.

The strategy is simple, really simple, for the next many months, I will be attached to Business Today, a leading online business publication in East Africa. Basically, every week I will be sharing learning’s about communication, brands, Public Relations, Public Relations and Public Relations. Let’s just say I will be blogging about integrated communication.

Again welcome to long lost Young PR Kenya,

Good employee relations key in business growth

Even with the sustained heartbeat, one can easily tell that the once yummy girl – Uchumi Supermarket – is struggling to live, probably crafting her will, whose pages will be shared among the many suppliers she owes.

She has been bleeding for a number of years now, and to say that she is now pale is an understatement. That girl is not only withdrawn but has lately been forcing a vague smile, a clear sign that all the plastic surgeries in form of restructuring and the numerous financial injections did not work.

As we prepare for a fundraiser or a burial ceremony for Kenya’s only publicly traded retailer, many questions are being asked. Was Jonathan Ciano a mortician? Or was he a neurosurgeon who delayed his exit from the theatre, only to carry the cross for the nurses who forgot to dispense the follow-up doses.

Either the PR practitioners locally known as snake charmers had a role to play in this. What did they do to engage and manage the internal stakeholders of this giant retailer?

World over, the components of a strong company – in any industry – can be focused down to four critical areas. Good management, good products/services, good customer service and good employees. As a business owner, the first two are relatively easy to control. But how do you assure that your employees treat your customers in such a way that they stay happy and repeat customers?

Unhappy employee = unhappy customer

Customers can tell in an instant whether they are dealing with a happy or unhappy employee. Unhappy employees often take out their frustration and unhappiness on the customers. This happens when we you have to pack your stuff at the tills, break your nails as you rummage through your handbag for the elusive coins as well as when  a 45-minute shopping walk around the supermarket yields twenty percent of your requirements.

A happy employee will do all he or she can do make a customer happy. They will get the trolley across the road to where you have parked; they will save you the hustle of explaining why milk should not be packed alongside mosquito coils. They do all this because they want to retain their job and they have an interest in seeing the company flourish. 

Regardless of how much you pay your employees, good companies understand the value of good employees, especially in such a competitive industry. Therefore, each company does everything it can to make its employees happy

So how does the average company keep its talent happy and productive?

A good place to start is to understand that public relations applies to your employees, as it does to your customers. The company that understands that it’s most valued asset is hardworking, productive employees, will create and implement an internal PR programme to keep its employees in great form.

Aside from the obvious – competitive salaries, benefits and bonuses – employees want to know that their work matters, that they are appreciated and that they will be rewarded for their effort.

That is why many companies have instituted reward programs that are administered on a team rather than an individual. It is often risky to pick out a few employees and reward them. This creates animosity and completion which is counterproductive. If a company division or team is productive, all members should be rewarded in some form or another.

The most effective internal brand engagement programme for employees costs less and is easier to implement. This simply involves the boss or manager sitting down with an employee and telling them that they are doing a good job and it is being appreciated. Especially for younger workers who are trying to establish careers, this works wonders. The fact that their boss has taken time to tell them they are doing a great job and the company appreciates them is often worth more than a cost of living raise.

Certainly backing up praise with money is better and expected, but taking the extra time to give each employee some personal attention is something too many companies neglect, thinking that wallet size is everything

That fat cheque is a definite yes, but so is identifying personal achievements and contributions to the company. Whether it is tangible rewards such as a raise, personal attention, company outings or whatever, every company that values its business will value its employees and go the extra mile to assure each employee knows it.

This article was first published in Business Today