Mr. Muhamed Muneer

In the last issue of this column, I have discussed about marketing to internal customers. I discussed various aspects, but left out one crucial factor: How to communicate to the internal customers. Since communication makes or breaks any marketing programme, I consider this to be a critical point in marketing to the employees. And, contrary to what people many believe, small business firms fail miserably on this front.

A very effective way to communicate to your internal customers is via a newsletter. Produced right, this could even be useful with your customers. It is not necessarily a prerogative of big businesses. Small businesses could easily produce an equally effective newsletter. The only difference would be in the expenses incurred. Who says you have to have a glossy newsletter to be effective?

An employee newsletter can be both a great source of internal information and a real morale builder. When employees are kept up to date with the latest news within their company the result is increased job satisfaction and decreased rumours or "grapevine dependence." In fact, part of the success of an FMCG company in the small sector is due to this initiative on newsletter for communication. It helped the company in conveying successfully to all employees their reasons for name change and other measures being implemented to become globally competitive.

Encouraging employee involvement in the newsletter, by printing employee-written articles, department photos, or company trivia contests also keep interest levels high. Many companies fail to keep up the interest levels after a couple of issues. There are several reasons for this: Lack of a dedicated team, low employee participation, rigid structures, authoritative management, an atmosphere of mistrust, and so on.

I have observed over a period of time several company newsletters and have come to some conclusions. I shall share these with you now. Keep the following in mind when writing your company newsletter:

* Include articles by non-management employees:- Consistent "top-down" communication tends to derail the effectiveness of a company publication. Involve employees at all levels and in all departments. Emphasise that the company's newsletter is intended for and created by all employees. There should not be any rigid rules as to what subjects employees should write about. If your newsletter is planned to be an information resource or training manual, create a section where employees can pour their hearts out. Add a "Tips for Success" section, or whatever, where any employee can share his learning experience on the job. Minimise the importance of the CEO or top management. Select the articles on their merit only, not on the basis of the authors' position or designation.

* Feature pictures of different associates in each issue:- This not only provides relief from a text-intensive layout, it also promotes camaraderie among employees company-wide. What I have found in most cases is that the editorial team keep on carrying the CEO's picture on every issue. The layout could be changed to include a small message from the CEO without any pictures. Most employees will not even bother to read the message after the third issue if the style and layout are not altered. Perhaps one could think of using no message at all. Today's generation cannot stand paternalism.

* Be sure to cover the tough company issues:- Avoiding potentially controversial topics (which probably receive a lot of grapevine speculation) only decreases the newsletter's credibility. Address these topics as openly and honestly as possible. For instance, if there had been a problem with salary or bonus revision in a year, address the issue head on and explain the reasons for such a step. In a recession, people expectations are not very high. Moreover, the newsletter could paint a better picture for the next year and do a good job of motivating employees to increase productivity. Issues such as a change of corporate offices or settlement of union issues should be clearly articulated. If necessary, hire an outside expert to draft a "politically correct" article.

* Increase employee involvement in the newsletter:- For this, conduct surveys or hold contests. Include a company trivia quiz or a blank survey form, with prizes such as lunch certificates, sports tickets or special parking for a month. If you have sufficient circulation, you probably can get a local retailer or distributor to donate attractive prizes in return for small publicity for them. You could also add crossword puzzles or some letter-writing contests.

* Distribute newsletter contribution sheets to employees:- This is to encourage article contributions from different departments and employees. Include blanks for who, what, when, where and why to make story-writing easy and contributions frequent. If you have worked in your company's newsletter team, you would have agonised time and again on the difficulty of getting articles from employees. No number of requests through newsletters for contributions is enough. You just can't get someone who is not used to writing even a letter, to write for you. So, help them in any which way you can to elicit information pertaining to their work at least.

* Ask for feedback:- Do employees feel that the publication is a reliable source of information? Consider including a "Letters to the Editor" type of column to solicit readers' opinions. Offer a prize for the best letter. Also, you could use this as a forum for suggestions as well. Of course, the action needs to be taken on many of these suggestions to make the newsletter and the whole process more meaningful to all concerned.

* Finally, keep the schedule:- It is most important that you keep the newsletter on a consistent publishing schedule, whether it is monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly. Dividing the writing and layout responsibilities between two or more people will help keep the issues on time. Before deciding on the newsletter, have a strategy ready in terms of purpose, schedule, etc. If you cannot keep the schedule of, say monthly, don't commit yourself. Plan early and ensure that you deliver. Form a team that could include members from all departments.

I am sure you will have a great communication tool within a year of starting a newsletter programme this way. You will notice the changes pretty quickly if the organisation supports the efforts. Of course, this is just a medium. The success of your company depends more on your marketing programme and planning.

(By arrangement with Innovative Media)

Feedback and queries may be e-mailed to him directly at muneermuhamed@hotmail.com