 TOGETHER
IS BETTER By
Jenny Fujita and Joy K. Miura, Fujita & Miura Public Relations
The Kaua`i Chamber of Commerce recently presented a rare and interesting opportunity
to hear a futurist's take on what's ahead for Kaua`i. For years, the business
community has been told to "lead, don't follow." However, according
to Ed Barlow, futurist with Creating the Future, Inc., the new trend will be to
align. For the business community this means partnering with other entities to
gain efficiencies and enhance customer service. Aligning will not only improve
your day-to-day operations, but also provide a priceless PR opportunity. Whether
you call it aligning, partnering, teaming, or collaborating, the important thing
is to start doing it. From a PR perspective, it's essential to do that consciously.
Determine why you should collaborate before you choose your partners. The "who"
question will be easy to answer once the "why" is resolved. For example,
consider your short- and long-term business goals and the barriers to achieving
them. What would you need in place to accomplish X? Money? Administrative assistance?
Space? Equipment? Information? Whether you want to expand your customer base or
add a new service to your offerings, there's someone out there you can connect
with to get it done. Now
choose the best entity or individual to team with. Be creative. Think about whose
involvement will help you serve your customers better, quicker, and less expensively.
Also reflect on what formal or informal partners share your values and vision,
and who will lead the team. Effective leadership will be critical to building
trust with your publics. Once
you've formed your alliances, PR-wise it is important communicate with your internal
and external publics about why you are partnering and how they will benefit. The
profit you'll reap with appropriate, innovative aligning will go further than
money or smoother operations. More people will know about your company and its
products and/or services, your partner(s) will become your advocate(s), and our
community's resources will be used to everyone's best advantage. |
