LAST week, the column looked at the value of increasing an organisation’s visibility; and it was demonstrated that every organisation needs to increase its visibility to avoid being written off in the minds of the stakeholders; especially the customers.
It was also stated that if an organisation is invisible in the minds of the stakeholders, competitors might take over such an organisation’s market.
This week, it is important to continue by showing some of the strategies an organisation can use to increase its visibility.
In this article, the word ‘organisation’ will include any commercial and non-commercial entity such as firms, non-governmental organisations, training institutions, political parties, churches, trade unions, professional bodies, associations, et cetera.
Most organisations think of increasing their visibility through putting billboards in public places, running advertisements in newspapers, on radio and on television. This is good. But this isn’t enough.
Some organisations despite experiencing growing competition rarely advertise. This has led to some organisations running different businesses or offering certain services being forgotten on the market.
A certain American priest said with increasing competition among churches, one cannot avoid marketing the church or else all respective church members might resort to another church in the neighbourhood.
This is a timely warning to all organisations that visibility is key in an organisation’s sustainable operations.
Therefore, think of increasing an organisation’s visibility as more than marketing. Increasing visibility strategies is effective Public Relations (PR). Effective PR embraces all organisation’s marketing strategies and activities beyond satisfying just a customer; but ensuring that all stakeholders are happy; and supporting the organisation.
Therefore, there are many ways of establishing and developing an organisation’s visibility.
Some people think that advertising and or publicity is or are enough in facilitating an organisation’s visibility in local communities. Yes, advertising and publicity are among visibility methods an organisation can use to increase its visibility. But they are not enough.
Have you ever imagined that the quality of a product is one of the ways an organisation can increase its visibility on the market? Look at how Coca-Cola Company promotes its visibility on the world market.
It advertises aggressively. Coca-cola Company also maintains high quality products worldwide. Consider those posters in restaurants where it is says: ‘Meals taste nice with a coke.’
But have you ever thought of effective employee relations as one of the key organisation’s visibility strategy? The way an organisation treats its employees has a bearing on its visibility in society. Employees play a critical role in an organisation’ visibility strategies. Motivated employees walk and drive around local communities with pride and with their shoulders high while promoting that organisation with favourable words.
They feel proud to wear organisation’s branded T-shirts or other uniforms while mingling with some members of society.
Corporate identity materials also play another critical role in increasing an organisation’s visibility. Logos, organisation’s colours on uniforms and branded vehicles, slogans, etc are part of organisation’s visibility strategies and materials.
Have you ever thought of ensuring that workers wearing good uniforms when reporting for work is part of increasing your organisation’s visibility? Can distribution of annual calendars and diaries help many people and organisations to rekindle their memories about the existence and the role the organisation plays in that community?
Don’t worry about fuel costs. Let your branded vehicles run around in local communities as part of increasing your visibility. Visit some clergy, traditional leaders, ward councilors, members of parliament (MPs) and other influential leaders in society.
Ask them what they feel about your organisation, its products and its services as they read your branded T-shirts and see your organisation’s branded vehicles.
Your branded vehicles moving around in local communities is not necessarily a cost to your organisation. It is part of your investments in increasing your organisation’s visibility in that community.
But as alluded to before in this article, in the process of visiting your stakeholders, you can also collect valuable feedback information from the stakeholders you visit.
Therefore, don’t always be stuck in offices; reading newspapers or bruising on the internet. Bruise on face book and watch telemundo programmes and others on television after you have visited some of your stakeholders.
Visiting your stakeholders with your branded vehicles while wearing corporate identity T-shirts; and distributing your organisation’s newsletters, calendars, pens, etc once in a while can prove to be a good investment in your stakeholders.
With such efforts and investments, most, if not all stakeholders are likely to find a way of supporting your organisation.
But do you use the common method that most of the organisations use to show their existence through participating in trade fairs and in agricultural and commercial shows? If you do, congratulations! And keep it up. But what other visibility methods does your organisation use?
It appears much of an organisation’s increased visibility can be done through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and strategies.
Does your organisation sponsor some workers for further studies as part of staff development process? Sponsoring some workers for further studies helps an organisation to throw its presence in many people, local communities and in other organisations in many parts of the country and beyond.
Some organisations sponsor sporting activities such as soccer, boxing, car racing, etc. Some sponsor traditional ceremonies as part of their visibility strategy. Think of sponsoring traditional ceremonies such as Umutomboko, Kulamba, Nc’wala, Malira, Likumbi Lya Mize, Kuomboka, etc as a helpful strategy of increasing your organisation’s visibility.
Consider running radio and television programmes to inform and educate the public on your vision, mission, values, goal and objectives; and showing how each stakeholder plays a critical role in achieving an organisation’s objectives as other tools of increasing your visibility.
Organize some road shows in various local communities to remind local communities’ members of your existence; and how you serve various stakeholders; including such local communities.
While some individuals and some organisation identify community challenges; and turn such challenges into business opportunities, as part of your CSR strategy, turn such community challenges into community services and your visibility opportunity.
Instead of your organisation establishing a micro-financing organisation for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), you can be training such sole traders at no fee at all as part of increasing your visibility in various communities.
Such SMEs’ members will be talking about how beneficial your training services have been to their businesses. International Labour Organisation (ILO) in partnership with Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and Cavmont Bank partnered to provide business and HIV/AIDS training and providing micro-finance to women groups in Lusaka, Katete and in Chipata districts. Up to now women in such groups and districts are still praising such organisations for the beneficial and sustainable services they rendered to such women and their groups.
Therefore, while other organisations form community schools where parents pay a token fee to them, your organisation can start such schools in some areas as part of your visibility strategy. Look at what some churches such as the Catholic, Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ), Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) and others have done in some parts of this country. While providing community services in their respective fields, such churches have increased their visibility in local communities through running schools and or health centres.
Someone is whispering; and saying: ‘What is he talking about? Turning commercial opportunities into charity?’
Yes, to increase your organisation’s visibility, you also need to be selfless and to sacrifice. To be selfless with high levels of sacrifice is more visible in individuals and in organisations than more profit motive, selfishness and greed.
Therefore, hold meetings with various stakeholders. Explain to them your vision, mission, values, goal and objectives. Show them how important such stakeholders are in achieving your organisation’s objectives.
Now count how many visibility methods that have been highlighted in this article. What percentage of such a number of visibility strategies mentioned in this article has your organisation scored?
From low percentage your organisation has scored, one might argue that increasing organisation’s visibility programmes and strategies; and using them regularly is costly. Yes. But such visibility strategies pay off dividends in the long-run if properly used.
With increasing competition on the market; even among service providers, one cannot avoid increasing an organisation’s visibility. The author is a PR Trainer and Consultant.
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