The Leading Business | amta2010.org

Giveaways by Web Site Draw in Consumers

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:03:54 +0000

Toy surprises buried in cereal boxes or in bags of popular snacks have been a marketing tactic for as long as package goods have been sold in supermarkets. Most people probably can’t even imagine a Cracker Jack box without a prize inside.

Giveaways are not just for kids; adults have long participated in incentive giveaways ranging from a free tote with the purchase of makeup or perfume at a department store, to $500 gift cards with a new account at the local bank. All of these giveaways are designed to entice the consumer to try particular brands and services.

Recognizing the power of free offers to drive consumer purchases, NetFree Direct LLC, a leading Internet marketing company, has taken the concept to the next level. Through the company’s Web site, consumers can obtain a variety of rewards including mobile phones, flat-screen TVs, laptops, PlayStations and other game consoles, digital cameras, gift cards and more, simply by completing advertisers’ surveys and signing up for subscriptions and free trial offers.

The Web site is sponsored by well-known advertisers such as BMG, Blockbuster, Netflix, Discover Card, USA Today, Disney and hundreds of others. Upon registration, consumers are directed to a special area of the site where they can complete advertisers’ surveys and sign up for subscriptions or free trials and redeem their rewards. Trials or subscriptions can be canceled without obligation.

Giveaways by Web Site Draw in Consumers is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

12 Reasons To Use A Franchise Consultant

admin — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:17:47 +0000

A potential business owner that has an interest in purchasing and running a franchise would benefit from the services of a franchise consultant. A franchise consultant can provide expertise and guidance throughout the entire process. Listed below are 12 reasons that it is advantageous to use this service.

1. The service is free to the franchisee, with the franchiser covering the consulting fees.

2. The service is personal and confidential.

3. The consultant guides the potential franchisee through the entire process of deciding whether to become a franchisee, and how to go about it.

4. A detailed profile including an evaluation of the potential owner’s experience, interests, and goals is complied in order to match the new franchisee with the most suitable opportunity.

5. Education is provided on the various types of ownership and investment options.

6. Investigation into the most suitable opportunities that are available is done by the consultant.

7. Initiation of contact with company representatives is part of the service.

8. The consultant helps to verify each company’s success and track record.

9. The potential business owner saves time and money by having the experts perform research on various opportunities.

10. The consultant acts as the one-stop shop, answering questions and referring the potential owner to other resources as necessary, such as financial or legal advisors.

11. The consultant works with all types of franchises, including full-time, part-time, new units, and re-sale franchises.

12. Complications and confusion are virtually eliminated by having an expert perform these services.

Overall, a franchise consultant will help you determine if franchising is right for you and if so, what type of franchise opportunities you are most likely to succeed in.

12 Reasons To Use A Franchise Consultant is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

A Brief Education on Education Verification

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:35:49 +0000

It is generally believed by those in our trade that while employment candidates may embellish their employment tasks and positions, they will downright lie about their education.
Yes, that person interviewing with your Human Resource Manger and other relevant executives, the one looking presentable and acting so bright and articulate may well be inventing his education. In most cases your candidates claim to a higher education is not necessarily a total invention. He may have in fact actually enrolled in the university listed on the resume. He just didnt graduate from that school. Or any other school, for that matter.
But then there are those, a notable amount of employment candidates who have engaged in what we term a ghost attendance. That is to say they not only failed to graduate from the school, but they never enrolled at all. Why they chose that particular school as their fictional place of graduation is anyones guess. But enough candidates lie about graduating from schools they may have never seen, save for photos on the Internet. The HR person should always consider the ghost attendance a very real possibility.
As to which schools the job candidates may claim to have graduated, the selection is varied and sometimes darkly amusing. Some may choose the smaller and more out of the way schools as their fictional alma maters. They may select something arty and prestigious, one of those schools you may hear about but not know much about.. Or your candidate can take obscurity in another direction by listing on their resume some grievously remote or sub-par institute of higher learning that few ever even heard of..
There is certain logic to making such claims. By listing say, an obscure Mid-Western school or esoteric New England college, as his place of graduation, your candidate may believe he helps substantiate his credibility. Even the more astute HR person may well determine no one would actually lie about graduating from a Reed College, in Oregon, Amherst, in Massachusetts, or Lake Forest, in Illinois? Or for that matter as a defense against low self-esteem, who would dare boast of graduating from one of the legions of North Western Eastern Slippery Eel Teachers College in the far corner of the middle of nowhere? So, the thinking goes, you may accept their claim at face value and never bother to check it out.
Other candidates will take the alternate route. Most in fact, will choose the larger schools, believing their names and alleged graduation dates may well get lost in the bureaucratic shuffle. Of course, if they did attend for awhile, they hope their registered enrollment may mistakenly be interpreted as proof of graduation. What they lack in education, they make up for in audacity. Well, sort of.
Finally, there are the no degree degrees. These are the phony degrees awarded for life experience and are not representative of attendance or graduation from any legitimate or accredited college. They are totally bogus. But they are popular. The more enterprising among the duplicitous can purchase these degrees online for anywhere from fifty bucks to several hundred dollars. The graduate degrees are a little pricier than the mere Bachelors but they are available from any number of phony universities. Some of them even look impressive; provided you dont look try to find the schools physical address on the Internet.
Before you become too upset or overly suspicious, bear in mind that those who lie about their degrees comprise a minority of employment candidates. More often than not your candidate actually is who he says he is and did attend and graduate from the college listed in his resume. But bear in mind the operative phase here is more often than not. With that in mind, think of the ways you may cause embarrassment and even litigation if you mistakenly hire someone who has obtained only a fictional degree.
It may be true that lacking a Bachelors degree in certain disciplines may be irrelevant. There is a saying, for example, that a good sales person is born and not made, or something to that affect. And while that may be true in certain disciplines, in more than a few someone better have the qualifications afforded through the proper education. It may well be your new hire with his fictional degree may genuinely lack the skill sets required for the job. This reality can cause all sorts of problems and even lead to catastrophe in its myriad forms.
You have allocated time and money to his hire. You have distracted your work force, at least those who have conducted the various interviews. In hiring this person, you may have rejected a candidate who was truly qualified but is no longer available. You must now allocate additional resources to hire someone else. Such mistakes can detract from employee morale as well as your bottom line.
Additionally, by hiring someone not qualified by virtue of lacking his degree, you are jeopardizing your relationship with clients. You may have assigned this person to a client, and now your employee has screw things up through is lack of qualifications. This can make your client extremely unhappy. The client may demand compensation. They may even threaten a lawsuit. This is not only costly, but embarrassing as well.
If you think this doesnt happen, you had better think again. These are not the stories executives like to brag about over lunch. These are the stories that are whispered, and the whispering is far more ominous and damaging to your business. Lets face it, if your failure to perform due diligence causes proves detrimental to your client, then you will be held accountable. You will look foolish and cheap. You may also be looking for another client to replace the one who left you.
The moral to this story is that your Human Resources Management must check out everyone, no matter how trustworthy they sound. It is essential to have a pre-employment screening program in place and to include education verification as part of that program. The few bucks you spend up front to verify your candidates graduation can save you plenty in money and time as well as and potential litigation and embarrassment. Those who win contracts with major corporations, especially technology or defense and security related industries will find these companies mandate background checks for everyone who will be working on the project. This includes education verification. Often they will insist on verification of all degrees and not just the highest.
When conducting education verifications here are some things to keep in mind
Colleges and Universities typically provide verification either in-house or through the National Student Clearing House or another third party service. If the University is registered with a third party service, the degree can often be verified that day. Third party services will charge a fixed rate for access verification. Some background checking agencies will add on to this rate while others will pass it on at cost.
Typically, degrees are verified by background checking services within a couple, few days. The process may take longer if your candidate has either graduated some years back or is not listed in the database.
Verification may also take longer over the holidays, semester break or the summer. Be prepared to allow for more time for verification.
Verification from foreign universities inevitably will take longer than domestic verification. Typically, the rates for foreign verifications are significantly higher than charges for a domestic university. Be prepared to pay more and wait longer for the foreign verification.
Some schools will ask for your candidates disclosure and release form before issuing the verification.
When providing your candidates information to the University or third party service, it is best to include the years attended, the year graduated, the actual degree and major, and for large schools the campus where your candidate attended.
If your candidate is a female, be sure the information you submit reflects the actual name with which your candidate graduated. Sometimes your candidate applies for the position under her married name and fails to provide her maiden name, the name she used while attending school.
This may also apply for foreign students. Sometimes foreign candidates will change their names after graduation, to make them more accessible in the American workplace. But they may have attended school, using their formal name. Your candidate is known to you as Ben, but in school he was still Bao. This can complicate the verification process.
If the school or the third party service is having a difficult time verifying y our candidates degree, they may request a facsimile of his diploma or final transcripts.
Be sure to keep your verification process uniform. You may decide to verify all degrees or only the highest degree obtained. Whatever you do for one candidate, you should do for all the rest.
Make sure your background checking service stays in front of any complications that may arise in the verification process. Establish and maintain fluid communication channels so that the service can keep you informed and request additional information when needed.
Remember if for some reason and after all due diligence you are unable to verify your candidates degree, it probably means he never obtained one. They may try to talk their way out of it, but hold firm and insist they provide any information that has been requested. There is nothing exceptional about this information for anyone who has truly graduated from an accredited college or university. If they cant provide that information, you may want to look for another candidate. Remember the axiom that if they lie about their degree then theyll lie when on the job didnt become accepted wisdom for no reason. Check them out before you hire.

A Brief Education on Education Verification is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

5 Ways You Can be Prepared When Facing a Job Loss

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:54:48 +0000

Are rumors circulating throughout your workplace that there may be downsizing, a lay-off or merger? Are you scared and dont know what to do? These 5 tips can help you feel more in control of your financial situation:

1. Take a long, hard look at your monthly bills. Are in up to your neck in debt? Now is the time to tighten your belt and try to get a handle on the interest rates you are currently paying. Can you pay down some of your debt right away? Transfer to another, lower rate credit card? Should you refinance your mortgage or home equity loan? Now would be the time to take care of this, not after youve received your pink slip.

2. What can you trim in your monthly budget? Stop buying those lattes every morning and save about $80 in one month. Rent a DVD instead of going to the movies. You are the only one who can decide what you can and cannot live without, but these are two good examples of the latter. Cut back on your dining out and youll see more green in your wallet right now, when you need it the most.

3. Be more aware as you pull out your wallet for every day expenses and decide if you really need to buy that item. Now is not the time for a shopping spree to cheer you up. Instead, make an effort to be more aware of where your money goes every day, every week.

4. With gas prices sky-rocketing, should you consider buying a hybrid car, or at least one that gets better mileage? Do it now, while youre still employed. See if the dealership offers any customer incentives such as a rebate or lowered interest rate on the loan.

5. Do you know what benefits at work you are entitled to? Take the time now to ask the Human Resources department what benefits youre currently enrolled in. If you have health insurance, be sure to get any physicals or medical tests now to make use of this benefit. Take advantage of any dental or vision coverage you may have- get those eyeglasses or contact lenses updated now or schedule a visit for a check-up at the dentist. Those co-pays are a whole lot cheaper than paying full-price later.

Being aware of the situation, planning and taking action makes you feel more in control of your life. Sure, you cant do anything about being laid-off and in most cases, (unless you committed gross misconduct on the job) its not your fault. Its a management decision that will probably wind up changing your life for the better. See this as a new opportunity, not as a loss, and your positive attitude will help you find a new job soon. Good luck!

5 Ways You Can be Prepared When Facing a Job Loss is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

CDL License In Florida Can Be Bought By Clearing Theory Test Papers And Road Test Correctly

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:32:51 +0000

If you are planning to take CDL license in Florida then it is essential that you learn about the rules that exist in Florida. A professional truck driving school in Florida can help you in getting your CDL license. Some of the specialties that you have to check in the driving school are that they provide best training course. It also includes class room training and road training. This will help you to learn driving in a professional way. It will deliver you the confidence with which you can drive the vehicles on your own. You will be prepared to handle commercial vehicles effectively. With the help of professional you can learn driving quickly and easily. It is therefore essential to join the driving school. Some of the certified instructors and experienced people who have already taught many students can help you prepare for your commercial driving test. The driving schools can provide you with best study materials and highly equipped class room and field training. There are three classes of license. Class A CDL license, class B CDL license and class C CDL license. Class A CDL license is for tractor and trailer. Class B CDL license is for straight truck, bus. Class C CDL license is for bus and van. If you get class A CDL license then if you are provided with other CDL endorsement in a proper way then you can drive class B and class C vehicles. If you get class B license you are provided with other CDL endorsement in a proper way then you can drive class C vehicle but not class A vehicle. If you get class C license then you cannot drive class A and Class B vehicles. Whatever license you want you have to give test. This test will comprise of three theory papers and a road test.

CDL License In Florida Can Be Bought By Clearing Theory Test Papers And Road Test Correctly is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

Yul Whitney Follows the Law in Equality in School

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:00:13 +0000

School is one of the training grounds of an individual so as to succeed in life. It is the place where a person can learn things that the outside community cannot offer. It is the place where certain skills are further honed. It is the place where some dreams are slowly becoming a reality. The importance of school cant be stressed enough to the development of an individual in becoming a well-respected individual in the society. For these reasons, it is important that a school has an environment that is not just a good place to study in but also a good place to stay in.

Every student and member of the faculty (whether teaching or non-teaching staff) must treat each other equally regardless of their differences in a number of things. In line with this, a number of provisions of some laws and a specific law promote equality among the people in the school. According to Title IX, Title 5, Section 504, and the American with Disabilities Act, it prohibits any kind of discrimination against any individual in the school on the basis of sex, race, disability, language, and learning ability. Based on these laws, equal treatment must be given on the classes that a person takes part in, the treatment that a person gets while in the classroom and campus, the kind of counseling being received, extracurricular activities being participated in, and the special services being received.

One man follows these laws very well which allows him to properly administer the schools he is a part of. Yul Whitney has been in the field of school administration for most of his professional career where he has been very successful in. In every stop of his professional career, Yul Whitney makes sure that all of his people as well as the students under his watch are properly treated. Whitney does not want any person in his administration to get aggrieved by anyone which is why he has enforced the law strictly.

Yul Whitney has already worked in at least four school districts for his career. The first one was with the Mococ County School of Education where he served as the Program Specialist and School Psychologist. He then worked for the Coalinga-Huron Unified School District as the Director of Special Education before transferring to the Palm Springs Unified School District where he served as Program Specialist. Currently, he works as the Assistant Superintendent for Palo Verde Unified School.

Yul Whitney Follows the Law in Equality in School is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

6 Powerful Tips to Creating Testimonials That Sell Your Products Fast

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:38:44 +0000

There are many ways to market a product or a service and providing the potential clients and customers with testimonials is one of the best ways to market.

The power of testimonials can never be underestimated. People, especially nowadays, will only purchase products or avail services which have been referred to them by people whom they know. But most of the times, this is not an option that is in the hands of the business owner, he has to do the next best thing, which is to get testimonials from his past clients.

Testimonials are living statements from past customers or clients which states that they were satisfied by the product/ service. Every business must have testimonials to be able to stand out in the ever crowded markets.

There are many benefits of having testimonials. Here are some of them.

Testimonials appease the target market

Testimonials usually lessen the doubts of the target market. There are a lot of scammers and con artists nowadays, and this has turned the market into a fearsome one. Credible testimonials provide security to the people who are eyeing at a certain product or service. The provision of testimonials gives people a much more relaxed attitude towards a product or service.

Testimonials assure quality

Aside from confirming the existence of a business and lessening doubts, testimonials provide assurance to potential customers and clients of the quality of the product or service. The fact that they took time out to be able to write testimonials about the product reflect their levels of satisfaction towards the product/service.

Testimonials give advantage

Credible testimonials provide a competitive advantage for the product/service. There are many products and services out there and one of the ways to stand out from the rest is the use of credible testimonials.

There are many types of testimonials. Testimonials are usually categorized according to the source. Here are a few examples:

a) Testimonials from satisfied customers

This is probably the most effective type of testimonial. Nothing beats a testimonial from a satisfied customer because it is a picture of what the product/service is all about.

b) Testimonials from experts

Experts can be credible sources of testimonials. If a renowned dermatologist writes a testimonial for a beauty soap, it will surely help in boosting its sales, wouldnt it?

c) Testimonials from celebrities

In a world that is run by mass media, celebrities have become powerful sources of testimonials. Today, even infomercials are infested by testimonials from celebrities.
People may think that getting testimonials from celebrities will cost a lot, but if its a real testimonial, celebrities may even waive their talent fees.

There is much more to making a testimonial an effective tool for marketing than gathering them. Good testimonials are the ones which can be compressed into a few catchy words. I lost 20 pounds in two weeks time! is an example of an eye-catching testimonial. However, one must never rephrase or edit what the client had said. How to get the right kinds of testimonials will be discussed later.

Credible testimonials should also contain the complete attributes of the people who gave them. Their titles, location and age should be included whenever possible.

Visual appeal will also be a great help in using testimonials. If the clients are willing, one must insist in taking photographs or videos for their testimonials.

So how does a business owner get started with the whole testimonial thing?

Here are some steps on how to archive testimonials.

1. Before anything else, only products/ services with outstanding quality deserve testimonials, so one must make sure that his product/service possesses exceptional quality.

2. Ask the help of your customers. One must be able to communicate to his customers his need of getting their testimonials. If they are really satisfied with the product/service, they would be more than willing to participate.

3. Interview your customers. Ask them about what they like about your product/service, why they chose your product and other questions like these.

4. Ask them if they are willing to make a written testimonial. You can offer to make the testimonial yourself based on their responses during the interview but the testimonial is still up for their approval. You might want to make the wordings catchy and let them approve the testimonials.

5. Ask them if you could record the testimonial using a tape recorder or video cam. A video testimonial is better, but of course, many people are camera-shy and this can be a limited option for most.

6. Choose the best testimonials. Use the best ones so as to maximize the benefits that your product can get from the testimonials.

Testimonials are very powerful and this is the reason why every business should have them. They provide assurance and security and reflect the real essence of a product or a service.

6 Powerful Tips to Creating Testimonials That Sell Your Products Fast is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

7 Tips to Starting a Successful Small Business

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:37:51 +0000

Getting a small business off the ground is challenging to say the least. Here are some tips which will prepare the ground for running a successful small business.

Have Goals

This is where it all starts the foundation for success. Know exactly where you are heading. What will the business look like in the future? How will you know when your business is a success? When you wake up in the morning, do you know what actions you have to take to get you on the road to success?

Take Action

The difference between success and failure is down to the actions you take. The failures in life are the people who know what they have to do but never do it. The successful small business owners are people who take action on their ideas, ones who never say, I wish I had done

Seek Feedback

There is a saying that feedback is the breakfast of champions. During the early days of your business you must continually seek feedback about all aspects of your business. What works? What doesnt work? What needs changing slightly? Speak to customers, suppliers, your bank manager, your accountant – anyone who can provide you with a fresh perspective.

Find Out What Do You Dont Know

You cant expect to know everything about running a business. Undertake your own skills analysis and find out your areas for development. Once you know your knowledge gaps seek out courses, books and advice, which will get you on track.

Be Focused

Let no one distract you from achievement of your goals. At the start of every day get yourself into the frame of mind that you will only do tasks which will get you closer to your goal nothing else matters.

Take Risks!

You will never achieve anything if youre not prepared to jump off the cliff a few times! Were not talking about risks which will put the business in jeopardy; just risks which are planned and thought out, yet at the same time test the edge!

Think Positive

Yes, the oldest clich in the book, but totally true. See the positive in everything. If something has not gone right train yourself to ask, What good has come out of this? Understand that in every problem there is potential for good.

7 Tips to Starting a Successful Small Business is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

5 Keys to Building a Dynamic Self-Management Sales System

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:22:03 +0000

1) Identify Your Essential Competencies and Performance Metrics

If I asked you to list all the essential competencies that YOU are in control of – the ones that are absolutely critical for you to be successful in your sales positioncould you do it?

For example

Essential Competency or not?

” Converting conversations to appointments? (yes it is)
” What about filling out paperwork? No! (That’s a related task)
” What about closing ratio? (Sure it is.)
” Degree of success in turning a first appointment into an opportunity? (absolutely)

Get the picture?

Now, if you truly want to adopt a self-management system that will work FOR you – not against you, you first have to “access” what is an essential competency and what’s merely a related competency.

To do this, sit down and list any sales metrics and performance numbers inter-related to your competency numbers and your desired revenue results. (Hint: “Sales Cycle” and “Average Revenue” per sale are two.)

2) Diagnose Your Business on a Single Sheet of Paper

If I ran into you on a train or in an elevator, would you be prepared to tell me what you do (and how it benefits me or those I know) – in under 1 minute

That’s called your 30-second commercial. Most people don’t have one, yet everybody needs one.

One way to understand more of the obvious benefits your products and services bring to the table is to start to view and diagnose your business more scientifically. You will also see how the numbers work and which areas are most important to your short and long-term success.

Ask yourselfWhat happens if your closing ratio reduces by 30% and your average revenue per sale increases by $2500? How does that affect your desired results?

Write your competency measurements and sales metrics on a sheet of paper. Calculate ratios in line with competencies and average numbers in line with your sales metrics. Assign your revenue object or quota. Play with the numbers and ratios to see how they are inter-related and how they affect each other.

3) Calculate your ‘Magic Number’

“Not setting enough new appointments on a routine basis” is like a malignant cancerous growth slowly eating away at the heart of most sales organizations – - Jeff Hardesty.

The reason for this is because most of us do not identify how many new appointments are needed on a weekly basis based on individual competency numbers and performance metrics.

That’s like diagnosing with blindfolds on.

Every one is different; we all have a ‘Magic Number’. And it’s personal to only you. If you routinely achieve it, you will routinely meet your desired results. Since it is a dynamic number that changes from week to week, it’s important to understand how it is inter-related with other competency ratios, performance metrics and desired revenue results.

It’s important to include your ‘Magic Number’ in your self-management system.

4) Train to the ‘Napkin Rule’

The ‘Napkin Rule’ simple means, putting aside all those sales automation systems for 30 days and keep track of your essential competency and performance metrics on a single napkin.

Compute updates daily. Store the napkin in your pocket. When the napkin fills up, transfer it to a legal pad to show month to date. Have nothing else on the legal pad except your essential competency ratios and sales performance metrics. After 30 business days, transpose the legal pad metrics to your favorite computer software spreadsheet, and track it for 90 days.

This simple but powerful “Napkin Rule” will help you become the CEO of your business.

5) Run Your Numbers, Don’t Run after Quota

Concentrate on your numbers NOT your quota so you can diagnose performance trends before a revenue crisis. Then you have the power to institute strategies and tactics for immediate recovery.

Here’s why.

Reaching and exceeding sales quotas consistently has very little to do with product, pricing and competition. But it has everything to do with ‘Process’.

Identify the core competencies that are necessary to be successful in your sales routine. Then train to Powerful Routines to increase your ratios of effectiveness. Document these meaningful business metrics and review them weekly. Build a simple but dynamic self-management system and outperform your peers and competition while assuring your revenue success.

5 Keys to Building a Dynamic Self-Management Sales System is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org

Change Your Tone – Media Coverage Shouldn’t Be Toned By Software

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:02:42 +0000

The world of PR is benefiting from dramatic changes in the way media coverage is being delivered electronically to your computer desktop or PDA of choice. Perhaps the nuisance of ink on your fingers is being replaced by a bad case of “BlackBerry thumb” — but nevertheless getting your media coverage electronically has never been easier or more mobile.

These changes now drive the development of new tools from content providers, and new software programs to help better manage and analyze media coverage. The automation occurring at the database level and through the real-time delivery of organizational news, to internal and external stakeholders, is now almost taken for granted. And the holy grail of PR — to automate media analysis and measurement — is already under way; but where should software stop to make way for human analysis?.

Media analysis programs can save countless hours quantifying and sorting media coverage in an unlimited number of ways, including by circulation, region, ad equivalency, company programs and services, and competitive brands. However, do you really want a computer program qualifying how each story affects your organization? It’s a gamble with little upside.

Just Say No

The automation of tone and sentiment has already been incorporated into some software programs, but how accurate can it be? Every story, across every medium, will have a dramatically different meaning or impact for various organizations and their stakeholders. Behind the news emerge both winner and losers.

For instance, if a negative story breaks about a strike at one bottling plant it will be a boon for its competitors. The ability to determine which companies are negatively affected by the news is very limited. Furthermore, understanding the actual tone or possible ongoing bias of the reporter on an issue is impossible to automate. News is as much about delivering the facts, as it is provoking a reaction or emotion from the reader. Media analysis solutions can certainly help decipher the facts, but the rest should be left to a team of communications professionals.

Too Subjective?

The argument against toning media coverage has often been it is too subjective — if the news can be interpreted differently by each individual, won’t this skew the results in the end? True enough — but this can easily be solved with the introduction of a tone standardized ‘scorecard’ that is consistently applied to each story.

These scorecards can really vary, depending on the type of analysis you want to deliver in the end. Many organizations will chose to tone stories by ranking them as positive, neutral or negative.

The use of these 3 words alone is where subjectivity problems can creep in. Along with team brainstorming and training sessions on how tone can be applied, one quick fix is to use the C.B.S. Scorecard instead:

Use Critical (in place of Negative.)
Use Balanced (in place of Neutral)
Use Supportive (in place Positive)

After reading an article, it is much easier to answer the question “Was that story critical, balanced, or supportive of our organization?” Instead of: “Was that story negative, neutral or positive?”

When it comes to tone it won’t always be black or white, but I’d rather leave the grey zones to a trained communications professional rather than to the guesswork of a software application.

Beyond the ranking of articles by tone using the C.B.S. Scorecard, other metrics and meanings can be used in tandem to create and even stronger analysis. The following scorecard uses a scorecard range, from- 5 to + 5, to provide a more in depth analysis.

Rating Criteria
+5 Supportive Mention + four of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+4 Supportive Mention + three of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+3 Supportive Mention + two of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+2 Supportive Mention + one of the following: Key Message; Interview; Photo; Call To Action
+1 Supportive
0 Balanced
-1 Critical
-2 Critical Mention + one of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-3 Critical Mention + two of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-4 Critical Mention + three of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue
-5 Critical Mention + four of the following: Negative Executive Mention, Positive Competitor Mention; Consumer Direct Complaint; Ongoing Issue

Once each story is toned, the rest of analysis can be automated by your software solution. The tone can be used independently to determine the success of the campaign by percentage of C.B.S. stories, but the tone can also be used alongside the rest of the analysis to identify possible media bias or problem areas by region or publication. The media is always analyzing your organizationwhy not return the favour?

New media monitoring and analysis technologies are certainly changing the face of media relations activities and provide immense return on investment, but determining the impact of a news story on your organization should be kept in human hands for the time being.

Change Your Tone – Media Coverage Shouldn’t Be Toned By Software is a post from: The Leading Business | amta2010.org