Comments on: Are You Asking the Right Questions? http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2009/09/are-you-asking-the-right-questions/ Fresh Ideas from BurrellesLuce. Although we’re at the forefront of PR - leading innovation in media monitoring and measurement - we don’t know it all. That’s why we are out there exploring and learning alongside you. Fresh Ideas from BurrellesLuce gathers our resident experts and industry insider guest bloggers to share their thoughts on media, public relations, and marketing and provide you with a place to share ideas about what matters most to you. Together we can ensure breakthrough communications. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:52:01 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Carmen A. Harris http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2009/09/are-you-asking-the-right-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-6489 Carmen A. Harris Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:29:48 +0000 http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/?p=450#comment-6489 This does seem simple, but too often, particularly at agencies, we are really deep in the trenches with our clients and understanding the industry - that we forget to ask the right questions. There is no cookie cutter approach to the various programs we implement. Asking the right questions is a good start. This does seem simple, but too often, particularly at agencies, we are really deep in the trenches with our clients and understanding the industry – that we forget to ask the right questions. There is no cookie cutter approach to the various programs we implement. Asking the right questions is a good start.

]]> By: DR. WHAW? – September 18, 2009 « One true sentence. http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2009/09/are-you-asking-the-right-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-6482 DR. WHAW? – September 18, 2009 « One true sentence. Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:06:35 +0000 http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/?p=450#comment-6482 [...] Are You Asking the Right Questions? by Valerie Simon — This seems like a simple concept, but are you really asking the right [...] [...] Are You Asking the Right Questions? by Valerie Simon — This seems like a simple concept, but are you really asking the right [...]

]]> By: Sean Williams http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/2009/09/are-you-asking-the-right-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-6477 Sean Williams Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:15:51 +0000 http://www.burrellesluce.com/freshideas/?p=450#comment-6477 Valerie -- Determining the right questions is arguably the hardest part of developing strategy. That process is what leads to measurable objectives, but if you're asking the wrong questions, you wind up with the wrong objectives. Case in point: You know that social media is gaining influence because you read the stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, but everyone quoted seems to be a consultant or small business person who solved an immediate crisis or problem. So you ask your team, "Should we be using those Twitter things, and the Facebook?" Instead of asking about the tactics, you should be asking about the customers (or other stakeholders): "Are our customers/employees/competitors using social media tools? If so, how? What are the strengths and weaknesses of how they're doing so? What problems are they solving or creating?" This connects the tactics to the strategy -- you haven't even started examining your own organization's use of the tools, you're focusing on the pre-work that you have to do before you even consider whether or how you might use them. In your (monitoring) business, your customers are probably past that initial question set -- they've decided they need to listen (!) and need help doing so, and that's great. Next, they need to connect that information with the context of their business -- the real rubber on the measurement road. Keep going with this thread! Sean @commamoo Valerie — Determining the right questions is arguably the hardest part of developing strategy. That process is what leads to measurable objectives, but if you’re asking the wrong questions, you wind up with the wrong objectives. Case in point:

You know that social media is gaining influence because you read the stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, but everyone quoted seems to be a consultant or small business person who solved an immediate crisis or problem. So you ask your team, “Should we be using those Twitter things, and the Facebook?”

Instead of asking about the tactics, you should be asking about the customers (or other stakeholders): “Are our customers/employees/competitors using social media tools? If so, how? What are the strengths and weaknesses of how they’re doing so? What problems are they solving or creating?”

This connects the tactics to the strategy — you haven’t even started examining your own organization’s use of the tools, you’re focusing on the pre-work that you have to do before you even consider whether or how you might use them.

In your (monitoring) business, your customers are probably past that initial question set — they’ve decided they need to listen (!) and need help doing so, and that’s great. Next, they need to connect that information with the context of their business — the real rubber on the measurement road.

Keep going with this thread!
Sean
@commamoo

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