Revision as of 21:46, 18 April 2023 by 154.13.98.118 (talk) (Created page with "The phrase, "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is often used when a company is so attached to its own services and products that if does not consider the needs of its customers or the me...")(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The phrase, "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is often used when a company is so attached to its own services and products that if does not consider the needs of its customers or the media. I've worked with companies whose belief in their own offerings and philosophies made them blind to real life, and worse yet, finished up offending the many stakeholders upon whom their success and failure depends."Drinking the Kool-Aid" is not the same thing as "team spirit." Passion for your organizational vision and mission is a wonderful thing. I'm discussing the C-Suite executive or business owner who forgets their company will there be to fulfill an unmet need that their audience actually wants.Consider the Ford Edsel story. The "Edsel" went down ever sold as a colossal marketing faux pas, or failure to gauge what their customers wanted. There are numerous known reasons for its failure:The Edsel was designed by a very large committee. Time magazine called it, "irrational groupthink." The Edsel designers were centered on designing a car for a segment whose needs had recently been met. They called it, "Edsel," which didn't help either.They misinterpreted the study. The Ford company spent thousands on market research. What they didn't know then was that people have a tendency to lie on surveys, telling researchers what they think others, not themselves, want. Some argue that the survey data was viable, but Ford's interpretation of it was incorrect.The automobile was, well, ugly, and had many mechanical flaws. The assembly lines had trouble putting it together. There have been complaints concerning the tail lights. The worst feedback of most, however, was about the appearance of leading grille. One of many nicer insults was that it looked like "an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon," and there were other snarky anatomical references.Consider Ford's mistakes when planning your next story pitch to the media.1. Take your head from the sand. The media as well as your target audience are hungry for interesting stories, educational content and how your particular expertise solves problems. Find ways to provide information, products and services that meet the needs of the media, not the fiscal need of one's business. Basically, think about the interests of the media outlet you intend to pitch rather than push a story that meets your agenda alone.2. Target the media that are thinking about your industry. Among my editor friends vented the other day at lunch. She covers women's issues and wellness, but daily in her email inbox she gets pr announcements and pitches about animals, auto racing, food along with other unrelated topics. She said she used to forward the releases to the correct news desks, but lately, she's just deleting them. Before you send press releases or requests for coverage to any media outlet, do a bit of research throughly first. Find out what they need to do their jobs. It'll be appreciated and yield good karma.3. Test your service or product thoroughly before rolling it out to the media. The press had a field day with the Edsel. It became the "fun thing to criticize." If there's any fault whatsoever with your product, how it's delivered, or the quality of your customer service, there may be a storm of controversy by means of customer complaints in social media or bad reviews from well-intentioned consumer advocacy reporters. Be certain your offering is really a well-oiled machine with plenty of support from your friendly, well-trained employees.The Edsel was dubbed, "the wrong car at the wrong time." So, stay away from the Kool-Aid and look after your stakeholders first.