Putting Customers First

Public Relations professionals blast out announcement after announcement with facts and figures, forgetting that even a dull press release is an opportunity to sell. It's also a great opportunity to reinforce your brand promise.

Case in point: Pamela Appea's announcement in Crain's that IBM plans to acquire Softek.  Once again, we see a case of putting the customer in the back seat, a problem easy corrected by a quick re-engineering of the sentence.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  International Business Machines Corp. said Monday it will acquire privately-held Softek Storage Solutions Corp., to expand its storage and data services business.

QUICK FIX: International Business Machines Corp said Monday it will continue to help its customers seamlessly access storage and data services on-demand with new solutions from Softek Storage, a privately held firm it plans to acquire. 

ANNOUNCEMENT: Vienna, Va.-based Softek's technology helps clients move and manage data without causing a disruption in access. The company's customers include British Telecom, KeyCorp, Lufthansa and the Principal Financial Group.

QUICK FIX:  Customers such as British Telecom and Lufthansa get uninterrupted access to information even when their IT departments are taking actions to secure, move and manage information - using techniques developed by Softek. 

ANNOUNCEMENT:  "Softek's data migration technology will complement IBM's Information on Demand strategy and significantly bolster our Storage and Data Services portfolio," said Val Rahmani, general manager of IBM Global Technology Services, in a statement.

Val: this is a great statement about YOU, but it’s much better if you make it  about THEM (your customers).

QUICK FIX:  One of IT's  biggest headaches is managing storage and data – while keeping it highly available to users. Our job is to make the task easier with assurances that everything is done efficiently and with complete security. Softek's technology helps us do that.” said Val Rahmani, general manager of IBM Global Technology Services.

So listen up all you eager PR people. Marketing isn't about you and it never will be. Talk about customers first, you second.

I'm not saying you and your client are unimportant. The IT industry doesn't exist without you. But you don't exist without customers, since they are the ones with the check book that matters.