Regardless of industry, shareholders (and those that influence them, such as media and analysts) are a core audience. So what are the best ways to “touch” these key stakeholders, and build a loyal shareholder following?

In the age of “what have you done for me lately?” investors are increasingly fickle. The ability to retain investors for the long term drives valuation. To help those willing, we’ve identified key Investor & Media Relations concepts that every management team (of publicly traded companies or companies that wish to become public) should understand, and address.

Create (and articulate) a strategic plan.
Long term thinking in a short term world. It is not impossible, but must be strategically coordinated across your organization, and articulated in a way that investors understand, believe and support. Investors must understand the direction your company is headed and develop reasonable expectations for determining success. If investors’ goals are met, they will provide you with the capital “runway” to execute your vision.

Invest in online.
Unsurprisingly, companies, investors and other stakeholders are now shifting their focus to the internet. Investors need (and want) to be steered to the web whenever there are significant corporate events. Annual reports, recorded earnings calls, conference presentations and other investor updates should be available through the website. By keeping investors on your site, you control the interaction and can help shape investors’ perceptions.

The annual report is still your most important investor touchpoint.
Despite the preponderance of other material available to investors, the annual is still king. Take the time and effort to ensure a satisfactory product that delivers the proper message to investors. Of primary importance: lay the foundation for investor expectations in the CEO’s letter. This is the bar against which investors measure fundamental execution.

Analyst coverage helps drive loyalty.
Getting analyst coverage will benefit corporations in both investor interest and market valuation. Investors need assistance with due diligence, and analysts provide this service.

Press coverage is essential to building (and maintaining) a broad investor base.
There is no better way to inform investors of your story than through unbiased local trades and national media. Seize every opportunity to present your firm to the outside world, and leverage your coverage online.

There is no such thing as too much investor communication.
Your strategic plan must be delivered to investors. Never catch investors by surprise. Pre-announce earnings dates, conference calls and speaking engagements. Let investors know what to expect, and when to expect it.

Focus on running your business.
Whether it is accomplished internally or outsourced professionally, Investor Relations is a full time job. Do not expect your CEO, CFO, or other professional to be able to competently handle both their job and IR duties. Investors expect, and deserve, the attention that an “ownership” stake implies. Of course, not all investors are created equal, any more than your customers are.

Investors may be your most important customers.
Without an equity valuation, your business would disappear. Deal with investors honestly and professionally. Never ignore investor questions, but respond immediately. Creating loyalty is an important step towards achieving success as a public company.

The Economy has slowed, but it has not (completely) stalled. Even as we plough through the unemployment statistics and wait for what most believe will be a long climb out of the “Great Recession,” as long as there are companies and people doing business, things will continue to be bought and sold. That’s why for many smart businesses, now is the time to grab this opportunity to increase customer loyalty, solidify market position, and get new customers.

The evidence is in, and supported by studies of every major slowdown since 1970: Marketing wins market share in recessionary times.

Studies conducted by organizations ranging from Business Week and Harvard Business Review to The Wall Street Journal support this contention, underlining the importance – and value – of marketing in an economic downturn.

In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 and concluded that at the end of 1985, “…firms that had maintained or increased their advertising during the 1981-1982 recession could boast an average sales growth of 275% over the preceding five years. Those who cut advertising realized a paltry increase of only 19%.”

Management Review asked AMA member firms about spending during the 1990-1991 recession. “Fortune follows the brave,” it announced, noting that the data showed that most firms that raised their marketing budgets enjoyed gains in market share.

And Harvard Business Review chimes in with this: “The rationale that a company can afford a cutback in advertising because everybody else is cutting back [is fallacious]. Rather than wait for business to return to normal, top executives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival companies are creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in the fight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramatic change in market position.”

The tipping point: where fear and opportunity collide

In spite of this overwhelming evidence, many companies are still tightening their belts, and the marketing budget is typically an early casualty. This is a mistake for two primary reasons. First, if you reduce spending on marketing, you will reduce the number of new customers. Direct marketing drives direct sales. And consistent brand presence is critical to keeping – and increasing – customer loyalty and prospect awareness. Second, (a direct result of the first reason) it is much easier to gain ground against competitors who have cut back on marketing. Why? It’s easier to drop below buyer radar as a result of decreased market presence.

This said, we recognize costs do need to be cut. So marketing smarter is more important than ever. From strategically leveraging social media tools to doing a better job of tracking brand, marketing and customer experience ROI, there are many ways to scale back dollars without dropping off the radar.

What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t step up your customer acquisition and recession activities?

You slowly leak customers and profits, and can’t keep the doors open long enough to participate in the recovery. It’s happened to plenty of companies already and there are many more to follow before we’re through. Or maybe you and your current competitor’s scale back your marketing, only to find a competitor you didn’t know existed come from behind to take over your market.

Today, the phrase “for every loser, there is a winner” has particular relevance. Your organization may be staying the course, cutting back or (let’s hope!) using this opportunity to aggressively dominate its market. No matter which direction you’re headed at the moment, it’s not too late to take steps to make sure you’re one of the winners. But don’t leave it too long…

Fueled in part by the Internet and other interactive technology channels, as well as the increased fragmentation and segmentation of traditional media, the explosion of brand and marketing touchpoints has increased the complexity of acquiring and retaining customers.

In many instances, this rapidly changing and increasingly hectic landscape can also lead to higher marketing costs, reduced marketing and brand effectiveness, and declining customer loyalty.

Increased customer choice leads to new skills for marketers

For most customers, instant access to choice, market opinion and competitors – combined with increased levels of education, product knowledge, and awareness of competitive options – have significantly increased their service expectations, making the process of cost-effectively delivering products and services even more complex. And as this complexity increases, the time, expense, and skills required of companies selling and servicing increases as well.

In response to this evolving landscape, “marketing” is being re-defined as “the science and art of finding, serving, retaining, and growing profitable customers.”

Brand and customer experience are more important than ever

That’s why brand and customer experience are more involved and more important than ever in fueling acquisition, driving word-of-mouth referrals, and ensuring retention of the right customers. Because yesterday’s marketers must become tomorrow’s customer experts, leveraging a deeper understanding than ever of customer wants, needs, perceptions and options to drive more of the right customers closer to their organizations.

While there are still some B2B executives who dismiss social media as an effective tool for engaging key audiences, the truth is that many B2B companies have successfully embraced the interactive world of “Web 2.0”, adapting core tools and technologies to connect with prospects and customers in ways they could only dream of a few short years ago.

In fact, earlier this year Forrester Research reported that B2B buyers have very high social participation; this presentation on Slideshare (“Using Buyer Social Behavior to Boost B2B Social Media Success”)   outlines their 4-step approach, as well as Forrester’s Social Technographics ladder, a segmentation slice of online users based on their likelihood to leverage and/or participate in social media in business decision making.

The conclusion is simple: “If you’re a B2B marketer and you’re not using social technologies in your marketing, it means you’re late.”

B2B social media touchpoint examples: Different approaches, common goals.

Social media touchpoints needn’t look like your teenage daughter’s MySpace page. Nor should they – but that doesn’t mean B2B marketers can’t make us laugh.

IBM (Consulting and Products) The now-famous “Art of the Sale Series” shows the fun side of IBM in their videos, a take-off on “The Office.”

Accenture (Consulting)

Global consulting firm Accenture has entered the social media world with several employee-written blogs, including a “Consulting Analyst Video Blog” , along with other tools and channels focused on sectors, clients, prospective employees, and others.

• Accenture Blogs
• Accenture’s Blog for Green IT
• An Accenture Developer’s Journal
• Consulting Analyst Video Blog

Kelly Services (Staffing)

Kelly Services takes a slightly different approach.

Although their client list is comprised of Fortune 500 companies, Kelly has focused social media efforts on improving the “product” (employees) with videos aimed at honing job interview skills by showing humorous videos of interviews going awry. The videos can be found on their website for job seekers called getajobthatdoesntsuck.com.

Kelly can also be found on Facebook.

And YouTube

Boomers = mainstream = safe for B2B

Now that popular social media tools Facebook and Twitter have been invaded by Baby Boomers, we can safely conclude that these sites are now “mainstream” and “safe” for even the most skeptical B2B marketers.

According to the post “Are Baby Boomers Killing Facebook and Twitter?” , Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project,  says:

“Boomers are the mainstream of the country now,” says Rainie. “When you attract a mainstream audience, you’re going to attract a lot more commercial interests. Boomers validate that this is a big market, and that this is a place where commercial interests can make money.”

Bottom Line: If you’re not in, you’re already late.

No matter your industry, if you’re in B2B (or B2C or Non-Profit, or…) and you are not yet leveraging some of these tools, then you’re late. But it’s not too late.

Though wildly successful at connecting people, businesses in general are still feeling their way through the options. Even though most businesses won’t  see immediate sales, the ability to drive awareness and influence your audiences is high. From micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter) to You Tube, and Facebook to LinkedIn, the range of touchpoints is broad, and the ability measure influence and activity is high.

Which leaves us with one question: What is your social media strategy?

Author: David Meerman Scott

Summary: World Wide Rave: Creating triggers that get millions of people to spread your ideas and share your stories is an exploration of the new methodology for marketing your products and services. Scott urges us to stop hyping our products and services. He suggests that we harness the viral power of the Web as a platform for creating and sharing content and solutions. Each chapter contains a succinct action item entitled “Your Challenge” – so you can start implementing the ideas right away.

You’ll love this book if: You realize that traditional marketing and advertising methods are increasingly ineffective, and you are ready to lose control, share ideas, and connect with your buyers, colleagues – whoever.

You’ll hate this book if: You are sticking with what worked decades ago: Yellow page ads, direct mail, image advertising, trade shows. You think that because you don’t use social media, your company doesn’t need to, either.

Words of Wisdom:

Think about the last few products you purchased. Did you answer a direct-mail ad? Go to a tradeshow to learn more? Turn to the Yellow Pages? As I mentioned earlier, if you’re like most people, you didn’t do any of those things – you went online. So why are we marketing in the same old ways? If we’re really honest, we must realize that buying access with expensive advertising and communicating exclusively through the media and analysts is not an effective online strategy.

Why we think this book is important: It’s a new world out there for marketers. People no longer respond (favorably) to the same old corporate messages: Authenticity and creativity are the new rules of the game. Are you up to the challenge?

Book: The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action

Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton

Summary: The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action is not just another strategy book about “what to do.” Pfeffer and Sutton convincingly argue that management already knows what to do. The gap that exists between “knowing” and “doing” actually resides within the unique culture of an organization. Yes, we are talking about execution.

You’ll love this book if: You are willing to take an honest appraisal of your organization’s culture, and the roles that fear vs. collaboration play in execution.

You’ll hate this book if: You are comfortable with building your business using a hierarchical management structure laced with fear.

Words of Wisdom:

Fear starts, or stops, at the top. It is unfortunate, but true, that a formal hierarchy give people at the top power to fire or harm the careers of people at lower levels … Organizations that are successful in turning knowledge into action are frequently characterized by leaders who inspire respect, affection, or admiration, but not fear.

Why we think this book is important: An environment of action, which values employee collaboration and cooperation, is far more likely to result in satisfied, motivated employees. People who feel good about their jobs - the impact of their work-related activities – create positive customer touchpoints along the way.

Book: Karaoke Capitalism: Daring to Be Different in a Copycat World

Author: Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell A. Nordstrom

Summary: Karaoke Capitalism: Daring to Be Different in a Copycat World offers a compelling argument against traditional business metrics such as “benchmarking” and “best practice.” In a thoughtful and well-supported (there are 510 footnotes) case, we learn just how dangerous it is to sustain sameness – that it leads merely to mediocrity.

You’ll love this book if: You understand (or want to understand) that corporations cannot survive following the “me-too” rules of the business world.

You’ll hate this book if: You are not comfortable cultivating change, creativity or diversity in your organization.

Words of Wisdom:

Companies must, therefore, also learn to forget. They must delete to develop, destroy to build … Quite often doing so is easier said than done… In an organizational setting, getting rid of the past is particularly difficult since many senior executives are at the top because the are experts at what was important yesterday.

Why we think this book is important: This book provides detailed insight on why you must – and how you can – design an exceptional customer experience by transforming your organization from the inside out.

Book: Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us

Author: Seth Godin

Summary: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us explores the idea that humans have always joined tribes, and the Internet now makes tribe assembly easier than ever. The business application here is that by providing opportunities for your customers to engage with your product or service, while giving employees the freedom to accomplish amazing things, you potentially set up a platform for a conversation – even a tribe – to form around your organization.

You’ll love this book if: You are open to encouraging employees and customers to openly and passionately dialogue about your organization – and learning from this experience.

You’ll hate this book if: You are not interested in creating a customer experience worth talking about, and you think it’s OK for your employees to be bored with their jobs.

Words of Wisdom:

The business world has a long history of conservatives tribes, of groups of people who relish the status quo. The big news is that this has changes. People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement, and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.

Why we think this book is important: Engaged employees translate into engaged (and profitable) customers.