Do People Know Your Story?

COM0014-Blog post #6-F22-Digital Communication

share your story suggestion on a sticky note against grained wood

In an article by John Jantsch in his article, Do People Know Your Story?; there are a number of questions to tell a story around.  In reading these questions I am going to answer the following question: What is the greatest challenge your business must overcome? I will discuss this question in regards to the local service club that I am a part of. The greatest challenge that the service club has is getting up to speed digitally. There are a number of reasons that this is a challenge for the club and the consequence of not getting there is too great for it not to happen. 

In our current state the website that the club is using is archaic.  It is not able to perform basic functions and it is not safe to be putting any personal or club information.  The club is currently using Facebook for their social media needs.  We have no marketing and communications plan with a strategic use plan for getting our message out or to advertise our fund-raising events.  This is our greatest challenge because of the knowledge gap that the members of the club have in the development and use of technology. The majority of our members are in their retirement and or are not familiar with digital marketing and digital communication techniques.  

These digital short comings in the club are only the start of the reason that this is our biggest challenge to overcome.  Some of the reasons are as follows:

1. Funding – being a service club we operate on funds that we raise to better the community and money that is raised from the public is put back into the public and not used to upgrade our website and digital abilities.
2. Abilities and education – the club is made up of volunteers and therefore not all the are guaranteed to have anyone in the club that is able to complete the work needed to put together or execute on a marketing or communications plan.
3. Resistance – Members are resistant to changes and are uncertain of the things that they don’t know.  The idea of introducing a marketing plan is scary to the members.

How we will overcome these obstacles?

1. We will ask the district and the government for grants to upgrade our website and digital tools.
2. We will develop templates and educational documents to assist members with completing the tasks needed to execute the communication and marketing plans
3. Start small utilizing the social media platforms that the club is used to and adding other platforms in as we show how planning brings success.

We have put together a team of people from a bunch of different clubs that have expertise in communications and marketing in an attempt to overcome the above listed obstacles in the 3 ways mentioned.  If this is not successful the club may not continue. 

The reason that this project is so important because the success of the club hinges on this.  For the club to continue we need new members and continued participation of the community around us.  Statics show us that the world is online.  People find all their news and their entertainment online.  If you are not there then they don’t know who you are or what you are about. If we want to talk to our community, assist our community, and be part of our community we need to be where they are; online. This is our greatest challenge because if we don’t overcome this our club may cease to exist.