Reengineering Corporate Communication: A Marketer’s Perspective Offering New Concepts, Processes, Tools, and Templates (Future of Business and Finance) 3031038371, 9783031038372

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Future of Business and Finance

Uwe Seebacher

Reengineering Corporate Communication A Marketer’s Perspective Offering New Concepts, Processes, Tools, and Templates

Future of Business and Finance

The Future of Business and Finance book series features professional works aimed at defining, describing and charting the future trends in these fields. The focus is mainly on strategic directions, technological advances, challenges and solutions which may affect the way we do business tomorrow, including the future of sustainability and governance practices. Mainly written by practitioners, consultants and academic thinkers, the books are intended to spark and inform further discussions and developments.

Uwe Seebacher

Reengineering Corporate Communication A Marketer’s Perspective Offering New Concepts, Processes, Tools, and Templates

Uwe Seebacher Graz, Austria

ISSN 2662-2467 ISSN 2662-2475 (electronic) Future of Business and Finance ISBN 978-3-031-03837-2 ISBN 978-3-031-03838-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9 # The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Endorsements

“This book is an important milestone in the reorientation and reassessment of corporate communications in the industrial sector. The world of communication is changing rapidly, and the evolution from traditional, rigid communication processes to dynamic interaction that rapidly absorbs and anticipates new knowledge is a major challenge for marketers. The book offers both a valid derivation of the necessity of this change process from a scientific point of view, and also supports the practice with many action instructions, tips and templates for do-it-yourself application and implementation.” —Tanja Auernhamer, Head of Corporate Communications & Press Spokesperson, Federal Association of Industrial Communication (bvik). “This is a wonderful ´guide´ for relaunching corporate communication, rethinking its concept and meeting the constantly growing challenges in terms of content and target groups. The need for action is described in an easy-to-understand way in the context of the historical development and growing importance of corporate communication. Many new terms are clearly derived and explained. If you are a little in the matter, you will quickly find your way around and can go directly into implementation with the templates provided.” —Sönke Caro, Manager Direct Communications, Sales Incentives & Customer Satisfaction, STILL GmbH. “Prof. Dr. Uwe Seebacher takes us on a timely and informative read on what could be the biggest crisis for Corporate Communications—remaining stagnant in a time of great change. With rich context and fine detail, he illuminates the opportunities to reengineer Corporate Communications and quantify its role in truly impacting business. From the importance of predictive intelligence underpinned by authenticity and empathy to building trust, this book is a guide for successful business in the twenty-first Century. I highly recommend it.” —Heidi Eusebio, Strategist and Executive Director, Edelman. “Uwe Seebacher has once again demonstrated in a well-founded manner what methodological and structural science is capable of—namely, to precisely logically derive the long overdue process of change in the field of corporate communications v

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and thereby make it comprehensible. But he also takes the important next step of operationalizing his thoughts in a directly measurable way by providing an easy applicable concrete process model for reengineering corporate communication with many tips, templates and inputs for HR and IT.” —Miguel Gimenez de Castro, Head Of Communications Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel.

Preface

Change is the only constant in our lives. However, the dynamics of this constant have changed enormously in recent years, or perhaps even decades. Advancing digitalization has led to an enormous change in the half-life of structures, technologies, and knowledge. Just as quickly as people and their lifestyles change, organizations and, along with them, all internal operational functions must constantly question themselves and evolve. What has been is no longer what can and will be in the future.

Why We Had to Change the Plan Against the background of the overwhelming success with already more than 200,000 downloads after only a few months after the publication of the B2B Marketing Guide, the idea of a counterpart to the B2B Marketing Guide for the important area of corporate communications was not long in coming. I contacted academic thought leaders and scientific luminaries in Europe and the USA. Among others, I had contact with Sieglinde Martin, Francesco Lurati, Paul A. Argenti, and Joep Cornelissen. They were all open and extremely helpful, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank these internationally recognized experts for their candid feedback and input. These discussions were very helpful and valuable in developing an initial concept for the Corporate Communication Guidebook. This then led to the call for papers, in which initial keywords and topics were outlined. This call for papers went out to the international corporate community to get an initial overview of current developments and research. Many colleagues contacted me and exchanged ideas with me. Since they knew me in the field of marketing and, in particular, B2B marketing and industrial goods marketing, we immediately found a common basis for discussion. It turned out that most of my colleagues were not familiar with the terms and topics we had described in the call for papers for the planned Corporate Communication Guidebook, and that they would therefore not be able to provide any suggestions for book contributions. I remembered a statement by a highly recognized scientist from the University of London in the field of corporate communication that sums up the situation and may

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explain why no appropriate article proposals for the handbook were received from the community: If B2B marketing is between 10 and 20 years behind the market, then corporate communication is about 20 to 30 years behind—still manual and Excel-based!

It very quickly became clear that it would not make sense to publish such a corporate communication handbook based on the current state of research and knowledge. Such a book would represent an outdated state of knowledge and would therefore not meet my requirements in the context of the B2B Marketing Guidebook (Seebacher, 2021).

The COVID Pandemic as Proof for Communicative Failure And this realization of an apparently outdated corporate communication in research and science is becoming clearer than ever, especially in the context of the COVID pandemic in many countries around the world, on the basis of an ever-increasing number of communication failures by institutions such as governments and corporations. Corporate communication is part of the broad scope of institutional communication. This area also includes the communication of governments and ministries, which must be able to respond more than ever to the various needs of voters but also non-voters. Such players must more than ever adapt to the changing communicational landscape of our modern world. At the end of 2021, it is more than clear what happens if this does not happen. For in Austria, a small minority is gaining strength, further unsettling unsettled people in the context of the COVID vaccination through fake news, and the government is teetering between message control and chaotic communication without a clearly recognizable communication concept. The reason is that a crucial aspect is being overlooked: Corporate communications experts from academic backgrounds cannot bring in the necessary concepts and tools such as communication journeys, personas, or touchpoint information. Thus, in addition to political, medical, and technical experts, professionals from the field of corporate communications are not involved in the dialogue and process who would be essential to help to bring all the so important information to the right people but in consideration of their content-specific maturity. Many discussions are being held with highly recognized experts trying to interpret and understand the problems, but the communicative link is missing. The “what” is discussed in depth but the “how,” “where,” and “when” is stringently overlooked. If these aspects were judiciously considered in such discussions through the involvement of institutional communication experts who have mastered and can implement the contents of this book, then communication would work much better in terms of addressing the vaccination campaigns, but also in preventing further division of society. Based on the concepts and tools introduced in this book, these experts can play out precisely the relevant content in a target group-specific manner, always at the right time and via the right channels, in order to reach and inform people. That this is

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not the case today is the result of what appears to be outdated academic research in the relevant field, as will be explained in detail later in this book. With this realization and the feedback from the community, the publisher asked me to write an author’s work instead of the editor’s work in order to think constructively and discursively against my background and expertise as a methods and structural scientist about modern and contemporary corporate communication based on the knowledge gained in related organizational fields. The aim of this book is therefore to enable and initiate the process of discussion and reflection to be able to synergistically recognize and sustainably realize the potentials that present themselves on this basis. Thought-provoking ideas and causalities are to be described and critically discussed to be able to advance the valuable work in practice and science of the many esteemed colleagues, for the added value of all different stakeholders. I will also comment on my own expertise to shed light on the thinking of methods and structural scientists. This background information contributes significantly to understanding how I will define, introduce, and derive new terminology and, on this basis, concretize the necessary reengineering of corporate communication.

About the Urgency for Change I can well imagine that you might be inclined to ask yourself whether the urgency to act is really so great or is it not much more an attempt by an author to put himself in the limelight. In this respect, I am afraid I have to disappoint you, because the more than overdue change is reflected every day across the entire spectrum of the rapidly evolving media landscape. Just think of the many politicians who make ill-considered comments on Clubhouse and thus make inglorious headlines. Or think of the many examples where politics is done with podcasts, such as by Sven Schmidt, the CMO of Maschinensucher.de. This goes as far as using tweets to influence stock prices, as Elon Musk impressively demonstrates time and again. Social Communication is already being used for agenda setting on a global level with LinkedIn posts, such as Gerhard Schröder’s currywurst in the Volkswagen canteen. Influencers like Rezo & Co. are assuming an increasingly important position and function in terms of opinion formation. And every Z-celebrity today can trigger massive problems for companies and their image through thoughtless statements or accidentally filmed misconduct. Current examples can be found from German Kaufland company and the German pop singer Wendler. The company had spent a lot of money to produce glossy TV sports with the supposed star but had to stop them immediately overnight after Wendler had spread conspiracy theories on Telegram in the evening. But it was not only Kaufland that was affected, but also the broadcaster RTL. Because of Wendler’s statements, he had to be cut out of all the shows that had already been shot for the German edition of “American Idol” as part of the postproduction. The broadcaster already had experience with this because a few seasons earlier, the musician Xavier Naidoo shocked viewers with an inflammatory video against refugees and had to be removed from the show.

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Against this background, new tasks arise for corporate communications, such as Social Listening in the event of catastrophes, accidents, and deals, but also the constant monitoring and tracking of discussions on the web to see whether these discussions could turn abruptly against the company itself. But it is also about the so-called social CEO, who is positioned and staged accordingly by a separate department. German car manufacturer AUDI provided a more successful example in this context with the e-tron foil in July 2021, with which the AUDI top manager Diess surfed electrically on vacation, as brilliantly staged by the magazine Auto, Motor und Sport. The challenges of modern corporate communications lie in buzzwords such as sustainability or phenomena such as a “cancel culture” and a completely reinterpreted sensitivity. But it is also about completely changing behaviors of the customers of corporate communication departments. From “Wining and Dining” to “WhatsApp” and “Zoom Calls” but also Investors Relations, which should no longer be able to deal only with institutional investors but also with “Robin Hood Traders.” If these developments are not taken into account in organizational terms, companies will fall by the wayside because they will no longer be able to activate corresponding potentials for themselves in terms of customers in any respect. In this context, the expectations of Generation Z in the context of the “War for Talents” in Europe and changing mechanisms of customers and markets in VUCA times must also be taken into account. More than ever, the “purpose” wave from the USA is currently falling on fertile, sustainable ground in Europe, which will in any case lead to a change in corporate communications. From the industrial sector, GE is just one example of a US corporation that has aggressively communicated its “Purpose.” From the other side, from Asia, the Western world is being hit by the “performance tsunami” of digitalization. Both together lead to the European business model “Purpose x Performance.” This raises the question of how the advent of agile methods will change institutional communications. But it also raises the question of what role future CEOs will play. Elon Musk of Tesla has shown how it can be done. He fired the entire department in one fell swoop and made the issue of corporate communications a matter for the boss. But also at companies such as GEA, Siemens, Thyssenkrupp, or Uniper, the change in top management has had an immediate impact on the corporate communications department. The relationship between the corporate communications department and the CEO will become even closer due to new tasks, such as personal branding of social CEOs. Such a system can only work if the team is aligned and attuned to each other—and if the right, state-of-the-art concepts, methods, technologies, and tools are being used. This is because it is all about the authentic, timely writing and placement of posts for the social CEO. As a result, corporate leaders will likely bring their storytelling and staging apparatus with them even more often to ensure authenticity and congruence. The broad field of diversity will also have an increasingly strong influence in the long term, as the quota of female employees in corporate communications is likely to increase once again due to the inclusion and diversification efforts and thus also change communications. However, all these developments also mean a special

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challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in countries with a pronounced middle class: According to the motto “Purpose from the Pampas,” the question arises as to how small and medium-sized enterprises from remote regions are doing on the big issues with communication or with data protection, sustainability, and even diversity. In the chapter “How to Reengineer Corporate Communication,” this book provides a very practical process model and guidance for action. This concept comes with a series of directly applicable project templates in order to quickly do the Reengineering of Corporate Communication. It should facilitate the setup and establishment of a state-of-the-art and required, most effective, largely automated, and integrated corporate communications in the companies in a sustainable, “do-it-yourself” manner.

How to Read the Book The first three chapters are aimed at setting the stage. Chap. 1 describes my role as methods and structural scientist enabling to better understand this thinking approach. In chap. 2, I take you on a trip through time helping to understand why we today more than urgently need to think about reengineering corporate communication. My hypothesis and thoughts will then, in Chap. 3, be aligned and critically discussed and put in contexts with latest relevant books in the matter area. I undertake the attempt to understand the subjective shortcomings of current best practice in corporate communication literature and research. If you are a pure practitioner looking for hands-on and directly applicable problem-solving tips and tricks, then you might want to skip chap. 3 and directly continue with the following chapters. Starting with chap. 4 I shall introduce the new terms of modern state-of-the-art corporate communication and thus try to define the new ecosystem of reengineered corporate communication as integral part of automated marketing and sales. In chap. 5, you will then find a bullet-proof procedural model on how to deploy and realize the corporate communication reengineering efficiently and effectively. This Communication Maturity Model (CMM) is aligned with the Marketing Maturity Model (Seebacher, 2020) and the Predictive Intelligence Maturity Model (Seebacher, 2021b) which I published in different books in 2020 and 2021. This ensures that you as practitioner in communications will stringently work toward best internal alignment and synergies, as the models follow the same logical approach of structures and homework first and only then go with fancy stuff and possible big investments. This will help to minimize risk and optimize quick wins and benefits. These chapters are followed by a hands-on self-assessment tool in chap. 6 which you can use to evaluate your organization-specific as-is situation. In chap. 7, a critical analysis and discussion of a potential Corporate Communication Technology Stack (ComTechStack) is done leading to the concept of a cross-divisional Interaction Technology Stack (InTechStack). In this context, chap. 8 will discuss the reengineering of corporate communication from the human resources and competency viewpoint. In the context of the currently intensively held discussions on

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Fig. 1 QRC code for accessing the book homepage. Source: Own illustration

Digital Skills I shall introduce new required skill sets for future corporate communication professionals so that you can as soon as possible start with recruiting or even better internally develop your future performance communicators.

Where to Find More Information, Updates, and all Templates For a perfect interaction experience in addition to this book, we have set up a landing page for this book. The link is www.uweseebacher.org/rcc or you can simply scan the provided QR code (Fig. 1) to get to the landing page. This freely accessible website provides further information and updates but also all templates and tables provided here in this book as freely available downloads. This should help to be able to work with these tools flexibly at any time in the organizations as simply and pragmatically as possible. We have also installed a blog area where I invite you to share with me your experiences or to contact me with specific questions or concerns. I am very happy to be available for an intensive interaction to further develop this topic and look forward to hearing from you.

Why a Book Is Just a Book! This book is and can only be a first modest step toward opening new perspectives and points of view against the background of the statement of the expert quoted above. On this basis, the initially planned publication on corporate communication can then possibly be created in order to make a lasting contribution to the effective and efficient further development of this so important subject area. With this in mind, I wish you an interesting and inspiring read toward a new era and rethinking of corporate communication and would like to leave you with the quote from Henry Ford: If I had asked people what they needed, they would have said, 'Better horses.'

Graz, Austria May 2022

Uwe Seebacher

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References Kleinemaß M., Seebacher U.G. (2021) The Big Picture: Why the Going Gets Tougher!. In: Seebacher U.G. (eds) B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54,292-4_1. Seebacher, U. (2020). B2B marketing essential–How to turn the marketing department from a cost factor into a revenue factor. AQPS Inc., Graz. Seebacher U. (2021) B2B-Marketing. Springer Gabler, Cham. Seebacher, U. (2021b). Predictive Intelligence for Data-Driven Managers. Process Model, Assessment-Tool, IT-Blueprint, Competence Model and Case Studies. Springer, Cham.

Acknowledgments

As with many of my other books, it was once again the courage and experience, but also the foresight of my highly esteemed experts and friends at Springer Verlag, Rolf-Günther Hobbeling and Prashanth Mahagaonkar, that prompted me to realize this book. The cornerstone was laid by the B2B Marketing Guidebook published in 2021, as in the article with Mike Kleinemaß “The Big Picture: Why the Going Gets Tougher!” (2021) corporate communication also has to reinvent itself and be rethought. In drafting, writing, revising, and editing this book, I have had a lot of support and encouragement from colleagues and practitioners from around the world. Special thanks go to my father Bruno Seebacher, Paul Argenti (The Tuck School of Business), Söhnke Caro (STILL), Joep Cornelissen (Rotterdam School of Management), Julian Garritz (Garritz International), Heidi Eusebio (Edelman), Kerstin Hoppe (Thyssenkrupp), Mike Kleinemass (Thyssenkrupp), Francesco Lurati (Università della Svizzera italiana), Sieglinde Martin (Vienna University of Applied Sciences for Management & Communication), and Felix Oberholzer-Gee (Harvard Business School). I would also like to thank Phil Kotler, Waldemar Pförtsch, and Uwe Sponholz for their inspiring thoughts and ideas in the context of their work on H2H marketing, which were formative in the development of this book.

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Why a Marketing Perspective on Corporate Communication? . . . . 1.1 About the Author’s Expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Where Is the Origin of Methods Science? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Why Methods and Structural Sciences Are Underestimated . . . . 1.4 How to Construct the Future? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 What Role Nikolai Kondratieff Plays? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6 Big Data: Big Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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From Corporate Communication to Corporate Interaction . . . . . . 2.1 Why Does Corporate Communication Need to Be Reengineered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 What Is Currently Not Working? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Where Corporate Communication Is Coming From . . . . . . . . . 2.4 The Loss of Trust as a Driver for Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Why the Mass Communication Model Has Had its Days? . . . . 2.6 Performance Communication for Economic Added Value . . . . 2.7 Customer-Centricity for Corporate Communications . . . . . . . . 2.8 Corporate Interaction Instead of Marketing, Communications, and Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9 The Way Is the Goal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A Critical Discourse on Today’s Corporate Communication . . . . . . 3.1 What Role the Foundation Plays? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Of Hypervision, Supervision, and Metareflection . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 The American Frame of Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1 The Prototype of the Communication Journey . . . . . . . . 3.3.2 The Problem of Strategic Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.3 The Conceptual Stringency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 The Anglo-Saxon State of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 The Conceptual Ecosystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2 Templates, Processes, and Structures as Success Factors . . 3.4.3 Being Aware of the Changes, but. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3.4.4 Silo Thinking as Self-Protection Against Progress . . . . 3.4.5 The Hen Egg Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.6 Do Public Relations Have the Structural Edge? . . . . . . 3.5 The Sun Rises in Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.1 Structures Gain in Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2 Ideas About Journeys and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3 Templates as Enablers and Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.4 In Asia, the Journalist Becomes a Customer of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 The Status of the German-Speaking Community . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 The Courage to Try Something New Is Lacking . . . . . . 3.6.2 First Attempts in the Direction of Journeys . . . . . . . . . 3.6.3 The Corporate Newsroom as a Gateway to the New World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 Resistance Is Futile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

What the Brave New World of Corporate Communication Looks like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 The Journalist as Customer and the Information as Product . . . 4.2 From the Buyer Journey to the Communication Journey . . . . . 4.3 With the Communication Journey to Communication Personas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 With Personas to Communication Touchpoint Management . . . 4.5 Touchpoint Management as the Basis for Communication Experience (CE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 After Communication Experience Comes Communication Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 Communication Excellence Needs Communication Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1 What We Should Learn from Amazon and Google? . . . 4.7.2 Everything but a “One-off” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3 Learning from Business Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Communication Intelligence Needs Communication Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.1 How Communication Automation Is Defined? . . . . . . . 4.8.2 Don’t Fall Victim to the CRM Paradox . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 With Communication Automation to Segment-Based Communication (SBC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 The Communication Orchestration (CO) Vision . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 What We Know of the New World? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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How to Reengineer Corporate Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Success Is the Result of Many Small Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 The Growth Model for Corporate Communication . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Why Response Time Is Crucial? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Agility and Integration as Enablers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.3 How to Minimize the Costs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 From Reactive One-Dimensionality to Multidimensional Interagility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 The One-Dimensional Reactive Maturity Level . . . . . . . 5.3.2 The Multidimensional-Situational Maturity Level . . . . . . 5.3.3 The Multidimensional-Interactive Maturity Level . . . . . . 5.3.4 The Multidimensional-Interagile Maturity Level . . . . . . . 5.4 The Process Model for the Reengineering of Corporate Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 The Structural Elements of the Procedure Model . . . . . . 5.4.2 How to Use the Procedure Model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.3 Phase 1: Homework First! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.4 Phase 2: Automate and Scale! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.5 Phase 3: With AI to Predictive Communication Intelligence! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Reaching the Goal with Concept and Competence . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA) . . . . . . . 6.1 How to Use This Tool! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 The Process-Structure-Index (PSI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 The Competence-Relevance-Index (CRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 The Performance-Transparency-Index (PTI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.1 Development Path of Corporate Communications . . . . . 6.4.2 Excurses: Innovative Performance Indicators for Corporate Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 The Decision-Distance-Index (DDI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 How to Do the Evaluation! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 Those Who Measure, Win! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The InTechStack for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction . . . . . . 7.1 How Should This Chapter Be Used! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Is the InTechStack an IT Issue? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 How Is the IT World Changing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.1 With Edge Computing to Edge Communication? . . . . . . 7.3.2 Why Communication Intelligence Needs the Blockchain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3 The InTechStack Becomes Agile and Micro . . . . . . . . . .

155 155 155 159 159 160 162

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7.4

The 5 Mega Trends of IT until 2030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.1 Why the Customer Expects Us to Know Him? . . . . . . . . 7.4.2 Agile Communication in the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.3 What Does the Netflix Economy Mean for Corporate Communications? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4.4 From Big Data to Smart Data and Smart Interaction . . . . 7.4.5 Smart Materials Can Also Be Valuable Informants . . . . . 7.5 MarTech, SalesTech, PITech, and Now ComTechStack? . . . . . . 7.5.1 What MarTech and SalesTech Teach Us? . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5.2 What Do these Developments Mean for the InTackStack? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6 The Three Phases to the InTechStack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6.1 Structuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6.2 Aligning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6.3 Purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7 The InTechStack for A2A Interaction at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 The S-Curve Model for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 What Is the Nuts and Bolts of an Effective InTechStack? . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Why the RCC Requires New Competencies and Skills? . . . . . . . 8.2 What Managers Need to Know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.1 What It Means to Speak and Live Predictive Interaction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.2 How to Manage Data as a Strategic Resource? . . . . . . . . 8.2.3 How Do you Build Data-Driven Corporate Interactions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.4 How to Create Competitive Advantages Through Predictive Interaction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 What the Future Corporate Interactions Team Will Look like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.1 What Human Ontogenetics Teaches Us? . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.2 Why the Good Is so Close? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3.3 Why the Team Sets the Direction? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction . . . . . 8.4.1 Industry and Product Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.2 Strategy Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.3 Leadership Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.4 Analytics and Data Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.5 Methods and Structure Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.6 Technology Management Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.7 Language Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

162 163 165 165 167 167 168 171 172 177 180 182 190 193 195 198 198 201 201 202 203 206 207 208 209 210 211 213 213 215 216 217 219 220 222 225

Contents

8.4.8 Interaction Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4.9 Performance Marketing Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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227 228 230 238

Has Everything Been Said? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

About the Author

Uwe Seebacher is a methods and structural scientist. He holds a doctorate in economics and business administration and is Professor for Predictive Intelligence at the University of Applied Sciences Munich and Professor for Marketing and Communications at the University of Applied Sciences at Vienna. He has more than 30 years of experience as a business angel and investor, consultant, and leader but also entrepreneur in the media, manufacturing, and service industries. He is a popular key note speaker and panelist. He has authored more than 50 books in many leading publishing houses, such as Assets-as-Service (Springer Gabler 2021), Data-driven Management (Springer Gabler 2021), Predictive Intelligence for Managers (Springer 2021), B2B Marketing Guidebook (Springer 2021), Marketing Resource Management (AQPS 2021), Leadership Development (Linde 2006), or Template-based Management (Springer 2020) or European Human Resource Management (HBM 2009). For his innovative concepts and initiatives, e.g., with Allianz, the European Union, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Bayer Leverkusen, and BASF, he received various awards, such as the Diskobolos Innovation Award of the European Chamber of Commerce and the 2016 Export Award of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. For more information, visit www.uweseebacher.org.

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1.1

About the Author’s Expertise

Why is it the view of a marketer—and why not? Why is a marketing expert asked by a renowned publishing house to write a book on corporate communication, i.e., a different subject area? Aren’t there enough proven experts in the relevant subject area and isn’t it presumptuous for a marketer to tell his colleagues from academia and practice how to reengineer—in the sense of reorganizing and realigning—their field in the form of a book? Can someone outside a specialist field provide valid and reliable food for thought and impetus? And if so, why do they have to or should they come from outside the community, of all places, and not directly from the relevant subject-specific community? Has the community failed? What is going wrong or is nothing going wrong at all? In this chapter, we will look at the basics in terms of structures and methods, because this is an area that is neglected and disregarded in current research and practice. Many different examples in entrepreneurial practice provide sufficient evidence upon closer examination. Whether it is the far too expensive and too long-lasting construction of the new Berlin airport or the many thousands of projects and initiatives in companies that are not realized in the planned time and the available budgets. Or the countless research and development projects that are never completed because the methodological and structural basis is not in place, and only the supposedly all-important technical expertise of product developers and engineers comes into play. In order to be able to understand my thoughts and me, it is necessary to deal with my background. Because on the one hand, if you research my name, you naturally get the impression that I am a proven expert in the field of marketing. But one can also find many different books and lectures on other topics such as Cyber Commerce Reframing (Seebacher, 2002), Leadership Development (Seebacher & Klaus, 2004), Corporate Mental Wellness (Güpner et al. 2022), Networking and Alumning (Seebacher & Klaus, 2009), Innovative Workshop Concepts (Gust & Seebacher,

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_1

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Why a Marketing Perspective on Corporate Communication?

2004), Smart Publishing (Seebacher, 2021a), and Methods Consulting (Seebacher, 2005). On the other hand, I am namely also a representative of the principles of methods and structural sciences, as I also describe this comprehensively in my book entitled “Template-based Management” (Seebacher, 2020) and illustrate it by means of many different case studies from small, unknown hidden champions to large top companies such as Allianz, BASF or Deloitte, for example. This book was first published in 2003, at that time still under the title “Template-driven Consulting” (Seebacher, 2003) and was the result of various consulting projects which we had realized—at that time still unconsciously—on the basis of the fundamentals of applied methods and structural theory. At that time, we had been able to scale our small team of consultants enormously by using templates, because by using predefined templates, we were able to precisely pre-draw the project and its process ex antes. This guided our clients’ staff to apply the relevant expertise efficiently and effectively in each case. In this way, projects with a wide variety of content, but also organizational characteristics, could be implemented at only a fraction of the cost of comparable projects and much more quickly. How had it come about that I had or could develop this approach? From today’s perspective, I think there were several factors that had enabled me to do so. First, my education at the Institute for Organization and Materials Management with Oskar Grün, one of the leading scholars in the field of organizational development and multi-project management (Grün, 2004), was certainly very memorable. While completing this specialty, I learned basic structures and their mechanisms in the context of organizational constructs. The field of organizational development and contingency theory was also part of the education and continued to shape my research to this day. In addition to structural aspects, however, process-organizational structures were of course also worked out and discussed, which in turn significantly influenced my development in terms of processes, their design, evaluation, management, and optimization. All this then led to my dissertation, in the context of which I was allowed to deal with the evaluation of the efficiency of quality certification in the financial services sector. Once again, the focus was on analyzing and working with structural elements and, for the first time, also on the exciting field of gaining knowledge through transfer competence. This was because it was a matter of transferring a topic of quality certification according to ISO standards, which originates from the technical field to the process of the financial sector, which is intensive in terms of consulting and trust, to recognize the extent to which this can work and create added value. During this time, the first job offers started coming in. One of them was from an exemplary entrepreneur and, above all, a wonderful, empathetic, impressive person—Alon Shklarek.1 At that time, he asked me if I would be interested in working

1 https://industriemagazin.at/a/die-bunten-geschaefte-des-herrn-shklarek. Accessed on: August 17, 2021.

1.1 About the Author’s Expertise

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on a consulting project in the area of quality management at one of the largest banks at the time, the Österreichische Postsparkasse, located on Vienna’s magnificent Ringstrasse. I didn’t let this opportunity pass me by, and after a short time I was part of the friendly project team. The main task was to analyze the processes of the end customer business and to evaluate them for qualitative and quantitative optimization potentials. The project was very challenging for the entire team, as we had to understand and document a complex process that had not been documented and was untransparent up to that point for the first time in the course of countless interviews with employees. This was ultimately the basis for being able to think about optimization in the first place. From a methodological perspective, the project was a complex structural project in the context of business process optimization. Even before I had completed my doctorate, I was approached by Helmut Kern, then Country Manager of Deloitte & Touche Austria and now Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ÖBAG2, to ask if I would be interested in joining his team. As part of the recruiting process, I was also interviewed by Hans-Gerd Servatius, then Country Manager and Partner of the then strategy consulting firm Deloitte & Touche called Braxton Associates, who eventually brought me to Düsseldorf to Deloitte’s German subsidiary on the glittering Königsallee. And as fate would have it, I was assigned to a project at Isar-Amperwerke,3 since 2013 Bayernwerk AG. Because this project was also about pure structural work, namely optimizing the entire complaint management process. And it was Hans-Gerd Servatius who, at the time, had apparently recognized my distinctive structural competence and analytics. I still remember exactly when I was sitting in our office on Bahnstraße one gray rainy winter afternoon doing research, when Hans-Gerd stormed into the two-person office where I had my desk at the end of the corridor and called out to me, “Great, Mr. Seebacher! That’s exactly why I got you!” The trigger for his enthusiasm was a process chart that I had created in PowerPoint within a short time and after only a few interviews on complaint management, based on the flowchart method4 and based on which the entire structural weaknesses of the relevant process could be made transparent for the first time. After a short time, the project was extended to other processes. Hans-Gerd was happy, as this naturally also brought in important additional sales. This feedback from him meant a lot to me, because Hans-Gerd worked in an extremely analytical and structured way like no other. Often, I had to prepare presentations for him and already at the second or third slide he pointed out structural or methodical mistakes. Hans-Gerd was the perfect teacher on my way to becoming a method and structure expert. His expertise, many different additional training courses at business schools in Europe and the USA, but also and above all the many different projects at the most diverse companies made the development process possible from today’s perspective.

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https://www.oebag.gv.at/. Accessed on: August 17, 2021. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isar-Amperwerke. Accessed on: August 17, 2021. 4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowchart. Accessed on: August 17, 2021. 3

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Why a Marketing Perspective on Corporate Communication?

For it is only through relevant basic knowledge in methods and structures, the coaching and support of a structural expert in the sense of a brilliant analyst like Hans-Gerd Servatius was for me, and above all through many different projects and tasks that such can develop step by step—but always under the condition that the person himself has a high affinity and competence with regard to analytics. I was not aware of this for many years. It was only through an assessment that I completed as part of an Executive MBA program that I learned of my apparently far aboveaverage analytics competence. This realization was another milestone in self-knowledge on the way to becoming methods and structural scientist. The challenge in this field of knowledge is namely that the community is very manageable and therefore it is also very difficult to enter such important and enriching exchanges with like-minded people. The question arises as to why.

1.2

Where Is the Origin of Methods Science?

One may ask oneself how one now becomes methods and structural scientist. For this development, there is no firmly defined process and no corresponding training in the context of applied methodology and structural science. There is the classical methodologist, that is, someone who proceeds according to plan, according to a certain method. However, this term originates from the medical environment and not, as one would like to think, from organizational science. The school of methodologists was one of the main currents of ancient medicine, along with those of the dogmatists, the hippocrats, and the empiricists (Manz, 2005). Methodologists—derived from the Greek word με
θoδóς meaning the scientific treatment of a subject—originally referred to the followers of a doctrine in the field of medicine that was developed and applied by Greek physicians in the Roman Empire from the first century BC. One of the origins is found in the wellknown Greek Epidaurus from the fifth and sixth centuries BC, where the same and repetitive healing processes were first recorded and documented (Caton, 2017). The origin of the School of Methodologists goes back to Asclepiades of Bithynia. He lived between 124 BC and 60 BC. Asclepiades used the prevailing humoral pathology5 for the theoretical justification of his healing measures, which were innovative for the time, by borrowing from Epicureanism, the philosophical school of thought based on the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. This school of thought finds its origin in the late fourth century BC and was applied in Greece and the Roman world until the third century. Asclepiades envisioned the organism as composed of many individual parts in the sense of atoms and saw the cause of disease in changes or disturbances in the movement of these particles

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Humoral pathology is a disease theory of the humors, which originated in antiquity and was used until the nineteenth century. The correct mixture or composition of these humors is a prerequisite for health, while their imbalance or incorrect composition or damage can cause disease.

1.3 Why Methods and Structural Sciences Are Underestimated

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(Meyer-Steineg, 2016). Thus, the foundation of methodological science ex post itself was made possible by an interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge, namely by the symbiosis of knowledge from physics and medical science. Also, in further consequence knowledge gain was realized by such a knowledge discipline-spreading transfer. Themison of Laodikeia, a Syrian–Greek physician, medical writer, and pioneer of the school of methodologists, completed the doctrine by introducing aspects of contingency theory and human ontology from the methodological point of view. According to his theory, in the case of general causes of disease, the treatment must consider not the specific disease, but the general condition based on the three states of the pore walls (Kollesch & Nickel, 1979). Soranus of Ephesus, an ancient Greek physician active in Rome around 100 BC, completed the school of methodologists by adding aspects of philosophy and literature to the medical field for the first time in numerous books, which also gave rise to Soranian gynecology (Diepgen, 1937). These three physicians, as the founders of methods science, gained knowledge by transferring knowledge from different fields of knowledge and knowledge symbiosis in bringing together aspects of different fields of knowledge.

1.3

Why Methods and Structural Sciences Are Underestimated

The fact that methods and structural sciences are not given sufficient importance in today’s modern world can be illustrated by the increase in (large-scale) projects that are neither realized within the defined budget nor within the defined time, but also simply by the lack of corresponding educational offers. Various examples have already been mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. In this context as a definition, the methodology is the empirical approach. It describes how one plans to collect data and information or which process approach one follows to realize a project. Examples of the methodology are expert interviews, surveys, or observations, but also models from the applied sciences such as wellknown, proven management tools and concepts such as SWOT-analysis, BCG-charts, Balanced Scorecards but also key performance hierarchies and performance measurement and management. The term structural sciences is used to summarize fields and areas of competence that consider general functionally effective forms and have neither in general nor in particular things of nature or social reality as their object. In this context, this delimitation serves as an alternative to the classification by subject area, as in the classification of natural science, humanities, or social science. Bernd-Olaf Küppers (2008, p. 314) states: The structural sciences . . . are today powerful tools for studying the complex structures of reality. They are organized according to the cross-object order and functional features that structure reality, which we describe with generic terms such as system, organization, selfcontrol, information, and the like. Besides the disciplines of cybernetics, game theory, information theory, and systems theory, which can already be classified as classical, the structural sciences have produced such important branches of science as synergetics,

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network theory, complexity theory, semiotics, chaos theory, catastrophe theory, theory of fractals, decision theory, and the theory of self-organization. The theory of boundary conditions that I envision may also one day evolve into a structural science in its own right.

The neglection of methods and structural sciences can and must also be seen in the context of the development of ever earlier specialization in education. Already in 2016, the German Business Week titled “Too much specialization in training is risky” (Kraus, 2016) referencing a study published by the IFO Institute for Economic Research. Ludger Wößmann, head of the IFO Center for the Economics of Education states: To keep our dual system fit for the future, we should reduce the early specialization of trainees by reducing the number of specific occupations, expanding the general education content, modularizing training components and strengthening lifelong training.

The cognition is obvious that specialist knowledge alone is no longer sufficient in our highly complex, ever more rapidly developing world. Countless projects in the most diverse areas of public life and the economy fail or reap a shitstorm because they cannot be completed within the specified time or within the established budget framework or never realize the previously defined results, added values, or returns due to the lack of sufficient use and stringent application of methods and structures. Colloquially, the saying is used that it is not good to boil in one’s own juices or soup for too long. In a figurative sense, this means that “thinking outside the box” of one’s own field of knowledge helps to broaden one’s own horizons. The famous German literary figure Lothar Peppel (*1964) once said: The edge of the plate is the horizon of the full!

To be full in this context means to be in the belief that one can continue to stay in one’s own comfort zone because of one’s self-assessment of one’s own position. Naturally, opening new horizons in the sense of the unfamiliar is something that causes uncertainty for many, because one must move out of the familiar and familiar content-related or spatial environment, not knowing what to expect there. The fact that this phenomenon is not only found in the individual private space, but also in the scientific and organizational context, is confirmed by the catchword “silo thinking,” which is often used in management and organizational science. Thinking and working in silos is a major obstacle to the sustainable development of learning organizations, whose enormous advantage is that further development and selfinvention result from the intrinsically developed competence, the power, the striving, and the dynamics of wanting to change. Therefore, I state: The thought leader must be a provocateur to disrupt the equilibrium of the satiated and thus enable innovation through polarization!

Without provocateurs, change in the sense of scientific research, but also in the sense of entrepreneurial practice, is made frothy and in absorbent cotton. According

1.3 Why Methods and Structural Sciences Are Underestimated

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to the motto “Wash me, but don’t get me wet!”, attempts are made to operate in one’s own comfort zone for as long as possible and thus avoid having to venture into new, unknown territory. And this is exactly where the added value lies if one recalls the teachings and principles of modern methodological and structural sciences. Because by using these insights, one can analyze, evaluate, and interpret new content in a stringent and structured way. Method and structure thus provide the framework that is required to proceed according to the scientific criteria of objectivity, reliability, and validity. Methods and structural sciences can be compared to the teaching of statics in the field of constructing a building. An architect can design and construct any type of building using the principles of structural analysis. Even if, for example, he had focused on single-family houses or small buildings in his studies, he can also validly plan an office building or even an industrial building by transferring the knowledge from this area of the construction industry with the help and application of the principles of statics. Thus, the methods and structural sciences form the basis, but also the very important safety net, when it comes to realizing knowledge transfer or synergies of competence fields, because they specify the way—methodologically and structurally. The scientist quoted in the foreword also stated in one of the telephone calls that the discipline is characterized by not having worked and researched with other disciplines for too long. Even within the community, the scientist attested to failures in terms of exchange and knowledge transfer. This is also reflected in the now very different approaches, theories, and development directions of the American and European corporate communications communities. While the American community pursues the functional approach (Argenti, 2016), the Anglo-Saxon community is more oriented toward a conceptual reappraisal of the subject area (Cornelissen, 2020). The most progressive position, however, is seemingly held by practitioners from the Asian and German-speaking regions, who for the first time as early as 2018 are trying to introduce a certain stringency into the terminology of corporate communication, which has so far been inconsistent from the point of view of methods and structural scientists (Beger, 2018). In terms of content and concept, Beger already appears more advanced than the academic community and the corresponding literature in his edition published in 2018—two years before the publication of Cornelissen’s book (2020). Another interesting push toward reengineering corporate communication (RCC) is made by German scholar Moss (2016) with his introduction and critical discussion of the corporate newsroom concept. His remarks in the context of applied research also tend to be based more on the current state of research compared to the publications that appeared at a later point in time, which in any case should have depicted and critically appreciated more current and state-of-the-art approaches and concepts here. What the Anglo-American research directions have in common, however, is that the focus is primarily on the intrinsic view of the subject area. As a result, relevant developments in related areas such as marketing, digitization, and changing customer behavior in terms of information recipients seem to be given little or no

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Why a Marketing Perspective on Corporate Communication?

consideration in research and literature, and the current state of knowledge appears disconnected from the contingency situation. The results of the literature research of current works of the scientific pioneers and thought leaders in the field of corporate communication, whom I hold in the highest regard in all respects, which have already been selectively brought into the discourse, underline the state of knowledge and lead to the conclusion that work and research is done in silos. This working manner seems to be the root cause that important and possibly relevant approaches, findings, and concepts outside of the corporate communication world are overlooked and thus do not find their way into the so important and by me so appreciated scientific work of these high-ranking and brilliant colleagues and experts. Throughout the book, reference is made to these works again and again, precisely to be able to identify and critically discuss the potential for reengineering corporate communication (RCC) based on a symbiotic use of current findings from the various, relevant, and organizationally also related knowledge disciplines. On this basis, new terminology, concepts but also possible technologies will be introduced, explained, and discussed, which seem relevant and valid in the context of an RCC.

1.4

How to Construct the Future?

In this context, the legitimate question arises as to why, then, methods and structural scientists have the competence to define the future in constructivist terms. Quite crucially, at this point I would like to refer to the professional group of futurologists. It is that brilliant group of experts who draw the future creatively and discursively based on surveys and studies. This form is described as the creation of the future. In other words, qualitative and quantitative information on possible developments is used to create a whole resulting construct of the future. The buzzword in this context is “megatrends.” The most famous names in the field of conservative and modern futurology and trend research are Bell (1973), Toffler (1980), Naisbitt (1982), or Vester (1984). More recently, Horx (2020) has also made a name for himself, repeatedly commenting on current events with inspiring and creative theses, even if his reflections and thoughts tend to be based on medium-term theses in comparison to those of Rifkin (2019), for example. The guild of futurologists is comparable to architects who undergo their training in the artistic field—in contrast to their colleagues who study architecture at the technical university. In both cases, the subject area is the same, but the approach and procedures differ. Technical architects plan buildings constructively using technically learned procedures, whereas artistic architects approach buildings creatively and only work out the structural aspects afterward. Regardless of this, these creatively designed trades naturally also fulfill the basic requirements for safe realization in accordance with the respective current standards. And it is the same with futurologists and methods and structural scientists. Futurologists and trend researchers shape and design the future in a creative manner, whereas methods and structural scientists shape the image of the future in a

1.5 What Role Nikolai Kondratieff Plays?

9

constructivist manner. This constructivist approach works based on two fundamental methods: 1. Gain of knowledge through knowledge symbiosis or knowledge convergence: Gain of knowledge from one subject area is combined with a gain of knowledge from one or more other subject areas relevant to the situation. 2. Gaining knowledge through knowledge transfer: Knowledge gained in one field is transferred to another, applied, and then piloted and validated. Based on these two procedures, the medium- and long-term future can then be defined constructivistically. How precisely these constructivist methods and procedures work has been validated and demonstrated by the author (2020) ex post, among other things, when the book was first published in 2003 predicted developments that occurred exactly as predicted in 2003, also from the perspective of developments in 2020. Constructing the future is not a black box, but a method whose validity is based on the fact that the methods and procedures used have themselves been scientifically tested and validated. Every student must prove during his studies that knowledge can be generated on the basis of valid procedures. In this context, it is fundamental and is taught at the universities that knowledge gain can only be valid if the basic theories and theses, but also the procedures how the knowledge gain is generated, are per se already validated according to the scientific criteria. If one of these elements in this construct does not fully meet the scientific requirements, this leads to the fact that the knowledge gained must not be considered scientifically valid. In the last consequence, this means for the student in question that his or her work will most likely not be approved. This construct becomes very vivid and illustrative if one refers again to the previously cited example of architecture. If the basic structures in the sense of the basic construction of a building are not stringently statically planned, designed, and realized, this leads to a dangerous instability of the entire building, which in turn can lead to a collapse of the building. In this context, the methods and structural sciences and all the hypotheses, antitheses, statements, and predictions resulting from them are highly precise in terms of the procedures used, because they are also stringently and congruently transparent and comprehensible.

1.5

What Role Nikolai Kondratieff Plays?

Since the work on my book was published in 2003, I have been preoccupied and fascinated by the work of the Russian researcher Nikolai D. Kondratieff (b. 1892, { 1938) (Nefiodow & Nefiodow, 2017) on the fluctuations of the world economy that occur in long waves. He was the first to point to the emerging and increasingly precarious lack of sufficient methods and structural knowledge. In the course of work on long-term business cycle movements, they are divided into periods of about 50 to 60 years. At the beginning of every long-term economic upswing, there is a

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Why a Marketing Perspective on Corporate Communication?

new, revolutionary technology that enables or brings about profound changes in the economy, as noted by the Austrian national economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (* 1883, { 1950). The first long wave took place in the period from 1787 to 1842 and was triggered by the technology of the steam engine. This wave was characterized by the industrial revolution. The second economic cycle lasted from 1843 to 1894 and was characterized mainly by the development of railroads and steam navigation. This second period also includes the enormous progress that took place in the field of mining and the invention of telegraphy. The third economic cycle—from 1895 to toward the end of the 1930s—was marked by developments in the field of chemistry, electrification, the internal combustion engine, and the associated emerging age of the automobile. The fourth long wave from the 1940s to 1990 was dominated by innovations and the resulting triumph of the automotive industry, aerospace technology, and the plastics industry. The fifth business cycle from the end of the old millennium to around 2005 is characterized by the onset of revolutionary changes in microelectronics, telecommunications technology, and biotechnology. We are now in the sixth Kondratieff, which will last until around 2035 and will be characterized by the abandonment of fossil fuels and the establishment of virtualremote industries (Seebacher, 2020). This will also be accompanied by an enormous change in the world of work toward an agile and trust-based professional world, which will reinforce and accelerate the theses put forward at the beginning of the millennium about the development toward a leisure society. Numerous examples of companies such as Twitter, for example, allowing their employees to work from their home offices after the COVID pandemic and switching completely to virtual working are more than impressive proof of this process of change. And it was Kondratieff who predicted for the fifth of his cycles that the rapid development of technology would increasingly put people in a difficult position as a link in the industrial value chain. More and more people would have to perform more and more remaining tasks, as machines would be able to take over more and more repetitive work from people, causing people to lose their jobs and the remaining workforce have to perform from them the non-repetitive and thus not automated activities. This cycle also includes the large-scale introduction of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, the implementation of business process reengineering (BPR) (Hammer & Champy, 1993) and cyber commerce reframing (CCR) (Seebacher, 2002) initiatives, and above all lean management (Bertagnolli, 2020), i.e., the dismantling and streamlining of organizational structures. In this context, he addressed for the first time the increased emergence of psychosocial illnesses and problems (Güpner et al., 2022), but precisely also the growing deficit in necessary methods and structural knowledge. In the course of his work on theories of business cycles, the researcher attested that increasing automation, industrialization, and technologization would make humans the weakest link in the industrial value chain. His thesis was based on the view that due to the advancing technological development humans would no longer be able to keep up with this development. Technology has thus become more and more independent and has taken on an increasingly rapid momentum of its own. The development in the field of

1.6 Big Data: Big Science

11

artificial intelligence, which among other things leads to the fact that machines based on this artificial intelligence win against human intelligence, for example, in brilliant chess games, can be used as evidence for Kondratjeff’s theses. This development is also caused by the fact that education systems are subject to an ever earlier and stronger focus on specialization, which on the one hand results in increasingly better and more highly educated subject experts, but who are given less and less crosssectional competence in the sense of knowledge in the area of other adjacent subject areas.

1.6

Big Data: Big Science

In general, the question arises as to whether a knowledge discipline such as that of the methods and structural sciences is at all necessary and has a raison d’être. Especially high-ranking researchers and scientists in the various individual disciplines who, as in the past, primarily research and work in isolation and one-dimensionally in the various subject areas, see themselves questioned in the context of this increasing importance of transfer but also symbiotic knowledge and the increasingly innovative and revolutionary gain in knowledge that builds on and emerges from it. In this context, the words of a friend scientist from the Vienna University for Economics and Business Administration (VUEBA), whom I hold in high esteem and who has been closely acquainted with me for many years come to mind. While preparing this publication, he told me the following: At our university, you don't need to look for experts or pioneering new approaches, concepts and theses, because the new, young generation of colleagues are unfortunately mostly pure ‘typewriters’ anymore. They are hired to publish for the university in the most renowned scientific magazines and to collect points, which in turn help the university to move up in the international university ranking. It is logical that some of the articles published are three, four or more years old and can therefore no longer be considered state-of-the-art. Once, a publication even took eight years. Science has somehow degenerated and taken a completely wrong path, because this is not only the case at our institution, but also at many others. The good people are now no longer found at universities, but at universities of applied sciences or as independent experts.

What is criticized in the current management discussion, namely silo thinking, can still be found in current science. But does such science still have a raison d’être in an age of globalization, networking, and big data (Seebacher, 2021c)? Technologization and digitization are opening previously unthinkable potential. This ranges from global communication at the push of a button and the control of complex industrial plants across the globe to the processing and evaluation of enormous amounts of data that were previously impossible to process in this way. Our world is driven by convergence and networking. The enormous progress is made possible by the creative combination of expertise from different disciplines and not by one-dimensional action of the disciplines.

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An excellent and exemplary approach is provided by medicine, which has been working in an interdisciplinary manner for years. A current example, which is impressive to experts in the field, is mRNA vaccines, which have only become possible through decades of joint and thus cross-disciplinary research by biochemistry, microbiology, and immunology. The question arises as to why this multidimensional, applied research has apparently not yet found its way into the economic and social sciences, and why the decisive and valuable developments are emerging to an ever-greater extent from applied research and only to an ever-lesser extent from basic university research. Just recently, I was forwarded a supposedly highly praised article from a Triple A ranked marketing magazine by a colleague. But when I read it, I found myself confronted with generic statements or supposedly scientifically validated findings that I would not have let any of my students get away with in this way in a bachelor’s or master’s thesis. In this paper—as pars pro toto—for example one of the key findings is that the authors believe that corporations can develop strategies for sustainable marketing by redesigning products and services, promoting responsible consumption, repurposing the marketing mix; and reorganizing the marketing function. A closer look at these four aspects reveals that they are as generic as they are by no means new. Furthermore, neither evidence nor substance with regard to concrete contents or concepts are provided in the article to validate the statements made. Intentionally, I do not quote the article in question, because I explicitly do not want to belittle important and respected colleagues in any way. But what it is about is that the scientific community de facto adulates and lies to itself in the many different AAA magazines and moves further and further away from real groundbreaking and so important basic research. An artificial, detached system far away from real practical relevance protects itself by peer-to-peer reviews and does not recognize the continuously decreasing marginal utility of the generated content and the supposed gain in knowledge. Science cannot escape the changing environment and must also constantly develop and reinvent itself. For only in this way will there continue to be a corresponding raison d’être. In a world of networking and multidimensionality, there will no longer be room for one-dimensional, silo-driven research. Too great would be the danger of overseeing a possible added value in the sense of a sustainable gain of knowledge only because of neither considering nor integrating the developments of close and adjacent fields of knowledge. Only by analyzing developments in the consumer goods sector and transferring these findings to the industrial goods sector has it been possible in recent years to realize decisive progress based on the application of the principles of methods and structural sciences (Seebacher, 2021b). It was only through the translation of the principles of methods and structural science that working with templates emerged. This body of thought has provided crucial impetus for management practice up to today’s information technology and has contributed significantly to the development of template-based programming. Whether agile management (Medinilla, 2012), blueprinting (Hewing, 2014), canvases (Osterwald & Pigmont, 2010), design thinking (Meinel et al., 2011), or Kanban (Epping, 2011), these and many other concepts are based on the fundamental principle of predefined templates. These, in turn, are one of the basic

References

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principles of the methodologists of antiquity, the fathers of modern methods and structural sciences, because this means that activities can always be implemented in the same way and thus in a comparable way according to a structure that has been set up and agreed upon once. Thus, the circle closes to the beginning of this chapter, whose contents are decisive for the reading of my thoughts and concepts in this book. Because in continuation of this multidimensional view under application of the principles of the modern methods and structural sciences this book was developed. It is perhaps the view of a marketing manager but rather of a seeker who tries to show and discuss new ways and new perspectives in the best possible way in the sense of responsibility for resources and people about the preservation of jobs in healthy companies in prospering economic locations. This book reflects the view of a provocateur who stringently strives to maximize knowledge and optimize structures in accordance with objectivity, reliability, and validity, but above all in accordance with economic sense and feasibility. You can only see what you focus your attention on, and you focus your attention only on things that already occupy a place in consciousness. Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914), French anthropologist

To reach new horizons, you must go new ways and expand your own consciousness. The new is the enemy of the old? No, but the inspiring interpretation of a possible new, which should enrich and promote the discourse, because also and especially in research as a basis for training, new paths in the field of corporate communication must be taken and developed. For companies need the best possible multidimensionally trained experts who are also equipped with the appropriate and necessary basic knowledge in the field of methods and structural theory. Because only in combination is it possible to be able to apply and implement the specialist knowledge learned efficiently and effectively in professional practice.

References Argenti, P. A. (2016). Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Education. Beger, R. (2018). Present-day corporate communication–a practice-oriented, state-of-the-art guide. Springer. Bell, D. (1973). The coming of post-industrial society. Perseus Book Group. Bertagnolli, F. (2020). Lean management: Introduction and in-depth study of Japanese management philosophy. Springer Gabler. Caton, R. (2017). Two lectures on the temples and ritual of Asklepios at Epidaurus and Athens: Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Reprint Otia Merseiana. Leopold Classic Library. Diepgen, P. (1937). The gynecology of the old world. In W. Stoeckel (Ed.), Handbuch der Gynäkologie-Geschichte der Frauenheilkunde 1, 12th volume, 1st part. Springer. Cornelissen, J. (2020). Corporate communication–a guide to theory & practice. Sage Publishing. Epping, T. (2011). Kanban for software development. Springer.

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Grün, O. (2004). Taming giant projects – Management of multi-organization enterprises. SpringerVerlag. Gust, M., & Seebacher, U. (2004). Innovative workshop concepts: Recipes for success for entrepreneurs, managers and trainers. USP International. Güpner, A., Hillert, A., & Seebacher, U. (2022). The corporate mental wellness guidebook: A primer for corporate health management with concepts, process model and case studies. AQPS. Hammer, M., & Champy, J. (1993). Reengineering the corporation–a manifesto for business revolution. Harper Business. Hewing, M. (2014). Business process blueprinting–a method for customer-oriented business process modeling. Springer Gabler. Horx, M. (2020). The future after Corona–how a crisis is changing society, our thinking and our actions. ECON. Kollesch, J., & Nickel, D. (1979). Ancient medicine. Selected texts from the medical writings of the Greeks and romans. Philipp Reclam Jr. Kraus, F. (2016). Too much specialization in training is risky. In Business week, October 13th. Frankfurt. Küppers, B.-O. (2008). Nur Wissen kann Wissen beherrschen 2008. Fackelträger Verlag. Manz, H. G. (2005). Methodist school. In W. E. Gerabek, B. D. Haage, G. Keil, & W. Wegner (Eds.), Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte (p. 980 f). De Gruyter. Medinilla, A. (2012). Agile management: Leadership in an agile environment. Springer. Meinel, C., Leifer, L., & Plattner, H. (2011). Design thinking: Understand–improve–apply. Springer. Meyer-Steineg, T. (2016). The medical system of methodologists. Verlag der Wissenschaften. Moss, C. (2016). The newsroom in corporate communications–how to manage topics efficiently. Springer Fachmedien. Naisbitt, J. (1982). Megatrends–ten new directions transforming our lives. Warner Books. Nefiodow, L., & Nefiodow, S. (2017). The sixth Kondratieff: A new long wave in the global economy. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Osterwald, A., & Pigmont, Y. (2010). Business model generation. Wiley. Rifkin, J. (2019). The global green new deal: Why fossil-fueled civilization will collapse around 2028-and a bold economic plan can save life on earth. Campus Verlag. Seebacher, U. (2002). Cyber commerce reframing–the end of business process reengineering. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2003). Template-driven consulting: How to slash more than half of your consulting costs. Springer. Seebacher, U., & Klaus, G. (2004). Handbook of leadership development. USP International. Seebacher, U. (2005). Method consulting–the approach by customers for customers. USP International. Seebacher, U., & Klaus, G. (2009). Networking & alumning: From time-consuming madness to economic success factor. USP International. Seebacher, U. (2020). Template-based management: A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice (Management for Professionals). Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021a). Smart publishing: The guidebook for successful structuring and publishing of scientific papers and management books. AQPS. Seebacher, U. (2021b). B2B marketing: A guidebook for the classroom to the boardroom. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021c). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers–process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint. Competence Model and Case Studies, Springer. Toffler, A. (1980). The third wave. Bantam Books. Vester, F. (1984). New territory of thinking. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt.

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From Corporate Communication to Corporate Interaction

2.1

Why Does Corporate Communication Need to Be Reengineered?

The answer to this question is equally simple to answer because the facts are obvious, but also tricky and complex because many different things and dimensions interact. How can we say that the field of corporate communications needs to be rethought? On the one hand, this can be seen in the fact that more and more companies are finding themselves in ever greater communication crises, as was also described with many examples at the beginning of this book. However, this does not only affect commercial companies, but also entire governments, political parties and institutions of public interest. The reason for the strongly increasing number of crises in the area of institutional communication simply lies in the completely changed contingency situation of communication. Today, in the context of a globally interacting society, communication is taking place around the clock on more and more channels and media, and even more so, namely and above all, interaction. This poses completely new challenges for communications departments to move from programmatic-reactive action to agile-predictive interaction. But this is only possible with new communication and interaction infrastructures, adapted processes, but also and above all new competencies, namely digital skills. If the reengineering of corporate communications does not take place, companies and institutions will increasingly stumble into communication crises, which in turn will have an impact on the image of organizations, their brand, and even poor business results or declining survey ratings. Reengineering of institutional communication must therefore happen for the following reasons: • Establishment of a contemporary communication structure. • Realization of optimized processes. • Building on this, automating repetitive activities in the area of communication and interaction. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_2

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• Enabling the use and application of always up-to-date concepts, tools, methods, and systems for interaction. • Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire interaction process. • Optimization of resource utilization through (partial) automation and digitization and the resulting redistribution of freed-up resources and employees to activities and tasks with higher added value. • Risk minimization with regard to emerging communication crises and the resulting material and immaterial damage to the respective organization. Quantitatively, these reasons can be mapped as follows: • Cost savings of up to 50–60%. • Minimization of the number of employees required for classic corporate communications activities by up to 30–40%, thus enabling reallocation to new, additional activities in the context of the newly established corporate interaction. • Optimization of processing times by up to 40–50% through automated, digitized processes, systems, interfaces, and the use of artificial intelligence. • Optimization of brand activation by between 5 and 10% annually through agilepredictive corporate interaction. • More demonstrable, increasing contribution to respective organizational outcomes (image, profit, survey scores, etc.) from about 6 months after the launch of corporate communications reengineering activities. The results are impressive but seem logical and comprehensible once the first measures have been implemented. This is because the interrelationships and impact mechanisms then become transparent and comprehensible. Against the background of the fact that the situation has never been better and more advantageous for the reengineering of corporate communications, the relevant managers should recognize these signs of the times and definitely take advantage of these new opportunities. In addition to all the tangible and intangible results listed above, communication is elevated to a completely new dimension and there is much more time for creative and innovative institutional interaction in the context of creative–narrative interaction with the many different targets and interest groups.

2.2

What Is Currently Not Working?

This answer naturally varies from organization to organization. In the course of the work on this publication and the approximately 300 organizations in Asia, Europe, and the USA studied in this context, the following aspects, in particular, were identified in relation to their frequency: • In terms of communication efficiency and effectiveness, stringently documented and continuously optimized process documentations are not available (87%).

2.3 Where Corporate Communication Is Coming From

17

• There is a lack of adapted position descriptions and generally new positions and designations in the context of the changed contingency situation of corporate communication (76%). • Too little automation and digitization of activities in the area of corporate communications as a consequence of the aforementioned aspects (84%). • Frequent lack of awareness of the new, diverse possibilities of automated and digitized communication and interaction (89%). • Predominant silo thinking and the resulting lack of joint and coordinated action with the marketing and sales departments (73%). • Lack of goals for corporate communications or their measurement, also and especially with regard to economic added value and the direct and indirect contribution to organizational success (88%). Asked about the concrete “what does not work,” the answers were often not very precise but very indicative. Dissatisfaction could often be seen in the statements in that there was talk of increasingly frequent firefighting and often the proactive and important personal dialog with journalists falls by the wayside for lack of other urgent matters. Often there was also the impression that in the context of the respective own situation one did not know what one did not know, namely the enormous possibilities and opportunities of automation, digitalization, predictive intelligence and simplification through existing, but for corporate communication new concepts, models, and solutions from the adjacent areas of marketing and sales. It was very positive to see that there is a great willingness to change in practice. The terms and concepts described in this book and introduced into the discourse in the discussions with the experts were received, discussed, and questioned with great interest. This very positive response was also one of the reasons for writing this guide to implementing the realignment of institutional communication.

2.3

Where Corporate Communication Is Coming From

Finding a structured and generally referenced account of the development of this subject area is not easy. In the various relevant publications, the approach to the historical development of the field of corporate communication and the attempt to identify and define periods or phases of development is carried out in a very narrative style. In this context, it is also noticeable that the attempt is repeatedly made to bring the various terms into a congruent and stringent context. The fact that there does not seem to be one uniformly defined and accepted history of the development of corporate communication with milestones and temporal development phases makes it clear how situational-dynamically and informally this field has developed. The most stringent and comprehensible approach or overview to the history of development is provided by Mast (2018, p. 17ff). Common to all approaches to the historical development of the subject area is the fact that the unfolding loss of credibility in society has dramatically changed, if not

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complicated, the environment for entrepreneurial action. Mast (2018) writes in this regard: Worldwide crises and violence, waves of outrage in the media, massive loss of credibility in society—the corporate environment is changing dramatically. The social legitimacy of entire industries, for example banks, is being publicly debated. The public's trust in institutions and companies is declining. Power shifts and turbulence in the markets are increasing. Companies are having great difficulty adapting to the incessant change—more than that: even producing change themselves. Successful in this global race for the best places are those who succeed in winning the competition for trust and credibility among their stakeholders, i.e., to make their economic and social responsibility credible and to build up a positive reputation in the perception of the (media) public . . . To do this, companies need a communication system that is top-notch in terms of speed, responsiveness, agility and learning ability. . . . In addition, they need to be perceived by the public (e.g., customers, politicians or investors) with their services as distinctive and indispensable... Are the communication systems of the companies equipped for these requirements?

This book should not and cannot answer this question, but its aim is to be able to meet the new demands on corporate communication possibly better and more effectively in the long term through the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC), by using knowledge gains from related disciplines. This dramatic change in the demands on corporate communication is also described by Rommerskirchen and Roslon (2020, S. V): Classical corporate communication, as market communication or marketing, was a sub-area of the business management activities of companies and thus of the theoretical world of economics. It was oriented towards the question of how companies can pursue their monetary goals as effectively and efficiently as possible by including communicative means such as advertising and public relations. Modern corporate communication must balance profitability with the legitimacy of economic, moral, and political goals of the company, make customers understand the social purpose of the company, and in the process build trust in the company, its management, and its mission fulfillment. It must keep an eye on the customers and the owners, the suppliers and the intermediaries, the media and the financial market, as well as the actors from politics, non-governmental organisations and civil movements, and have the right answer ready for each of them at all times.

And the two authors (ibid.) also make a decisive statement in the context of “Big Data—Big Science,” namely that corporate communication has now become an interdisciplinary field of research. In this context, the authors mention economics, sociology, psychology as well as communication science, and social psychology. However, the field of marketing science and distribution policy are explicitly not mentioned. Similar approaches can currently be found in all the relevant literature, with a few exceptions, which, as already mentioned, tend to come from authors and experts from the field of applied research and practice. The Anglo-American community also brings the issue of credibility into play when it comes to the development or emergence of corporate communications. Argenti (2016), a thought leader in corporate communications for many years and a colleague I hold in high esteem, writes on “The Changing Environment for Business” that most of today’s managers and executives grew up in a very different

2.4 The Loss of Trust as a Driver for Change

19

economic world. They are all the product of a prosperous and optimistic period in American history. The differences between the world in which these managers grew up and their grandchildren waking up in the twenty-first century could not be greater. Argenti (ibid., S. 1f) also cites the changing public expectations of corporations compared to those of 50 years ago. For companies today to be attractive to customers, employees, investors, and suppliers, they must be thought leaders, innovators and, above all, responsible constructs with a vision of knowing the global challenges in terms of overall responsibility and being able to incorporate these into their business decisions. This must be continuously and stringently communicated in a credible manner to the various stakeholders.

2.4

The Loss of Trust as a Driver for Change

Argenti (ibid., S. 3) also attests, however, that companies in the USA have never had a consistently positive image. He refers here to the 1960s and the devastating working conditions during the construction of the national transcontinental railroad network. This was shortly followed by the Industrial Revolution, which led to the decline of small artisan businesses as factories were built for mass production. While this development led to falling prices for consumer goods—to the benefit of all consumers—it also brought increasingly harsh working conditions and led to the exploitation of women and children in factories, culminating in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York on March 25, 1911. 146 people, mostly underaged girls from immigrant families, died in this fire.1 This was followed by the so-called “Robber barons,” the Carnegies, Mellons, and Rockefellers, who were perceived by the population as corrupt entrepreneurs and exploiters. In the course of the 1920s, the rapidly rising stock markets after the end of World War 1 led to further inequality in the distribution of wealth, which once again reinforced the negative image of corporations and the rich. Another major milestone was the student protests in the wake of Dow Chemical’s Napalm and Agent Orange production for use in the Vietnam War. These protests were directed for the first time against institutions that up to that point had a positive image, namely state-owned companies and agencies involved in the war. As history progressed, the Watergate scandal, Vietnam, and the oil embargo in the mid-1970s contributed to a low point in terms of trust in business. More and more, companies had to take countermeasures in terms of communication in order not to fall under the radar and become victims of further, massive losses of image and trust. This is also expressed in the figures in Fig. 2.1, where especially in the area of business since 1975 with a value to trust of 34%, this value has continuously decreased in the course of the year 2014 to 21%.

1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_der_Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory. Accessed on: August 25, 2021.

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Fig. 2.1 How much trust do you have in these organizations. Source: www.gallup.com

These statements are also consistent with Edelmann’s recent presentation regarding the evolution of trust from 2001 to 2021, where “Business to Lead the Debate and Change” is reported for 2014 (Fig. 2.2). A current analysis by Statista from 2020 puts the proportion of the population with “little to no trust in large companies” at 81%. Only 18% say they have a great deal of trust in the economy.2 However, the Corona crisis has led to companies regaining trust compared to other groups with only
3 compared to
8 for governments and
6 for media or NGOs (Fig. 2.3). This means that the current situation for companies is very advantageous (Fig. 2.4) and must be seen as the window of opportunity to now take advantage of the positive climate adopting to the new contingency situation. This will be necessary to maintain positive momentum and continue to regain the trust of various audiences and communities. Furthermore, the current situation is also attractive in that the companies are certified not only as competent but also ethical (Fig. 2.5). This combination can be used proactively for the further expansion of trust-building communication, which, after all, according to Edmondson and Araya (2019), is based on authenticity, empathy, and logic. Such communication, however, requires accurate and comprehensive knowledge of the needs of the various target and stakeholder groups. In the course of the work on this book, this was also a finding that knowledge of the various groups is insufficiently developed, which is also evident from the personas available in corporate communication departments as a description of the needs of the target groups in only 17% of the companies surveyed. The development of the field of corporate communications must therefore be considered in the change of the external context of the ever-increasing number of directly and indirectly affected target and interest groups, and the ongoing liberalization of society. In addition, the internal context is also a driver for long overdue change, as the classical conventional approach of most of today’s corporate communication units is per se not anymore neither sufficient nor adequate because also within the organizations the infrastructural environment of corporate communication has hanged significantly over the years.

2

https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/756/umfrage/vertrauen-zu-den-grossunternehmen/ #professional. Accessed on: August 25, 2021.

Fig. 2.2 21 years of trust. Source: www.edelmann.com

2.4 The Loss of Trust as a Driver for Change 21

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Fig. 2.3 Business gaining back trust compared to other groups. Source: www.edelmann.com

BUSINESS BECOMES ONLY TRUSTED INSTITUTION Percent trust

– Distrust Neutral Trust

Business

NGOs

Government

0

+

Change, 2020 to 2021

Media

Business more trusted than government in 18 of 27 countries

56

61 57

53

+2 pts

51

TRUST INDEX

Change, 2020 to 2021 +2

–1

+3

+2

Fig. 2.4 Business becomes the only trusted institution. Source: www.edelmann.com

2.5

Why the Mass Communication Model Has Had its Days?

In theory, everyone in the industry agrees that modern corporate communication must be more symmetrical in the sense of two-way communication (Beger, 2016). This process of change is also hard to dismiss in the context of dialogue-oriented social media and their rapid development (Moseler & Mörk, 2021). According to research for this book, however, around 79% of responsible managers in companies do not yet seem to feel sufficiently and comprehensively prepared and positioned for the increasing diversity and complexity of the new communication channels and condition

2.5 Why the Mass Communication Model Has Had its Days?

23

Fig. 2.5 Business as an institution with competence and ethics. Source: www.edelmann.com

options. But companies will only be able to successfully conduct corporate communications in the future if they are aware of the fact that the world of communication is changing from push to pull and from monologue to dialogue (Moss, 2021). These changes are also accompanied by the consumption behavior of content, as well as the rapidly increasing volume of available communication channels. Today, anyone can become a significant communicator in the sense of a (corporate) influencer in a short time (Sturmer, 2020). This also leads to the fact that the old model of mass communication according to Maletzke (1963) has long since become obsolete. As a consequence, corporate communication that has been very informal and personality-based until today can logically no longer function. This can again be explained in the context of methods and structural sciences, as simply an incongruence between structural dimensions of spheres of influence means that they can no longer function in interaction. E-mobility can only function if the corresponding supply network is also established. If there are structural incongruities between e-cars and e-filling stations, this imbalance—this incongruity—leads to the collapse of the system. If individual systems are to function together, they must be in a congruent relationship from a structural point of view. Corporate communications used to be characterized by a manageable structure that could be handled very simply and easily on an ongoing basis by experienced communications experts. The media landscape was manageable and with it the number of media representatives with whom it was necessary to be in contact and to build up the corresponding trusting relationship. However, with the increasing interconnectedness of our world and the digitalization of our everyday lives, two aspects have been added that push the model of corporate communication that is still valid today to its limits. On the one hand, it is about increasing transparency, and, on the other hand, it is about new technologies that have emerged at an ever-increasing speed in the context of marketing and communication in recent years and will continue to emerge.

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This changed environment now requires corresponding organizational but also process structures. What has found its way into almost all corporate functions is now also more necessary for the area of corporate communications, namely a clear and stringent process structure (Moss, 2021). After all, it was only through the clean documentation of processes that it was possible toward the end of the twentieth century to obtain quality standards and, building on this, corresponding quality certificates in accordance with the ISO standards. Through this methodical and structural approach, it was possible to significantly improve process quality, first in the technical area and subsequently also in business management areas (Masing, 1999). How crucial such structural work is and what enormous potentials can be realized with it has been shown in the field of marketing when 2020 the marketing maturity model on industrial goods marketing (Seebacher, 2020) helped to facilitate and optimize the automation and technologization of the entire marketing processes by introducing a so-called Marketing Process Library (MPL). Negovan and Seebacher (2021) describe in their case study how a global marketing department was able to save more than 40% of costs in 365 days based on clear processes and structures, while increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Despite a 30% reduction in staff, enabled by leaner and more effective processes, and a 40% reduction in costs, 50% more activity was handled, and the number of inbound leads generated by marketing increased by 250%. This 250% represented more than 30% of the company’s current sales volume at that time. Of course, corporate communication cannot and does not have to generate inbound leads in the sense of sales (Ermer et al., 2021). Nevertheless, the demand must be made, as for any other corporate functions, that corporate communication begins to be able to measure and depict economic added value. Just as marketing is evolving from a cost driver to a revenue driver, the corporate communicators and their bosses must evolve into an economically acting value-added construct. This requires the introduction and application of precise performance indicators on the one hand, but also the acceptance of the fact that corporate communications must stringently adopt, introduce, and apply available concepts and technologies from relevant functions. Without stringent structures and automated processes, clear roles and responsibilities, but also adequate competencies and the associated new requirement and job profiles, the challenges that have been addressed above can no longer be successfully mastered by corporate communications departments in the future. All of these elements will be discussed in more detail later in this book as part of the reengineering of corporate communications. If the importance of this change process is not recognized, companies will stumble into shitstorms but also rapid damage to their image and trust, as Astra Zeneca had to painfully experience in 2020 in the context of their problems with vaccine deliveries. Another problem of the current situation in the field of corporate communications is that often, due to a lack of competence and concept, terminology is not known or used correctly. Once again, this was demonstrated in the context of the introduction of the so-called corporate newsrooms, where many companies made the mistake of not distinguishing between channels and topics (Moss, 2021). This mistake could

2.5 Why the Mass Communication Model Has Had its Days?

25

have been avoided if the homework had been done beforehand in terms of defined process documentation—Communication Process Library (CPL) along the lines of the previously mentioned MPL according to Seebacher—and, along with it, a clear vocabulary for uniform communication and understanding. These structural and methodological problems are also confirmed by a study conducted by Moss (ibid.) in the context of the introduction of corporate newsrooms. The most important obstacles cited by the companies surveyed were: • • • • • •

Too rigid structures and silo thinking. Lack of or inadequate change management. Lack of infrastructure (spatial, technical, personnel). Lack of willingness of employees to take responsibility. Lack of tools and technology for planning and implementation. High effort for the introduction.

In summary, a lack of processes and technology leads to employees being frustrated and unwilling to take responsibility in this context. At this point, the concept of the corporate newsroom can be considered pars pro toto symptomatic of the field of corporate communications. Since, as already mentioned, it seems that no leading-edge impetus is coming from academic research and science, which should actually be acting in a progressive and formative way as part of basic research at this point, nothing or too little is changing in this situation in most companies. The reengineering of corporate communication is more than overdue and can therefore only be made possible by interdisciplinary action, as is made possible on the basis of the principles of the methodological and structural sciences. However, Moss’ concept of corporate newsrooms is also too short-sighted, as illustrated by his own study of the results of successful corporate newsroom projects. Although better coordination in terms of content and timing is cited as the most important success factor, better cooperation with marketing and public relations only ranks third last among the factors. Also, no quantitative improvements are attested as realized successes in terms of increased efficiency and effectiveness, which may be due to the fact that Moss did not provide adequate and quantifiable performance indicators within the framework of his concept or simply that the concept per se only focuses on qualitative aspects. Moss (2021) himself comes to this conclusion after 15 years of corporate newsroom projects and the social media newsrooms (SMNR) that build on them, and writes: To date, we can see that the idea of a social media newsroom has only gained limited acceptance. Instead, we are seeing a rather mixed picture. On the one hand, some companies and institutions have even abolished their award-winning and highly praised newsrooms, such as the kitchen appliance manufacturer Electrolux, the financial services provider First Direct, the automotive brands Ford and General Motors Europe or the truck manufacturer Scania.

What is the core message of this insight for the inventor of the corporate newsroom concept? Corporate newsrooms, just as little as social media newsrooms, Likes on Instagram or artistically valuable, Cannes Golden Lion-winning campaigns

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with crazy, half-joking professors, such as the one from an Austrian mechanical and plant engineering company in 2018, don’t pay the bills and don’t bring in sales. It is not for nothing that more and more smart digital agencies and consultancies headline with the slogan “Likes don’t pay your bills!” and introduce a so-called Return-onAgency (RoA) for transparently delivering their own agency performance management for their clients. Through this, they collect more and more global clients, as every marketing and communication measure transparently delivers measurable economic added value. And that’s exactly what it’s all about!

2.6

Performance Communication for Economic Added Value

Reengineering corporate communication must therefore also contribute to making the economic added value of this corporate function measurable and to enabling this function to operate in a cost-saving yet effective manner. The pinstripe is out; instead, the polo shirt comes from experts who have mastered performance communication and no longer coffee house chit-chat. These Next Generation Communicators have a whole new set of skills and no longer come from the previous fields of study of journalism, communication studies, or even English or German studies. By no means is this meant disrespectfully. Not that these disciplines are no longer important but graduates of these disciplines will have a different role in reengineered corporate communications departments in the future. Based on the: • Communication Process Library (CPL). • Supported by and through Communication Automation. • With the help of Information, Journalist and Investors Journeys and Information, Journalist and Touchpoint Excellence as well as. • Equipped with insights from Communication Intelligence they will automate content creation, replication, distribution, and evaluation. The Master Minds in the new world of corporate communication are: • Data Scientists, Content Managers, Journey Developer, Performance Managers and Predictive Intelligence Managers • Neurocommunication Specialists • Communication Technology Stack Engineers (ComTechStack) whereby the specifics and my concerns about this will be discussed in more detail later on. Without these concepts and these experts, the necessary reengineering of corporate communication cannot work in the long term, since the optimal Return-on-Communication (RoC) in the sense of the best possible, economic added value can neither be realized nor measured. If this is the case, this function will continue to be merely a cost driver. As such and based on their current mostly outdated working methods and approaches, it no longer has a raison d’être, because modern marketing can immediately implement the entire corporate communication more efficiently, effectively and, above all, with better

2.7 Customer-Centricity for Corporate Communications

27

performance at significantly lower costs by means of an average MarTechStack, the necessary personas, but also target group or prosumer journeys (Moss, 2021) as well as target group and touchpoint experience management. I am aware of the fact that many of these terms may be new to experts in the field of corporate communication today, which is why I refer to the fact that all these terms are derived, discussed, and interpreted in the context of the explanation of the RCC in the further course of this book.

2.7

Customer-Centricity for Corporate Communications

Another concept that has found insufficient entry into the literature on corporate communication on broad basis is that of the customer. There seems to be a lack of awareness that the corporate communication function also has to do with customers, namely the recipients and users of the information and content provided. The customers of corporate communications must “buy” the company’s content in the sense of accepting, understanding, and using it. This is because in an economy stringently geared toward fulfilling basic economic principles (Seebacher, 2021b), every operational function must generate and be able to demonstrate measurable substantial added value for its own organization. This challenge must be met not only by corporate communications but also by functions such as marketing (Seebacher, 2020) and human resources. The target groups of corporate communications do not buy products, but they “buy” and “consume” the corporate information provided. This will only be optimally possible when working and communicating according to the standards and insights and with the most current, available technologies. In this context, Excel sheets with contact data for journalists and the media no longer represent the last valid state of knowledge and technology. In a world of increasing transparency, more and more comparable products on ever more powerful marketplaces, the customer is king. There are no more sellers’ markets, only buyers’ markets. The customer is king. His perception is reality. The entire economic drive is moving away from a product focus to a service focus. The customer no longer wants to have to buy or own a vehicle, they want to pay for the mileage they drive. The customer no longer wants to buy a water pump, they just want to pay for it based on the water pumped, i.e., based on the flow rate. The focus is no longer on the purchase, but on the subscription with monthly payments for the provision of a service. Everything in a company thus revolves around the customer. If you talk to the responsible persons in the departments for corporate communication today, the customer term always refers to the buyer of the company’s products or services. In the context of the mostly outdated concepts and methods in today’s relevant communication departments, it is not surprising that a differentiated customer concept has apparently not yet arrived on a broad level. And this seems to be one of the essential factors of the RCC in the context of the reflections on this book, namely, to learn to recognize and understand the information recipient of the corporate communication as a customer of the information. It is a matter of finally

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understanding that the content and information of corporate communication are the products of corporate communication and must therefore be “sold” to the recipient of the information, i.e., the information customer. Corporate communications must therefore market the relevant content in the best possible and optimal way for each situation. It is about marketing the information. Because only then will this content be perceived, accepted and (further) used accordingly. Corporate communication is in the turbulent waters of information competition, Content Shock.3 This means that people are not primarily looking for products or content but are always looking to satisfy their own cognitive needs. Customers of information want to learn, find answers, or get orientation to solve problems. In this context, the benefit is defined as the degree of satisfaction of a need.4 Especially in corporate communications and the various target groups (personas), this means that the content provided must always fit the needs of the customer of the information. An investor has a different requirement in terms of a goal compared to a business journalist or a representative of an NGO. Conversely, this means that content must always be automatically optimized with regard to the different target groups in terms of language, graphical presentation, the selected channel, but also with regard to the time at which the information is played out. However, this is only possible if the insights from modern marketing are applied, among other things, with regard to marketing automation, persona definition, but also buyer journeys. However, since this has not been the case so far, many corporate communications have found themselves in the pitfall of either content-, channel-, or format-specific actionism in an attempt to somehow manage the complex environment on the basis of completely outdated mechanisms and competencies (Moss, 2021). The main causes of this are silo thinking in the organization, a pure alignment of the organization with the different channels or else no clear thematic profiling or focus on strategic issues. Especially the last cause mentioned is mostly due to the fact that the required competence for responsible, proactive-controlling communication is missing in contrast to the simpler and mostly answering communication. A reengineered corporate communication must therefore be the driver of the entire communication in order to always be the master of the situation as the driver and not the driven one in the sense of the passenger. By means of communication intelligence, all content and media events must be digitally tracked and monitored 24/7, similar to a radar, and all this data must be included in the ComTechStack and processed there. With the help of this data, increasingly precise behavioral patterns of and for the various target groups can be worked out and identified, which in turn can be used automatically for the person—but also situation-specific optimization of the respective content to be played out. In this way, the transparent customer of information is created in the sense of the transparent customer whose needs and preferences are known and who can therefore always be provided with

3

https://businessesgrow.com/2014/01/06/content-shock/. Accessed on: August 26, 2021. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/utility?q¼Utility . Accessed on: August 26, 2021. 4

2.8 Corporate Interaction Instead of Marketing, Communications, and Relations

29

information perfectly at the right time via the right medium in the right graphic preparation. The final development step is then made possible by the integration of findings from the field of neuro-communication and the real-time touchpoint optimization that becomes possible as a result.5

2.8

Corporate Interaction Instead of Marketing, Communications, and Relations

The boundaries between business-to-business (B2B) (Seebacher, 2021a) and business-to-consumer (B2C) are becoming increasingly blurred and require situationally dynamic communication with the relevant and different target groups. Target groups must be completely transparent with regard to their needs, in order to be able to continuously and stringently optimize their user experience in this way (Halb & Seebacher, 2021). In terms of content, marketing today is several decades ahead of the state of knowledge of corporate communication research, as the colleague quoted at the beginning of this book pointed out. It is, therefore, worthwhile to look beyond the end of one’s nose in this discipline. Mast (2018) makes this attempt to relate corporate communication, or parts of it, to the term marketing and draws marketing as a certain concept of corporate management “that demands a clear change of direction in thinking and planning from production to market orientation.” This consideration is congruent with the explanations discussed earlier. • On the adaptation of the customer concept in corporate communication on the one hand. • The adoption or application of findings from research on customer centricity on the other. Anglo-Saxon corporate communications are understood as a set of activities related to the management and orchestration of all internal and external communications, aimed at developing and ensuring an advantageous positioning among stakeholders on whom the company depends.6 This understanding per se calls for a precise target group definition, but this is de facto not conceptually supported by the results and insights of the community until today, as it has been done in the field of marketing through the concept of personas for years. This interpretation or the community’s understanding of its own field of research and the lack of its own concepts in this regard once again suggests that borrowings from the neighboring field of marketing should be evaluated, discussed and, if necessary, adopted for use. Ultimately, this would only be a continuation of existing findings from the field of distribution theory. This is because the functions of communication, marketing, and

5 6

https://cdpnc.eu/en/. Accessed on: August 26, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_communication. Accessed on: April 20, 2020.

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sales were originally defined together as sub-areas of the business distribution function (Meffert et al., 2015). The term corporate communication used in the Germanspeaking world includes the entire external communication function of an organization. The term, which is blurred in practice, is very often used as a synonym for company-related public relations (PR). However, just like corporate communications, it also includes internal communication and market communication. Note All concepts, models, and tools derived, described, and introduced in the later course of this book can directly be also applied for the so important area of internal communication—even though not explicitly mentioned and referred to in every section of the further book. In many places, against this background, a discussion that is to be conducted primarily on a technical and structural level is raised to an organizational level. In the end, it is about political aspects, which department is to be subordinated to which department in terms of organizational technology or is to be integrated into the latter. In concrete terms, it is then a question of whether there should be a Chief Communication Officer (CCO) or a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or whether or not the area of marketing belongs in the area of corporate communications. Such discussions are held in the context of an unfortunate lack of expertise in the relevant methods and structures and reflect nothing more than subtle silo thinking, in which the aim is to be able to represent as many boxes as possible in the sense of heads in one’s own organizational chart. The aim of RCC is not, and should not be, to make a policy recommendation in terms of organizational aspects, as it is well known that structure must follow strategy. The aim of this publication is to derive and critically assess possible structural and procedural ideas and approaches on the basis of methodological and structural theory. Thus, from the point of view of content, it’s possible to set up the department hitherto referred to as corporate communication in a modern and sustainable way. A valid and structure-theoretically founded treatise on the ideal-typical organizational classification of such an area would go beyond the scope of this publication and shall therefore not be conducted here. Based on the considerations and research, but above all also the enormous synergies in the area of the operational structures—the processes—of the areas of communication, marketing, and public relations, the author has introduced the word “corporate interaction” from marketing, communications, and relations into the discussion, in order to thereby purposefully promote and support a possible organizational discourse. After all, corporate communication in the classical sense—just like marketing and public relations—deals not only with one, but with several heterogeneous target groups. However, the fact that these target groups themselves already have many different segmentations in the sense of buyer personas (Kaul et al., 2020) does not yet in practice seem to be sufficiently taken into account and applied—as already underlined by the value of only 17% for the current and full use of personas in corporate communications departments. The fact that these and other concepts have not yet found their way into the current literature on corporate communication shows how important it is to transfer knowledge gained here from

2.9 The Way Is the Goal

31

the perspective of methodological and structural sciences and to be able to establish and use it in a sustainable manner in a functional corporate communication team. The goal must be to combine and equip the area of corporate communication with the insights and technologies from marketing. This will optimize the user experience in relation to the needs and preferences of the customers of the information, which in turn will also have a beneficial effect on the perception of the entire communication in accordance with the motto “Perception is Reality” according to Kotler et al. (2021). In this context, corporate branding must also benefit significantly from the findings of influencer marketing (Jahnke, 2021).

2.9

The Way Is the Goal

Companies that negate any knowledge of modern marketing and its entire conceptual and technological ecosystem in the area of corporate communications are ignoring current developments and opportunities and are therefore acting irresponsibly toward their own organizations—with consequences for their performance on the financial markets as well. Corporate communications must also redefine the concept of the customer for itself. Because it is about marketing information and content. Thus, only marketing is and can be the discipline that will decisively shape and enable the reengineering of corporate communication. Every financial investor or journalist must be segmented on the basis of personas and must be addressed via defined Prosuma Journeys. In addition, he or she must also be viewed as a private individual with completely individual, different user habits in terms of content consumption. Modern corporate communications must be aware of these complex behavioral patterns and needs and be “able” to use them for its own benefit. Because anyone who, as a responsible manager in the field of corporate communication, still believes that he or she is moving in a competition-free space today is subject to an enormous error. Just as the products of the companies have to survive in competition, the entire corporate communication has to position and profile itself in the spectrum of information competition. Within the framework of the RCC, answers to essential questions must be provided and these must also be resolved: • Does your Corporate Communications know the touchpoints of the various target groups and their representatives? • Has a user experience (UX) survey ever been done on the various target groups? • Which touchpoints perform well, and which do not, and why? • What does the buyer persona of corporate communications target groups look like? • What social media channels do members of this community use after hours? If you think of corporate communication in a contemporary way, there is a lot to do and a lot to modernize and optimize. Reengineering corporate communication is a methodically and structurally proven and validly built concept and procedure model

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that enables the efficient and effective path towards corporate interaction, in order to be able to interact economically and company-specifically 24/7 globally responsibly and successfully dialogically with the many different target groups of all areas and sectors by using knowledge gains of all relevant research and knowledge areas.

References Argenti, P. A. (2016). Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Education. Beger, R. (2016). Present-day corporate communication–a practice-oriented, state-of-the-art guide. Springer. Edmondson, A. C., & Araya, J. J. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P) 2019 Gildan Media, LLC. Ermer, B., Weiß, S., & Niehaus, M. (2021). How to improve with a strategic Lead management: The go-to-market of innovative energy solutions–Case energy industry. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Halb, F., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). User experience and Touchpoint management: A Touchpoint performance management toolkit for the buyer journey. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Kaul, A., Mittal, V., Chaudhary, M., & Arora, A. (2020). Persona classification of celebrity twitter users. In N. Rana et al. (Eds.), Digital and social media marketing. Advances in theory and practice of emerging markets. Springer. Kotler, P., Pfoertsch, W., & Sponholz, U. (2021). H2H marketing–the genesis of human-to-human marketing. Springer. Jahnke, M. (2021). Influencer marketing–for companies and influencers: Strategies, success factors, instruments, legal framework. With many examples. Springer Gabler. Masing, W. (1999). Quality management handbook (4th ed.). Hansen Publishing House. Mast, C. (2018). Corporate communication: a guide. UVK Verlag. Maletzke, G. (1963). Psychology of mass communication. Theory and systematics. Hans Bredow Institute. Meffert, H., Burmann, C., & Kirchgeorg, M. (2015). Marketing: Fundamentals of market-oriented corporate management concepts–instruments–practical examples. Springer Gabler. Moseler, C., & Mörk, O. (2021). Social media in B2B: The new kids on the block. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Moss, C. (2021). The corporate newsroom–steering companies efficiently through communication. Springer. Negovan, M., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). 365 days B2B marketing turnaround: A fact-driven, bullet-proof showcase guide. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Rommerskirchen, J., & Roslon, M. (2020). Introduction to modern corporate communication– fundamentals, theory and practice. Springer Gabler. Seebacher, U. (2020). B2B marketing essential–how to turn the marketing department from a cost factor into a revenue factor. AQPS. Seebacher, U. (2021a). B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021b). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers. Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer, . Sturmer, M. (2020). Corporate influencers–employees as brand ambassadors. Springer Gabler.

3

A Critical Discourse on Today’s Corporate Communication

3.1

What Role the Foundation Plays?

One does not have to reinvent the wheel, but every now and then it makes sense to critically question and discuss constructions that have supposedly manifested themselves over the years from the perspective of a new frame of reference. Only through this critical appraisal is it possible to recognize, according to scientific criteria, what the initial situation is in relation to a problem to be solved. As a prerequisite for a successful thesis, students at universities are already encouraged to precisely evaluate the relevant literature in relation to the status quo for the respective topic area as part of the preparation of their theses. This step leads to the foundation for any further hypotheses withstanding critical scientific evaluation. Like the construction of a building, the foundation must be stable to subsequently be able to safely support the structure to be erected for its entire service life. The building to be erected in the context of this publication is a rethinking of the corporate function of corporate communication. The ideas and thoughts on the rethinking of this corporate function should, of course, stand up to these scientific criteria, as should all the concepts build on them. Only then will the Corporate Communication Maturity Model (CCMM) and the Corporate Communication Competence Matrix (CCCM) based on it be objective, reliable, and valid. Against this background, the following section analyzes and discusses current models and areas of modern corporate communication. For this purpose, the guiding and standard works of highly esteemed experts from science and practice who have been established and recognized for years will be consulted. The discussion in the sense of a critical appraisal will be conducted from the perspective of the methodological and the structural sciences, to be able to work out knowledge gains of a methodological, but also structural nature. Such a meta-analysis of this subject area has not yet found its way into the literature. However, the findings from this will hopefully contribute to being able to recognize and comprehend an overview of potentials in today’s organizations and discussions of modern corporate communication very quickly. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_3

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Only with the results and findings of this meta-analysis will it be possible to understand, and critically discuss, the further lines of thought that build on them regarding the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC). Some of you may ask yourself why such a structural meta-analysis has not yet been carried out or has not found its way into the current discussion among experts. One reason for this could be that such a meta-analysis requires a certain distance from the respective subject area, which proven technical experts simply cannot have due to their in-depth, specialist competence. After all, working with and researching the subject matter on a daily basis result in an enormous amount of specialist knowledge with a high level of detail. However, a meta-analysis must have a perceptual filter above this level of detail to be able to identify the essential structural features and subsequently discuss and evaluate them critically in a systemic context.

3.2

Of Hypervision, Supervision, and Metareflection

Such process models are used in our daily lives in many different areas. Buzzwords such as hypervision or supervision or even Dual-level Coaching (DLC) (Seebacher, 2020) are just some of the terms to be mentioned in this context. Dual-level Coaching was developed as part of our works in the context of the Templatebased Management (TBM) approach defining a special coaching on both the operational and the meta-level. This is essential for being able to understand the situationspecific causalities for problems. The Dual-level Coach must be able to move agile between the operational, content level and the meta, structural level. Doing this the DLC can realize very quickly, whether a problem is caused by missing content, lack of structure or method, or other subtle, maybe political-driven hidden agendas. With this in mind, the DLC can then support and guide with different concepts and tools for an efficient and effective problem-solving process. All these approaches are based on the insight that an external view can often change and at least enrich the perspective on things. On the one hand, it is reflection, i.e., stepping back from the operative situation to a systemic-structural one, and on the other hand, it is the discussion with an external third party about the object of interest that becomes possible as a result. Systemic reflection plays an important role in this context, which is also applied here in the context of family constellations, for example. The decisive gain in knowledge in these procedures is based on the detachment of the content-related, operative level from the methodological structural dimension of the object of investigation. To be able to carry out this step, it is necessary to have the appropriate guidance in the sense of being guided by an expert, i.e., the respective methodological and structural scientists. These are the experts who have the necessary subject-specific knowledge, but also the knowledge of methods and structures, in order not only to be able to work with these two levels themselves, but also to be able to guide other third parties through this process. The impressive results that can be achieved by such an approach based on Duallevel Coaching (DLC) in the field of management have already been mentioned at

3.3 The American Frame of Reference

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the beginning of the book and are also shown by the many different case studies in the context of the Template-based Management (TBM) approach. TBM was conceived and established by the author at the beginning of the new millennium (Seebacher, 2003) and has since found its way into many management approaches and concepts. Even if one has both subject competence and methodological and structural competence oneself, the assistance of methods and structural scientist from outside the subject area can open valuable new perspectives, ways of looking at things, and perspectives for one’s own subject area. Even I make use of colleagues from the methods and structural sciences (MSS) time and again in order to obtain support in my own specialist areas for research and also practical projects. The aim is to be able to discuss and derive developments in a constructivist way, but also to divide concrete substantive issues into the two dimensions of consideration—the substantive operational level and the methodological conceptual level—in order to then carry out the discussions. In addition to the concrete broadened perspective in terms of problem solving, the resulting sustainable learning effect is fascinating every time. Because with each reflection and each Dual-level Coaching (DLC), one’s own expertise is expanded, but also deepened. And it is precisely this gain in knowledge that one can immediately take over and apply to the next problem relationship project and thereby support the coached, mentored, or colleague even better and more effectively. Learning is like swimming against the current and ignorance is the wisdom of the stupid. Especially in our complex world, one must never be too shy to engage in constructive and valid content-related dialogue, even with colleagues from other disciplines. The high horse of universities and their basic research, which I hold in very high esteem, is justifiably held up in many places, but it may no longer be as high as it once was. A very esteemed colleague from one of the most renowned publishing houses recently confirmed this to me when he said that the goodness of a researcher no longer has anything to do with the institution at which or for which he works. This is also confirmed by the “typewriter phenomenon” of my colleague from the marketing department of one of the most renowned universities in his country. Against this background, the as-is analysis should now begin, based on the current literature of the leading experts in the field of corporate communications, to lay the foundation for further considerations for the RCC.

3.3

The American Frame of Reference

Anglo-American companies and institutions have always been generally unpretentious and progressive in their own way. They approached new topics with the “garage mentality” of a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, pragmatically and without preconceptions, and let things run free for the time being according to the “trial and error principle.” As a result, the structural groundwork was not always done accurately and in detail, but this was more than made up for by innovative “out-ofthe-box” approaches and constructs. In many management functions, this

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geographic sphere of activity continues to do enormous work today and provides valuable impetus in the long term. The Anglo-American region is far superior to the European region in terms of modern information technology and the latest concepts in the field of organizational structures. If you look at the number of new and innovative software solutions originating from this area, especially in MarTech, SalesTech up to Artificial Intelligence (AI) but also new business models, this fact is confirmed. While Europe is currently busy teaching technical experts the importance of modern marketing, 90% of Anglo-American companies already have Chief Marketing Officers (CMO), Chief Success Managers (CSM), or Chief Revenue Managers (CRO) at the board level. Until such positions manifest themselves on a large scale in European companies, many more companies in the EU will disappear from the market, many overaged board members will hang up their hats and many more years will pass, as Jeremy Rifkin (2019) brilliantly and pointedly puts it. Only recently, a study by the author as part of a course at Munich University of Applied Sciences showed how in the area of the service economy—Assets-asService (AAS)—the rest of the world is once again leaving the DACH region behind (Seebacher, 2021a). If in Asia Caterpillar and other machines are already purchased online via social channels such as WeChat as part of time contracts as a service— Social Selling (Ermer & Kleine, 2021)—in America large industrial plants are already transacted via AAS. In contrast, the European economy is just beginning to familiarize companies and their decision makers with the conceptual environment and to gradually dispel unjustified fears due to the current widespread ignorance. Where the European economy stands is shown by the fact that most companies still do not know the difference between the classical financing possibilities, such as leasing or renting, and the new business models within the framework of the service economy and the associated strategic as well as operational, financial-technical advantages. Only recently, against the backdrop of the worrying situation in the EU in this respect, one of the most prestigious German-language editorial departments “brand eins” (05/22) devoted a special issue of its own to this circumstance with the title “Ich will dich nicht nur einmal—Was steckt hinter der Abo-Wirtschaft” (I don’t want you just once—what’s behind the subscription economy) and, in doing so, relied among other things on the expertise and research work of the author in his function as a methodologist and structural scientist (Jürgens, 2022).

3.3.1

The Prototype of the Communication Journey

With regard to the conceptual and strategic frame of reference, the field of corporate communication and its development is classified and derived on the basis of the principles of contingency theory. This means that for the characteristics of modern corporate communication but also its areas of responsibility in terms of goal fulfillment, the development of the American economy is interpreted in the context of the historical events of the economic area. This leads to the conclusion that

3.3 The American Frame of Reference

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Fig. 3.1 Corporate communication strategy framework. Source: Argenti, 2016, p. 31

corporate communication has always acted reactively to the changing environment and the accompanying changes in the frame of reference. Thus, there has always been a downstream adaptation to the changed contingency situation. The origins of American corporate communication point to the Greek philosopher Aristotle and his work under the title “The Art of Rhetoric” with the three elements speaker, content, and person or group as the recipient of the message (Argenti, 2016). This is also the basis for the development of Harold Lasswell’s model of mass communication from Yale, which has been valid for a long time (Lasswell, 1948). In June 1948, Richard Braddock, professor of communication skills, for the first time brought into the discourse approaches of the intention of communication, the importance of considering the aspects of organizational etymology as well as contingency theory. He thus attested that communication must no longer be considered and analyzed only on the operative, content-related level between sender and receiver, but also with reference to their meta-level. Based on the work of George Gerbner (1956), Lasswell and the Shannon-Weaver Model (Shannon & Weaver, 1964), Argenti (2016) developed the Corporate Communication Strategy Framework (Fig. 3.1). From today’s perspective, this model can be defined as the prototype of a Communication Journey, even if the model seems generic and undifferentiated in this context and therefore does not meet anymore today’s demands for journeys as predefined “ways” of a customer of any kind. In any case, the model shows that not only processes in the area of sales and marketing run on the basis of journeys, but naturally also in the area of corporate communication. The fact that rethinking of corporate communication must fall back on such journeys is only a logical consequence of the developments in the adjacent areas of marketing and sales. In the context of Argenti’s pioneering model, it is even more surprising why corresponding journey approaches were not introduced into the scientific discourse much earlier from the specialist field. Even from the other regional communities in the field, such approaches have not yet been included in the literature and subjected to a critical appraisal regarding their use or application in corporate communication research.

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3.3.2

A Critical Discourse on Today’s Corporate Communication

The Problem of Strategic Classification

Against the background of the model presented above, Argenti—quite correctly from a structural point of view—attempts to classify or assign corporate communication at the strategic level. He attempts to establish a frame of reference at the highest level as to how corporate communication must be defined and act from the perspective of corporate strategy in a top-down manner. He writes (ibid, p. 31): The three subsets of an organization strategy include determining the objectives for a particular communication, deciding what resources are available for achieving those objectives, and diagnosing the organization’s reputation.

The fact that an organizational strategy per se includes these three sub-areas may be true from the point of view of experts in the field of corporate communication, but from the point of view of classical management and strategy theory, other, much more aggregated approaches are applied to the field of organizational strategy. Especially since the strategy of an organization should also not be confused with the strategy of a company. An organizational strategy focuses on the strategic longterm direction of an organization’s organizational structures. In contrast, corporate strategy deals with the area that Argenti most likely targeted in his remarks. This is because an organizational strategy in the context of the structures of an organizational construct has little overlap with corporate communication per se. Subsequently, however, this also means that the three defined sub-areas of corporate strategy, as defined by Argenti, also do not represent the stringent valid frame of reference between corporate communication and corporate strategy. Argenti does establish the very valid direct link between an effective communication strategy and the respective organization but refers to the individual respective communication activity. This in turn presents itself as a certain contradiction, since the concept of strategy is based on a different perspective in terms of content and time than on individual communicative measures and their objectives, namely, in the sense of strategy theory, on at least medium—if not long-term time periods. In the context of individual operational communication measures, on the other hand, the focus is generally on shorter time horizons. This methodologically non-stringent seeming path also continues regarding the identification and allocation of available resources for a communication measure, which is necessary according to Agenti. This, too, seems not to be an aspect of modern corporate communication from today’s perspective. This is because the respective allocation of resources can at most be planned over the year on a strategic level, but under no circumstances for individual communication measures in the context of an organizational strategy. If the term campaign had been used here, the statement would have been assessed differently in this respect, as the term strategy and campaign appear more congruent from a systemic point of view compared to the two terms measure, which is very operationally oriented, and the term strategy, which implies a longer-term period.

3.3 The American Frame of Reference

39

Also, with regard to the last, third sub-area—diagnosis of the organization’s reputation—which Argenti introduces into the strategic discussion, methodological structural inconsistencies are discernible. This is because, from a methodological point of view, reputation, in the sense of how a company is perceived by the recipients of a message, must be known beforehand in order to be able to define corresponding strategic objectives of corporate communication. With regard to the sequence of the three fields of activity and the explanations of Argenti before with regard to the contingency and etymology-specific aspects of a company, a contradiction seems to be presented here as well. In stringent application of the aspect of the necessary consideration of the entrepreneurial environment previously introduced into the discussion by the author, the diagnosis of the reputation of a company can only be discussed in the sense of a starting point as a first step, in order to be able to flow stringently and congruently into all further considerations. In summary, it can be said that the original strategic classification, if one follows Argenti as a mastermind and leading expert of the American community, does not seem consistently stringent from a methodological-structural point of view. On the one hand, it appears that terminology is not used precisely or delimited, and on the other hand, the impression arises that his own approaches and models are not stringently incorporated into the theories based on them. Furthermore, a reflection on current developments from mass communication to 24/7-present 1-2-1 communication, from push to pull, the change from monologue to dialog to automation, digitalization and medialization (Zerfaß & Volk, 2019) could certainly also provide valuable input for Agenti’s so important, valuable and groundbreaking work.

3.3.3

The Conceptual Stringency

A very important factor for sustainable methodological and structural stringency is also always the unfortunately often overlooked conceptual ecosystem in a topic or subject area. Therefore, corresponding publications use their own sections to derive and define the respective conceptual environment exactly and precisely. Many unnecessary and inefficient meetings in business are only caused by a not clear and common agreed understanding about the used terminology. The classic example is the discussion about the sovereignty of CRM systems. For many years, this discussion has been going on all over the world, but especially in Europe, of course, where experienced experts in the field of information technology consistently claim sovereignty over such systems and vehemently oppose the claims of experts from the sales and marketing departments. The marketing and sales experts derive the necessary sovereignty over such systems from their function and the resulting need for direct access to customer data and information. On closer examination, again from a methodological-structural point of view, one can very quickly see the cause of this unnecessary discord. The two groups of experts approach the issue of sovereignty over such systems from their point of view, but overlook the fact that, from a structural point of view, different aspects or

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dimensions are involved here. Again, two structural dimensions play a decisive role. It is about the infrastructural level as well as the content level. These two dimensions can only function and act meaningfully together. And this problem has already been solved with the help of the methodological and structural sciences. Because of course the infrastructural sovereignty must be found in the IT department. However, the content-related, operational design, use, and ongoing optimization of CRM systems must of course be located jointly in the marketing and sales departments and possibly also in the Business Intelligence a/o the Predictive Intelligence (Seebacher, 2021g) department. The current discussion and stalemate in the field of Employer Branding shows that practitioners also learn very little from such issues when it comes to meaningful, goal-oriented organizational discussions. Specifically, the issue is whether the marketing department, corporate communications, or human resources management should be responsible for the topic. The solution is actually obvious if one approaches the issue methodically and structurally, because marketing can and should provide the conceptual-instrumental framework, i.e. the concept, and human resources of course the content—who else. In one fell swoop, the issue would be taken off the table and all those involved would immediately be able to work and pull together successfully on the so important Employer Branding rope in the context of the war-for-talents in a goal-oriented, efficient and effective manner in terms of the sustainable development of their own organization. Against this background, a look at the current literature about the terminology in corporate communication used is an important first step. Argenti (2016, p. 59ff), as a thought leader and representative of the American community, lists the following terms or functions in his chapter entitled “Overview of the functions of corporate communication”: • • • • • • • • •

Identity, Image, and Reputation Corporate Advertising and Advocacy Corporate Responsibility Media Relations Marketing Communication Internal Communications Investor Relations Government Relations Crisis Management

If one looks at the terminology used purely semantically, it becomes immediately apparent that there is no stringent use of terms such as communication, management, or relations. Building on this, the question arises as to why this is so. Do we only have relations with the media and is there no communication with the media and their representatives, or do we only work on the relationship with investors, or should the focus not be on the tangible, relevant content as part of the communication? The next point that immediately catches the eye is the inconsistent use of the word enterprise or corporate. Some functions refer to this corporate dimension, but

3.3 The American Frame of Reference Current nomenclature

41 Possible stringent nomenclature

Identity, Image and Reputation

IIR-Management

Corporate Advertising and Advocacy

Advertising-Management

Corporate Responsibility

Responsibility-Management

Media Relations

Media-Management

Marketing Communication

Marketingmanagement

Internal Communication

Internal-Communication-Management

Investor Relations

Investors-Management

Government Relations

Relationship-Management

Crisis Management

Crisis-Management

Fig. 3.2 Overview of current, non-stringent nomenclature and new draft nomenclature with consistent usage of co-term “management” in the American context. Source: Own illustration

relationship management with governments or even crisis management does not seem to be corporate functions, because these areas do not have the appropriate suffix of enterprise or corporate. For some, this very pedantic analysis may seem petty, but work in the field of methods and structural sciences (MSS) must address these aspects accordingly in order to be able to construct valid and sustainable future structures based on them. Only when such a basic conceptual structure has been consistently and stringently defined and formulated can the contents of the various areas also be neatly outlined and defined from the point of view of MSS. Thus, a possible approach to such a stringent structure for the American field of corporate communication could look as follows (Fig. 3.2): Of course, when one first reads and hears these terms, some of them seem brittle. The right column shows a possible outline for a stringent frame of reference based on the current conceptual ecosystem in the American space. What is striking is that there is no longer a distinction between constructs such as communication management and relations, as ultimately it must always be about optimal governance in terms of managing defined communication journeys. It is also crucial to note that the area of interest groups moves into the area of relationship management, since the previous assignment to the area of corporate advertising is neither conceptually nor structurally stringent in terms of content. Another question that can be asked is whether, instead of the first field “IIR Management,” one might want to adopt a more pleasing and common word, namely brand management, in this conceptual ecosystem. After all, in the end, the concepts of image identity and reputation are of course very closely related to the brand as a company. This is also in light of the fact that the field of brand management is currently experiencing a renaissance in the wake of developments around the new green deal (Rifkin, 2019) and the remocal economy (Seebacher, 2020). Another consideration could be to include the notion of sustainability management in the field

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of corporate communications. The field has meanwhile found its way into research and development but also product management and will in the future also increasingly be an essential part of modern corporate communication. From this point of view, one could also think about naming this field of activity or this function as sustainability management instead of the previously mentioned brand management. From a methodological point of view, it is also valid to critically assess whether it would not also make sense to use the term communication instead of the addition of management. From a structural point of view, this possibility would be considered valid, but the semantic concept of the word communication restricts the nine areas of activity to only one sub-area and could therefore be too short-sighted. Ultimately, it is not only about communicating, but in all the areas mentioned about controlling, monitoring, and optimizing differently positioned processes in relation to the functional and also target group-specific definition.

3.4

The Anglo-Saxon State of Research

A very active and internationally respected community has also developed around Joep Cornelissen in the English-speaking part of the Old World. The standard work in teaching and research has been published in its current version in 2020 by SAGE Publishing (Cornelissen, 2020). The introduction claims to fulfil three main goals of the book. These are (Cornelissen, 2020, p XIX): – Depth: The material in the book needs to be comprehensive in covering both the academic and practitioner literatures and the knowledge base of corporate communication. – Breadth: The book covers the range of topics that define the field of corporate communication and that practicing managers and students of corporate communication find important or interesting. – Relevance: The book has to be well-grounded in practice and easily relatable to practical examples and case studies. However, looking at the statements on trends in corporate communication, communication is defined as a strategic tool in the context of stakeholder engagement (ibid, p. 12). It is about generic keywords such as authenticity, interactivity, advocacy, and transparency. Corporate communication must be done in an integrated way, as also discussed, and presented by Bruhn et al. (2014) in the Basler Schriften zum Marketing (!). However, these “trends” are de facto not trends specifically for the field of corporate communication, but for all economic activity. Because in the context of the constantly decreasing trust in the economy but also the medialization and digitalization, a new, responsible positioning not only in the area of communication is required from companies in order to be able to continue to operate successfully. Considering the date of publication—2020—many relevant areas, terms, developments, and topics would have been interesting and relevant to bring into the discourse from the perspective of science and especially practice. The

3.4 The Anglo-Saxon State of Research

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fact that this did not happen is a great pity, because certainly in this way valuable and inspiring insights, concepts and theories would have emerged from this very esteemed representative of the Anglo-Saxon community, which would have been more than essential for reengineering corporate communication or for my research work on it from the perspective of methodological and structural sciences. But this fact confirms the picture of the many different conversations and interviews in connection with the preparation of a Corporate Communications handbook mentioned at the beginning of the book and an seemingly outdated and also predominantly conceptual-generic scientific discourse.

3.4.1

The Conceptual Ecosystem

The Anglistics community has also not yet been able to provide any well-founded approaches with regard to the establishment of a conceptual, consistent structure. Corporate communication is an integrated framework for managing communication comprises the following areas (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 27): – – – – – – – – – – –

Public Affairs Issues Management Investor Relations Media Relations Advertising Direct Marketing Sales Promotions Digital/Online Communications Internal Communication Community Relations Publicity/Sponsorship

This list illustrates the hodgepodge of activities and terms that are not structurally stringent and congruent in terms of content. Like the American state of research already discussed, some activities are defined by the term management in contrast to areas that are not based on activities, in terms such as relations or only stand-alone words such as corporate affairs or publicity. Against this background, the American state of research appears to be a little more elaborate or structurally more advanced. From an operational point of view, the aforementioned terms overlap and cannot be delineated, which is not efficient and effective in terms of an organizational structure that is necessarily required and can be derived. This is because the various functions partly use the same process flows and are, however, functionally separated. In addition, activities such as sales promotion are also found in this listing, which per se would tend to be located in the area of sales or also in marketing, just from the name alone—an integration into corporate communications on the basis of the book’s findings does not appear conclusive. In the further course of this book, it will become clear that with a stringent and symbiotic structure, all these subject areas can very well be transferred into a clean ecosystem and operationalized and digitized

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in it with the most modern technologies and concepts. However, this requires the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC) based on a modern, interdisciplinary, and non-mono-dimensional state of research.

3.4.2

Templates, Processes, and Structures as Success Factors

In addition to these structural potentials, however, the concept of cross-disciplinary standardization and structuring can already be found in the Anglo-Saxon approach (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 30). Following the author’s work on Template-based Management (Seebacher, 2020) and Marketing Process Library (Seebacher & Güpner, 2021), Cornelissen writes: Organizations can also use various tools to document work processes across disciplines and departments in visual and standardized formats, such as flow charts, process maps and checklists.

But this use of templates is again seen only in the focus of corporate communication, rather than in the broader context also cross-disciplinary with marketing and sales. The reason for this could be that the fundamental understanding of corporate communication in terms of “selling information and content” to information customers has not yet arrived in the mindset of the Anglo-Saxon school. If this were the case, aspects such as Communication Automation (CA), Investors Journeys (IJ), or Communication Intelligence (CInt) would automatically direct the view in the direction of marketing and sales and all the associated developments and advances. Silo thinking in the community area leads to the fact that corporate communication has not yet de facto realized the so crucial Customer Centricity. In this context, if one searches for the term customer centricity in the literature of the Anglo-Saxon community, one finds no corresponding entries in the keyword directories. This circumstance is symptomatic of the long-overdue realignment or modernization process of modern corporate communication. The German-speaking community, by the way, is also not very progressive in this respect. Neither highly appreciated Bruhn et al. (2016), Lies (2015) nor Bruhn et al. (2014) seem to mention the term customer centricity. Only Rommerskirchen and Roslon (2020, p. 194) address this concept and can thus take a first step in the right direction: From an everyday world or customer-centered perspective, the significance of media communication is to be highly valued. Sociological media theories diagnose an age of mediatization in which the everyday world is characterized by an omnipresent penetration by the media. . . .This is supposed to mean that mutual expectations are formulated for each other, for example by customers and companies. Customers expect to receive current and relevant information promptly and quickly, companies align their measures along the availability of potential customers at brand touchpoints within the so-called customer journey of the relevant target group.

3.4 The Anglo-Saxon State of Research

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At this point, the German-speaking community will not be discussed in more detail, as this will in any case be acknowledged and discussed in more detail later. However, the view of the concept of the customer journey in the previous quote should be directed here. For the first time, the field of corporate communication is brought into the context of marketing terms and concepts by the two authors, which represents a milestone for corporate communication and its community.

3.4.3

Being Aware of the Changes, but. . .

The Anglo-Saxon school is well aware of the dynamics of the environment. Terms such as “citizen journalists” (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 39) are introduced and, following the information scientist Komito, initial references are made to the shift from being pure consumers of information to sharing and thus providing content. The earlier growth of the amount of information in digital form has been replaced by the growth of the communication and distribution of this digital information. Cornelissen attests that around 175,000 new blogs are created every day, and in this context refers to the paradigm shift from the traditional media landscape to a completely new one. Traditional broadcasting is being replaced by crowd-casting (ibid, p. 40). The one-to-many communication model is being replaced by the many-to-one or manyto-many and therefore the fundamental principle of corporate positioning is also changing away from the planned, concerted transfer of content and core messages to a situational and completely free and flexible generation of content and its playout. In the context of the current situation of almost most corporate communications departments, this probably represents the greatest challenge of having to evolve from structured and concerted action from a glass tower to modern, agile interaction with many different media and information recipients at eye level. This is accompanied by the change from media to platforms and from channels to arenas, in which communication no longer takes place according to fixed and defined rules, but according to unordered and situationally emerging rules. This changed contingency situation makes it possible to develop corporate communication towards a lean, agile, and effective low-cost production, playout, and distribution of content center changing from a cost center toward a performance-economic profit-contributor. If Cornelissen (ibid, p. 51) then states that social media such as Facebook and Twitter offer enormous opportunities to combine the areas of marketing and public relations under the guise of corporate communications in order to be able to communicate and interact with the various target groups via these channels, then this may seem correct at first glance. However, if you look at the state of knowledge from the field of marketing and sales automation in current academic literature, then it is noticeable that the concept of the buyer journey and consumer experience have not yet found their way into corporate communication, although practice is already further advanced here in some cases and makes use of these concepts. Without these concepts, social media as part of a rapidly changing landscape of media and channels cannot be used efficiently and effectively. Therefore, it is also logical that corporate

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communication cannot be the driver under which all communication can take place. After all, communication in the modern world is the marketing of content and information and in this terminology is the word market and therefore marketing. Therefore, a previously described statement can only be brought into the discourse by experts not being aware of the full, contextual range of relevant and already available approaches, concepts, and models. Even if one calls for the use of social media under the auspices of corporate communication, he or she would have to provide a reference to the underlying and necessary concepts to argue stringently and validly. In my humble opinion, the lack of such essential and conclusive concepts in terms of thinking to the end reminds me of the AAA Marketing Journal essay mentioned above, which presents general statements rather than groundbreaking key findings. Only a corporate communication that can be planned and measured to the maximum despite the very agile environment and the rapidly increasing communication possibilities can meet the requirements of communication risk management. However, since the field of corporate communication currently lacks terms and concepts such as communication journeys or performance communication, the future can only lie in a symbiotic interaction of the relevant areas. Logically, of course, this inevitably forces scholars and managers in the field of corporate communications to leave familiar terrain. But it also leads to the fact that silo thinking for the self-protection of corporate communications, which is not goaloriented, is unfortunately becoming more and more widespread. This not only in many places in practice—not everywhere, since I am also in constant exchange with many impressive, forward-thinking communications managers—but also in teaching and academia.

3.4.4

Silo Thinking as Self-Protection Against Progress

Under the motto “attack is the best defense,” the attempt is being made to make the claim more and more openly that the much more developed discipline of marketing must be managed under the area of corporate communications in terms of organization and content. This false assessment, which runs through all supposed standard works of modern corporate communication, was certainly an important motivator for writing this book. If not clarified, the result would be that marketing would continue to be slowed down and blocked by the insufficient knowledge of modern approaches and instruments of corporate communicators and thus would not be able to realize the enormous potentials of marketing and sales automation (Hannig & Seebacher, 2022). It is not a matter of placing one discipline below the other, but rather of acting and working together as equals. Only then can we work authentically, stringently, and validly on and for organizations in the long term. But how can it be that a seemingly outdated discipline of knowledge, based on the already extensively discussed state of scientific research and the resulting literature, almost stoically claims to be the guiding function in the entire concert of entrepreneurial action and communication?

3.4 The Anglo-Saxon State of Research

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Would Nokia nowadays claim to be the driving force behind the development of mobile communications technology? Or would the car brand Dacia get the idea that it now must lead and shape the luxury car segment? This would probably only be the case if a completely insane manager, who does not know the market, were to reach the top of the Dacia company and, in a complete misjudgment of his own company’s position in the market, were now to lay claim to the leading function in the luxury segment. The key is to know what you don’t know, and a large part of the corporate communications community apparently doesn’t currently know what it doesn’t know. Or has any representative of the scientific community sufficiently and comprehensively discussed or defined corporate communication terms such as communication automation, communication journey, performance communication, or even predictive communication intelligence? There is no other way to explain the presumption with which experts express themselves: In other words, the growing role of social media solidifies the strategic role of corporate communications within organizations, with communications called upon to navigate the organization through the new media landscape. (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 51)

How can a knowledge discipline claim to be a strategic leader if not even the discipline itself is obviously developing strategically in a sustainable manner? If this were the case, the aforementioned concepts would have found their way into the field of corporate communications several years ago and the discipline would be much more modern, both in terms of information technology and conception. Or can discussions and findings on a modern communication technology stack (ComTechStack) already be found in the literature, as has been the case for years in the field of marketing (MarTechStack) (Seebacher, 2021d) and sales (SalesTechStack) (Schuster, 2021)? Admittedly, practice shows that there does not necessarily have to be a separate ComTechStack, since today a modern MarTechStack can more than meet all the requirements of modern corporate communication. It is therefore all the more surprising that experts in the field of corporate communication have not yet adequately discussed and evaluated the automation of communication through available information technology programs in the current literature. Most companies, including many of the largest listed corporations, still do not have a clear social media strategy or guidelines. (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 53)

This statement is just one of many in the mainstream literature that literally makes the shortcomings of corporate communication research obvious. If companies today have not yet widely implemented such frameworks for the new media landscape, it is the result of a failure to conduct timely topic-specific and even applied research in the field of corporate communications. After all, who else research can be the driver of innovation and development? By its very nature, practice is an important breeding ground for applied research but basic research and all the literature in this context

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cannot escape some responsibility for being partly responsible for this plight of corporate communication today.

3.4.5

The Hen Egg Problem

The truth will lie in the middle. On one side, we find scientists working and researching in their own silo in terms of their own comfort zone. On the other side, we still find some needle-stripe-savvy boardroom-affiliated corporate communicators who have come to appreciate their comfort zone in dark boardrooms and silverware very much in place. Together, these two groups make a dangerous cocktail of stoicism that is all about being able to secure one’s position unnoticed for as long as possible from innovation and necessary change. However, to identify such opportunities, it is necessary to actively monitor social media and know what people are saying about the company and its products and services. (ibid, p. 53)

The ideas and thoughts are de facto correct, but concrete approaches and proposals are missing in the current research and the resulting literature on modern corporate communication. Otherwise, logically, the ecosystem of current concepts in corporate communication would know and begin to apply the previously named concepts. In case studies, success stories are described in a wonderful narrative but not urgently discussed in terms of structural theory. This is again due to the fact that precisely the knowledge of modern concepts of marketing and sales in the age of automation, customer journeys, customer excellence to predictive intelligence are missing. Without modern technologies, how can corporate communications staff constantly monitor and always know what customers around the world are communicating about the company and its products on the millions of different channels? How can burgeoning crises be identified at an early stage and corresponding predefined communication processes and communication content be played out at the right time in the right target groups via the right channels? In the context of today’s corporate communications, this is simply not realistic and feasible. Such a corporate communication, which still operates manually for the most part, would have to massively increase its personnel in order to be able to perform the resulting workload, which is derived from Cornelissen’s statement. In the context of maintaining the own importance of corporate communication, it is perhaps to be explained by the fact that this growth and the accompanying, supposed increase in the importance of corporate communication is perhaps even wanted. Rationally, logically, and business-wise, however, this is fatal and wrong. Only with the help and use of the most modern instruments from the area of the MarTechStack but also the Predictive Intelligence Stack (PITechStack) (Seebacher, 2021b) can the tasks addressed by Cornelissen be managed sustainably, 24/7 and globally. And the author himself confirms or demands this by referring to the fulfillment or adherence to the so-called PARC principles as guarantors of success. It is about the use of social media according to one or more of the following criteria (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 54):

3.4 The Anglo-Saxon State of Research

• • • •

49

Participatory Authentic Resourceful Credible

However, the use of a rapidly developing media landscape according to these criteria is only possible with the use of the most modern concepts and technologies. Thus, on the part of the Anglo-Saxon corporate communications community, this circular argument shows itself the limits of its own actions on the basis of the current, long outdated state of knowledge. This also continues in the context of corporate identity management and corporate reputation (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 87). To this end, Cornelissen attests: Corporate communication practitioners play an important role in facilitating dialogue about the definition of the organization's identity. . .The general principle from which corporate communication practitioners start is that corporate identity—the image of the organization presented to external stakeholders—is based on the core values and characteristics that the members of the organization themselves associate with the organization and that define the organization's mission and vision (organizational identity).

This fact, however, requires again in the sense of the stringent fulfillment and implementation of the mechanisms from the area of the customer journey and especially the customer intelligence, to which also as pars pro toto, directly and indirectly all different interest groups belong. Once again, it is pointed out that corporate communication must finally learn to deal with the concept of the customer, namely the customer of information. The important role proclaimed by Cornelissen in fostering dialogue about the definition of the company’s identity necessarily requires the use of User Experience (UX) information (Halb & Seebacher, 2021a). Without this approach, ongoing monitoring of external perceptions cannot work. An application or use of UX by human resources can also help to evaluate the respective actual and experienced identity of the company on the employee side and to include it in the measures. Once again, the question of communication experience and communication excellence research arises, or where it is located in terms of content, if it exists. Closely related to this is the topic of performance communication, which is not currently found in the latest, relevant literature and research. This gap in terms of the state of knowledge between corporate communication and modern predictive profit marketing continues all the way to topic-specific applied research and development in companies. The common Anglo-Saxon literature, as in the other sub-areas already mentioned, does not refer to concepts and tools already available in practice from the field of business intelligence (Strohmeier, 2021) or predictive intelligence research in order to be able to identify and, above all, anticipate upcoming needs of information customers. This foresight is crucial especially in the context of successful communication in crises (Wheeler, 2019), because according to Wheeler (ibid, p. 19) preparation is the be-all and end-all and a more than sensible investment (ibid, p. 28). To this end, it is also helpful, as Cornelissen addresses in his reference to the five-stage model for developing

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communication campaigns (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 136), to explore and define concrete goals and requirements in terms of communication with regard to the various relevant stakeholders. He writes in this regard: Objectives: In this phase, objectives are established that result from the audit and are consistent with the organization's overall business objectives. The objectives are broken down by target groups and time frame and stated in measurable terms.

Again, the assignment or the approach is completely correct, but Cornelissen does not provide or name the corresponding concept of personas that have already been used in marketing for years (Kirchem & Waack, 2021). It would be, however, maybe exactly that construct, which Cornelissen should give to the readers from science and practice to the hand, in order to be able to bring its completely correct thoughts and statements also to end in the sense of an increase in value and solutionoriented communication. Also, in the further course of the explanations (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 137), the author seems to remain on the theoretical and generic level and writes: Planning and implementation: This stage involves deciding on the design and implementation of the programme or campaign, which may include pre-testing the messages and choosing media channels and tactics.

For years, so-called customer journeys (Altounian et al., 2016) have been used to automatically define and integrate the relevant content elements and designs— content assets—on the basis of the insights from the personas, according to the Contingency-Centric Content Management (CCCM) approach by Mörk (2021), and to play them out immediately in a channel-and media-optimized manner. Based on this, the content played out is then automatically evaluated 24/7 at the various customer contact points as part of touchpoint management (Halb & Seebacher, 2021b) and predictive touchpoint intelligence (PTI) and optimization (PTO) according to Seebacher. Even in his remarks on the topic of “measurement and evaluation” (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 137), the author omits to make any reference to the current state of knowledge in the field of modern marketing. The tragedy of the entire situation is that the community is well aware of the plight, as Cornelissen (ibid, p. 143), among others, puts it in this context: Research and evaluation can be used to inform specific communication programs or campaigns. Although they can be used throughout the planning cycle of a programme or campaign,. . . the scope of such research is often limited to a specific activity programme or campaign. Therefore, it is often defined as a one-off study that focuses on and is limited to a specific communication activity at a specific point in time.

In the further course, the author still discusses and appreciates various theories of measurement and evaluation. But in view of the fact that the book from which is quoted is titled “a guide for theory and practice,” it would have been decisive and also only valid to include corresponding solution approaches and concepts in the

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discourse. After all, Communication Automation (CA), the Information Journey (IJ) but also Predictive Communication Intelligence (PCI) or Predictive Communication Optimization (PCO) could be used in a simple and effective way to solve the many prevailing and latent problems and challenges of the corporate communication discipline. These conceptualizations probably appear as unfamiliar and abstract constructs to most researchers and practitioners in the field of traditional corporate communication, but in reality, they only represent Seebacher’s modern Predictive Profit Marketing (PPM) (Seebacher, 2021b) approaches and methods adapted for the field of corporate communication, which have already been successfully used several times in practical projects at companies of various sizes and in a wide range of industries. Thus, any modern marketer can immediately understand these concepts and also proactively apply, use and expand them very quickly adapted for the field of corporate communications. All that is needed is to overcome silo thinking. Looking beyond the end of one’s nose at eye level could very quickly bring the entire field of corporate communications enormously forward in the sense of all those involved.

3.4.6

Do Public Relations Have the Structural Edge?

If one examines the relevant Anglo-Saxon literature in this regard, one gets the impression that public relations already tend to think and organize itself more strongly in terms of structures than its colleagues in the rest of the broad field of corporate communications. In the various publications of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Practice Guides, new terminology is repeatedly used and brought into the discourse. In the section “Crisis Preparation is an Investment” (Wheeler, 2019, p. 28 f.), among other authors, the expert refers to processes and procedures that can be defined once in advance and then applied and played out again and again in order to better master corporate communications in crisis situations. Thus, the reference can be made to the Communication Process Library (CPL) following Seebacher’s (2021e) Marketing Process Library (MPL) as well as to the concept of the Information or Stakeholder Journey following the Customer or Buyer Journey (Schmitt, 2019) or the use of predefined templates following the Templatebased Management (TBM) approach (Seebacher, 2020). This reference is also made, among others, in the context of crisis communication and firmly defined criteria based on a firmly prescribed template in the section “Points to Consider in Advance” (Wheeler, 2019, p. 91). Very specifically, the experts in the various works address the measurement of public relations activities and are thus more advanced in the field of performance communication than their colleagues in the other segments of corporate communication (among others, ibid., p. 98f). However, references to existing, obvious, and helpful concepts are still missing in many places, as is the case with Wheeler’s stakeholder checklist (ibid, p. 115ff.) and the persona concept, which in turn could be incorporated into the information journey as a basic construct and directly adopted from marketing for this purpose.

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A Critical Discourse on Today’s Corporate Communication

The Sun Rises in Asia

The Asian region is dominated by the progressive and innovation-driven work of Rudolf Beger (2018). Already in 2018, Beger has entered the discourse in a more progressive way than many of his academic experts from other regions years later, both in terms of content and conceptualization. This is also immediately evident from the fact that he is the first author to attempt conceptually to use a congruent and structurally stringent conceptual terminology for the field of corporate communication. Against this background, the book consists of the following main chapters: • • • • • • •

Planning for Corporate Communication Media communication Employee (Internal) Communication Investor Communication Political Communication Conflict/Crisis Communication Other Areas of Corporate Communication

Thus, for the first time, various terms disappear, as was discussed earlier in the explanations of the state of knowledge in the Anglo-American area. Beger no longer speaks of management or relations, but stringently of communication. As already described before, a congruent conceptual ecosystem forms the essential basis for the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC). The courage to change is also reflected in many other statements and sections of the book, making Beger’s work a milestone in terms of the continuing and so elementary RCC. Thus, in the area of corporate communication planning, the author deals with aspects of communication intelligence. He introduces a structured and ongoing analysis of the sociopolitical and economic contingency situation of the organization (ibid, p. 80ff) but also of the own corporate positioning (ibid, p. 87ff). Thus, he lays the foundation for the integration of corporate communication data and information into a multidimensional data model following Seebacher’s (2021b) marketing intelligence cube (MIC) concept for ongoing documentation and analysis. In this context, there is also a critical appraisal of strategies and tactics (Beger, 2018, p. 101ff) for a consolidated collection and storage of information on relevant media and events following the Event-Media-Intelligence (EMI) (ibid, p. 226) concept of Seebacher (2021b). The EMI is an interactive, multidimensional internal company application in which all forms of offline and online media and events such as trade fairs and congresses are retrieved by application or product, industry and region, and displayed in relation to their performance along the entire buyer journey. With the help of EMI, an inbound lead generation campaign in a region, for example, can automatically access the media and events and take them into account when playing out content. This can be valuable in the event of a crisis situation if the relevant content can be automatically played out to all selected, relevant, target groupspecific media in a specific target region by corporate communications via the

3.5 The Sun Rises in Asia

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communication automation solution. This all happens via the MarComTech stack in a timely and controlled manner. In this context, Beger uses the term Central Company Data Room (ibid, p. 7) and the integrated corporate communication based on it (ibid, p. 9). He defines four criteria (ibid, p. 5) as decisive success factors for modern and sustainable corporate communication: • Professionalism: Increase professionalism and refined expertise to get perceived as a legitimate member of the strategic management team. • Analysis: To improve expertise in analytical tools to better understand the sociopolitical environment in which the company operates. • Internal cooperation: To implement and formalize internal structures allowing closer internal cooperation between communication-oriented corporate functions. • Success control mechanisms: To develop and implement effective success control mechanisms to better demonstrate the Corporate Communication function’s contribution to the company’s success.

3.5.1

Structures Gain in Importance

Thus, it is a matter of expanding competencies, clear roles, responsibilities, tasks, and structures—organizational and procedural structures that are crucial for appropriate professionalism and internal cooperation. With this claim, he emphasizes a comprehensive Communication Process Library (CPL) like Seebacher’s (2020, p. 45) Marketing Process Library (MPL). Beger’s Strategic Elements of the Corporate Communication Plan present a highly structured procedural plan for modernizing and structuring a traditional corporate communication department (Beger, 2018, p. 156). The process model is also congruent with the maturity model for corporate communication reengineering described and discussed later in this book. Beger also demonstrates for the first time a multidisciplinary view of the broad field of corporate communication, because in his book there are many different references to applied and related terms and concepts from modern marketing. For example, Beger (ibid, p. 405ff) elaborates very precisely the difference between corporate and political communication, referencing the Account-based Marketing (ABM) Model (Bacon, 2021) in terms of segment-based interaction (SBI). Closely related to this is the use of customer group-specific profiles, so-called personas (Kirchem & Waack, 2021) as archetypes of customers. Beger (2018, p. 146) references these as part of his comments on corporate communication requirements with reference to the Z-generation, as they have “an exact vision of what they want.” In order to be able to manage this many-to-many communication on more and more channels, Beger makes several references to predefined processes or sequences for communicating with the target groups in terms of the various information recipients, the customers of the information. His explanations reference in many different places (ibid, p. 8, p. 46, p. 107, p. 146, p. 190, p. 219, p. 250) the concept of the customer journey from marketing. From this, the so-called Information Journey or

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Stakeholder Journey emerges in the context of RCC, which will be explained and discussed in detail later in the book.

3.5.2

Ideas About Journeys and Performance

So that these journeys can be evaluated and optimized in the sense of performance communication, which is one of the few concepts not referenced by Beger, the author progressively introduces the topic of information experience and information excellence (ibid, p. 15 and p. 17) based on the concepts of user experience and user excellence and attests: Corporate communication professionals must therefore take into account that there is a risk that their carefully worded messages will not be read by the target audiences or at least part of their target audiences. They have to know about these developments, adapt new communication habits and become creative to ensure that they will reach their target groups.

In this context, he also takes the decisive step further in the direction of neurocommunication and predictive intelligence and points to the introduction of approaches and instruments from the area of predictive touchpoint intelligence (PTI) or predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO) (ibid, p. 17 and p. 110), as defined and established by the European Competence Center for Digital Processes and Neurocommunication.1 For Beger (2018, p. 126), it is also already clear at the time of publication of his book that this cannot work without a corresponding Communication Technology Stack (ComTechStack) and the accompanying competence. In this context, he defines that corporate communication managers must consider the following three things: • To approve their target group analysis process. • To strengthen their continuous improvement process. • To improve their digital technology and online tools know-how. Implicitly, these statements by Begel more than clearly bring to the point the issue of the misery surrounding the level of knowledge and expertise in the field of corporate communication. The necessary structural, methodological, and instrumental competence is lacking. It is therefore even more crucial for a rapid catch-up process to look beyond the end of one’s nose into the neighboring disciplines already mentioned. In this context, corporate communications cannot and must not take the lead, as this would be illogical and dangerous in purely technical terms. The clever corporate communicator must know promptly what he or she does not know in order to keep up with the times and not be left behind. This can only be done efficiently and effectively at eye level and as a team with marketing and sales colleagues, and that requires a change in thinking by most corporate communicators on the boardroom floor. This is also the view of Begel, who for the first time also addresses and 1

https://cdpnc.eu/. Accessed on: October 06, 2021.

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defines a State-of-the-Art Communication System (SCS) (2018, p. 373) in order to “stay that crucial step ahead of the competition.” In doing so, he focuses on a stringent construct of organizational and process structures with information technology automation and optimization that enables and ensures cross-departmental synergetic cooperation.

3.5.3

Templates as Enablers and Accelerators

Following Seebacher (2020), an important element for establishing such an SCS are so-called templates in the sense of predefined forms for entering and documenting content. Among other things, he refers to eMail pitch templates (Begel 2018, p. 190ff), to call-to-action (C2A) templates originating from marketing (ibid, p. 219ff), which are to be automatically incorporated into mailings and content by default on the part of corporate communications in the templates, and also to templates in the course of data room making (ibid, p. 319ff), i.e., the development of central online data and information pools. He does this against the background of his comments on the relevance of media lists (ibid, p. 226) as part of Event-MediaIntelligence (EMI) but also the ever-finer specialization of journalists (ibid, p. 227). He writes in this regard: In addition to such a listing the Corporate Communications professional should have welldeveloped and up to date (background) information on journalists, their contact details and their specializations.

This means that in the context of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Beger is one of the first from the field of corporate communications to apply the concept of customer to the customers of corporate communications, namely the various groups of information recipients. If one thinks about this further, then the classic CRM system becomes a Journalists Relationship Management (JRM) or, thought of further, a Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) instrument.

3.5.4

In Asia, the Journalist Becomes a Customer of Information

No new IT applications are necessary for this, because current CRM systems are simply supplemented by these new “customer” groups. This also means that the next important step in the direction of Communication Automation (CA) has already been initiated, because information and content can be perfectly optimized and converted via the then expanded CRM based on defined Journalist Journeys (JJ) or Stakeholder Journeys (SJ). All in all, Beger has brought to the discourse a publication that is important to the field of corporate communications but unfortunately misunderstood and ignored by leading scholars. The book, which dates from 2018, is in large part ahead of many books published later by supposedly leading experts and addresses the problem

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points and areas very precisely. The book does not always offer the precise and implied solution, but it represents a comprehensive work for responsible corporate communicators, on the basis of which, in any case, a creative and inspiring discourse can be initiated and sustained in organizations.

3.6

The Status of the German-Speaking Community

In the relevant German-language literature, there are no current, noteworthy contributions by recognized members of the community on the technical term “corporate communication.” This is certainly also due to the fact that corporate communication is logically not used as a term in this language area instead of the German translation “Unternehmenskommunikation.” However, there is an attempt on the part of the community to innovate and reinvent itself, but along the lines of “Let’s wash, but let’s not really get wet!” Many different terms are brought into the discourse in this context such as, among others: • Integrated communication (Bruhn et al., 2014) • The Corporate Newsroom (Moss, 2021) • Toolbox Communication Management (Zerfaß & Volk, 2019) However, all these explanations remain predominantly within the discipline of communication studies and are therefore also manageable in terms of their contribution to a sustainable and decisive gain in knowledge. From the perspective of reengineering corporate communication (RCC), the most relevant work is that of Moss (2021), who defines and organizes corporate communication along the lines of modern media companies in the form of a press center. To this end, he uses the dynamic concept of the corporate newsroom, which he considers to be an evolution of the classic journalistic newsroom. In this corporate press center, there are therefore many parallels in terms of organization as well as processes to classic newsrooms, which, however, in most cases do not yet have corresponding end-toend, automated value chains and corresponding MarTechStacks and SalesTechStacks. This also makes the limits of this approach, which is interesting from an organizational theory perspective, clear, and recognizable from the outset. It is about thematic allocations and the efficient and effective management of topics (ibid, p. 7). Moss focuses on integrated communication, as do Bruhn et al. (2014), and refers to the challenge between differentiation and integration. However, he also highlights the crucial factor of “power,” which is crucial to successfully master the change project of a corporate newsroom (Moss, 2021, p. 12f). “The struggle for power” is also comprehensively discussed by Rommerskirchen and Roslon (2020, p. 119ff) and critically investigated as a key success factor of a modern corporate communication. All other contributions do not or only insufficiently address power-structural aspects in the context of future-oriented approaches and concepts of modern corporate communication or its reengineering.

3.6 The Status of the German-Speaking Community

3.6.1

57

The Courage to Try Something New Is Lacking

The lack of new and formative concepts in the German-speaking world is probably due to the fact that there is a very strong focus on the instrumental perspective. For example, Bruhn et al. (2014) attempt to discuss the relevance of integrated communication work against the background of an empirical study conducted. The instrument of integrated communication is discussed in terms of the general understanding, the importance but also the goals and their responsibility in the field of planning. Likewise, the strategic and conceptual orientation of integrated communication and the position of social media within the framework of integrated communication are discussed. The explanations are strongly characterized by abstract and generic thought well, which is also evident in the discussed future perspectives (ibid, p. 113ff), where mainly potential dangers, problems and future challenges are addressed instead of the enormous opportunities and potentials of a corporate communication that is truly integrated with marketing and sales in the context of predictive corporate interaction. Bruhn et al. (2016), in their “Handbook of Instruments of Communication,” for the first-time address terms such as marketing communication (ibid, p. 57ff) or dialogue communication (ibid, p. 367) and thus make an attempt at a cross-over discussion involving aspects from the field of marketing and sales. However, the focus is once again on the instrumental and not on the process-related and information-technical view, in which, however, the great potentials and opportunities in the context of the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC) are to be considered. The term Buyer Journey or Customer Journey indicating a such process-orientation, is not mentioned once in the manual.

3.6.2

First Attempts in the Direction of Journeys

Rommerskirchen and Roslon (2020), on the other hand, get more involved in the process-specific discussion by addressing the area of Content Marketing (ibid, p. 93ff) as well as that of Brand Marketing (ibid, p. 145ff) or target group identification based on the persona concept from sales and marketing (ibid, p. 173ff). Conceptually challenging in this context is Lies (2015), who discusses “PR-related communication disciplines” (ibid, p. 425ff) and cites marketing, content marketing, advertising, and advertorials in this context. Lies (2015) attests public relations as a theoretical and practical management function, which he arranges in the following structure: • • • • • • •

Media relations Online communication Event Management Internal communication International communication Political communication Occasion-related communication

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• Risk communication • Strategic communication – Brand communication – Campaign – Stakeholder management – Corporate identity From the perspective of methods and structural scientist, this represents an approach that is neither mono-dimensional—i.e., viewed from the one-dimensional perspective of the public relations discipline—nor multidimensional—i.e., extending the perspective to include related disciplines such as corporate communications, marketing, and sales—stringent and congruent. More stringent in this context is the “Toolbox Communication Management” (Zerfaß & Volk, 2019), which again chooses the instrumental approach as its basic structure, but very much develops and discusses it sequentially in terms of process, from analysis tools (ibid, p. 27ff), planning tools (ibid, p. 89ff), implementation tools (ibid, p. 139ff) to evaluation tools (ibid, p. 181ff). Likewise, process analysis (ibid, p. 41ff, p. 65, p. 78, p. 80) in terms of the Customer Journey or Communication Journey and communication touchpoint analysis (ibid, p. 65ff) in terms of Touchpoint Excellence or Touchpoint Management (Halb & Seebacher, 2021b) are discussed. The importance of templates in the context of a modern communication toolbox following the work on Template-based Management (Seebacher, 2020) is also attested in the context of defined processes and systems. Further aspects such as Communication Automation and Communication Intelligence as a basis for Predictive Communication Excellence are not addressed.

3.6.3

The Corporate Newsroom as a Gateway to the New World

The most modern approach—as already mentioned earlier—to the topic is offered by Moss (2021) with his corporate newsroom approach, which aligns its concept strongly in terms of process, following the Communication Process Library (CPL), which is so essential and described in detail in the following. Thus, he stringently and consistently focuses on procedural arguments (ibid, p. 17, p. 18, p. 22, p. 30, p. 36, p. 46, p. 82) and also refers to the use of IT to automate these (ibid, p. 20, p. 22, p. 37, p. 46, p. 52). His three-phase approach to the introduction of a corporate newsroom (ibid, p. 28ff) also moves for the first time in the direction of reengineering in order to be able to successfully establish the concept sustainably in organizations. In his further remarks on organizational-structural aspects in connection with the introduction of a corporate newsroom, he also focuses on comprehensive and necessary changes and realignments (ibid, p. 46, p. 52). In the context of content and its evaluation, Moss also defines the need for Communication Intelligence (ibid, p. 62f), just as he does in the context of data optimization and data integration (ibid, p. 79f), where he once again addresses processes and also Service Level Agreements (SLA). With this, Moss also

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peripherally addresses the area of Communication Performance, in which he addresses the increasing importance of measuring the added value of communication activities in the context of Communication Controlling (ibid, p. 73), following the Barcelona Principles from 2010.2 These Barcelona Principles are (ibid, p. 77): • Goal setting and measurement of goal achievement are fundamental to any PR program. • Measuring outcomes is preferable to simply measuring media response. • Where possible, the impact of PR on business results should be measured. • Media evaluation requires quantity and quality, clippings alone are not enough. • Advertising equivalency values do not measure the value added by PR, nor do they provide indications for future activity. • Social media actions can and should be measured. • Transparency and repeatability are the top priorities of reliable evaluation. However, practice shows that these principles do not meet the requirements of modern corporate communication, as Storck also notes.3 The reason is that PR is to be considered as one element of a completely new corporate communication ecosystem or concept and then as part of communication journeys based on completely new key performance indicators (KPIs) this element can be made measurable and optimizable. How uniquely Moss thinks ahead is reflected in the fact that he introduces the term Data-driven Communication (Moss, 2021, p: 78ff) in reference to the work on Data-driven Management (Seebacher, 2021f) or Data-driven Marketing (Klaus, 2019) and thus already references the concept of Event-MediaIntelligence (EMI) as part of Predictive Profit Marketing (PPM) (Seebacher, 2021g). And Moss (2021, p. 81) also introduces the fact that modern corporate communication must also draw on a corresponding technology stack or be integrated into that of an organization into the discourse. Against this background, according to Moss (ibid, p. 109ff), it is also possible to apply these findings to the work and interaction with journalists and other defined target groups as information customers in the sense of Predictive Touchpoint Intelligence (PTI) or Predictive Content Optimization (PCO).

3.7

Resistance Is Futile

In this section, an attempt has been made to provide a pointed overview of the current state of developments in the field of corporate communication. To this end, the most important authors and their works were identified, studied, and evaluated on the basis of many different expert interviews. No claim is made to the completeness,

2

https://www.prreport.de/singlenews/uid-3051/mehr-als-ein-anzeigenaequivalent/. Accessed on: October 18, 2021. 3 https://www.prreport.de/singlenews/uid-8555/ich_kann_keinen_nennenswerten_effekt_ erkennen/#a8555. Accessed on: October 18, 2021.

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but the aim was to critically analyze the key points of the current, topic-specific discussion in structural terms and to interpret them in the context of this book and the perspective from methods and structural sciences. All of the works discussed and interpreted here, and their authors, have made great and valuable contributions to the field through their work and efforts, which provide an important foundation for the RCC. Although shortcomings have been pointed out at this point, this is not intended to and will in no way attempt to diminish these so valuable and important accomplishments of some of the most important by me very much appreciated researchers and thought leaders in the field of corporate communication in any way whatsoever. In summary, the hypothesis underlying this book has been validated: The community for whatever reason unfortunately has not succeeded to work and research across disciplines for too long. The result today is a discipline that seems to lag further behind in terms of content than B2B marketing or industrial goods marketing, as Kleinemass and Seebacher (2021) point out, and which ultimately led to the conception and publication of the B2B Marketing Guidebook (Seebacher, 2021g). This circumstance is more than precarious for research and teaching but especially and particularly with regard to entrepreneurial practice in a dynamically and ever more rapidly changing and complex environment. Against this background, this book is solely positively intended to contribute to initiating, supporting, and accelerating the necessary process of rethinking, broadening perspectives and, above all, the long overdue process of change in the entire discipline in order to awaken all those involved from their slumber.

References Altounian, D., Wiley, R., Woo, V., & Roberts, S. (2016). From customer engagement to the customer journey: Understanding the drivers of engagement in B2C and B2B environments. In M. Obal, N. Krey, & C. Bushardt (Eds.), Let's get engaged! Crossing the threshold of Marketing’s engagement era. Developments in marketing science: Proceedings of the academy of marketing science. Springer. Argenti, P. A. (2016). Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Education. Bacon, A. (2021). Strategisches kundenorientiertes Marketing–Das ABM-Modell für den perfekten Start in ein Account Based Marketing. In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Beger, R. (2018). Present-day corporate communication–a practice-oriented, state-of-the-art guide. Springer Nature. Bruhn, M., Martin, S., & Schnebelen, S. (2014). Integrated communication in practice–state of development in German-speaking companies. Basler Schriften zum marketing. Springler Gabler. Bruhn, M., Esch, F.-R., & Langner, T. (2016). Handbuch Instrumente der Kommunikation: Grundlagen–Innovative Ansätze–Praktische Umsetzungen (2nd ed.). Springer Gabler. Cornelissen, J. (2020). Corporate communication–a guide to Theory & Practice (6th ed.). Sage. Ermer, B., & Kleine, J. (2021). Social selling in B2B–how sales benefit and the sales process flourishes. In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Gerbner G. (1956). Toward a general model of communication. Audio-Visual Communication Review.

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Halb, F., & Seebacher, U. (2021a). User experience and touchpoint management–a case study of in-house implementation for medium-sized businesses. In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Halb, F., & Seebacher, U. (2021b). User experience and touchpoint management–a touchpoint performance management toolkit. In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Hannig, U., & Seebacher, U. (2022). Marketing and sales automation: A guidebook with applications, basics, best practices and case studies. Springer Gabler. Jürgens, J. (2022). In Serie gescheitert. in: brand eins 05/22, S. 88–91. brandeins Medien AG. Kirchem, S., & Waack, J. (2021). Developing personas for marketing, sales and communication– fundamentals, concept and practical implementation. Springer Gabler. Klaus, L. (2019). Data-driven marketing and the human success factor–key factors and core competencies for the marketing of the future. Springer Gabler. Kleinemaß, M., & Seebacher, U. (2021). The Netflix economy is coming–the question is not if, but when! In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Lasswell, H. D. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society. In L. Bryson (Ed.), The communication of ideas: A series of addresses. Institute for Religious and Social Studies. Lies, J. (2015). Praxis des PR-Managements: Strategien–Instrumente–Anwendung. Springer Gabler. Moss, C. (2021). The corporate newsroom–steering companies efficiently through communication. Springer. Mörk, O. (2021). Contingency-centric content management (CCCM)–Mit smart content die Kunden trotz Informationsflut erreichen. In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Rifkin, J. (2019). The new green Deal: Why the fossil fuel civilization will collapse by 2028, and the bold economy plan to save life on earth. St. Martin’s Press. Rommerskirchen, J., & Roslon, M. (2020). Introduction to modern corporate communication– fundamentals, theory and practice. Springer Gabler. Schmitt, M. (2019). Customer experience and customer journey. In Quick guide digital B2B communication. Quick guide. Springer Gabler. Schuster, N. (2021). Marketing automation changes sales. In U. Hannig (Ed.), Marketing and sales automation. Springer Gabler. Seebacher, U. G. (2003). Template-driven consulting – How to slash more than half of your consulting costs. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2020). Template-based management: A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021a). Assets-as-service: A crash course into the industrial subscription economy. AQPS. Seebacher, U. (2021b). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers: Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer. Seebacher, U., & Güpner, A. (2021). Marketing resource management–practical guide to organizational development with many examples, explanations and instructions for action (7th ed.). APQS Inc. Seebacher, U. (2021d). MarTech 8000: How to survive in Jurassic Park of dazzling marketing solutions. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021e). The B2B marketing maturity model: What the route to the goal looks like! In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021f). Data-driven management: A primer for modern corporate decision making. AQPS. Seebacher, U. (2021g). B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals, Springer.

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Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1964). The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press. Strohmeier, L. (2021). Central business intelligence: A lean development process for SMEs. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Wheeler, A. (2019). Crisis communication management, in: PRCA practice guide. Emerald Publishing Limited. Zerfaß, A., & Volk, S. C. (2019). Toolbox communication management–thinking tools and methods for managing corporate communication. Springer Gabler.

4

What the Brave New World of Corporate Communication Looks like

4.1

The Journalist as Customer and the Information as Product

The all-important basis in the context of RCC is the change of perspective. There must be shifts away from manifested self-understandings on the part of the acting persons in the area of corporate communication. Considering oneself as a supposedly powerful person internally, justified by the proximity to top management, and outwardly presenting oneself as an eel-smooth, submissive, almost ingratiating servant of journalists and investment bankers, is no longer in keeping with the times. Rather, the understanding must be developed to be a piece of the mosaic in the orchestra of entrepreneurial interaction, which, however, due to digitalization and technologization, no longer has to interpret itself as being on its own. For some corporate communicators, this means decreasing their self-imposed altitude in order to be able to act and cooperate at eye level with the other pieces of the corporate mosaic. Many corporate communicators will nod their heads in agreement with this statement and admit that they are already doing this. But after many years in different functions and organizations, the impression has manifested itself with me that these are still striking lip-service in many cases however in no case really authentic and honest cooperation on eye level. My impression from the research in the context of the entrepreneurial practice is confirmed by the research and exemplary extracted quotes of the relevant current literature from leading experts of the scientific community. The minimization of the flight level at eye level to marketing and sales leads to the fact that the terms used in these areas automatically find their way into the way of thinking and the use of language in corporate communications. In this context, the focus is on customers and service quality with the ultimate goal of maximizing and ensuring customer satisfaction in the long term. In many discussions with representatives from corporate communications in the context of joint projects, I was repeatedly asked the question of the customer. We don’t have customers and we don’t have products! Who are the customers of corporate communications supposed # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_4

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to be? Nothing is bought from us defacto? Sales have to look after the customers and marketing has to bring the customers. If the relevant experts would dare to look beyond their own horizons for their own benefit and gain in knowledge, this picture would change very quickly. Corporate communication does indeed have customers and products, but in order to recognize this, it is necessary to broaden the current perspective and view of classic corporate communication. In the context of corporate communication, all the various recipients of information are the customers of the department, and the content played out is the product of corporate communication in its preparation and the way it is played out via the respective situational channel. It need not be mentioned separately that in any case the individual sovereignty of interpretation of the respective recipient is and remains inviolable. But in the context of predictive communication intelligence and the associated optimization of the probability of occurrence of a defined intended behavior, the reengineering of corporate communication will also help to solve this challenge. For this purpose, we will focus on the maturity levels in relation to the Communication Journey. Through the automation and digitization of corporate communications, target groups are developed efficiently and effectively through the various maturity levels, which in turn naturally also influences the interpretive sovereignty of content on the behavioral-intrinsic level in the sense of the company. As simple as this sounds, everything that builds on this thesis is complex. Because if we now have customers and products, then all further terms and concepts from sales in relation to the pre-purchase phase, purchase phase up to the after-sales phase, and customer satisfaction can also be applied accordingly. This opens completely new dimensions with regard to the consideration of the activities of a communication department. Automatically new yardsticks and regularities for this field of activity can be taken over immediately simply by the assumption from the range of marketing and selling. It is self-explanatory that this naturally also brings a completely new situation for corporate communicators with pronounced transparency and thus naturally also measurability and risk in relation to their own performance. This certainly also plays a role in why this area has not developed as much as marketing or sales, for example. Ultimately, they are also concerned with protecting their own position. However, if this is to the detriment of companies, their competitive positioning and thus also jobs, then reengineering in the sense of rethinking and redefining is more than necessary and should be in the interest of all involved. Especially since the reengineering of corporate communications offers enormous potential and represents an extremely attractive development in the long term.

4.2 From the Buyer Journey to the Communication Journey

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From the Buyer Journey to the Communication Journey

Once this process of change has been successfully mastered, to consider investors, journalists, or even any kind of other relevant stakeholders as customers of information, then it is obvious, logical, and above all very helpful to translate the entire process or the processes and activities of corporate communication into a flow pattern based on the buyer or customer journey. This term is defined as follows (Seebacher, 2020, p. 22): The Buyer Journey is also called the Customer Journey and describes the “journey” of a buyer through the research, evaluation, and purchase process. The Buyer Journey is made up of three general stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

Thus, the Communication Journey (CJ) describes the journey of an information recipient from the status of not knowing the company to an ideally loyal connoisseur and “buyer” of the information in terms of the company’s products or corporate communication. The application of CJ helps to classify the maturity level of the respective information customer and based on this, to be able to optimize relevant contents and their preparation accordingly. Insights from sales and marketing research, which have been working for years on the continuous optimization of the buyer and customer journey, are applied here. The distinction between the buyer’s journey and the customer’s journey focuses on the decision to purchase a product. Once this decision has been made in principle, reinforcing information about the selected product must be played out to the buyer within the framework of marketing and sales. In a figurative sense, this means for the area of corporate communication that the communication journey could be divided into two sections: • Validator Journey: This process defines the journey of information recipients who are still very closely scrutinizing and examining the content of a company in order to form their own picture or opinion. This information receiver is characterized by the fact that he or she does not yet have a loyal relationship or a close relationship with the company. This type is doubtful and examining. • Creator Journey: This process or this part of the CJ concerns the “buyer” of the respective companies´ content. He is or feels to a certain extent connected to the company and due to this intrinsic context trusts the acting persons and their contents. Thus, for this information recipient the company’s values could have been authentically communicated causing a certain subtle loyalty to the company. This increasing loyalty develops unconsciously and intrinsically. In this context, the premises of influencer marketing must be taken into account so as not to nurture the respective journalist(s) too proactively and too intensively, as this would trigger the opposite effect. At this stage of the communication journey only in very critical and delicate cases is content questioned and checked against. Otherwise, content is used and distributed.

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This subdivision is crucial, based on the findings from marketing, in order to be able to optimally design the right mix of emotional and rational content as well as its verbal and graphic preparation in relation to the maturity level of the information recipient or a defined target group. In this context, the concept of an Investor Journey (IJ) can be considered on the basis of the Communication Journey and different target groups. From a marketing perspective, however, no distinction is currently made between different customer groups with regard to the journeys. A differentiation to this effect is only sensibly made with regard to business-tobusiness (B2B), the marketing of industrial goods, and business-to-consumer (B2C), i.e., marketing in the area of end customers. From today’s perspective, it cannot be ruled out that it makes sense for certain companies to define their own IJs. The products of such IJs are then the corresponding financial and investment products of the respective company to be marketed and offered, such as corporate bonds, share packages, or other institutional capital investments. In this respect, the topic-specific relevant research that will hopefully start and take place in the near future will provide new insights with regard to concrete needs for differentiation between CJ and IJ. From today’s perspective, the design of so-called communication personas makes sense for the optimal application of the Communication Journey.

4.3

With the Communication Journey to Communication Personas

The definition of the term buyer persona from the field of marketing is as follows (Seebacher, 2021a, p. 36): The term describes a typical representative of a potential customer or target group. With the help of collected data, a fictitious person is created to describe the potential buyer in detail. Roland Burkholz (Hannig, Springer 2017) states that buyer personas are more than customer profiles and refers to Zambito (B2B Blog, 2013) and its most informative definition:

Buyer personas are research-based archetypal (modeled) representations of who buyers are, what they are trying to accomplish, what goals drive their behavior, how they think, how they buy, and why they make buying decisions.

With the help of these communication personas, corporate communication can define profiles for clearly definable target groups of corporate communication based on the findings of Template-based Management (TBM) (Seebacher, 2020b), as presented by Klaus (2021, p. 235). (Fig. 4.1.). Klaus (ibid, p. 234) writes about this in detail, also against the background of the special requirements of industrial goods marketing: The classic target group definition is based on demographic, socio-economic and psychographic characteristics. . . The buying center includes all persons who are involved in the customer's purchase decision. Studies show that in the B2B environment, more than five

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Fig. 4.1 Template for persona development. Source: Klaus, 2021

4.3 With the Communication Journey to Communication Personas

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people are involved in the decision-making process on average (cf. Brent et al., 2015). Using the example of an IT investment, this can be the CEO, the CIO, the IT director, a network manager, and the purchaser. In this respect, there is not one decision maker, but a multitude. It is important to understand who they are, what moves them, where they obtain information and where in the purchasing process, they exert their influence. Exactly this information is gathered in personas. Personas (lat. mask) are user models that characterize persons of a target group in their features. They can help in marketing due to their extensive description to put themselves in the position of potential users and easily represent this perspective throughout the design process of campaigns and contact strategies. They are given a name, a face, a function, a career and a personal life. Personas possess goals and behaviors, have preferences and expectations.

Thus, communication journeys can be helpful to develop predefined archetypes once in the dynamically changing environment of 24/7, agile, situational, and chaotic mass and at the same time 1–2-1 communication in order to always be able to quickly fall back on this basis. It is in the nature of things that these personas are also subject to a natural process of further development and change. In any case, as is made clear in the chapter on the Corporate Communication Maturity Model (CCMM) later in the book, the joint process of designing such tools, such as those of the personas, represents a decisive success factor for the emergence of modern corporate communication. The reason for this is that a joint learning process is realized, which also creates the necessary competence that forms the basis for the correct handling of personas. Personas also include comprehensive information on the behavior of specific information recipients, how, when, and where they receive, comment, share, or like information. These insights, in turn, help when introducing another concept widely used in marketing and sales into the realm of corporate communications—that of Customer Touchpoints.

4.4

With Personas to Communication Touchpoint Management

From the field of consumer goods marketing, the term point-of-sales (PoS) has spread from the American-speaking world. From this, in the context of online marketing and changing user behavior, the broad and exciting field of research and analysis of customer touchpoints (CTPs) has developed. These CTPs can be found along the entire communication journey and define all possible interfaces of an information recipient with an organization. Customer touchpoints or touchpoint management is defined as follows (Seebacher, 2021a, p. 50): Touchpoints are points of contact with potential and existing customers. At touchpoints customers interact with a company. The frame of reference for this is again the Buyer Journey, along which the many different contact points are located. The management of these touchpoints includes the entire spectrum of necessary measures, from identification, selection, and the content and technical use of these touchpoints to the evaluation of the performance of the various contact points.

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Fig. 4.2 The four steps of the CTMP ®. Source: Schüller, 2016, p. 157

In order for corporate communication to function successfully in the long term, the current contact points for the various target groups must therefore be analyzed and evaluated. Whether, for example, NGO representatives, politicians, investors, or journalists, their possible points of contact must be documented for all defined personas, because interaction with the company can and will take place at these points of contact, consciously or unconsciously, planned and situationally. Again, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, as Schüller (2016, p. 157) has defined and described his own Customer Touchpoint Management Process (CTMP)® for this purpose (Fig. 4.2). It is therefore no longer sufficient for corporate communications to develop and play out content without any empathy for the relevant target group. Just as the product customer of a company would like to have a corresponding positive experience with both the product and the company, the information customer would also like to be played with content according to his individual and situational wishes and needs. For this purpose, it is crucial to continuously consider these needs at the various customer contact points or to let them flow into the design of the customer contact points. Only when this happens can an appropriate customer experience be ensured, which in turn is a prerequisite for a communication strategy to function successfully. If the customer experience negatively influences the reception of information from the outset, the probability increases that the content played out will either be deleted immediately, not seen at all, or read with a subtly negative feeling from the outset and accordingly not ideally processed further for the company. Based on the analysis of current literature in the field of corporate communication presented in the previous chapters, awareness of the existence of appropriate concepts for optimizing the information experience of information recipients at interaction points of an organization does not seem to have been established yet. Thus, an enormous potential is not being exploited, but this is not noticeable to anyone, since another essential area in the context of RCC, namely the broad field of

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communication performance, as a transparent, continuous, and stringent performance outcome measurement of corporate communication, also does not seem to have reached the relevant researchers and practitioners on a broad level yet. This topic will be discussed in more detail later in the book. To analyze contact points with information recipients, the following four aspects should be considered, following Halb and Seebacher (2021): • • • •

Touchpoint awareness (range). Touchpoint relevance. Touchpoint quality. Influence of a touchpoint on the decision-making process in dealing with the information content.

Based on these four dimensions, customer touchpoints can be precisely analyzed. Halb & Seebacher (ibid, p. 304ff) define an exact procedure for such an initial and, based on this, continuously possible optimization of contact points with information customers. In addition, they provide a scientifically validated touchpoint evaluation tool (ibid, p. 308) that can be adopted directly from the marketing department. The goal is to use the generated insights to optimize the currently available touchpoints of a company or corporate communication in terms of customer experience or customer excellence—the user experience.

4.5

Touchpoint Management as the Basis for Communication Experience (CE)

Perception is reality! No matter how good an IT- or quality-manager believes the systems and processes to be used to be, the all-important criterion is always the customer. He or she decides whether their own perception and experience are positive or not. It is the user experience (UX) or the customer experience (CX) that decides who wins or loses or buys or doesn’t buy. How is the term customer experience defined (Seebacher 2021a, p. 38f): The customer experience describes the experience and perception of a customer in dealing with the various marketing and communication channels of a company at the various customer contact points—so-called touch points. The Buyer Experience (BX) basically means the same thing but focuses on an earlier stage of the buyer journey, namely the phases before a purchase decision is made. The User Experience (UX) does not differentiate between the phases of the buyer journey and simply refers to the individual at the various contacts as a user.

In contrast, the definition of user experience (UX) is as follows (ibid, p. 50f): The term customer or user experience refers to the user experience in the sense of the experience or perception of the user. The term ‘user or customer experience’ is also often used. The term describes all aspects of a customer's impressions when interacting with a company, its points of contact and, in turn, its services, products and services.

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Regardless of these subtleties regarding the distinction between these two terms, the ultimate goal is to be aware of the fact that the customer has come of age. In the jungle of information, the customer unconsciously expects a customer experience that is tailored to his needs. Conversely, this means that a product that is good in itself will most likely not be purchased if the customer experience during interaction with a company is poor. It is exactly the same with the purchase of information as the product of corporate communication. A corporate communication must grow in the direction of a stringently service-oriented, information experience-maximizing way of thinking and acting. Only then can it be ensured that the corresponding content can also be provided to the information recipient in an ideal environment. This in turn increases or maximizes the “purchase probability” in the sense of perception and use in the sense of further distribution of the content provided. The constant increase of this purchase probability must be the endeavor of modern corporate communication, which, just like all other organizational functions within an organizational construct, must be able to be measured by its own economic added value in terms of input and output. This relationship between input and output must be measured on the basis of the content generated, its distribution to the various information recipients, but also the quality and quantity in terms of reporting in the sense of redistribution and reuse. A common and popular practice in this regard is sentiment analysis. It is crucial that an awareness is established that the environmentrelated optimization of the playout of information in terms of form, channel, scope, and time has a significant influence on the performance of corporate communications. However, this does not mean that the area of corporate communications should now design and implement its own system for touchpoint management. On the contrary, my intention is to counteract the prevailing silo thinking by pointing out the parallelisms and also the reusability of insights and concepts from marketing and sales in the area of corporate communications. What has been done for years in modern marketing departments can be reused or reapplied without great effort for the entire corporate communication in the sense of all involved.

4.6

After Communication Experience Comes Communication Excellence

It is well known from performance measurement research that you can only manage what you measure. What are the activities and measures of corporate communicators and their departments measured against? Of course, this heavily depends on the contingency situation but the situation reminds me of those as it was in marketing and human resource management at the beginning of the new millennium. These two corporate functions were the last remaining islands of bliss that had not been swept up in the controlling tsunami of the 1980s and 1990s. This circumstance was certainly also due to the fact that at that time there were simply no concepts and systems to stringently measure and evaluate the work of marketers and HR managers.

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The first publications on Marketing Resource Management (Güpner & Seebacher 2021) and Workforce Management (Güpner & Seebacher, 2018) also fall into this period. Based on methods and structural sciences, index-based approaches and models were published at that time to be able to eliminate the latent intransparency and lack of measurability of the two disciplines. These approaches were based on a combination of process management insights and the derivation of subject-specific metrics based on them, which today would be called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This approach enabled performance measurement systems to be used in these specialist areas for the first time. The collected data formed the basis for quantitative and qualitative optimization. This work was also influenced by the findings from the field of quality management (Masing, 1999) and the efforts to maximize it. It was the time of the Quality Excellence Awards, which contributed significantly to the developments. For the reengineering of corporate communications, this means that only the measurement and evaluation of the communication experience enable the optimization of all measures and touchpoints toward communication excellence. This communication excellence must be the primary goal of modern corporate communications, because only in this way can the economic added value of the department be developed and maximized accordingly. However, this is only one side of the coin, because if communication excellence is not stringently pursued and monitored, then this means that the risk of nonuse or the even more dangerous negative use of the corresponding content is higher and increases. Especially against the background of the already repeatedly mentioned independence of 24/7, 1–2-1 and N-2-N communication in the constantly increasing arenas of an increasingly agile and less forgiving society with an increasingly unmanageable mixture of open and hidden agendas, communication excellence must be considered an essential component of organizational risk management and must therefore also be proactively strived for and pursued. Conversely, this also means that communication excellence data must be collected, stored, and processed centrally 24/7 at all possible customer contact points worldwide. In the context of the increasing dynamics and heterogeneity of the corporate environment, it does not need to be pointed out separately that the omnipresent collection of information and, above all, its processing, evaluation, and interpretation cannot be carried out manually in the long term. This requires a modern, stable, and powerful infrastructure, a communication intelligence.

4.7

Communication Excellence Needs Communication Intelligence

What approaches and methods are used today in sales and marketing to continuously optimize return-on-sales (ROS) and return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI)? How is this done? How do hidden champions (Simon, 2021) with their manageable resources identify new developing export opportunities and new markets? How

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can customer and buyer behavior be predicted ever better and more precisely? It is about predictive intelligence (Seebacher, 2021b), on the basis of which future developments and behaviors can be predicted. However, predictive intelligence cannot be established in an organization by simply purchasing one of the many solutions and products in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), as many of today’s top managers believe. Similar to tax advisors and lawyers, AI can only be or become as good as it is allowed to be. According to the motto “shit-in-shit-out!” an AI must be fed with relevant and valid data so that reliable and valid results and insights can be generated.

4.7.1

What We Should Learn from Amazon and Google?

This can be illustrated with a simple example. All online platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, or Google already use AI to predict which products customers will buy soon. For this purpose, search terms and search behavior, as well as purchase behavior, are tracked and documented. This data is automatically fed to the AI systems behind it to generate valuable insights for predicting customers’ possible needs and desires. On the other side of the coin are providers of eCommerce shops whose goal is to always be high up on the searchers’ pages by targeting relevant search terms. Many of the providers now make the mistake in the context of Search Engine Advertising (SEA) but also Search Engine Optimization (SEO), that they immediately start with large budgets, believing that they can immediately place themselves high in search lists. But this is a misconception because the opposite happens. The AI is misguided by the immediate and intensive targeting and targeting of the defined and for the own product supposedly relevant terms, which leads to the fact that too much money is used for too expensive and wrong key words. The AI is thus wrongly trained, which leads to completely wrong results being generated and thus no products being sold. The money is gone because the wrong terms were entered and thus the wrong results were played out—wrong customers were shown the ads for the wrong product. Shit-in, shit-out!

4.7.2

Everything but a “One-off”

So, what does this mean for corporate communicators and their communication intelligence? The topic of communication intelligence is not a “one-off,” but a journey in terms of organizational learning. It is about an organizational learning process from static analytics to dynamic, interactive intelligence, as is also the case in the field of business intelligence (Seebacher, 2021b, p. 13) and can be seen in the maturity model for predictive intelligence (Fig. 4.3). This means that step by step, a start must be made on collecting the correct and relevant information on the entire corporate communication in a structured manner and transferring this data into a multidimensional data model. This data model can

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Fig. 4.3 Maturity model for predictive intelligence. Source: Seebacher, 2021b, p. 13

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subsequently evaluate data according to the decisive criteria to be defined and generate insights into communication excellence. Ideally, this multidimensional data cube should be designed and defined in a team as part of the process model for corporate communication reengineering described in the following chapter.

4.7.3

Learning from Business Intelligence

Seebacher (2021b) defines business intelligence thus: Business Intelligence (BI) defines itself as the process of collecting, preparing and making available data for decision-making (Chamoni & Gluchowski, 2006). In the context of operational management, it is more likely to focus on a standard orientation with consistent key figures in terms of metrics and analyses. In the context of Business Intelligence, pre-defined questions are to be answered dashboard-based with congruent, predefined report structures. This is made possible by indirect access or either manual or partially or fully automated aggregation of multidimensional data sources, banks and systems. Advanced BI infrastructures are available to internal customer groups 24/7 dynamically and always updated via intranets or similar structures. The provided information can be adapted interactively by the respective user by means of filters or slicers, derived from the function of extracting certain, relevant data records from an entire data set, simply and quickly to the relevant question. Modern BI infrastructures also allow for so-called exception reporting, which is discussed in the corresponding section in the further course of this chapter.

Following the research in the field of business and market intelligence and corresponding application examples (ibid, p. 252), the following criteria for a Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC) could be defined, for example (Fig. 4.4): • Target groups (journalists, politicians, institutional investors, etc.) • Touchpoints (webpage, newsletter, App, trade show, etc.) • Regions (USA, Europe, DACH region, county, etc.)

Fig. 4.4 Example structure of a CIC. Source: Own illustration

TOUCHPOINTS

REGIONS TARGET GROUPS

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In combination with a so-called and already mentioned Event-Media-Intelligence (EMI) (ibid, p. 256) information could be generated continuously but also and above all used at any time and situationally, for example, to: • Long-term branding and corporate communications campaigns can be planned precisely not only in terms of content but also in terms of budget on the basis of EMI data. • Plan and prepare corporate information efficiently and effectively in the medium term with a precise focus on the respective target groups in the different regions up to. • Automated playout of necessary crisis communication at short notice in the event of any kind of imminent danger. All this and much more becomes possible when the latest approaches and tools are stringently applied and used with concept and competence. On the basis of the defined communication journeys, the relevant content assets, i.e., the content adapted to the various personas in terms of text and layout, can then be played out immediately via the optimal arenas and their touchpoints. Thus, the response time can be reduced to a previously impossible minimum and thus the risk of a shitstorm but also a sustainable image loss can be virtually eliminated. But one thing is also clear: all of this can only work if the field of corporate communications finally says goodbye to the analogue age and makes use of the insights and possibilities of automation.

4.8

Communication Intelligence Needs Communication Automation

Automation is primarily known from industrial processes. This development has led to the fact that large parts of the value chain can be standardized and processed by machines. As a result, not only the process quality, but also the process efficiency has been significantly increased or optimized. This has been made possible, among other things, by developments in the field of information technology on the one hand and in the field of sensor technology on the other. Today, the buzzwords in this context are smart sensors, smart products, remote or predictive maintenance. However, this development has also changed other areas of the business value chains and thus marketing and sales automation (Hannig & Seebacher, 2022) has changed and, above all, optimized the entire process of marketing and sales in recent years. It is therefore crucial for an efficient and effective reengineering of corporate communications to take these insights into account. On the one hand, to realize synergies, avoid redundancies and eliminate errors. What does Marketing Automation stand for (ibid, p. 4):

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Marketing automation is the IT-supported execution of recurring marketing tasks with the aim of increasing the efficiency of marketing processes and the effectiveness of marketing decisions.

Regarding the term sales automation, Hannig & Seebacher (2022, p. 4) refer to the definition of the Institute for Sales and Marketing Automation (IFSMA): Sales Automation is the IT-supported execution of recurring sales tasks with the aim of increasing the efficiency of sales processes and the effectiveness of sales decisions.

Aull (2021, p. 21) talks about the “marketing automation opportunity” and refers to the following aspects: • • • • •

Timing of the information is selectable by the customer. The type of information and contact can be controlled by the customer. Security of the data provided by the customer is guaranteed. Individual sales support is to start at the right time. The customer is convinced with arguments geared to him.

Following Seebacher (2021a, p. 43 f.), the term Marketing Automation (MA) is differentiated into MA in the broadest sense, in the narrower sense, and in the narrowest sense: The term Marketing Automation in the broadest sense describes an organizational change process in which repetitive activities are automated with IT support in order to work more cost- and time-efficiently. The goal is to automate everything that is technically feasible and possible. . . Marketing Automation in the narrower sense refers to the creation of user profiles. These are developed and enhanced with information based on the user behaviour of leads and customers in order to set up automated measures and campaigns for individual communication. Marketing automation solutions in the narrower sense combine functionalities from CRM systems, web analytics, email marketing, social media advertising, and retargeting. Marketing automation in the narrowest sense refers only to the process of lead nurturing starting with lead generation.

4.8.1

How Communication Automation Is Defined?

Based on this, it is very easy to derive an adapted definition for the three levels of the concept of communication automation: • The term communication automation in the broadest sense describes an organizational change process in which repetitive activities are automated with IT support in order to work more cost- and time-efficiently. The goal is to automate everything that is technically feasible and possible. • Communication automation in the narrower sense refers to the creation of user profiles—personas—for the various customers of corporate communication.

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These customers are the relevant recipients of information. These personas are developed and enhanced with information based on the user behavior of these interest groups in order to set up automated communication journeys with regard to optimizing the communication experience. Communication automation solutions in the narrower sense combine functionalities from CRM systems, web analysis, e-mail marketing, social media advertising, and retargeting. • Communication automation in the narrowest sense refers only to the process of Recipient or Stakeholder Nurturing starting with Recipient or Stakeholder Generation.

4.8.2

Don’t Fall Victim to the CRM Paradox

Communication Automation (CA) is therefore the all-important element in order to be able to sustainably and meaningfully reengineer the area of corporate communication. Without CA, it will not be possible to master the rapidly increasing requirements and challenges or to master them in any way. For this automation, however, it is necessary to lay the foundations at the outset in terms of organizational and process structure based on the marketing maturity model (Seebacher, 2021c) or the predictive intelligence maturity model (Seebacher, 2021b, p. 57ff). How this can be done efficiently and effectively is presented step by step in the Communication Excellence Journey (CEE) or the Reengineering Model for Corporate Communication in the following chapter. If this basic homework is not done in advance, you run the risk of falling victim to the CRM paradox. This paradox describes the nonfulfilment of the requirements placed on a system if it is purchased without the corresponding structural and content-related integration and then imposed top-down on an organization by top management. Currently, in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) (Krüger, 2021) and the challenges of eliminating data blindness (Freeform Dynamics, 2020), many companies are in danger of falling victim to the CRM paradox, believing that simply purchasing an AI solution they will immediately become a data-driven company. This is a fatal fallacy. New technologies are like math and calculators. Our children must first learn the basic mechanics of mathematics through mental arithmetic, and only when this competency is developed do they learn how to use a calculator. Or do you think that a Lufthansa airline pilot first learns how to use the autopilot and only then manual visual flight? Of course not, so why should this basic principle of learning to use technology be any different in the field of business administration?

4.9

With Communication Automation to Segment-Based Communication (SBC)

Another important aspect for the reengineering of corporate communication is the targeted and concerted communication with particularly critical and important stakeholders. This concept does not have to be reinvented either but can be set up

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along the lines of the Account-based Marketing (ABM) (Bacon, 2021) concept from automated marketing and sales as part of the reengineering of corporate communication. Bacon (2021, p. 419f) writes in this regard: Gartner defines Account-Based Marketing, or ABM, as a “coordinated program to target a select group of potential customers through simultaneous inbound and outbound channels along each stage of the buying process”. Specific customers—known as “accounts”—are defined and targeted through personalized campaigns. Ideally, this should happen through close collaboration between marketing and sales. Other definitions, again, lean more toward the strategic dimension of marketing, calling ABM a “go-to-market strategy that coordinates personalized marketing and sales efforts to acquire target customers and develop existing customers revenue-wise.” In any case, what is crucial and common to all definitions is that ABM describes a proactive approach initiated from within and by the company towards previously defined customers.

The ITSMA1 defines ABM as “treating individual accounts as a distinct market.” ABM is a structured approach to developing and implementing highly customized programs for customers, partners, or prospects. ABM envisions marketing and sales taking a hard look at the key business issues facing the target, mapping them to individuals, and tailoring campaigns to address those issues. ABM is a concept for both sales and marketing. Aligning these two disciplines together is the be-all and end-all. The focus is on tailored offers that are highly relevant to the customer. ABM requires detailed knowledge of the customer to enable these actions, but ABM can be applied to both new and existing customer accounts. On this basis, a first definition for Segment-based Communication (SBC) for the reengineering of corporate communication can now be derived and introduced into the discours: Segment-based communication is a structured approach in which particularly critical and important target groups of content and information recipients are identified for a company and defined by means of key personas in relation to their needs in order to optimize their communication experience for the development and implementation of highly customized programs for the defined key personas.

SBC must make a lasting and decisive contribution to ensuring that the successcritical groups of information recipients are continuously monitored and evaluated virtually. Marketing automation solutions available on the market offer the necessary functionalities to be able to recognize content-related needs as well as dangerous developments of the defined key personas continuously and at an early stage. This makes it possible to have shitstorms, crises, but also burgeoning information deficits on the radar 24/7 worldwide and to immediately counteract them efficiently and effectively via the corresponding communication journey with the relevant content assets via Communication Automation.

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www.itsma.com Accessed: November 18, 2021.

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The Communication Orchestration (CO) Vision

None of this can be accomplished by the current, antiquated world of corporate communications departments. Without the terms and concepts previously introduced into the discourse, this means that companies are on increasingly thin communications ice in terms of shitstorms, crises, and scandals. The rapid developments and increasing importance of Account-based Marketing (ABM) show how essential its communication counterpart, SBM, will be for companies and their corporate communications in the near future. Those companies will perfectly manage the many different core target groups that, in the context of Communication Orchestration, together with marketing and sales, draw on common data, concepts, and systems and plan and act in a coordinated and concerted manner. In this context, the term Communication Orchestration refers to the reference model, Marketing Orchestration (Seebacher 2021a, p. 44), and denotes the planning or coordination of all relevant aspects and elements of a contingency situation in order to achieve a predefined effect. This means that corporate communication orchestration focuses on the stringent interdepartmental and uncompromising cooperation at eye level between marketing, sales, and corporate communication. Communication Orchestration institutionalizes the customer-centric interaction process, targeting optimization within channels and across channels and programs to realize programmatic, performance-based, predictive Always-on-Communication (AoC) incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). The notion is also relatively new to the field of marketing, and it remains to be seen whether and to what extent the orchestration approach is a true advancement or merely another product of inventive MarTechStack vendors to place new IT solutions in the market. Regardless of this, the idea of concerted coordination and cooperation is in any case an essential success factor for overcoming specialist silo thinking.

4.11

What We Know of the New World?

In the context of this chapter, a first impression has been given of the topics and terms that a reengineered corporate communication will have to deal with. Many of the things introduced and described in the discourse will not be new to modern marketing and sales managers who have done their homework in the context of marketing and sales automation. On the contrary, a great meaningful whole will emerge from this for these managers. Because until now, corporate communication has always been a nontransparent, glass tower far removed from the daily challenges of entrepreneurial activity. However, in an increasingly heterogeneous and complex landscape of arenas, entrepreneurial constructs must intrinsically position themselves in an increasingly homogeneous and concerted manner. Only in this way will it be possible to successfully master the entrepreneurial challenges in the “War for Clients” in the long term in terms of achieved and growing profit. Just as in society the many small sub-societies nourish, support, and push each other, in the opposite part of this, an

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organization in the future must always act congruently and consistently from the inside out 24/7 in relation to the organizational identity in order not to come under the communicative and manipulative wheels of individual interest groups. A more than impressive example is the current situation in the Alpine Republic: Austria in the context of the fourth Corona wave. A small political group, which manipulatively positions itself as an opponent of vaccination against all scientific competence, leads to the fact that a country equipped with all means and possibilities completely gets into the water of the spreading of fake news and its manipulation. This goes so far now that ringleaders of these reality deniers are themselves infected with the virus and from their own quarantine still call for demonstrations against Corona vaccinations. On the other side is a government that does not communicate and act stringently and congruently from within based on an intrinsic organizational identity. And it is only through this identity vacuum that these sub-societies can gain power and visibility in terms of communicative form. The reengineering of corporate communication must be considered and implemented against the background of this imbalance paradox between external heterogeneity and a resulting need for internal homogeneity in terms of communication and interaction. And anything that helps to shorten reaction times can make a significant contribution in this environment to identifying dangers, minimizing risks, and being able to act successfully in the long term. Today’s corporate communications systems are not designed in such a way, either in terms of processes or information technology, that they can meet these new requirements and challenges on an equal footing. Companies that do not become aware of this fact in a timely manner will sooner or later fall by the wayside and be able to say goodbye to their brand and their markets in one or the other shitstorm and the resulting loss of image and trust.

References Aull, M. (2021). Dovetailing marketing and sales automation. In U. Hannig (Ed.), Marketing and sales automation. Springer Gabler. Bacon, A. (2021). Strategic account-based marketing: How to tame this beast. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Brent, A., Matthew, D., Pat, S., & Nick, T. (2015). The challenger customer. Penguin Publishing Group. Burgholz, R. (2017). Development of a buyer persona. In U. Hannig (Ed.), Marketing and sales automation–basic tools implementation. Everything you need to know (pp. 49–58). Springer. Chamoni, P., & Gluchowski, P. (2006). Analytische informationssysteme: Business intelligencetechnologien und –anwendungen (3. Auflage ed.). Springer. Freeform Dynamics Ltd. (2020). The road to becoming a data-driven business–Research Report. Güpner, A., & Seebacher, U. (2018). Strategic workforce management: Modern strategic workforce planning. USP Publishing. Güpner, A., & Seebacher, U. (2021). Marketing resource management–Practical guide to organizational development with many examples, explanations and instructions for action. AQPS Inc. Halb, F., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). User experience and Touchpoint management: A touchpoint performance management toolkit for the buyer journey. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer.

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Hannig, U., & Seebacher, U. (2022). Marketing and sales automation: Fundamentals– implementation–applications. Springer. Klaus, L. (2021). Marketing automation: Exploring the process model for implementation. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Krüger, S. (2021). The AI decision–artificial intelligence and what we make of it. Springer. Masing, W. (1999). Handbook of quality management. Hanser Verlag. Schüller, A. M. (2016). Touch. Point. Victory. Communication in times of digital transformation. Gabal. Seebacher, U. (2020). B2B marketing essential–how to transform the marketing department from a cost factor to a revenue driver. APQS. Seebacher, U. (2020b). Template-based management: A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021a). The B2B marketing ecosystem: Finding your way through the world of colorful B2B terms! In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing (Management for professionals). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54292-4_2 Seebacher, U. (2021c). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers: Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021b). The B2B marketing maturity model: What the route to the goal looks like! In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Simon, H. (2021). Hidden champions–the new rules of the game in the Chinese century. Frankfurt. Zambito, T. (2013). What is a buyer persona? Why the original definition still matters to B2B, blog post. http://tonyzambito.com/buyer-persona-original-definition-matters/. Accessed April 16, 2020.

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5.1

Success Is the Result of Many Small Steps

Also, in the area of the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC) it is like always in life. A sustainable overhaul of this so important corporate area is only possible if one proceeds step by step with concept and competence. However, this also means that the alibi of purchasing an appropriate IT solution available on the market will not be able to solve the problem of an outdated corporate communication. Therefore, in the context of the previous presentations, it is now necessary to draw a clear picture of the development stages toward modern corporate communication that meets the changed requirements. These development stages can be described and defined according to certain criteria for the certain phases of such an organizational maturity process. Together, these phases make up the Corporate Communication Maturity Model (CCMM). This model in turn forms the basis for the process of reengineering corporate communication. This maturity model is set up in congruence with or based on the reference models in the areas of marketing and business intelligence. The background for this can be found in the field of organizational theory. From the point of view of organizational development, the path to a reengineered corporate communication is an organizational learning process, as the marketing and business intelligence functions currently must go through. In this context, two aspects are essential to consider: • Congruence: If two or more functions of organizations must adjust and adapt to changing environmental conditions, the intrinsic complexity in the organization can be significantly minimized from a structural point of view by similarly set up and similarly run development processes.

All templates used in this chapter can be freely downloaded from www.uweseebacher.org/rcc. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_5

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Fig. 5.1 Growth model for corporate communication. Source: Own illustration

• Stringency: Several parallel learning processes in the organizations can be aligned from a content point of view by correspondingly similar learning progressions, which leads to synergies being optimally and maximally identified and realized. Congruence and stringency are therefore the two essential success factors to be able to implement RCC in a way that optimizes resources and maximizes results, as just one of several changes and further development processes currently taking place in companies.

5.2

The Growth Model for Corporate Communication

This model (Fig. 5.1) uses three criteria to characterize the stages of development of a modern corporate communication. These three decisive factors are: • Response time • Degree of agility and integration • Costs of corporate communication The RCC leads to a sustainable optimization of all three factors. In the following, the respective factors are discussed in detail and their development is critically discussed.

5.2.1

Why Response Time Is Crucial?

True to the saying “Only the early bird catches the fly,” it will be more and more important not necessarily to react, but to act from the point of view of corporate

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communications, earlier and earlier or ideally before something happens in the sense of a crisis. Only then can perfect action be taken in the sense of the company in order to sustainably secure and establish the brand and thus also the image of the organization, but also to develop it in the sense of the brand value. Ideally, corporate communications would have a multidimensional, 24/7, global radar system to monitor communication and interaction across all arenas and target groups. All this information must be automatically fed into a Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC), which has already been introduced into the discourse, and processed by means of artificial intelligence (AI) in such a way that predictive developments and corresponding assessments and statements can be made in the context of Predictive Communication Intelligence (PCI) and communicated to the individual actors in the company. This is to be concretized by means of an example: • Information recipients: All relevant data on target groups are recorded on the basis of firmly defined data fields such as name, e-mail, telephone number, place of residence, hobbies, political views, personal thematic preferences, but also thematic focal points, etc. for journalists, contacts to associations and interest groups, as well as to institutions, influencers, and other defined information customers, and linked to the other two dimensions by means of a manual or automated interface to form a central linked database. • Regions: Similarly, all relevant data is documented and continuously updated by region for relevant media, channels, and events on the basis of data fields that have been defined once initially. For investor events, for example, information such as date, location, number and profiles of participants, organizer, e-mail, telephone number, location, data on the history with the organizer or this event up to special features and further specially defined information can be entered into the data sheet. In the same way as the data on the information recipients is integrated into or linked with the CIC, the data on events and media—Event and Media Intelligence (EMI)—is also entered into the CIC. This information, when properly indexed, can then be integrated into automated mailings and CC campaigns. • Touchpoints: All of the company’s potential touchpoints are also captured and updated based on criteria once defined. Touchpoints must be defined and documented along the entire communication journey. This information must also be integrated into the CIC, because this is the only way to evaluate and document the respective performance of a communication measure in relation to the respective region(s) and information recipients and based on this, to optimize any further communication accordingly. The prototype of a CIC can be a simple Excel table in order to learn how to handle and work with the construct of a CIC in a team. As the amount of data increases, it is possible to migrate to a more comprehensive and powerful data management product. Important: It is also crucial in this context to proceed in small steps together in the team right from the start and to make sure that the learning process takes place. Only then can and will it be ensured in the long term that it is possible to work

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appropriately with more complex and more comprehensive technical CIC infrastructures. Many more details can be found in the chapter on the Interaction Technology Stack (InTechStack). The CIC also forms the basis for ongoing monitoring of all communication activities, as performance parameters defined once for activities can be continuously played out and evaluated in the communication dashboards 24/7. Such a Communication Radar System (CRS) will naturally also set corresponding system-internal priorities in the context of Segment-based Communication (SBC) in order to differentiate with regard to the importance of the respective information in the context of the respective acting, external persons or groups of persons with regard to the urgency of a reaction. Regardless of this, however, it is obvious that the possible and necessary response time in certain situations develops indirectly in proportion to the maturity level of the respective corporate communications department. The faster the corresponding data from relevant sources of relevant target groups are identified, transmitted, fed into the systems, and evaluated, the faster the corresponding measures can be evaluated, the corresponding content defined or selected and automatically played out directly. Especially in the context of crisis communication, time and rapid selection of the adequate response are the decisive factors for success. The sooner a countermeasure is defined and applied, the more consistently and stringently the situation can be dealt with efficiently and effectively. And the better a corresponding communication strategy can be assessed in advance in terms of its effectiveness based on predictive intelligence, the higher the probability of hitting the target. The shorter the situational reaction time, the lower the damage in terms of the target group-intrinsic dynamics in one or more involved groups, the personas. The programmatic shortening of the reaction time therefore requires the following elements, which have already been discussed and related to each other earlier in this publication: • • • • • • •

Communication Process Library (CPL). Communication Personas. Segment-based Communication (SBC). Communication Information Cube (CIC). Event-Media-Intelligence (EMI). Communication Automation. Predictive Communication Intelligence (PCI).

5.2.2

Agility and Integration as Enablers

Agile management (Deeken & Fuchs, 2018) is omnipresent and does not stop at corporate communication. Only those who can act quickly and flexibly, in the sense of an agile mindset (Hofert, 2018), are able to recognize emerging, developing shitstorms at an early stage before the “shit tsunami” and defuse a communication front that is turning against their own company. In such situations, it’s all about effective, structured creativity so that accurate content can be delivered as quickly as possible to the right recipients of information. Every second counts! The big

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Fig. 5.2 Standard tasks in business processes. Source: Kosuniak, 2021

misconception in this context is that agility is unconsciously associated with attributes such as creative and informal. On the contrary, however, developing organizational agility requires the definition and communication of fundamental organizational and process structures. Especially supposedly creative processes can benefit enormously from such basic structures in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Kosuniak (2021) has illustrated this using the inherently creative area of content marketing and states (ibid, p. 321) how a good content manager can be recognized: • • • •

Journalistic experience. Ability to coordinate the work of team members. Expertise in search engine positioning algorithms. Analytical skills.

Thus, three of the four core competencies can be assigned to the structuralanalytical area. Efficient and effective creative work in an entrepreneurial context requires clearly defined framework conditions in terms of roles and responsibilities—also and especially in crisis situations. Kosuniak (ibid, p. 321) writes in this regard: The role of the content manager is to educate, to keep an eye on deadlines, motivate and promote and manage the work. For this reason, excellent communication skills and the ability to coordinate the work of content providers will be of great benefit. . .A good Content Manager must be able to analyze the effectiveness of content and create recommendations for other teams and management. The role of the content manager will be to present the results of a process involving several or sometimes dozens of people. Skillfully presenting the results of this work and comparing them to the defined objectives will make it easier to evaluate the effectiveness of the entire process. Therefore, the content manager should have the necessary analytical skills and competencies to recognize and assess the value of content. Moreover, he or she should be able to present the conclusions to the experts in the field, the SEO agencies, the head of the marketing team and the management.

Kosuniak confirms the thesis that reliable creativity can only function along a clearly defined process. He compares the content marketing and management process with a normal business process (Fig. 5.2) and the standard tasks that occur in it (ibid, p. 374). Within the framework of the model for reengineering corporate communication, the Communication Process Library (CPL) is introduced into the discourse. A good starting point for this can be the company’s internal quality manual, which maps all the company’s processes - in whatever level of detail. The CPL is the underlying process description of all activities carried out in the field of corporate

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communication. In light of the fact that both Predictive Profit Marketing (Gölles & Seebacher, 2021, p. 683) and Sales Optimization (Negovan & Seebacher, 2021, p. 727) use such process libraries, the importance of developing and using such information becomes clear. It is only through the cross-functional use of these structure-based tools that the crucial internal organizational consistency and stringency can be developed, namely when very precise inputs, outputs, and interfaces as well as needs and redundancies are thereby identified and then eliminated. Thus, the integration required for agility could be established through the introduction of documents to processes. It is important to mention in this context that complex process documentations, as they are developed and used very technocratically in the context of quality management, do not lead to the goal in most cases. Such process representations set up in the context of ISO standards quality certifications overshoot the mark and only in the rarest cases become “living” documents that are actively incorporated into daily work. In this context, it is crucial to define a format or instrument - for example Visio, Flow, or MS PowerPoint— in the team or in the organization within the framework of the CD and CI colors and specifications with regard to optimal user experience. It is important that once defined processes are easy and simple to edit, adapt and optimize in order to minimize the inhibition threshold of use and further development.

5.2.3

How to Minimize the Costs?

Once again, the COVID pandemic has shown that budgets for marketing and corporate communications have been arbitrarily cut. What has taken hold in marketing in recent years is now spilling over with vehement stringency to corporate communications departments - namely the call for making the performance of corporate communications measurable. It is therefore not surprising that management is becoming increasingly sensitive to the costs of these departments. The good news in this context is that, based on many different initiatives and projects in and at organizations worldwide of all different size categories, it can be attested that, if the concepts discussed in this publication are introduced and used sensibly, significant cost reductions can be realized in a timely manner. In addition, the stringent work on the basis of the processes also facilitates the development of the necessary internal departmental competence to develop, optimize, document and expand their own specific performance indicators for measuring corporate communications. This then becomes a valuable supplement to the CIC or the Communication Radaring System (CRS), to be able to measure and evaluate all internal and external activities in a 360 mode. If all this information is subsequently incorporated into a dedicated Corporate Communications Dashboard (CCD), then enormous transparency is created, which in turn has a positive effect on trust with regard to the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire corporate communications.

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These cost savings are made possible by mechanisms that have been tried and tested for many decades. The most significant savings are due to the following aspects: • Optimized processes: As part of the creation of a process library on the processes of corporate communications, an optimization of the processes is automatically realized. Redundancies are identified and inputs and outputs are precisely and transparently defined and communicated through the definition of interfaces. However, this will only be the case if this comprehensive Communication Process Library (CPL) is created and adopted step by step by the department itself and together. • Automated communication: Based on the process library, the IT-supported processing of redundant activities that run in the same way can take place. As a result, employees in corporate communications are relieved of some or all their workload and can subsequently be deployed for other, possibly higher-value or new activities in corporate communications, but also for the further development of corporate communications. This results in indirect cost optimization, namely when employees can be deployed for higher-value activities than before. Concrete and result-relevant cost savings are realized when these freed-up employees are transferred to other departments outside of corporate communications. This can become relevant from a strategic point of view, namely when these employees are then sent as Corporate Communication Managers (CCM) to operational or decentralized business units, to be able to perform this function there as a one-man show by using the central, fully automated, and integrated corporate communication, with knowledge of the processes and systems for the respective area. • Integrated systems: Based on current findings, many of the concepts and IT applications already used or currently being implemented during the automation of marketing and sales in companies can also be used very well for the area of corporate communications. This becomes clear from the explanations in the previous sections of this book and the derivation of the corresponding approaches from modern marketing and sales management. With regard to the enormous savings potential, Negovan and Seebacher (2021, p. 732) provide appealing figures that illustrate that a multiple of more can be realized with fewer resources and means. With 34% less staffing, the three factors outlined earlier were able to realize an impressive 40% reduction in costs while increasing online inquiries and leads by 3500% in just 1 year. Of course, it is not the focus of corporate communications to be measured by such marketing and sales metrics. In the further course of this publication, new performance parameters for a reengineered corporate communication will be discussed in order to initiate discourse and discussion. The aim here is merely to show how more meaningful output can be achieved simply, quickly and without additional investment by effectively and efficiently doing less.

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5.3

From Reactive One-Dimensionality to Multidimensional Interagility

Figure 5.1 of the maturity model clearly shows the four development stages towards modern corporate communication that must be passed through in the context of reengineering. These structural levels are defined on the basis of the two characteristics of communication dimension and communication behavior, which are discussed in more detail below: 1. 2. 3. 4.

One-dimensional reactive maturity level. Multi-dimensional situational maturity level. Multi-dimensional interactive maturity level. Multi-dimensional interagile maturity level.

5.3.1

The One-Dimensional Reactive Maturity Level

The majority of all corporate communications departments today are found between this and the second stage of the development model for corporate communications discussed in this book, based on the research for this book at around 300 companies. (Fig. 5.3). This is simply the result of a lack of, as mentioned at the beginning, insufficiently advanced, out-of-the-box basic research, but also the deficits in the area of applied research. The term “one-dimensionality” refers to the high degree of analogue activity in the specialist departments. This means that communication measures still must be handled manually due to a lack of automation and digitalization. For example, relevant e-mail addresses for specific press releases are copied from Excel lists and sent via the classic e-mail program used in the organization. In more advanced areas,

Fig. 5.3 One-dimensional reactive communication. Source: Own illustration

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LOGIC

TRUST BUILDING COMMUNICATION

AUTHENTICITY

EMPATHY

Fig. 5.4 Triangle for trust-building communication. Source: Based on Frei & Morriss, 2020

partially automated e-Mail programs may already be used, where predefined mailing lists can be automatically filled with content. This one-dimensionality refers to the fact that one and the same communication measure cannot be interactively played out to several different recipient groups with automatically adapted content. In concrete terms, this means that a content is sent to one group of recipients. If another group is deemed relevant for a content, the same content is then forwarded to this second group of recipients in a second process. However, in an age of 24/7 availability and the need for synchronous interaction across continents and target groups, this is one of the most important factors. Because an apparently advantageous provision of information to “customers” compared to one or more other groups can, in the worst case, trigger a shitstorm per se. This is because the company can be accused of wanting to give one or another target group a corresponding information advantage as part of a manipulation strategy. The reengineering of corporate communication must not disregard the principles of trust-building communication (Fig. 5.4) based on Frei and Morriss (2020). The three essential criteria are authenticity, empathy, and logic. Therefore, an information-distribution gap must not be caused by a mere lack of technological possibilities. The lack of the necessary technological infrastructure also means that current corporate communications are largely only able to act reactively in crisis situations. With regard to press information and press releases, the area of corporate communications is of course largely the initiator and also the driver. However, as soon as situational, and proactive action in the sense of communicative risk management would be necessary, these are only found in the dangerous passenger seat against the background of the current situation and equipment of corporate communications. In crisis situations, it is therefore only possible to react because:

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PREDICTIVE

RCC

REENGINEERING CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

AUTHENTIC

EMPATHETIC

Fig. 5.5 Target triad of corporate communication reengineering. Source: Own illustration

• On the one hand, the relevant information of an emerging problem, a crisis, accidents, or ecological incidents cannot be identified in time by technological means in the worldwide communication jungle. • On the other hand, the necessary preparations, and decisions, but also the adaptation or development of the corresponding content cannot be automated quickly enough. It is therefore not surprising that more and more publications are currently dealing with the area of crisis management and crisis communication. The increasingly frequent devastating floods and storms dramatically illustrate how important predefined and automatically initiated response chains are in order not to lose any time. In the future, predictive intelligence (Seebacher, 2021) will make it possible to predict such disasters ever more precisely, which will help save millions of lives. For the reengineering of corporate communications, this means that in addition to the optimization and automation of the relevant processes, communication intelligence must also and above all be defined relatively early in order to be able to start collecting the right information on the relevant target groups in a timely manner. Turning this data into valuable information and new insights must be the primary goal and will be the basis for the all-important anticipatory, empathetic and, above all, forward-looking corporate communication (Fig. 5.5).

5.3.2

The Multidimensional-Situational Maturity Level

In contrast to the first level of the maturity model, corporate communications are now able to communicate simultaneously with several different groups of information recipients through advanced automation or information technology support. In the context of this second stage, however, this multidimensionality does not yet mean the dynamic adaptation of the content played out to the various needs in terms

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Fig. 5.6 Multidimensional situational communication. Source: Own illustration

of preparation and content of the respective target groups. This means that the same content is transmitted in the same presentation to several, different relevant information groups (Fig. 5.6). The problem here is the non-optimized communication experience (CE), since all target groups are lumped together regardless of their preferences. And a non-optimal communication experience per se also represents a negative influencing factor with regard to the reception and further processing of information by the customers of corporate communication. Another difference to the first phase of the model lies in the already developed competence in dealing with certain already defined and formulated situations. This learning progression is based on the fact that, following the Pareto Principle (Mornati, 2020), corporate communications are also confronted with 20% situations that occur 80% in terms of their probability of occurrence. This leads to the fact that after a short time the corresponding concepts and necessary competencies will have been developed, which make situational multidimensional action possible. The creation of the Communication Process Library (CPL) will also make a significant contribution to the realization of this learning progress, as it is highly likely that such standard incidents will already be included in the first version.

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Another factor that can accelerate the organizational development process is the proactive use of information technology solutions already available in the organization. For example: • An existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to collect information customer-specific information. • A multidimensional database solution as the basis for a Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC) to be developed along the lines of Strohmeier (2021, p. 685ff). • A marketing automation solution (Romero-Palma, 2021, p. 559ff) for partial communication automation can be used promptly and without further costs on the part of corporate communications. From the perspective of organizational psychology, the much greater and more sustainable potential in this context is found at the meta-level. If, by whomsoever in the organization, synergies in relation to existing systems are once discussed, evaluated, and perhaps then realized, then the decisive step in relation to the elimination of the so dangerous and paralyzing silo thinking has already been successfully mastered. The reengineering of corporate communications represents a significant change process not only for the department itself, but also for all other corporate functions. In most cases, the areas of marketing and sales will also not yet have progressed beyond the second or third stage of their respective maturity models (Seebacher, 2021e, p. 59). It is crucial to benefit from the experience gained in these areas. Because, if the so-called “sister areas” are already on higher levels of the respective specific maturity model, they have already initiated this important change process. Then the first development activities in these fields have already been successfully developed by them what could help to facilitate the RCC by profiting from their organizational learning curve and experience. In any case, it is important to recognize who the relevant drivers of the relevant change processes are, because these colleagues can and will be the perfect companions and partners during the reengineering of corporate communication.

5.3.3

The Multidimensional-Interactive Maturity Level

The third stage of the model (Fig. 5.7) is defined by the competence of corporate communications to communicate with relevant information recipients interactively rather than just unidirectionally. This means that through increasing automation and digitization, it is possible to begin entering dialogues with target groups for the first time. This requires that the employees in corporate communications themselves develop the corresponding target group-specific empathy as part of the companyrelated authenticity, but also that the area of corporate communications digitally maintains corresponding content building blocks—content assets—for the employees so that they can access them promptly and play them out as part of the dialogue.

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Fig. 5.7 Multidimensional interactive communication. Source: Own illustration

The step toward interactive corporate communication is essential in order to be able to manage possible problems and crises, which target groups would use dynamically and autonomously to escalate, in the right direction at an early stage or in good time through concerted countermeasures on the part of corporate communication. Such countermeasures can be taken by providing valid figures, data, and facts, but sometimes also by guiding a discussion in a different direction in terms of content—namely away from the core problem. Interactive in this context means responsive, i.e., responding as best as possible to the content and atmosphere of the ongoing communication of a particular community and adapting to it on one’s own. On the third level of the maturity model, this will still have to be done manually for the most part. This means that the respective corporate communications staff must identify and select the relevant content in the content database and, in the next step, optimize the selected information(s) in terms of its verbalization and layout for the respective target group with a view to optimizing its communication experience (CX) and communication excellence (CE). An important organizational learning step at this level of the maturity model is to use open-source technologies (OST) to continuously document and evaluate communication and interaction with information recipients. This makes it possible to evaluate the content played out in terms of the feedback or resonance of the target group in accordance with so-called A/B tests (Seebacher, 2021b, p. 34) in marketing, in which the performance of the content mutations is always compared with each other through ongoing testing of content and layouts with small changes and then work is continued with the variant that converts better in each case. The interactions

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are not only evaluated on the content level, but also on the meta-level with regard to the words used, formulations, text structures, and graphics or designs. This approach creates an enormous pool of data and information in a short time. This information is essential to be able to take the step toward dynamic-predictive communication (level 4 of the maturity model). It is, therefore, more important to understand the basic mechanisms before integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate and interpret this data. At the third level, the focus is on further developing competence in terms of interactivity with the target groups. At this level, it is not a question of being able to interact with even more different target groups at the same time. The step toward multidimensionality will only be able to be in focus within the framework of the fourth level, since, as previously described, the challenges in relation to the qualitative evaluation of interactions within the framework of the third level of the maturity model are complex and comprehensive enough.

5.3.4

The Multidimensional-Interagile Maturity Level

When corporate communications have reached the highest level of the maturity model, an ecosystem of target groups but also required tools and solutions has been established in order to be able to act dynamically in a fully automated, forwardlooking manner. This means that every interaction is always considered in the context of all target groups defined at the time and the corresponding relevance for them. The statement “at the respective point in time” refers to the agility inherent in the system with regard to the ongoing adaptation and further development of personas once they have been defined. This is made possible by the continuous automation and digitalization, but also the integration of the various processes and data sources. Through the CRS in combination with AI, not only operational, but also metadata can now be used to adapt or supplement descriptive elements of the corporate communication ecosystem in a fully automated manner (Fig. 5.8). Descriptive elements in this context include, for example, target group descriptions in the form of personas, but also specific content and its design. Communication journeys, as well as communication touchpoints as descriptive elements, can be continuously evaluated and optimized on both levels—contentoperational and behavioral-structural. Against this background, the term “interagility” is derived, which describes the combination of interaction and agility or the resulting unique combination of competencies. This is because it is a matter of developing the necessary agility not only in relation to the direct measure, but also in relation to the meta-learning on the basis of the findings resulting from the interactivity or the interactions. Subsequently, the necessary predictive communication intelligence (PCI) is also created by linking the systems designed and established in the previous stages of the maturity model. This form of intelligence structures and automates what today’s experienced corporate communicators do informally and intuitively by using their expertise to adapt information to be played out more or less as best as possible to the

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Fig. 5.8 Multidimensional-interagile communication. Source: Own illustration

subjectively assumed needs of the information recipients. This minimizes or eliminates the risk of a personal assessment of the potential customers of the information from the systematics of corporate communication. With PCI, however, corporate communication also develops the ability and possibility to gain knowledge in advance about which content, with which groups could become relevant. Based on the findings of Account-based Marketing (ABM) and the Segment-based Communication (SBC) derived from it, companies can differentiate themselves and position themselves advantageously with regard to specific defined important target groups if they recognize this need before it arises and become active accordingly in the form of communication or sales activities. Based on the ever-increasing stock of interaction and metadata, it will become increasingly possible over time to identify emerging interaction needs ex ante and thus to serve them in the best possible way.

5.4

The Process Model for the Reengineering of Corporate Communications

Now that we have defined the four stages of development from current corporate communication to one for the twenty-first century, the following section will show specifically which activities need to be realized in order to implement this change

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process efficiently and effectively. Ideally, the process model should be worked through and implemented according to the presentation, structure, and sequence of the named activities. All 12 modules or work packages are discussed in detail in this chapter and presented with regard to their concrete implementation in terms of measurable goals, so that the explanations can also always be used directly as a guide for practical applications. This is against the background of the fact that the activities are based on each other and therefore the results of the previous project phases must be incorporated into the subsequent project phases. The process model also takes stringent consideration of minimum use of resources and the best possible use of competencies and tools already available in the organization.

5.4.1

The Structural Elements of the Procedure Model

Based on the four-stage maturity model, the process model for the reengineering of corporate communications is set up on the basis of two structural levels (Fig. 5.9). • Temporal phases • Content areas Phase 1 of the model refers to the step from level 1 of the maturity model, one-dimensional reactive corporate communication, to level 2 of multidimensional situational corporate communication. Stage 2 then provides all the activities required to develop corporate communication to the third stage of the maturity model, namely toward a multidimensional-interactive mode of operation. Finally, the presentation of the third temporal phase then introduces all the measures necessary for the final achievement of the fourth and highest maturity level, the multidimensionalinteragile corporate communication department. The time sequence for each of these three areas can be defined as around 6–12 months, which means that the project to reengineer corporate communications can be successfully implemented after a maximum of 3 years or 36 months. In addition to these temporal phases, three content areas were also superimposed on the process model in order to provide assistance in understanding the model and its interrelationships. If, from the outset, the basic work relating to processes is neglected in terms of homework, cleanly and accurately, the project of reengineering corporate communications is doomed to failure from the outset. Processes can be compared to the skeleton of a body or the supporting elements of a building. If these basic structures are not cleanly defined, the building in question will not be able to withstand the stresses and strains for long, even if a great lift or perhaps even a modern smart home infrastructure were to be installed in the building.

Fig. 5.9 Process model for reengineering corporate communications. Source: Own illustration

© 2021 uweseebacher.org

COST OF COMPANY COMMUNICATION

INTERACTION ORCHESTRATION

SEGMENT-BASED INTERACTION (SBI)

INTERACTION EXCELLENCE DEGREE OF AGLITY AND INTEGRATION COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCE

COMMUNICATION INTERACTION AUTOMATION RESPONSE TIME OPTIMI TION OPTIMIZATION COMM. PROCESS LIBRARY (CPL) COMMUNICATION INTEGRATION

AGLITY AND INTEGRATION LEVEL

PERSONA DEVELOPMENT

DynamicPredictive Corporate Interaction

MULTIDIMENSIONALINTERAGIL

PREDICTIVE INTERACTION INTELLIGENCE (PII)

IntegratedFully automated Corporate Communications

MULTIDIMENSIONALINTERACTIVE

COMMUNICATION JOURNEYS

COMMUNICATION INTELLIGENCE

SegmentedPartially automated Corporate Communications

FragmentedAnalogue Corporate Communications

RESPONSE TIME

MULTIDIMENSIONALSITUATIVE

ONE-DIMENSIONALREACTIVE

PROCESS MODEL FOR REENGINEERING CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

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This happens far too often when lame organizational and process structures are attempted to be pimped by, for example, an ERP- or a CRM solution. This cannot and does not work, which is brought to light more than clearly by figures from countless expert reports, surveys, and studies on the use and added value of CRM systems. More than 80% of such systems are still classified as “not successful” and “not adding value” by their users. You should definitely be aware of the CRM paradox when you set out to overhaul corporate communications—processes are the key to success. The second content area focuses on the organizational structures. This involves the definition and development of customer-specific content, such as personas, communication journeys, and the identification and definition of customer segments or groups that are strategically relevant from the company’s perspective. For these important segments, special aspects, screenings, and trackings must be developed and rolled out within the framework of Segment-based Communication (SBC) in order to keep a global eye on them 24/7. The third content-related area concerns the data-technical framework in which all information flows together and is processed. This is the all-important central intelligence for establishing dynamic, predictive corporate communication. Similar to the area of processes, it is also necessary to start small here and only scale up and digitize later. Again, awareness of the CRM-paradox is critical. It is impossible to make corporate communications a data-driven department by purchasing an AI solution into which you then want to dump all the data. Think of the example with our children and the calculator in primary school!

5.4.2

How to Use the Procedure Model?

A separate template is provided for each module of the Reengineering Corporate Communication procedure model. Each template contains the activity fields (AF) to be carried out generically in accordance with the implementation. These AFs are numbered consecutively for ease of assignment and precise naming, with the first number referring in each case to one of the three phases and the second number to the position in the sequence of the respective activity in the phase. For example, a numbering “3.4” means that this activity belongs to phase 3 and is the fourth activity to be carried out within this phase. This sequence is ideal-typical and generic and can of course be adapted situationally accordingly in terms of overlaps between the individual activities. In the second column “description activity” you will find the corresponding names for the respective activity, which are subsequently translated into individual steps in the column “description steps.” These steps should enable you to implement them directly by simply working through the individual steps sequentially. The columns “Start Date” and “End Date” as well as the column “Task Owner (TO)” are deliberately not pre-filled in the templates so that they can be entered directly by you in the context of the individual implementation. Of course, it is also possible to

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scan or copy the templates so that you do not have to enter the corresponding data directly in this book. To nevertheless aid with individual project planning, an approximate duration based on various projects is provided in each of the individual sections for the activities, which can of course be used as a guideline in the context of individual implementation. In the column for the “Task Owner (TO.),” the corresponding team member can be entered with his or her initials, who is responsible for the respective task or its implementation. The right column “result” is certainly one of the most important columns, because it indicates what should be the tangible result at the end of each activity. I often experience that a lot of work is done, but there is no tangible and communicable result. In many cases, the corresponding expertise, or the understanding to define such a result in a very concrete way is also missing. To avoid this situation, this column can be used directly as a control instrument in the sense of a checklist for the ongoing operative project handling, either by adding another column “Completed” on the right, where the corresponding checkmarks can then be inserted when the defined results are provided, or by simply making these checkmarks on the right outside the column after the corresponding result has been presented. Concept and competence are the decisive success factors, also in the context of reengineering corporate communication. The templates provided and used here are based on the findings of years of research in the context of Template-based Management (TBM) (Seebacher, 2020) at companies such as Allianz, BASF, or Deloitte Consulting, among others, and use the latest findings in terms of individual as well as organizational learning.

5.4.3

Phase 1: Homework First!

Creating the Communication Process Library (CPL). The creation and updating of the process library are subdivided into four activity fields, which in turn are subdivided into the corresponding individual steps. The activities include (Fig. 5.10): • • • •

Screening of existing documents Creation/addition/update of the CPL Communication of the CPL Continuous updating of the CPL

The duration of the creation of the Communication Process Library (CPL) can initially be defined as around 4 to 12 weeks. It is crucial to involve the entire team so that each team member learns to work with these templates, because this also expands and deepens process competence in terms of both content and structure. Even if the team consists of only one or two members, the CPL can be developed in this period, because even with smaller teams, in most cases fewer processes are worked through, if only because of the lower total working time (Fig. 5.11).

• List with names and way of addressing • Deadline list and task owner • eMail • List with input • CPL Vs n

• Definion of internal customers and how to address them • Operaonal communicaon of the CPL • Recording feedback, evaluaon and, if necessary, incorporaon into CPL • Create annual plan with calendar weeks, coordinate in the team, and name of task owner • Broadcast for the submission of updates • Aggregaon of inputs either virtually or in team-workshop • Incorporaon and publicaon of the updated CPL

Communicaon of the CPL

Connuous updang of the CPL

1.1.3

1.1.4

Fig. 5.10 Template for module 1.1. Source: Own illustration

WS Documentaon List and decisions Process owners Finished processes Project plan CPL Dra 1 CPL Dra 2 CPL Vs 1

Creaon/addion/ update of the CPL

RESULT

1.1.2

TASK OWNER (TO.)

• • • • • • • •

Conduct 1st team workshop Designaon of all Corp. Comm act./processes and final format of the CPL Distribuon of processes to team members Joint development of an example process Planning next steps with start/end dates Creaon/addion/update of all processes Conduct 2nd team workshop for final coordinaon Proofreading, final layout and final producon

• Screening of quality management documents

DESCRIPTION STEPS

• • • • • • • •

END DATE

• Collecon of own and exisng process documents

Screening of exisng documents

1.1.1

START DATE

COMMUNICATION PROCESS LIBRARY (CPL)

• Availability of relevant documents • Analysis report

DESCRIPTION ACTIVITY

NR.

PHASE 1 | MODULE 1

Procedure model for Reengineering of corporate communicaons (CC)

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30.4.21

28.5-21

28.5.21

15.4.21

3.5.21

17.5.21

• • •

•

• • •

• • •

•

•

•

• • • •

QM Dept Æ Michael H. (Caro, Matteo, Clara, Jens)

(QM Handbook)

o(define process and integrate in CPL, per team on TO!) (eMail, annual CC meeting)

(Exec. Team, Mark., Sales, Bus. Unit Heads) (pres. In MGT meeting, intranet, 1.2.1)

(online, cross checl with Marketing) (28.4.21, invite Marketing)

(15.4.21, Meeting Room 3.2.4, cf Agenda)

Fig. 5.11 Personal transcript from Jens Müller. Source: Jens Müller, ABC Materials Inc

14.4.21

1.4.21

Peter Nell

Peter Nell

Peter Nell

Peter Nell

• • •

•

•

• • • • • • • •

•

•

Jens Müller (Call Uwe!)

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Success factors in the team are the joint development of the CPL and the joint discussion of the interfaces, possible overlaps, and redundancies. The basic elements are one-page process illustrations as shown in Fig. 5.12, which is taken from another case study company. It should be possible to identify and eliminate overlaps and redundancies automatically during the creation of the CPL. An initial valid version of a CPL in the form of an easily manageable PowerPoint version should be at least around 50–80 pages. This is the current average from the process libraries created for corporate communications departments to date (Figs. 5.13 and 5.14). The wheel does not have to be reinvented. Before starting work, the organization must be searched for existing, relevant process documents or manuals. Especially in the area of quality management, relevant content will most likely be available, even if it will not be usable for a “living” documentation that is to be worked with on an ongoing basis. The reason is that process documentations, which were developed in the context of quality certifications, pursue a different goal, namely the documentation of processes to enable the verification of their compliance. Against this background, such documentations have too high a degree of aggregation compared to a living process representation, with and on the basis of which daily work and optimization can be done. If the corporate communication process has already been created and is available within the framework of the organization’s quality management measures, then it should be ensured that the CPL is consistent with the information contained therein or that the corresponding process representation of quality management is adapted to the first version of the CPL after it has been finalized, thus ensuring congruence. Such congruence must also be ensured regarding company-specific corporate identity (CI) or corporate design (CD) specifications. In concrete terms, this means that such a process library must of course be created in corporate colors and fonts. It is also helpful to inform the responsible quality manager in the organization before starting the activities. On the one hand, this provides access to the relevant existing information as a good starting point and, on the other hand, one can position oneself advantageously, since through this activity the value of the quality management activities is appreciated and considered important. One should not miss the chance to use the expertise of the quality management department, if there is one, to have the final first draft of the CPL cross-read by them. If internal experience in structure and process work is considered low, the following series of templates (Fig. 5.15) can be used during the CPL team workshop to start defining activities, put them in order, and connect the dots by depicting the activities in so-called zig-zag diagrams. This sequence is taken from the book Template-based Management (Seebacher, 2021f) facilitating the efficient and effective use of templates for the sustainable development of the required level of skills for intrinsically driven continuous organizational learning and optimization. Realize the Communication Optimization In most cases, the creation of the CPL is the first time that the landscape of corporate communications activities is consistently documented. Against this background, it is advantageous to use this momentum right away to also deal directly with the

Fig. 5.12 Chart from CPL Team Workshop. Source: Jens Müller, ABC Materials Inc

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Fig. 5.13 Sample process chart from CPL Team Workshop. Source: Royal United

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Fig. 5.14 Internal communication sample process chart. Source: Ind. Associates

improvement of the processes. This activity should leverage existing expertise within the team (Fig. 5.16, Activity 1.2.1), but should also be based on external expertise from other departments within the organization (Fig. 5.16, Activity 1.2.2). The integration of relevant teams such as marketing, sales, business development, corporate strategy, or even business intelligence makes sense in two respects. The departments named are only examples and can of course be individually supplemented by other areas. The larger the number of other departments, the faster the knowledge and transparency regarding the processes of corporate communications increases. Note In regard to the evaluation of processes we must again be precise as evaluation must be done on both meta-structural as well as operational-content levels. This is in alignment with the Template-based Management approach. In the beginning, the evaluation primarily focuses on the structural aspect of the processes within the CPL as shown in Fig. 5.17. This ensures that right from the beginning we raise the awareness within the team to always be actively monitoring and questioning their daily workflows and processes. Why? Because the aim is to digitize and automate repetitive tasks which means to implement one or more IT tools. But in order to successfully be enabled to take advantage of such tools, the underlying workflows in the sense of the processes should ideally be optimized and as lean as possible. This implies that the earlier we start to challenge all in regard what and how we do things, the earlier we will reach a certain level of maturity as basis for automation and digitalization. On the one hand, from a content perspective, this joint optimization of processes can be used for interdisciplinary communication and interaction. With regard to the further development through the RCC model, it is also about the integration of

Fig. 5.15 Series of templates for getting started with CPL. Source: Seebacher, Template-based Management, Springer Cham 2021

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• • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fig. 5.16 Template for module 1.2. Source: Own illustration

• • • •

• • • •

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Fig. 5.17 Sample process evaluation. Source: Ind. Associates

corporate communication with other departments as well as the orchestration of corporate communication. All these aspects take place operationally at the process level. In addition to these content-related advantages, this integration of other departments can also drive and support the change process, since the expertise of colleagues from other departments is automatically valued and communicated to the other departments and employees on an equal footing. In general, the process of optimizing workflows is never complete, just as every organization is constantly evolving. Again, the use of predefined templates can be a big lever for structured and effective ongoing adaption and optimization. Such templates must be easy to use and follow the KISS principle—keep it small and simple. Figure 5.17 shows the template “Process Evaluation” taken from the CPL of the showcase company filled by Matthew Pearl with data for the process “Intranet News.” All details are documented and soon after RCC process start 30% of time was gained for other activities simply by Matthew recognizing that a template for the “mandatory preconditions” (top right in the process chart, Fig. 5.14) would ensure complete and proper information provision by requestors. According to the motto “standing still means going backwards,” if this process library is set up jointly in the team, an intrinsic competence and dynamic will automatically develop, which will lead to each team member automatically always questioning their own activities and optimizing them for possible improvement. Therefore, activity 1.1.4 is found in module 1, which is aimed at manifesting and guaranteeing this continuous development process in accordance with the continuous improvement concept from Total Quality Management (TQM) (Oess, 1995). In any case, it is crucial in terms of transparency and trust-building to make the process library of corporate communications accessible to the same ideally via the

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intranet portal of the organization. This enables the previous ivory tower of corporate communications to be proactively transformed into a transparent, service-oriented internal service function at eye level and to be perceived as such. Successfully Shaping Persona Development Relatively promptly, the development of archetypes in relation to corporate communication with customers can and should also be started. For this purpose, the concept of personas was introduced earlier in this publication and a corresponding persona template was also provided by Klaus (2021, p. 235). This template can be used as a basis to design so-called Persona Communication Templates (PCT) for one’s own department or company, again according to the CI/CD specifications. The module description (Fig. 5.18) does not explicitly address the possible adaptation process of Klaus’ template. In principle, however, this step would be classified at the beginning of activity 1.3.2 “Creating Persona Communication Templates (PCTs).” Experience has shown that working with PCTs automatically leads to a teaminternal learning process, like the process library, which will also lead to the automatic generation of ideas and approaches for adapting or further developing the templates in the team. In any case, this creativity should be given appropriate space since active engagement with the basic working tools automatically optimizes and strengthens identification with the entire change process of the RCC. About this activity, particular emphasis must be placed on prioritizing the different target groups, as this assessment of the importance of the target groups forms the basis for Module 3.1 of Segment-based Communication (SBC) in the following. This is because the most important target groups should in any case be taken into account in the SBC. Normally, the work for this module takes about four to eight weeks. Again, the secret of efficient processing lies in the internal division of labor within the team (Activity 1.3.2). As many team members as possible should be involved in the process of persona development, since comprehensive knowledge of the concept of personas, but also their modes of action in terms of application in daily work, is of great importance for a sustainable reengineering of corporate communication in this regard. If the corporate communications department consists of only one or two employees, you can consider bringing trained external professionalists on board for this module or request support from marketing. Personas have already been in use in marketing for several years, which is why contacting and involving marketing colleagues will be a very good step, not only from the point of view of content, but also from the perspective of the so important interdisciplinary cooperation. PCTs should also be subject to continuous change or further development if they are used appropriately. Activity 1.3.4 is therefore also defined in this third module, which describes this ongoing further development process. All these ongoing optimization processes should in turn be incorporated into the CPL. The CPL forms the basis for the automation of corporate communication processes as described in module 2.4 “Communication Automation.” Therefore, the creation of the process library on the processes of corporate communication should be realized with care and consideration. This is also against the background of the fact that the topic of communication journeys (CJ), as described in module 2.2, also requires the necessary competence in dealing with processes.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fig. 5.18 Template for module 1.3. Source: Own illustration

•

•

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Getting Started Right with Communication Intelligence Under no circumstances should you be put off by this term, nor should you believe that the topic is not relevant for your own organization. In the context of current figures on data-driven management (Seebacher, 2021c), this topic is more than explosive and will be vital for companies and their sustainable success in the near future. This also applies to the corporate communicator of the future because he or she must be always aware of the needs of every recipient of information, in every region and in detail. The secret to success is Communication Experience (CX) and Communication Excellence (CE). But mastering both requires stringent data management. And just as data management is rapidly gaining importance in all other business functions, this is especially true for the area of corporate communications. Against this background, you should in any case select your own team and also an enthusiastic data-affine employee from your area for this topic and assign the responsibility to him or her. Even if at the beginning, the activities will take place within a perhaps manageable time frame, they will very soon gain importance in terms of content as well as information and budget. The core of communication intelligence is a multidimensional data cube, the Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC). This must be aligned along the essential dimensions of corporate communication. Earlier in this publication, such a data cube was presented as an example with the three most important data dimensions according to experience. Using these dimensions, the most important information on the various target groups can be stored, processed, and dynamically retrieved at any time. In the context of this activity (Fig. 5.19), care should be taken to draw on existing knowledge and expertise from specialist departments in the area of corporate strategy or business intelligence in any case. It may even make sense to invite and involve one or the other employee from such existing departments in the project team for this activity. Furthermore, the various projects have shown that it is essential to start small and down to earth. Even if the declared goal is to work with artificial intelligence, it is essential to take the first steps in the field of communication intelligence by using existing, easy-to-use, and familiar tools or applications. The most successful teams started with Microsoft Excel, Google Data Studio or Access databases and then very quickly transferred the data to Microsoft Power BI for example. In order to ensure that the topic of communication intelligence can be sustainably established across the board in the relevant parts of the organization, it is advisable to establish a key user network (KUN) at an early stage. Such a network can provide essential input for the establishment, conception, and ongoing development of communication intelligence. In addition, the members of such a KUN can also provide first-level support on site in the regions, especially in the case of globally active organizations. Further information on such networks can be found in Seebacher (2021, p. 161, p. 167. p. 209) in the context of predictive intelligence for data-driven managers, providing process model, assessment tool, IT blueprint, competence model, and case studies.

• • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

Fig. 5.19 Template for module 1.4. Source: Own illustration

• • • •

• • • •

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5.4.4

115

Phase 2: Automate and Scale!

The first phase is about doing the homework and establishing the basic structures. The first quick wins should be realized, and these activities should demonstrate the potential that can be found in a reengineered corporate communication. The decisive factor here is to try out relevant things on a small scale in order to be able to provide and document the all-important proof of concept. In this context, we would like to point out a common and fatal mistake that many managers stumble over again and again. It is too often argued that one’s own department is working at the limits of its capacity and therefore no additional activities can be realized without additional employees or without additional financial resources. This is, of course, indirect evidence of the respective manager’s own lack of competence in managing his or her own department efficiently and effectively, since such overstretching would not be the case with competent management. A manager gets into the same rut when he or she communicates that his or her own department has too few employees and therefore cannot deal with it as well. This happened to me very often in the context of the reengineering of industrial goods marketing. Many B2B marketing managers have tried to evade the necessary changes with this statement. What is the quintessence? Even the children are taught that first comes work and then comes play. In a figurative sense, this means that such an outgoing manager will tend not to be given any further staff or financial resources, as he or she should first tidy up their own department and structure it accordingly. For the reengineering of corporate communications, this means in concrete terms that by completing the first phase, one usually optimizes efficiency and effectiveness right from the start, which in turn makes resources in the team available for further measures. This insight was generated in numerous reference projects of a similar nature in the field of industrial goods marketing and technical sales in the context of sales channel excellence (Gölles & Seebacher, 2021, p. 665ff). This in turn means that no additional employees or financial resources are necessary for the reengineering of corporate communication or need to be demanded. This has a positive effect on the reengineering of corporate communications in two respects. Firstly, one does not offer flanks in the environment of internal competition for human and financial resources. As a manager, one avoids these discussions, which then very quickly focus on the meaningfulness and importance of certain departments and thus drift away from the topic. On the other hand, not requesting additional resources automatically increases the credibility and sovereignty of the respective department, especially if corresponding work results in the sense of quick wins can be realized and documented after only a short time. If these recommendations are followed, then we will enter Phase 2 with an enormously positive momentum, which, as the name of the phase already conveys,

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is about the step-by-step automation and scaling of activities. Phase 2 of the process model for revising corporate communications comprises the following modules: • • • •

2.1: How Communication Integration succeeds (Fig. 5.20) 2.2: Personas become Communication Journeys (Fig. 5.21) 2.3: Efficient and effective Communication Experience (Fig. 5.25) 2.4: Finalizing the Communication Automation (Fig. 5.26)

How Communication Integration Succeeds? This module (Fig. 5.20) forms the basis for the further automation of corporate communication. For this purpose, it is now more necessary to define and implement the integration of the relevant activities within corporate communications but also with adjacent departments. This involves the definition of interfaces on the one hand, but also their optimization on the other. It is about the definition of necessary information technology aspects. It is crucial to find out whether a reference system for integration and automation already exists in either the marketing or sales area. If, for example, a solution in marketing automation has already been implemented in the company or is currently being implemented, this can and must be referred to and built upon. The explanations in the previous sections should have made it clear how great the overlaps are between the three areas of communication, marketing, and sales, not only in terms of content and concept, but above all in terms of processes. Ideally, this congruence can and must be reflected not only in terms of cost minimization regarding the instruments and systems to be used. In concrete terms, this means that it is not necessary to implement two or three separate IT solutions for automating communication, marketing, and sales in an organization. On the contrary, sharing such a system offers enormous advantages in terms of data and template sharing. This synergy is in turn a crucial aspect in terms of the sustainable development of predictive intelligence. If the company does not yet deal with the topic of marketing or sales automation (Hannig & Seebacher, 2022), this topic should be placed and initiated together with these two areas at the latest now. Romero-Palma (2021) provides comprehensive information on the selection of corresponding providers available on the market and their solutions and describes a process for selecting a suitable product. In the context of communication integration, it is recommended to proceed along the value chain. This means that the step-by-step integration should start with those activities that are at the beginning of the communication journey. In the area of marketing automation, for example, this is the digital capture of leads—lead scanning (Ringwald, 2021)—and the step-by-step, automated processing of the corresponding information up to the automated sending of thank you letters after a meeting at an event and the sending of predefined callto-actions (C2A).

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Fig. 5.20 Template for module 2.1. Source: Own illustration

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On the one hand, this approach ensures that not too many processes have to be handled at once and thus the organization is not overburdened. On the other hand, the entire organization can learn to work with automated processes. The extent of change associated with reengineering corporate communications is often underestimated. This poses an enormous risk to the success of the project. If the organization or parts of it fall by the wayside during this change process, this leads to the failure of the project. Personas Become Communication Journeys This module (Fig. 5.21) illustrates once again how integrative and constructive the process model for reengineering corporate communication is structured. However, the model also focuses on the fact that the reengineering must be accompanied by a process of organizational learning. Against this background, the complexity of the various modules builds on each other, which in turn means that each further module necessarily requires the results of the previous module as well as the learning process that has taken place. Against this background, this module is now concerned with transferring the defined descriptions of the various target groups into corresponding target group journeys—the communication journeys (Fig. 5.22). In this way, the static descriptions become dynamic elements that are essential for the reengineered corporate communication in order to be able to interact specifically in each case on the basis of the changing maturity levels of the target groups. In the context of the Communication Journey, the following different phases are passed through by the information customer: • • • • •

Perceiving of content (awareness) Validation of the contents (evaluation) Publication of a first content (acceptance) Publication of further contents of the organization (commitment) Regular and frequent use and exploitation of the content (advocacy)

Figure 5.22 shows an easy-to-use template for the development of a master communication journey but also for segment-specific ones as shown in Figs. 5.23 and 5.24. Figure 5.23 shows an investors communication journey that we developed for a company in the industrial consulting business and Fig. 5.24 is an example from a corporation in the financial services industry showing the communication journey for the entire internal communication. This underlying template can be applied for all possible journeys such as: • • • • •

Employer Branding, Candidate Journey, Talent Journey Influencer Communication NGO Interaction Brand Activation Regional Interaction

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Fig. 5.24 Communication journey “Internal Communication”. Source: FinTrust Inc

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In the context of this module, a communication journey for a target group should be jointly defined at the beginning in order to develop an understanding of these instruments for the first time. On this basis, further communication journeys can then be developed for other target groups or adapted for them. In this context, it is important to precisely define the relevant contact points—the communication touchpoints—with the information recipients along the communication journey. These communication journeys must in turn be reflected in the process library of corporate communication, the CPL. For this module, too, the defined Communication Journeys should be piloted, evaluated, and adapted step by step before they are rolled out to the entire organization. Efficient and Effective Communication Experience (CX) Based on the defined communication journeys and the communication touchpoints (CTP) derived from them, it is now possible to start optimizing the communication experience (CX) (Fig. 5.25). The basis for this is the collection of all the different contact points along the various communication journeys with the information recipients as customers of corporate communication. This collection must be coordinated and finalized with the relevant stakeholders in the organization. Following the findings of Halb and Seebacher (2021), the communication touchpoints of the company can then be initially evaluated with the help of the sample of questions provided by the two authors. Of course, the sample of questions provided can be used as a basis and adapted and further developed in the context of one’s own organization. In this context, it is also recommended to carry out these activities manually at the beginning before the process is digitally integrated into the workflows as part of Communication Automation and dynamically played out. In concrete terms, this means that at the beginning all questions about all contact points are collected with selected information recipients to be able to generate an up-to-date value for the current CX across all CTPs. Subsequently, it is recommended in the context of CX to no longer collect all questions for all contact points at once, but to selectively intersperse only excerpts of the questionnaire as part of the communication journey in the respective journey. This makes this step less conspicuous for the “customer,” which means that the query is less time-consuming for the customer and thus the information is more authentic and valid. At the beginning of CX activities in marketing, the customer experience was surveyed once a year across all customer groups and touchpoints. The entire process was complex and very time consuming. In addition, the response rate from customers was very low. That was back in the days when the technical possibilities of marketing automation were not so advanced. Today, individual questions about contact points can be played out to customers without much effort as part of lead nurturing, lead generation, and lead management (Wenger, 2021), which has a positive effect on the optimization of process and information quality. This aspect will gain importance in the context of predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO), because the collected data can then be combined and evaluated with those tracking data generated in the

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background. In this way, the information recipient becomes even more transparent in relation to the defined communication personas (CP), which in turn can provide valuable input for the even better and more specific design of content as well as touchpoints. This information also contributes significantly to the further development of the CPs. Finalize the Communication Automation This module deals with the automation of all redundant, repetitive activities in the corporate communications environment. This is only possible if the corresponding work results of the previous modules have been cleanly compiled and are now available. Projects, where this was not the case, were then confronted with major problems in the implementation of the processes and the relevant interfaces. This was due to the fact that the basic structural work had not been done beforehand and now had to be carried out as part of the implementation of the software solution. As can be seen from the module description in the template (Fig. 5.26), all elements of the reengineered corporate communication now flow into this automation of communication measures. These various elements must be stringent and congruent with each other. However, if the homework has been done properly, then the automation will also be successful. And it is precisely the automation of the communication processes that then brings about process optimization, similar to the field of marketing automation (Sanderson, 2021). In any case, it is important to always be aware of the fact that the automation of communication is not an IT project, but a corporate communication project. This project can and should be realized together with the marketing and sales departments, because only then can the possible synergy potentials be realized. The content-related departments must uncompromisingly be the drivers of the project and the IT department is at most the enabler and service provider that must provide the corresponding framework structure or define the IT strategic framework. Time and again, one can observe that business departments rush into large IT projects before they have done the appropriate groundwork. Very soon, however, the business departments reach their limits because they are overwhelmed with the project, with the result that IT takes over. The result is self-feeding, ever-growing IT waterheads that rake in bigger budgets every year for never-ending implementation projects at the expense of internal customer departments. The most glaring examples of this type of project are those countless CRM projects where, for decades, the results have been classified as “limited” and “unsatisfying” by the internal customers of the IT departments. This mistake can be avoided by stringently and precisely implementing the sequence in this process model and the activities described therein. Because the corresponding knowledge will automatically be established through these activities, and with it the awareness of what is to be achieved.

Fig. 5.26 Template for module 2.4. Source: Own illustration

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With this concept and one’s own competence, technical discussions with IT experts can then be conducted in a targeted manner and in the best possible way in one’s own interest of the specialist department and one does not run the risk of becoming a passenger of the IT department. This competence is essential to be able to identify and define the right automation solution for one’s own area in the Jurassic Parc (Seebacher, 2021d) of colorful and dazzling IT solutions, for which RomeroPalma critically discusses and evaluates the corresponding process model (RomeroPalma, 2021). A more in-depth roadmap for automation is provided by Körner (2021) for the area of marketing, which, however, can be used directly for communication automation, as with all other concepts of corporate communication reengineering.

5.4.5

Phase 3: With AI to Predictive Communication Intelligence!

After around 12 to 16 months, we will gradually approach this third phase. The first results and successes have been achieved and it is now a matter of implementing the final steps of the corporate communication reengineering. These are the more complex areas of activity, which is why they can only be implemented at this stage. It is about: • • • •

The step toward Communication Excellence (CE). The establishment of Segment-based Communication (SBC). The realization of Predictive Communication Intelligence (PCI). The orchestration of communication activities.

This phase is certainly the most exciting and interesting, as the foundations have been laid for now significantly manifesting the milestones for a completely repositioned and completely redefined corporate communications. It is about measurability, visibility, and increasing the strategic relevance of corporate communications in terms of the value contribution to the overall success of the company in the triad of communications, marketing, and sales. The reengineering of corporate communications will only succeed if marketing and sales are cooperated with jointly and at eye level right from the start. Because the reengineering of corporate communications uses a lot of knowledge from these areas and if this knowledge is not actively referenced, this leads to significant additional work, redundancies and, above all, unnecessary errors. Now it’s all About Communication Excellence Based on the results of Module 2.3, this Module 3.1 (Fig. 5.27) is about continuously increasing the performance values at the respective communication touchpoints (CTP) so that the communication experience (CX) becomes communication

Fig. 5.27 Template for module 3.1. Source: Own illustration

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excellence (CE). CE is the basis for ensuring that the content played out is used and reused by the recipients of the information in the interests of the company. It is about the subtleties related to the communication personas (CPs) along the different communication journeys (CJs). In order to successfully realize the path to CE, the basic structures must be established and internalized, and mastered by all participants, similar to the example with mental arithmetic and the calculator. All the efforts of the previous months and modules are now worthwhile and pay off many times over. Working through the activities in this module will generate many new insights into the various information customers. It is important to closely involve and cooperate with the relevant areas, including: • Information Technology (IT) with regard to the technical possibilities of CE implementation within the corporate IT strategy and the applicable data protection regulations, but also the integration of CX and CE dashboards for 24/7 availability. • Business Development (BD) with regard to possible new business opportunities, new segments, new regions, new markets, and the resulting changes or expansions of the relevant target groups of corporate communications. • Business Units (BU) to consider their strategies, objectives, and their own respective activities related to corporate communications. The aim of this module is to integrate the elements of the CX questions automatically and situationally into the communication journeys, to transfer them to the Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC), and then to evaluate them. This data then flows into the CIC dashboards in order to be able to evaluate and interpret the performance of the company’s own communication at the various communication touchpoints and, building on this, to optimize it for CE. Implementing the Supreme Discipline of Segment-Based Communication With the help of communication automation (CA), this essential function of Segment-based Communication (SBC) (Fig. 5.28) can also be implemented from a communication strategy perspective. This is because SBC requires the automatisms and functionalities of modern Marketing Automation (MA) solutions in order to be able to track, document, and evaluate the activities of defined interest groups and organizations 24/7. This information provides valuable information on aspects such as search behaviors, search terms, or information needs, among others. Common MA solutions generate insightful dashboards from this information, which in turn can be incorporated into journeys and campaigns. The primary premise for this module is also that the integration and coordination with relevant interest groups within the organization, as described in the previous module, is equally important. The aim of this module is to identify and define those groups of information recipients that are essential from a corporate strategy perspective and therefore need to be focused on and addressed separately in the context of corporate communication.

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Fig. 5.29 The three types of segment-based interaction. Source: Own illustration based on Bacon, 2021

This can go so far that, for example, specific NGOs, associations, or even certain media are observed and addressed separately in relation to upcoming large projects in order to have the greatest possible security or the smallest possible project risk from a communications perspective in relation to winning a tender or a specific environmental impact procedure up to successful project implementation. Such activities then fall into the field of Situative Segment-based Communication (SSBC) and represent the highest maturity level of Next Practice Corporate Communication. Against the background of the SSBC concept, which refers to a time dimension, for companies SBC (Fig. 5.29) can generally be divided into three types: • Strategic SBC (1:1) focuses on information customers with high recurring relevance who have the potential for significant volume in terms of information sharing and information use. Such programs mean over a long period of time an adequate intensive investment in research on the needs of the target group but also the development of tailor-made communication. Therefore, the life cycle of the respective segments needs to be carefully considered and discussed with the relevant stakeholders within one’s own organization. • SBC-Lite (1:Few) focuses on a group of highly relevant information recipients who show a high degree of congruence with regard to their needs and requirements. Congruence can, for example, refer to the same value propositions and content, although this can also be the case across a wide range of regions. The advantage of this category is that investments and costs can be allocated to several segments in order to minimize the costs per segment and the risk. • This third type of SBC plays out on a scale of groups to information recipients in the two- and three-digit range. There is a tendency for general content to be used as opposed to strategic 1:1 or 1:Few programs.

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Segments can be compared to Personas defining specialties for defined important group of corporate communication clients. The relevance can be diverse such as multiplicators in—for example—the institutional investors’ community, political influencers, or thought leaders. Their positioning requires obviously a special focus and programmatic interaction. In this context, the terms ambassadors and influencers are also relevant. Again and again, these terms are used incorrectly. For the field of corporate communication, in any case, the correct application is important in order to be able to optimally use the potentials of these two groups from the context of SBC. • Ambassadors are brand ambassadors and, as the name suggests, are thus known and visible to the outside world as representatives of the brand. Current examples at Red Bull are, for example, the tennis players Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas. • Influencers are influencers who, however, appear to the outside world as not being connected to a brand. Through this externally perceived “brand neutrality,” the opinion of the influencer only gains relevant importance, which in turn contributes to the influencer being able to influence his community. If this subtle but essential difference is not stringently communicated and taken into account, this can lead to the failure of the entire influencer measures, namely if the influencer is no longer exposed as brand-neutral, but as a brand ambassador. Then the influencer has gambled away his role and value for a company. However, if the company does not recognize this itself and at an early stage, then this can entail enormous risks in terms of image, credibility, and reputation. Therefore, the distinction between brand ambassadors and influencers is a crucial point in the context of corporate communication reengineering. In the context of marketing, separate influencer journeys are also defined, which should also find their way into the work of corporate communications, especially in regard to the importance of journalists also possibly being approached via this journey. Seebacher (2021b, p. 41) states in this regard: Just as for customers in the sense of the Buyer Journey, separate Journeys are defined for specific influencers and groups of influencers in the context of modern B2B marketing. However, these influencer journeys are not designed to move the identified influencers through the journey as quickly as possible, as is the case with the buyer journey, but to provide these multipliers with content that is relevant to them on an ongoing basis, but not too intensively. The decisive factor here is to proceed with the appropriate sensitivity and to set the level of interaction to a maximum of every two to three weeks. After all, if influencers are communicated with and interacted with more frequently and intensively using marketing automation, there would be a risk that influencers would notice that they have been identified as such by a company. In terms of its design, the Influencer Journey must be geared towards a longer period of time. The KPIs for an Influencer Journey can be evaluated using a dedicated Influencer Dashboard. KPIs can be, for example, the growth of an influencer's network or the number and rate of change of his or her comments, likes and shares.

Effectively Implement AI as an Accelerator Building on the activities of Module 2.1 “Communication Intelligence,” this Module 3.3 (Fig. 5.30) is concerned with the integration of more advanced computing

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Fig. 5.30 Template for module 3.3. Source: Own illustration

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mechanisms, but also the integration of further external and internal data sources for communication in the CIC. It is important to continue to proceed step by step in small steps so as not to overburden the organization. For example, several data sources should not be processed and integrated into the CIC at once. Against the background of the developed organizational competence, the process of selecting possible solutions in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) can now be initiated. In this process, possible providers or their solutions should be evaluated on the basis of catalogues of criteria, similar to the selection of a marketing automation solution (Romero-Palma, 2021) and compared with each other on this basis. Seebacher (2021d, p. 105ff) defines a MarTech Journey, which can be directly adopted as a reference model for the field of AI. Based on this, a so-called short list can be derived from a long list. As with the previous modules, the various stakeholders within the organization should also be involved in these activities accordingly. The various AI solutions should then be tested with the providers on the short list in the form of pilot projects. However, the mistake is repeatedly made that large sums are already spent on such pilots. Reliable and interested providers will in any case implement such pilot projects with potential customers in a cost-neutral manner in order to qualify themselves in the best possible way. In addition to the integration of solutions in the field of AI, the field of neurocommunication must also be included in the activities as part of this module. In this context, it is about the anticipatory optimization of the communication touchpoints with the information recipients. This is made possible by the automated tracking and documenting of all activities of the respective information customers at the different CTPs. This data is fed into the CIC 24/7 and can be compared there with data from brain scans from the EU Competence Centre for Neurocommunication and Digital Processes.1 Through this matching, it is then possible to automatically recognize how the respective CTP can be adapted or optimized for the respective user directly in relation to the activation of the “wanting system” in the brain. This all happens completely automatically and anonymously, as the CIC can classify and assign the respective user with regard to age, experience, competence, and further criteria on the basis of the movements at the touchpoint. Through this classification, the system can immediately play out the touchpoint in a completely individualized way in the context of the ongoing optimization of communication excellence (CE) and thus achieve the probability of occurrence of the intended behavior of the information recipient by activating his or her “wanting area.” Specifically, this means that an information recipient moves from the “evaluation” maturity stage in the communication journey directly to the next stage of the CJ, “publication.” Predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO) makes it possible to 1

https://cdpnc.eu/. Accessed on: November 22, 2021.

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interactively play out all contact points in a way that is individually optimized for the respective user. For this purpose, the data in the CIC is evaluated and interpreted by the AI solution. The fact that all the different data is linked multidimensionally in the CIC means that new insights are constantly being generated with regard to content, design and time, channel, and duration of the playout. In combination with the Event-Media-Intelligence (EMI), future events and occurrences can be predicted with increasing precision over time and defined and interpreted in terms of possible, necessary measures. This means that, based on the ongoing automated multidimensional data generated and collected, corporate communications will be alerted to emerging crises and shitstorms by the CIC, similar to an antilock braking system (ABS) or an automatic distance warning system on a vehicle. Thus, the reengineered corporate communication is multidimensionalinteragile and dynamic-predictive always the decisive step ahead of the different communities in order to interact in the sense of the company 24/7 globally perfect. Interpreting the Communication Orchestration The final module in corporate communication reengineering aims to orchestrate all communication-related activities across the entire organization on the basis of automated, integrated, and optimized corporate communication processes. Seebacher (2021b, p. 44) writes in this regard: Marketing orchestration refers to the planning or coordination of all relevant aspects and elements of a contingency situation in order to achieve a desired effect. This means that marketing orchestration now institutionalizes the previously missing cross-departmental approach of an uncompromisingly customer-focused interaction process. Marketing orchestration aims to optimize within channels and across channels and programs to realize programmatic, performance-based, predictive always-on marketing incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning. The term is still relatively new and it remains to be seen whether marketing orchestration is a true advancement or just another product of inventive B2B MarTech stack vendors to market new IT solutions.

Before Communication Orchestration (CO) (Fig. 5.31) can be implemented for and in an organization, the term and the concept must be defined and concretized with reference to the respective organization. This involves the size of an organization, its regional structuring, and even its organizational structure. The various contingency factors are the starting point for what needs to be orchestrated in terms of “one voice communication,” which is particularly crucial in crisis situations. In this context, it can be helpful to create a Corporate Communication Map (CCM), which graphically depicts all relevant processes and structural elements for the orchestration of corporate communication. Only when this framework has been defined can targets in the form of measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) for CO be derived, agreed, and adopted together with the relevant internal stakeholders.

Fig. 5.31 Template for module 3.4. Source: Own illustration

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In the entire change management process for corporate communication reengineering, value-added communication must be taken into account as the highest premise. Just as marketing and sales are increasingly transparent in the sense of performance marketing and sales performance are measurable and tangible for the entire organization, the reengineered corporate communication itself must also have the claim to performance in the sense of performance communication in itself. If this is not done, it will not be easy to manifest one’s raison d’être on a daily basis in the organizational canon of transparency and value-added economics in the future.

5.5

Reaching the Goal with Concept and Competence

In this chapter, the process model for the long-needed rethinking and, above all, reengineering of corporate communication was presented, critically interpreted, and operationalized through many directly applicable templates for the first time. This model is applicable to organizations of all degrees of maturity and all size dimensions. The excuse that the respective corporate communications department is too small to initiate and implement such a change process cannot and must not exist. If one is nevertheless inclined as a responsible manager of corporate communications to want to hide behind this protective claim, then one must look the facts in the eye and seriously ask oneself whether, with regard to the responsibility for one’s own entrusted employees and their jobs, but above all also the big picture, namely the company, one can continue to indulge in the delusion of being sufficiently competent for such a position. One has to admit to being another member of that community to which the Peter Principle (Peter et al., 2001) and the Hierarchy of the Incompetent most likely apply. Change always starts with oneself and that also means being willing to step out of one’s comfort zone to allow change to happen and to move forward in a walk-thetalk fashion. If this is done with the appropriate authenticity, empathy, and logic, the trust required to successfully initiate and implement corporate communications reengineering within 2 to 3 years will develop. The templates provided in this chapter will hopefully be very helpful and directly applicable and usable companions for this.

References Bacon, A. (2021). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), Strategic account-based marketing: How to tame this beast (B2B Marketing ed.). Management for Professionals. Springer. Deeken, M., & Fuchs, T. (2018). Agile management as a response to the challenges of digitalization: Practical insights and design guidance for the banking industry. Springer Gabler. Frei F., & Morriss, A. (2020, June) Unleashed. The unapologetic leader’s guide to empowering everyone around you. Harvard Business Review.

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Gölles, K., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). Sales Channel management: A low-cost quick win showcase for external salesforce excellence. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Halb, F., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). User experience and Touchpoint management: A Touchpoint performance management toolkit for the buyer journey. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Hannig, U., & Seebacher, U. (2022). Marketing and sales automation: Basics–tools–implementation. Everything you need to know. Springer. Hofert, S. (2018). The agile mindset: Developing employees, shaping the future of work. Springer Gabler. Klaus, L. (2021). Marketing automation: Exploring the process model for implementation. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Körner, A. (2021). Roadmap to marketing automation. In U. Hannig (Ed.), Marketing and sales automation. Springer Gabler. Kosuniak, Ł. (2021). Content marketing process: Embrace art and science. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Negovan, M., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). 365 days B2B marketing turnaround: A fact-driven, bullet-proof showcase guide. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Mornati, F. (2020). Vilfredo Pareto: An intellectual biography volume III, from liberty to science (1898–1923). Palgrave Macmillan. Oess, A. (1995). Total quality management: The holistic quality strategy. Springer Gabler. Peter, L., Hull, R., & Jungblut, M. (2001). The Peter principle or the hierarchy of incompetents. Rowohlt Taschenbuch. Ringwald, B. (2021). Digital Lead capturing at trade fairs: Understanding the low-cost quick win generator. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Romero-Palma, M. (2021). Choosing the right marketing automation platform: A SME success story. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Sanderson, A. (2021). Marketing automation leads to process optimization. In U. Hannig (Ed.), Marketing and sales automation. Springer Gabler. Seebacher, U. (2020). Template-based management: A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers: Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021b). The B2B marketing ecosystem: Finding your way through the world of colorful B2B terms! In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021c). Data-driven management: A primer for modern corporate decision making. AQPS. Seebacher, U. G. (2021d). MarTech 8000: How to survive in Jurassic Park of dazzling marketing solutions. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021e). The B2B marketing maturity model: What the route to the goal looks like! In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021f). Template-based management: A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice. Springer. Strohmeier, L. (2021). Central business intelligence: A lean development process for SMEs. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer. Wenger, S. (2021). Successful Lead management: Nothing’s Gonna stop us now. In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), B2B marketing. Management for professionals. Springer.

6

The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

6.1

How to Use This Tool!

Before you begin the CCSA, the following briefly describes on how to best take advantage of this hands-on and easy-to-use self-test. The assessment consists of four segments. Each segment is briefly described and followed by a table with questions. Go through each question individually and mark the answer option that applies to you in one of the four answer columns. The right-hand column remains empty for the time being. When you have answered all the questions, look up to the second line, where you find for each answer column the corresponding numerical value. Now enter for each question and your answer the corresponding value in the far-right column. For each question, enter the score assigned to your answer. Do this for all questions. At the end, you will then find the instructions for generating the final status report and percentages. In case you have questions or problems, do not hesitate to contact me at info(a)uweseebacher.org or contact my team at hello(a)fynest.at. Further information but also the template for the matrix at the end of the chapter (Table 6.1) can also be found at the book homepage.1

6.2

The Process-Structure-Index (PSI)

The process structure index (Table 6.1) represents the essential foundations for effective and successful action. Structures are the be-all and end-all. If the value is low, you should urgently work on your structural basis. This is because it is crucial for successful corporate communication, as is made clear by the process model for reengineering corporate communication, in which the Communication Process Library (CPL) module is located at the very beginning! The index highlights your “communication process library,” i.e., the documentation of corporate communication

1

www.uweseebacher.org/rcc

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_6

139

Does this documentation include clear deadlines and timelines? Has this documentation been shared and communicated with all areas and departments? Do you have job descriptions for the entire CC?

How often are these documents updated?

Have these job descriptions been made available and communicated to all areas and departments? Can precise roles and responsibilities be derived from this?

How often do staff appraisals take place per year in the CC?

Have you already defined and documented target groups for the work of the CC? Were these target groups described in the form of so-called personas?

Does the organization already have a marketing automation solution in place?

Is account-based marketing (ABM) already in use in marketing?

1.4 1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

1.10

1.11

1.12

1.13

1.14

1.2 1.3

Questions Do you have documentation on corporate communications (CC) processes and activities? How many pages is this documentation on CC processes? How often is this document updated?

No. 1.1

Table 6.1 Process-structure-index for the CCSA. Source: Own representation Answer options (please tick) 0 1 Don’t know / No 50 Ongoing

2 Yes

140 The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

3.20

3.19

3.18

Does a defined and communicated communication journey already exist in the organization? Have particularly important target groups in the context of CC already been identified and documented for special care? Does the CC regularly conduct a customer satisfaction survey for all areas of the business?

Is there already comprehensive documentation in use on all current touchpoints with information recipients? How often is this documentation of the touchpoints updated? (if no documentation is available, then simply select “don’t know”)

1.16

3.17

Does the organization already have a sales automation solution in place?

1.15

Don’t know / No / What’s that? Don’t know / No Don’t know / No

Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Less than once a year

Yes 1
per year

Irregular

Yes

Ongoing

Yes

Yes

Partly

Partly

1
per year

Partly

Partly

6.2 The Process-Structure-Index (PSI) 141

142

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The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

processes and activities. The self-test also checks whether and how clearly “roles and responsibilities” are defined. It shows which basic structural elements are in place and whether these are communicated transparently within the company.

6.3

The Competence-Relevance-Index (CRI)

This index evaluates (Table 6.2) the three core elements “data”, “strategy,” and “implementation.” It reflects the degree of competence and reach within the organization. The higher this value, the better the starting point for reengineering corporate communications (RCC) from a tactical-political perspective, because this index provides information about the department’s status within the overall organizational structure. A “weak” department simply has a harder time changing and making a difference, because a unit with low standing will tend to face higher resistance from all sides compared to a “strong” unit. In this context, proximity to the board of directors can be helpful and simplify change management in the context of RCC. Nevertheless, experience shows that if such a department really decides to take this so important and sustainable step, impressive results can be realized after a short time in canon with sales and marketing.

6.4

The Performance-Transparency-Index (PTI)

The third index evaluates corporate communications in terms of its performance, transparency, and its focus on the increasingly important internal orchestration and alignment with sales and marketing in terms of “one voice” and communications authenticity. Corporate communications performance is defined with clear departmental objectives and linked targets and performance indicators for teams and their staff based on these. This then leads to the stringent measurability of the added value of corporate communications. This measurability leads to transparency and trust regarding what is being done and how. This development path (Fig. 6.1) shows the interrelationships of the various structural and instrumental elements in the context of RCC. The results of the analysis form the basis for the work on and with the processes in the department. As a result, processes are discussed and documented, but also optimized in terms of interfaces and clear roles and responsibilities. These findings in turn form the basis for the creation or adaptation—if any—of job profiles. These must also be analyzed, because organizational change also clearly entails a change in the required functions and tasks.

6.4.1

Development Path of Corporate Communications

In the field of marketing, too, the entire organization has evolved and changed in recent years. As a result, completely new job profiles and, consequently, new training courses have emerged and had to emerge. In the context of the reengineering

2.11

2.10

2.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

Have the personas or descriptions of the target groups been developed in consultation with departments such as marketing, sales, etc.? (if none are available, then answer with “no”)

If YES, how often are there coordination meetings on the communication strategy with marketing? (if question 2.5 was “no” then answer with “don’t know”) If YES, how often are there coordination meetings on the communication strategy with the sales department? (if question 2.5 was “no” then answer with “don’t know”) If YES, how often are there coordination meetings on the communication strategy with other, further departments/teams? (if question 2.5 was “no” then answer with “don’t know”) Is the CC involved in business development activities?

Is there a customer relationship management (CRM) system in the company? Is the strategic direction of corporate communications defined in the communications team/department or is the CC involved? If NO, who decides and if YES, who is engaged for alignment?

2.4

2.3

2.2

Questions Is there already a system or tool in place to collect all data and information on CC? Is there a Business Intelligence or Market Intelligence department/team in the company? If so, where is it located?

No. 2.1

Don’t know / No Don’t know / No

Don’t know/ Not at all

Don’t know/ Not at all

Irregular

Irregular

Answer options (please tick) 0 1 Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Don’t know / IT or sales No Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Don’t know/ Board of Nobody Directors Don’t know/ Irregular Not at all

Table 6.2 Competence-relevance-index for the CCSA. Source: Own representation

Partly

Irregular

1
per year

1
per year

Committee of several departments 1
per year

Partly

Yes

Marketing

Yes

2 Partly

Yes

Yes

Often

Often

Often

Yes

Pts.

(continued)

Board of Directors

3 Yes

6.4 The Performance-Transparency-Index (PTI) 143

2.13

No. 2.12

Questions Has the communication journey been developed in consultation with departments such as marketing, sales, etc.? (if journey is not available, then answer “no”) Have the specific target groups been developed in consultation with departments such as sales and marketing? (if none exist, then answer with “no”)

Table 6.2 (continued)

Don’t know / No

Answer options (please tick) 0 1 Don’t know / No Partly

2 Partly

Yes

3 Yes

Pts.

144 6 The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

6.4 The Performance-Transparency-Index (PTI)

145

Fig. 6.1 Dramaturgy toward A2A interaction. Source: Own illustration

of corporate communications, this will happen in a similar way. Therefore, the new and adapted position descriptions are an important element in the development and reengineering of corporate communication toward a measurable, value-added performance communication. The Performance Transparency Index shows how transparent the agenda setting of corporate communication is for the entire organization. The assessment “Marketing and Sales Alignment” focuses on the ability to define specific requirements for sales and marketing in addition to the organization’s own tasks and functions, but also to realize and report concrete, measurable, and documentable results. In the area of performance indicators for corporate communications, there must also be enormous progress in the direction of new, meaningful parameters, because, like all other operational functions, corporate communications must also be made measurable in terms of economic added value. Following terms such as Marketing-Qualified Leads (MQL) (Seebacher, 2021a, p. 45) or Sales-Qualified Leads (SQL) (ibid, p. 49f), new metrics need to be designed for corporate communications that relate to the Communication Journey and all associated terms, tools, and concepts.

6.4.2

Excurses: Innovative Performance Indicators for Corporate Interactions

These Communication Performance Parameters (CPP) will evolve with and continuously as part of corporate communication reengineering. The state of research in this context is still very young, as is the entire field of corporate communication reengineering. Nonetheless, some innovative performance indicators for tomorrow’s corporate communication, resulting from the RCC and thus becoming possible, will

146

6

The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

be introduced into the discourse, and briefly described at this point for the first time. These archetypes are—like personas—examples that can be adapted, expanded, and optimized in terms of their definition and characteristics according to the situation. The essential thing is that within the framework of the RCC, the intrinsic competence in the organization to be able to work and deal with such CPPs emerges. CPPs are similar to dashboards. If you buy ready-made dashboards from external service providers or hire external consultants to develop dashboards for you, then these designs and presentations will not develop further, neither graphically nor in terms of content, because you and your own team lack the access and the competence for ongoingly adjusting and adapting these tools. However, if the first dashboards are designed and created together in the team, then the so important identification with these instruments arises, which subsequently creates an enormous momentum and automatically and organically these are continuously developed together. It is exactly the same with CPP. The starting point for innovative CPP could be: • Activity-Cycle-Time (ACT): This value measures how much time is required for certain activities. The basis for this is the Communication Process Library (CPL) and the total available volume of working time. This, in turn, is the result of adding up the employees and the average working time scheduled by HR. • Aliquot-Cost-Indicator per team, campaign, activity (ACIT, ACIC, ACIA): Based on the average costs for personnel, the aliquot costs for different activities can then be determined with the help of the previously determined lead times. This is not a matter of generating such information on an employee basis. This could not be done simply because of data protection and trade unions. The point is to develop a cumulative cost awareness in the sense of transparency and the continuous improvement process, in order to be able to transparently communicate one’s own constantly increasing performance and thus decreasing aliquot costs to the management and internal customers. • Event-Media-Discounts (EMD): In this area, the savings potentials are in the range of 40 to over 60% if approached correctly. Through integrative action with marketing and sales and across—if available—all business areas, an enormous savings potential can be realized in the short term through bundled purchasing of media volumes and event packages per industry and region. In addition, another trade-off can be realized through Communication Orchestration with sales and marketing and in the smart mix of classic ads and content advertorials. Because media need good content, and with stringent implementation of the process model for reengineering corporate communications and the Marketing Excellence Journey (Seebacher, 2021b, p. 59) by colleagues from marketing, more and more excellent content will be available. • Integrated-Campaign-Ratio (ICR): Reengineering corporate communication also means, above all, implementing activities intensively and in a coordinated manner at eye level with sales and marketing. This parameter, therefore, measures how often joint measures are implemented. This factor should increase over time and bear witness to the fact that activities are increasingly intensive and orchestrated in the sense of the “One Voice.”

6.4 The Performance-Transparency-Index (PTI)

147

• Alignment-Meetings-Ratio (AMI) with marketing and sales: Integrated campaigns are only possible if there is a dialogue between marketing, sales, and corporate communications, but also between and with the other internal customer groups. This collaboration, in turn, can only be the result of virtual, hybrid, or real meetings of all parties involved. Therefore, this factor should be the intensity of cross-functional and cross-team exchange on an ongoing basis. • Content-Reuse-Rate (CRR): The CRR measures how often played-out content is used and published through automated tracking but also through segment-based communication (SBC) results. The higher this value, the lower the costs per individual activity. This value also provides information about the maturity of the entire community as well as the various subcommunities. As the degree of maturity increases in the sense of the development towards the status of “loyal,” the CRR value should continue to increase in direct proportion. If the CRR does not improve over time, this can either be an indicator of non-optimal content, non-ideal touchpoint management, or the ineffective development of the respective customers, the subcommunities, through the communication journey. • Dynamic-Reuse-Rate (DRR): This value is based on the second derivation of the CRR and thus shows how the use of the content played out develops over time and in the various segments. Particularly in the area of integrated campaigns in the online sector, the DRR is also an important indicator for evaluating the performance of the respective current and used media partners. • Stakeholder-Perception-Value (SPV): The SPV measures the footprint and image that the company has in the defined stakeholder groups. The SPV can also be reported based on the multidimensional communication intelligence, the Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC), for individual stakeholder groups or for these in turn by region. For example, the SPVC could be that value for politically conservative interest groups, the SPVS for sociopolitical groups, the SPVE for environmentally friendly communities up to an industry-specific (I) SPVI-M for the mobility sector. These parameters are purely illustrative. If the RCC is stringently implemented according to the procedure model and its sequence defined in this book, such SPV values can be defined and determined for any interest groups via the CIC on the basis of the initial Personas defined for the respective company. The potential is inexhaustible because everything becomes measurable and thus also optimizable. • Stakeholder-Impact-Value (SIV): The SIV measures the influence that corporate communication has on stakeholders in general and is measured by the ratio of articles and reports that are reused in the sense of the company and the respective content message (compliant reports, MC) and those articles and contributions that deviate from the messages intended by corporate communication (noncompliant reports, MN). Thus, a value of 1 is the optimal and maximum value to be achieved. The smaller the SIV, the higher the proportion of noncompliant messages MN, which means that the influence on stakeholders is low and not optimal. Following the segmentation possibility of the SPV, the SIV can also be defined and determined congruently for any number of relevant subgroups of stakeholders. In addition, both values can also be determined in relation to

148

•

•

•

•

6

The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

specific regions. There are no limits to creativity in this context, if the communication intelligence or the CIC is designed and implemented in a multidimensional and step-by-step manner by Corporate Communications in accordance with the specifications of the maturity model. Segment-Reaction-Rate (SRR): This value measures the frequency of feedback, likes, replies, comments, and other possible reactions of the various defined important segments to information customers as part of segment-based communication (SBC). Again, the SRR can be evaluated separately for the different segments. For example, one such group may be the sugar lobbyists segment and could be reported as SRRSugar-Lobbyists or SRRS-L. How these segments and sub-segments are defined and coded must be defined once and then implemented by the respective corporate communication in coordination with the relevant internal customer groups. This is an important part of the activities in the area of personas and communication intelligence. Segment-Interaction-Rate (SIR): This value measures the frequency of interactions with the various segments. This means that, in contrast to the SRR presented above, direct action on the part of corporate communications is also evaluated. The SIR shows how often a response from external is reacted to by the communicators. Again, a value of 1 is the ideal maximum value, although not every response needs to or should be responded to. The ideal SIR value is between 0.75 and 0.90. Interaction-Delay-Rate (IDR): Based on the SIR and the SRR, the IDR measures how long it takes on average for corporate communications to respond to an external action. The IDR is given in seconds, minutes, and hours and can be disaggregated for segments, subgroups, regions, channels, and arenas, for example. Community-Maturity-Rate (CMR): The CMR is based on the defined communication journey. Based on this, so-called maturity anchors must be defined for each stage of the communication journey, following the behavioral anchors as known from the area of competency models in human resource management (Seebacher, 2021c, p. 236ff). Based on these maturity anchors, the different groups can then be assigned to individual phases of the communication journey on the basis of the previously defined archetypal CPP. The goal of value-added corporate communication must be to bring all members of the various groups of information customers into the final stage of the communication journey as efficiently and effectively as possible. This process is referred to as Multiplier or Community Nurturing, based on the marketing term Lead Nurturing (Seebacher 2021, p. 43). Many other CPPs could already be cited at this point, especially in relation to the financial-technical quantification of the performance of corporate communications departments. These CPPs are currently in the early testing and validation phase and would therefore go beyond the scope of this publication on the one hand and unnecessarily complicate it on the other. In any case, the parameters presented above form a good conceptual starting point for creating and designing further individual performance indicators based on them. It is not important how many and which factors are measured, but it is important to start

6.6 How to Do the Evaluation!

149

thinking and acting in terms of tangible performance factors. Like the action templates in the previous chapter, it must be possible to show a tangible and documented result behind each activity. This must also apply in full to a reengineered corporate communication. With this in mind, you should now answer the question in the next assessment section (Table 6.3).

6.5

The Decision-Distance-Index (DDI)

This index assesses how well corporate communications is linked to top management, both operationally, strategically, and conceptually. Many managers of corporate communications departments are very close to the board in terms of location and operations, but only because they are the board’s extended workbench, the extended anteroom, so to speak. In very few cases, however, corporate communications are given a conceptual and strategic hearing, but are instead tasked with preparing speeches, presentations, and annual reports. By God, it is not an easy situation for the managers of most of today’s corporate communications, because one is always dependent on the goodwill of the board member(s) without any transparent and documentable added value so far. It is therefore not surprising that there is little interest in coming out of the shadows and rebelling. This applies to both management boards and their corporate communicators: If you don’t move with the times, you move with the times! This index, therefore, provides valuable information regarding the positioning and relevance of departments in relation to top management. Just because you sit on the same floor with the board, meeting and greeting them daily in the hallway, does not mean you have relevance. However, this relevance is essential to ensure that corporate communications are positioned as a relevant partner for the entire company and ultimately drives change. Often, however, these external and symbolic characteristics are confused with real relevance and at some point, the rude awakening comes, namely when it comes to savings and layoffs. This is also one of the reasons why corporate communications in most organizations is still a plaything of other departments and top managers for cutbacks and eliminations In order to assess your current Decision-Distance-Index (DDI), please now complete the Table 6.4.

6.6

How to Do the Evaluation!

Before the evaluation is carried out, the correct allocation of the points is described by means of an example (Fig. 6.2). On the basis of the answers entered, the value “1” was taken for the right-hand column named “Pts.” in the second line of question 31. For question 32 accordingly the value “2.” This results in the table number for the D-I, in this case, being 3 and, on this basis, in relation to the total possible maximum value of 5, a percentage value of 60%. The maximum value of “5” results from the answer “Yes” to question 31, which is assigned the value “2,” and the answer

3.11

3.10

3.9

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.4

Answer options (please tick) 0 1 2 Don’t know / Yes No Don’t know / Yes No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Irregular Not at all Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Don’t know / Partly No Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Regular

Yes

3

Pts.

6

Are the strategy, annual targets and/or target achievement communicated to all CC internal customers? Are the CC’s objectives and always up-to-date performance measures accessible 24/7 and visible to the rest of the relevant organization Is the CC process documentation (CPL) 24/7 available online for anyone to access? (if no CPL is available, please tick “don’t know”) Are the defined descriptions of the target groups (personas) communicated to all parts of the organization and available for them 24/7? (if none are available, please tick “don’t know”) Is the communication journey available 24/7 online for everyone and have internal customers also been trained in it? (if none is available, please tick “don’t know”) Does the CC track all areas of activity with clearly defined, valid performance measures? (if none are available, please tick “don’t know”) Does the CC regularly meet the defined targets? (if none are available, please tick “don’t know”)

Does corporate communications (CC) have clear, measurable annual goals in the form of measurable performance indicators? Based on the position description of all CC employees, are there individual annual targets derived from this in the form of measurable performance indicators? How often is the CC’s performance measured?

3.2

3.3

Questions Does corporate communications have a documented annual strategy?

No. 3.1

Table 6.3 Performance-transparency-index for the CCSA. Source: Own presentation

150 The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

Can budgets be set aside by the CC for strategic projects?

What is the professional background of the current head of the CC? How long has the current head of CC been in this position?

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.5

4.4

4.3

4.2

Questions Is the CC regularly represented at the company’s management meeting? Does the CC regularly present to the management meeting of the company or department concerned? How often does the CC hold coordination and exchange meetings with all responsible marketing managers? How often does the CC hold coordination and exchange meetings with all responsible IT managers? At what hierarchical level below the executive board is the head of CC located?

No. 4.1

Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Don’t know

Lawyer, linguistics, other More than 10 years

Answer options (please tick) 0 1 Don’t know / No Don’t know / No Don’t know / Not at all Don’t know / Not at all Don’t know / 3 or more under No management board

Table 6.4 Decision-distance-index to the CCSA. Source: Own representation

Marketing, sales More than 5 years

2 under management board Partly

Irregular

Irregular

Partly

2 Partly

Less than 5 years

Several

1 under management board Yes

Regular

Regular

Yes

3 Yes

Pkt.

6.6 How to Do the Evaluation! 151

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The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

Fig. 6.2 Sample evaluation. Source: Own illustration

Table 6.5 Evaluation table for the CCSA Column 1 Table

Column 2 Table name

1

ProcessStructureIndex Competence RelevanceIndex Performance TransparencyIndex DecisionDistanceIndex

2

3

4

Column 3 Number of points achieved in the table (T E) ________

Column 4 Maximum achievable number of table points (T M) 55

________

34

________

32

________

27

Column 5 Determination of index value per Quadrant(T E/ T M)*100 (_______/55) *100 ¼ _______ % (_______/34) *100 ¼ _______ % (_______/32) *100 ¼ _______ % (_______/27) *100 ¼ _______ %

Column 6 Determination CCSA Total value or degree of maturity (____/150) *100 ¼ _______%

“Several times a week” to question 33—question 32 can only be answered in the case of a “No” to question 31—which is assigned the value “3.” Using the same procedure, all tables are now to be completed in the next step and the respective table totals are to be transferred to Table 6.5. To determine the overall maturity level for corporate communication, the absolute values of Tables 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 must be entered in column 3. These are then transferred to column 5 and entered in the respective top row, divided by the given value, and then, multiplied by 100 to then determine the percentage value for each of the four quadrants. In the next step, the absolute values of the four quadrants from column 3 can be added together and entered in the top row of column 6. Following the formula, this value is divided by 150 and multiplied by 100, which then expresses the corporate communication maturity level or overall score as a percentage. You can plot these points in the CCSA spider graph (Fig. 6.3).

Fig. 6.3 Matrix diagram for the graphical representation of the practical self-test on the maturity level of corporate communication. Source: Own illustration

6.6 How to Do the Evaluation! 153

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The Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA)

Once you have entered your values on the corresponding axes, you can immediately see where your own or evaluated corporate communication currently stands in relation to the four evaluated dimensions. Another aspect of carrying out the practice self-test is that after filling it in, you know which relevant concepts, competencies, instruments, and information are available in which parts of the organization, and which are being built upon. Thus, one has a very good starting point for a resourceoptimal initiation of measures to revise corporate communication.

6.7

Those Who Measure, Win!

This effective and application-oriented practical test can be carried out quickly and at any time and can also be part of a regular monitoring of the RCC progress. Likewise, this matrix can flow into a corresponding dashboard or the values from it into further performance parameters and algorithms within the framework of communication intelligence. You can only optimize what you measure. And continuous measurement also gives an impression of how parameters change for the better over time. Especially with regard to the sustainable development of the corresponding position of corporate communications in the organization on an authentic eye level with the other departments and divisions, transparency plays a decisive role, which in turn can best be realized through communication and information on the performance of corporate communications.

References Seebacher, U. G. (2021a). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), The B2B marketing ecosystem: Finding your way through the world of colorful B2B terms! (B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals ed.). Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021b). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), The B2B marketing maturity model: What the route to the goal looks like! (B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals ed.). Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021c). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers: Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer.

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The InTechStack for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

7.1

How Should This Chapter Be Used!

This chapter can and should be gone through completely if you want to get a comprehensive overview of the background and relevant developments in the field of modern IT. These developments are important when it comes to the reengineering of corporate communication (RCC) because modern corporate communication will not do without interaction automation and communication intelligence. For the “quick readers” who are concerned with quickly grasping the essential information related to the effective and efficient implementation of a modern IT infrastructure for reengineered corporate communication, the following sections are crucial: • “Is the InTechStack an IT issue?” • “MarTech, SalesTech, PITech, and now InTechStack?” • “The Three Phases to your InTechStack.” In these sections, the essential aspects are highlighted and a simple, practiceoriented recommendation for action is described. In addition, the approach is directly related to possible initial situations in the companies by applying the scenario technique. This makes it easier to get started and ensures from the outset that the right steps are taken together with the relevant stakeholders in the organization.

7.2

Is the InTechStack an IT Issue?

Like everything in our modern working and professional world, the field of corporate communications is a subject area that cannot avoid a corresponding information technology infrastructure in the long term. In the many discussions with very esteemed colleagues, the topic of IT-supported corporate communications was never raised. It was more about the fact that the field of corporate communication # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_7

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would have to change, but in many places the corresponding concepts were de facto missing. Against the background of my many years of experience in various operational functions, I was always confronted with aspects of information technology. Especially in the context of the various Template-based Management (TBM) projects, many processes were optimized and subsequently automated. We thus worked at the interface between IT and business. It was crucial to translate the requirements from the business into adequate functionalities without turning them into the proverbial egg laying woolly milk sow. While working on this book, I was also concerned to consider the subject area of information technology support very much, since most managers in the field of corporate communications do not have the appropriate background in IT. This represents a major risk, as from the very beginning you are the passenger of your esteemed colleagues from the IT sector. But that corporate communications reengineering is not an IT project; IT is the key enabler and service provider, just as it is in sales and marketing automation. This role is essential, but must not be confused with the role of the business, which must be the main driver of this process from a content perspective. Thus, it was clear from the beginning in the context of this book that it will be crucial in the context of this publication to also address the topic area of Communication Technology Stack (ComTechStack) for the first time. Until now, the synonym to MarTech and SalesTech in the form of a specific ComTech as such was neither mentioned nor introduced in the corresponding scientific nor in the practice-relevant literature. A corresponding Google search in November 2021 for the term “ComTechStack” throws up a sobering result (Fig. 7.1).1 None of the hits represent a relevant result. The topic has not yet been occupied, which is probably due to the development status of corporate communication, which has already been mentioned several times. From today’s perspective, it can be assumed that we will experience a highly dynamic development of ComTechStack-relevant offers and products in the coming years—similar to the MarTechStack area (Fig. 7.2), which has grown by over 6500% (Fig. 7.3) from 150 to almost 10.000 available products in the period of the past few years. An always updated interactive MarTech landscape can be found at https://martechmap.com/int_ supergraphic and can act as guidance for any kind of activity in the context of the ComTechStack. Against this background, it is important in the context of RCC to perform a grouping in the sense of a structuring of products and solutions on the basis of current providers and products in relevant specialist areas. On this basis, the organization can be on the lookout for relevant, already existing systems and solutions or, if no corresponding solutions or products are available yet, the purchasing process can be initiated together with the other areas.

1

www.google.com. Accessed on: November 30, 2021.

7.2 Is the InTechStack an IT Issue?

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Fig. 7.1 Screenshot of the google search for “ComTechStack”. Source: www.google.com

Because even in the area of MarTech, a structural scheme that has remained relatively constant from the beginning has continued over the years, with the help of which corresponding products and solutions could be well classified. And such a resilient frame of reference is essential in order to maintain an overview as a user and buyer in the thicket of the rapidly growing IT landscape as to whether and how a possible solution can support the respective current situation. We do not want to give the impression that the ComTechStack has to be a marketing topic. Because it does not matter which department or which area is driving this so important topic, but rather that the common ground comes first, because only this makes sense from an economic and conceptual point of view. This should have become clear and transparent at the latest when reading the chapter on the new terminology in the context of the reengineering of corporate communication, because it can be built on the same concepts and processes.

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Fig. 7.2 MarTech landscape development 2011–2022. Source: Chiefmartec.com

Fig. 7.3 MarTech landscape growth curve. Source: Chiefmartec.com

The point is that departments must act on the necessary structures and competencies and, above all, have a correspondingly conceptual and methodologically experienced executive to be able to successfully implement this topic, which is crucial for sustainable entrepreneurial survival. However, in order to be able to discuss and structure the ComTechStack in a valid and well-founded manner, the developments in the MarTech and SalesTech landscapes are used as a frame of reference and experience. This is done in the context of the assumption that many developments in these two areas can also be transferred to the area of possible ComTechStack and will take place in a similar way. But in order to not again open up the box of the pandora proclaiming the need for another TechStack, namely the

7.3 How Is the IT World Changing?

159

one for communication, we introduce the term of the Interaction Technology Stack, short InTechStack, as this integrates all different areas such as Marketing, Sales, and Communication. This shall be offering a common basis for a only sense-making commonly used InTechStack.

7.3

How Is the IT World Changing?

Where will IT go from here? From today’s perspective, what are the buzzwords that the future of IT will be about? There are three topics that will occupy us: • Edge computing • Blockchain • Software-based virtualization In contrast to cloud computing,2 edge computing focuses on the decentralized processing of data and information at the edge of a network. Applications, data, and services are moved away from central data centers to peripheral areas of the infrastructures. In this way, data streams can be used and processed in part or in full on site, such as directly at an end device or within a production facility, in a way that conserves resources.

7.3.1

With Edge Computing to Edge Communication?

Edge computing benefits from the advantages of cloud computing, in which, technically speaking, IT infrastructures and systems are made available to users via a network of computers without having to be installed on a local end device. Edge computing differs in that there is an agile use of resources that do not have to be permanently connected to a network, such as controllers, notebooks, or sensors. This means that such distributed components need to be made smart, such as in smart sensors or smart home applications. Edge computing uses numerous technologies such as sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analyses, peer-topeer, and ad hoc networking and can therefore also be used as an architectural concept for the Internet of Things (IoT) or the Internet of People (IoP). Blockchain technology (Iansiti & Lakhani, 2017) has received some media attention in the crypto industry. However, a change is slowly taking place in terms of public perception. This technology, where a continuously expandable list of records, the blocks, are chained together using cryptographic techniques, is gradually becoming ripe for many more use cases. In particular, the move into specialist areas such as healthcare or renewable energies is leading to an enormous push for this technology with, for example, universal patient records or pharmaceutical chain-

2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Computing. Accessed on: November 30, 2021.

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of-custody processes, in the sense of processes for the chronological documentation of evidence. The rapidly increasing use cases of blockchain technology and the associated non-erasable transactions will greatly drive the further adoption of this technology. This will also lead to a major shift in society in terms of attitudes toward blockchain technology, leading to more and more industries, in addition to the financial industry, adopting the technology. This will help bring a new dimension of capability, encouraging companies to invest in new and additional ledgers3 to create new different applications and collaborate on critical, sensitive data sets. What do these developments mean in terms of corporate communications? It can be assumed that a reengineered corporate communication will also depend on infrastructures on the periphery in order to be able to receive and perceive information in all relevant regions as soon as possible, but also to be able to overcome geopolitical barriers and firewalls. In concrete terms, this means that global corporate communications will certainly have to maintain appropriate servers in countries such as China or Russia, for example, to be able to perceive the relevant target groups virtually, directly, and locally 24/7, but also to be able to translate the content into the central language of the communication intelligence by integrating artificial intelligence. Only then can this translated content be transferred to the central CIC for further processing and thus be included in the global data pool.

7.3.2

Why Communication Intelligence Needs the Blockchain?

Based on various projects in the field of communication intelligence and the considerations for the integration of data from the communication journey and segment-based interaction (SBI), blockchain technology in combination with artificial intelligence (AI) certainly represents an interesting combination. The idea is to be able to make the transition from generic to dynamic, predictive personas, to be able to make increasingly precise statements regarding future events and behaviors of the respective information recipients of interest through swarm intelligence for the benefit of all parties involved. This would enable companies to recognize even more precisely how great the risk is in relation to certain topics or crises in a country or region. The result is a dynamic, always up to date 360 view of the customer, the respective information recipient. However, the appropriate homework on the part of the communicators must first be done before the sensible use of such groundbreaking technologies can be contemplated. However, this technology is currently much more decisive in terms of data-driven management (DDM) (Seebacher, 2021a) and the possibility of analyzing and validating entire processes and value chains using swarm intelligence. Currently, each organization alone examines the relevant industrial value chains in terms of capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX). With the help

3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed-Ledger-Technology. Accessed on: November 08, 2021.

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of the blockchain, such analyses could be carried out much more effectively, dynamically and, above all, continuously updated and validly played out at any time for the benefit of all. Thus, not only the providers of data, but also the users and processors of original data could benefit enormously from swarm intelligence. However, the question arises whether companies would be willing to make their singular industry expertise available as part of swarm intelligence. At first glance, probably not. However, if one considers the general development in the context of the sharing economy (Frey et al., 2019), such an approach presents itself in a completely different light. If this concept is applied to the field of corporate communication, a shared knowledge database would develop as part of communication intelligence with the help of the blockchain, which collects corresponding data on various target groups and makes it available to the corporate communication departments of companies. This would bring enormous advantages to all parties involved in terms of optimizing the customer and communication experience, including predictive touchpoint optimization. Currently, it is to a certain extent and admittedly difficult to make friends with this scenario. However, if we assume that in a few years we will be talking about a cookie-free world, then such a model of communicative and behavioral swarm intelligence can certainly develop a certain charm. In this context, one should not disregard another current trend. Namely, if one takes a closer look at the developments regarding “assets-as-service“(2021b), from product to service, then this topic can also contribute to the rethinking that is so serious. Seebacher writes in this regard (Seebacher, 2021c, p. 182): Imagine an institution of a chamber of commerce or business whose causal interest is the promotion of its own member companies of its own country. If such an institution were to provide its members with a predictive intelligence portal as part of the member service as gated content, then one possibility would be to grant extended areas of such a portal free of charge in return for the provision of CAPEX and OPEX values for one or more industrial value chains relevant to the member company.

This slow shift away from owning to borrowing and sharing is already happening in various sectors today. Recycling becomes upcycling and second hand becomes best hand. In a world of virtuality and anonymity, more and more people are searching for authenticity and spirituality, which in turn unconsciously leads to more social thinking. Surprisingly, such social motives of give and take and its functioning can be seen more than clearly in the field of marketing and generating customer enquiries. Potential customers are now more willing than ever to divulge certain information about themselves if they receive something in return. Many customer journeys (Negovan & Seebacher, 2021) in the area of marketing are based on this mechanism and deliver impressive results based on it.

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7.3.3

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The InTechStack Becomes Agile and Micro

The developments described above are also accompanied by the short- to mediumterm developments that focus on the infrastructure. In the medium term, IT architectures composed by means of hardware—composable architectures—will disappear. The continuous improvement in the performance of conventional hardware will be replaced by software-based virtualization and microservice software architectures. A hardware-based, composable architecture is often still referred to as the next level of hyper convergent infrastructures but will not be able to prevail over software-based virtualization in the long term due to the slow pace of standardization. This is also against the background of the fact that software-based storage virtualization in combination with concepts and products for software-based and hardware-accelerated computing and network virtualization is just as flexible as that of composable architectures, but at significantly lower costs and with considerably higher performance. This means that the entire field of IT is characterized by an increasingly rapid development about the increase in processing and transmission capacities. In this context it will be a matter of designing any TechStack as early as possible in relation to the expected strategic-conceptual, organization-specific IT development. Conversely, this does not mean investing in the InTechStack as early as possible, as this would be associated with unnecessary risks. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, at the beginning of the RCC measures, one can only define one’s own future IT requirements inadequately and imprecisely, if at all. On the other hand, based on the various project experiences, it will take at least 2 to 3 years until de facto a real investment in one or more InTechStack applications will be necessary. During this period, not only the IT of one’s own organization will evolve significantly, but also the offering or the entire InTechStack. An unnecessarily premature purchase decision in the area of the InTechStack not only burns money, but also harbors unnecessary risks that could have a detrimental effect on the entire project.

7.4

The 5 Mega Trends of IT until 2030

Why is this topic found in a book on corporate communications, you may ask? The answer is very simple. Tomorrow’s corporate communications will no longer be able to do without relevant IT. Just as marketing managers today already have extensive relevant IT competence themselves but also in the teams, the competence of applied IT and applied AI – namely Predictive Intelligence (Seebacher, 2021d) – will also find its way into the departments of corporate communications. At this point, we will not open the box of the IT Pandora, as this would go beyond the scope of this publication. However, against the backdrop of the fact that reengineering corporate communications is a strategic undertaking, at this point, after considering short- to medium-term IT development, a look into the more distant IT future should at least provide and ensure the necessary basic knowledge. It is in this context that the further comments on the InTechStack can be discussed and interpreted.

7.4 The 5 Mega Trends of IT until 2030

163

Experts currently define the following megatrends in relation to the subject area of IT and technology: • • • • •

From global to local and personal. From hierarchies and devices to networks and networked people. From fixed assets to exchangeable, replaceable assets. From Big Data to algorithmic business. From resources to intelligent materials.

On closer inspection, these trends are obvious. The concept of the remocal economy (Seebacher, 2020) and the associated revival of local and regional products and supply chains has experienced enormous momentum, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this return to the local is also due to digitalization, because paradoxically it does not make the world bigger, but smaller.

7.4.1

Why the Customer Expects Us to Know Him?

Aren’t you annoyed when you are offered the wrong product? Or when a completely different color is pulled off the shelf in the store, even though the blue part is asked for? It’s because more and more people are annoyed when a salesperson doesn’t know what they are looking for up front. Why do so many people always travel to the same places and hotels? It’s the simple desire to know what you’re getting. As empowered customers, we want exactly what we expect. According to a recent study by McKinsey, 76% of customers show a higher propensity to buy when content and products are personalized. As many as 78% are even more willing to buy again and recommend the company to others if personalization is provided (McKinsey, 2021). Isn’t it true that with increasing digitalization we can access information and data 24/7 almost anywhere in the world? Even small companies can establish a global presence virtually and digitally with few resources and very quickly. Customers of large machinery and equipment manufacturers no longer need to wait weeks for a spare part, because the customers themselves become the manufacturer by being able to make their own spare parts using 3D printing processes. Many top managers in the old stodgy industries are still unaware of the huge momentum of change. But can we know that Amazon isn’t already working on a global network of 3D printing and shipping centers to instantly ship customers an appropriate replacement part within just a few hours of a need arising? Such a network would disrupt the industry’s entire all-important, high-margin service business in one fell swoop. “Technical sales are dead!” says the renowned scientist Waldemar Pförtsch in a current episode of the internationally leading B2B marketing podcast,4 “because the

4

https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/b2b-marketing-guidebook-for-classroom-to-boardroom/ id1511875534. Accessed on: October 8, 2020

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Fig. 7.4 Effect of content localization. Source: Eilers & Schöne, Wieners+Wieners, 2021

purchase is really just a click.” In the future, it will be crucial to promote, personalize and ensure the transfer of knowledge to the customer, but also and especially to the potential buyer. Only in this way, under the aspect of human-to-human marketing (H2H) according to Kotler et al. (2021), can trust and the relationship with the potential customer of the information be built and deepened with existing customers. In a disruptive world where Competitive Advantages are being eliminated ever faster and products are being copied ever faster and better, relationship management will experience a tremendous renaissance. In the context of a remocal economy, virtual relationship management (VRM) will be one of the success factors in the context of a completely changed role of today’s technical sales. This also means that especially large, conservative, and traditional companies have to be more agile in order to act globally but still be present locally in an authentic and stringent way. This also and above all affects the activities of corporate communication and the already mentioned increasingly important personalization. A current example of the German company Wieners+Wieners, which belongs to the Apostroph Group, shows that this is necessary. Marion Eilers and Marcus Schöne5 refer to a regional adaptation of an eCommerce content from Great Britain to the USA. After e-commerce product pages in British English were rolled out in the USA, the content was subsequently localized for the US market. For example, the terminology was adapted to the target market as follows: “trousers” (the UK) became “pants” (the USA) or “trainers” (the UK) became “sneakers” (the USA). Within just under 4 months of localizing the content, organic traffic increased by around 24% (Fig. 7.4).

5

Presentation at the Online Focus Conference Marketing of the German Association of Industrial Communication (BVIK), November 22, 2021.

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Also, against the backdrop of Predictive Interaction Intelligence (PCI) and Predictive Touchpoint Optimization (PTO), the demands for timely, localized, and personalized communication and interaction will continue to intensify.

7.4.2

Agile Communication in the Network

These changes in organizational structures will also have an impact on IT in 2030, as this area is also undergoing a shift from hierarchical to network structures. The rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) means that we are moving from rigid relationships to fluid systems and data markets. Architectures, organizations, and information will flatten in terms of complexity, providing more agility and choice. In such P2P networks, all computers and devices are equal and can bidirectionally use services but also make them available to others. P2P networks can be divided into unstructured and structured P2P systems. By 2030, a standard in the sense of a platform technology will also have developed and established itself, such as JXTA6, which is supported by Sun Microsystems and is open source. On this basis, such networks can exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity and operate in a self-organizing manner (Steinmetz & Wehrle, 2006). This will also be necessary, because not only devices and machines will be networked, but also people, whether in fixed or agile structures, will be connected. The Internet-ofPeople (IoP) thus represents the last mile that will be stringently closed, since even in the context of the triumph of artificial intelligence it is assumed that ultimately humans will continue to make decisions and initiate actions. Nevertheless, the networking of machines that is currently taking place will continue in the networking of people. However, just as one or more standards for networking and communication will be required at the technical level, a uniform, common and generally valid and understandable level of interaction between networked people will also be necessary, such as template-based management (TBM, Seebacher, 2020). This is because the increasing virtuality of all action and the elimination of personal interaction will make the standardization of information transfer more important in order to be able to guarantee corresponding information and communication efficiency and effectiveness.

7.4.3

What Does the Netflix Economy Mean for Corporate Communications?

Along with the increasing networking of machines and humans and an “always-on” communication and interaction, the omni-presence of data and information will also take hold. This brings with it a completely new value in terms of data and information because it is no longer the machines that represent the important assets as asset

6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JXTA. Accessed on: November 30, 2021.

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components, but the associated data and information. It’s less about owning a product or machine and more about being able to derive value from it without a large investment if possible. What started in car leasing at the end of the old millennium is now spilling over into industry, where machines are no longer bought but paid for as a service depending on the respective workload. The Netflix economy (Müller, 2019) is characterized by the fact that everything imaginable can only be borrowed and nothing can be bought. Products are interchangeable. In this environment, trust and reputation can be replaced by social recommendations and prestige. Not having to buy products any more brings many, decisive advantages for all parties involved. For the last 5 years or so, the “assets-asservices“(AAS) industry has been more and more part of strategic discussions even in large companies. Originating in the telecommunications industry, where mobile phones were no longer sold but given away as a “freebie” as part of a 24-month contract, “Software-as-a-Service” (SaaS) emerged and is now spilling over into many other industries. The Netflix economy thrives on customer data to suggest new series and movies based on it. Amazon and Google are using our data and intelligence to make a billion-dollar business—directly, by recommending more products for us to buy in most cases, and indirectly, by selling that data to other companies for big bucks. As the amount of data increases, so does predictive intelligence and its precision. Customer loyalty and personalization along the entire communication journey is the magic word in the context of human-to-human (H2H) and all-to-all (A2A). Instead of selling a mobile phone as a single item, you bind the customer to the company for 24 months. On the other hand, we see a similar development as in the early years of company and company car leasing. Customers no longer need to buy company cars for their employees. Leasing can be planned, involves less administrative work and is also much better for the company cash flow from a financial point of view. After all, the car manufacturer extended its value chain by also making money through the leasing business, and the customers optimized their cash flow by not having to buy the cars. So why not lease large machinery and equipment as well? Overall, this whole Assets-as-Service model is a big win for all the players involved. But it requires an in-depth knowledge of the specific assets and machines, and the different application areas and their implications. In 2030, networked people and machines will use and pay for data and information in an agile and flexible way, just like machines and devices, based on performance, with network-based IT. As a result, the entire economic activity will experience a new dimension of dynamics, since large investments can be replaced by many, small and ongoing payments and thus capacities can be increased or minimized according to the situation. A reengineered corporate communication must take these developments into account in its structural as well as information technology design. According to the motto “the early bird catches the fly,” the company that can establish the shortest and most agile communication mechanisms will be successful in the market in the long term.

7.4 The 5 Mega Trends of IT until 2030

7.4.4

167

From Big Data to Smart Data and Smart Interaction

This increasing networking of machines and people inevitably leads to the need to collect, process, and store enormous amounts of data. In the future, the challenge will shift from quantity to quality. Big data as a buzzword has found its way into all areas and distorts the picture, however, because it implies that the largest possible quantities of data are to be considered desirable, which in fact has only limited validity in the context of predictive intelligence. Because with billions of connected devices and things, the analysis of the huge amounts of information is becoming more and more crucial and especially the ex ante identification of relevant information. Such differentiation can make large amounts of data more efficient and effective to work with. Organizations and people will ask themselves who has access to what data and content and how it is used. As discussed several times before, it is crucial at the latest then that all parties involved know where the data and content come from, how they are prepared and processed, so that they are also understood and interpreted correctly. This can only be achieved through a gradual process by building up such a predictive interaction intelligence (PII) environment based on the process model for predictive intelligence. The transparent and coordinated understanding of data and content is crucial when the artificial intelligence level is added, which then turns big data into smart data and smart interaction. Smart data (Wierse & Riedel, 2017) is data that is extracted from large amounts of data using algorithms according to specific structures. Artificial algorithms then build on these natural algorithms to make increasingly precise, multivariate predictions. In this way, data-driven corporate communications will be the first to base their activities on predictive-algorithmic mechanisms and insights. This requires integrated and orchestrated enterprise communications. This, in turn, is only possible if the necessary data from the communication journey from the past from the various data sources and systems is available in sufficient quality and quantity to also enable extrapolations and predictions based on it.

7.4.5

Smart Materials Can Also Be Valuable Informants

But not only data will become intelligent, but also the production factors in the sense of the materials used. Completely new materials with intelligent substances, storage materials, graphene, polymers, and nanocomposites will be created, which will also generate and contribute data and information to enable further developments. Here, materials science is becoming increasingly important. Because in combination of smart data and smart materials, smart value chains will also emerge, which will increasingly contribute to a smart economy in the context of the New Green Deal according to Rifkin (2019) and the Remocal Economy according to Seebacher (2020). Smart value chains will continuously optimize themselves in terms of process and material production inputs. To this end, smart sensor networks will

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gradually switch to quantified self-analytics and in this way continuously optimize inputs and outputs. But if, in the context of the reengineering of corporate communication, the aim is to be able to predict developments ever more precisely in terms of target groupspecific needs or even emerging crises and problems, then intelligent factories and materials can also provide essential information. By integrating them into intelligent networks of state-of-the-art IT infrastructures, these machines and materials can be maintained and controlled remotely. Such remote maintenance can be carried out digitally and virtually anywhere in the world, just as an IT expert can access one’s own computer upon approval in the event of a problem, wherever one happens to be. Over thousands of kilometers, he can solve the problem directly on the computer by remote maintenance. If problems occur in a factory, they are immediately transmitted 24/7 to the central service point, which, in the case of a functioning, orchestrated corporate communication, would enable the triggering of an immediate, situationally adequate communication measure. This is the future of modern, valueadded corporate communication in the sense of predictive community management (PCM). Economic activity is continuously evolving through the integration of smart infrastructures and information technologies. In the economy and new workforces of 2030, the most successful companies will stringently and sustainably optimize the use of all their resources, both human and machine, for competitive advantage. However, an ever-increasing proportion of workforces will not be human. Yet, while machines are better than human workforces in terms of consistency, performance, predictability, efficiency, and safety, they still cannot match human competencies in 2030 in terms of ingenuity, novelty, art, creativity, emotion, variability, and context. In 2030, access to data and content from various sources will be almost unlimited and digital ethics will be the key to success. With everything connected and billions of smart machines, the opportunities to do the wrong thing will increase rapidly and become far too easy with just a few clicks.

7.5

MarTech, SalesTech, PITech, and Now ComTechStack?

Is there a separate ComTechStack? Does there have to be one? And if so, what should such a ComTechStack consist of? How much money does a solid ComTechStack cost, or can you possibly save the money by being clever? All these questions are essential and can only be validly discussed if one understands the broad field of modern TechStacks. In order to be able to discuss and evaluate possible developments in the field of ComTechStack, one comes across the field of MarTechStack, which has developed rapidly in recent years, in the course of the search for reference models. The IT landscape in marketing, like that of sales tech, is closely linked to a rapid increase in available data. While in the area of marketing it is the various dimensions of internal and external information on the buyer journey that are used to quantify and qualify relevant needs and requirements, the

7.5 MarTech, SalesTech, PITech, and Now ComTechStack?

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NUMBER OF PITECH-PROVIDERS

First Golden PITechStage

Second Goldene ´PITechStage

PITechConsolidation Stage

PITechGrowthStage

© Seebacher 2020

2018

2022

2026

2030

Fig. 7.5 Development of the PITechStack. Source: Own illustration based on Scott Brinker, www. chiefmartec.com

ComTechStack presents a very similar picture—only with regard to the communication journey. Because in the area of ComTechStack, the topic area of communication intelligence must also be covered, among other things, in order to be able to predict content and measures, as well as reactions and relevant arenas and channels, in the best possible predictive-algorithmic way. In this context, the developments in the field of business analytics and business intelligence are also relevant. It can be assumed that the enormous, emerging market potential in the field of PITechStack will not remain hidden from current but also many new providers. Since 2018, we are between the first and second phase of the four-stage process for the development of the PITechStack (Fig. 7.5). Gradually, more and more vendors with PI-relevant applications and products can be found. The various vendors are trying to reach everything in the market that can be found in terms of inexperienced, but eager to try, interested parties and thus potential customers by being as term agile as possible. The first providers are already engaged internally in revising and evaluating their own strategy in order to be able to adapt to the new market conditions. The problem or challenge, the first-mover providers are facing, is the fact that dashboard solutions are developing like sand on the beach and therefore an important aspect of the preparation of data and information can be realized more and more cost-effectively and easily. In addition, data is also becoming more rapidly available 24/7, which in turn has a positive effect on the effort required for analyses and research, as everything can be found much more quickly and easily. Many early PITechStack vendors were consulting and analytics companies. There are a lot of changes going on per se in the realm of these companies. The big shifts and shakeups started when the cyber economy emerged. The large,

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established, and very conservative consulting firms felt the initial shock waves that sent the many entrepreneurs in their twenties and their dot.coms into the economic stratosphere. The tried-and-true techniques used by these analytics and consulting firms began to feel outdated as the web drove business models and thinking in new directions for which old methods had no contingency plan. New consultancies and advisors popped up to fill the vacuum in the consulting industry. The sheer size and organizational structure of the more conservative brand consultancies made quick changes and adjustments nearly impossible. Today, even the former big consultancies mutated into workbenches and earn their money primarily as IT implementation partners. Management consulting is a $250 billion industry. It's big. It’s growing. It's highly profitable. And it’s about to be disrupted.

Soren Kaplan,7 one of the leading management thinkers, summed it up when he analyzed the consulting industry. He predicted that any mature industry would be disrupted, and as management consulting reached a mature status, it became vulnerable. Kaplan identifies flaws within the industry that will bring down the entire industry of analysts, consultants, and advisors. He sees five major flaws in the consulting business that are causing this decline: • Consulting is a people business and labor intensive. • Business model is based on billable hours to maximize revenues. • Consulting doesn’t offer products, it offers people, and the fees for consultants are often an incredible multiple of what they earn themselves, making consultants an undesirable evil, as everyone in the client company knows the billed person-day rates for these “juniors.” • The accelerating pace of our world means that the half-life of knowledge, facts, and figures is decreasing, which means that analysts and consultants need to deliver more timely results, impacting on quality and validity, in an increasingly complex and demanding environment. • The Remocal Economy is also driving the dissemination and democratization of knowledge and just about everything, which means that previously well-kept consulting secrets like models, templates, and tools are now accessible 24/7 and anyone can apply best practices themselves. New, disruptive companies and business models are characterized by offering better and more convenient solutions at a much lower price or even for free, as Brynjolfsson and Collis (2020) pointed out in their Harvard Business Manager paper “The Value of the Digital Economy.” They introduce a new parameter, GDP-B8 as an alternative metric that also assesses the benefits of digital free products. Their

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soren_Kaplan. Accessed on: November 30, 2021. Gross Domestic Product Benefit

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hypothesis is that for services like the Google search engine or the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, individuals would typically be willing to pay a monthly amount rather than stop using these tools. Their research showed that search engines are the most valuable services, followed by e-mail programs and online maps.

7.5.1

What MarTech and SalesTech Teach Us?

There are three major developments that are currently changing the field of Martech and that are relevant for a future jointly used InTechStack. These three major developments will bring the end of the “first golden age of Martech” and, as part of the subsequent period of reflection, lay the foundations for a second golden age that will offer enormous potential but will probably look very different. The future of Martech from 2022 onward will be as follows: • Ecosystems: Instead of talking about cloud suites and best-of-breed point solutions, the best of both worlds will be available in congruence with the major developments in IT outlined earlier: open platforms that serve as a stable foundation and are extended by large ecosystems of specialized third-party applications, but more deeply integrated. • Experts: The distinction between software vendors and professional consulting firms will blur. Software companies will move to offer more expert services and analytics and consulting firms will automate their expertise and map it into software. • Engineers: In the context of the previously discussed major changes in the field of IT, the omni-presence of data and information, and increasing digitalization, every company, no matter how industrial, will inevitably become a software company. Against this background, these organizations will develop and launch their own commercial platforms with customized applications for customers and products, in most cases in-house with their own employees or IT department. These are the same trends that can already be observed in the context of the PITechStack and SalesTech. And this despite the fact that the development of the PITechStack lags behind the development of the MarTechStack and the SalesTechStack by an estimated 5 to 8 years. However, the PITechStack area benefits from the knowledge and experience of MarTech and, above all, from the general developments in the entire IT industry, which are currently primarily concerned with IT structural aspects. The developments and findings of the three stacks form a good and comprehensive basis for a InTechStack, because everything that such a InTechStack requires is already covered by these stacks.

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What Do these Developments Mean for the InTackStack?

If you buy too early, you lose. If you look at the development of the MarTech, SalesTech, and the PITechStack over time, it turns out that everything becomes easier and more cost-effective if you take your time with regard to the development of the InTechStack. Like a jigsaw puzzle, all the pieces then fit together beautifully to form a great whole. This can also be attributed to the increasing sensitivity and sensibility about the topic area of modern corporate communication, which automatically arises in the context of the realization of the measures for the Interaction Excellence Journey. At the beginning of an RCC project, many customers only have an insufficiently deep understanding of the relevant subject area, which is why a company’s own “RCC identity” in the sense of its own understanding should first be developed in order to be able to make the right decision regarding one or more necessary InTechStack solutions in the long term. Whereas for a long time it was a case of “either/or” in MarTech, today’s MarTech landscape is in fact characterized by an “and,” because the flexibility and agility of the many different MarTech products has increased enormously and almost everything is possible, networkable, and combinable. The advantage is that much smaller ecosystems have emerged as necessary and ideal for the InTechStack compared to SalesTech or MarTech. Using a schematic SalesTech blueprint (Fig. 7.6), it is easy to see how complex and extensive a sales IT landscape can look. How an ideal MarTech should look and can be set up is described comprehensively in the Marketing Practice Handbook on the basis of the MarTech Journey (Seebacher, 2021e, p. 105ff). However, this so important process is discussed and outlined from a structural and contingency-theoretical perspective, because there is no one right MarTechStack. It is crucial that such an IT structure grows congruently with the topic-specific maturity level of an organization concerned, because only then can the blueprint be meaningfully integrated into an existing one and successfully connected to an existing IT infrastructure. If you search the Internet under the keyword “MarTech Blueprint” in the hope of finding such a structural graphic, you will not find it. This is because even the various graphics naturally depict the facts from different perspectives. A very good functionally structured representation is the one by Scott Brinker (Fig. 7.7), which dates from 2018 and for this very reason still provides a very clear overview. This is because the entire MarTechStack has grown rapidly in recent years, with the result that it is easy—even for proven MarTech experts—to lose the overview. The challenge in terms of defining and establishing a meaningful InTechStack is that the relevant elements of a InTechStack must be identified in all three stacks and then extracted and combined step by step. Using the MarTech 8000 diagram (Fig. 7.8), which summarizes the current spectrum of solutions, it is very easy to recognize the different areas into which the MarTech is grouped. It is also easy to see from this that all the topics required for a reasonable InTechStack are covered, namely Content & Experience, Social & Relationships, Data and Management.

Fig. 7.6 Structural representation of SalesTechStack. Source: https://www.saleshacker.com/salestech-landscape-2019/

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Fig. 7.7 Structural representation of MarTechStack. Source: https://chiefmartec.com/2018/04/ martech-enabled-marketing-operations-invisible-roads-bridges/

And it is not only there that “intelligence” relevant applications can be found, because there is also an area of “sales intelligence” in the environment of sales and sales-oriented IT solutions (Fig. 7.9). In the area of SalesTech, DiscoverOrg has established itself as one of the players in the field of Sales Intelligence with the acquisition of RainKing and Zoominfo. In addition, two new clusters have emerged in SalesTech, namely the providers of Intent Data (Fig. 7.10) and Relationship Intelligence, which were previously grouped together under the topics of Account Intelligence and Buyer Insights. Intent data as information on purchase intentions but also certain behaviors have become an important aspect of account-based approaches. For InTechStack, this area is therefore relevant in terms of the intent of information recipients to the extent that they are already willing to reuse and multiply the respective content. On the other hand, these solutions are interesting in the context of segment-based interaction (SBI), which also aims at dedicated target segments of information recipients. While social selling continues to grow in importance, most companies still struggle with it, as LinkedIn inboxes are clogged with irrelevant messages and requests from strangers. In this context, contact initiation by a mutual acquaintance is regaining importance and with it the field of Relationship Intelligence solutions (Fig. 7.11). But not everything that has “intelligence” in its name is automatically relevant to the InTechStack, as is very clear from the Sales Intelligence area (Fig. 7.12) of the SalesTech landscape. Based on the various presentations, it becomes clear that there is de facto one or many different corresponding IT solutions for basically everything. It also becomes transparent that the respective, topic-specific offer is subject to an enormous dynamic, which leads to the fact that the number of possible alternatives increases at a rapid pace. Conversely, this means that corporate communicators and those responsible for RCC must delve even deeper into the matter to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and thus distinguish between the useful and the superfluous.

Fig. 7.8 The MarTech8000. Source: https://cdn.chiefmartec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/martech-landscape-2020-martech5000-slide.jpg

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Fig. 7.9 SalesTech overview 2019. Source: https://www.saleshacker.com/salestech-landscape-2019/

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Fig. 7.10 Provider “intent data”. Source: https://www.saleshacker.com/salestech-landscape-2019/

Fig. 7.11 Provider “relationship intelligence”. Source: https://www.saleshacker.com/salestechlandscape-2019/

7.6

The Three Phases to the InTechStack

The art is to make life as easy as possible for yourself and to always know just enough to be dangerous. In a figurative sense and in the context of the InTechStack, this means that one should be able to start as far as possible without additional resources and budgets to work one’s way into the subject, then demonstrate initial successes and results and only then be able to validly prepare and make possible necessary investment decisions on the basis of the specialist knowledge that has arisen. After all, the earlier one acquires a relevant application in the sense of an IT solution for the InTechStack, the greater the risk of not making the right choice.

Fig. 7.12 Provider “sales intelligence”. Source: https://www.saleshacker.com/salestech-landscape-2019/

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The Three Phases to the right InTechStack

STRUCTURING

ALIGNING

PURCHASING

© Seebacher 2022

Fig. 7.13 The three phases to the right InTechStack. Source: Own illustration

It is similar to the purchase of the wardrobe for a toddler, where you are forced to buy in the knowledge that within a very short time the garment to buy will again be too small. Or else as a novice in the white sport, tennis. If one immediately decides to buy a beginner’s racquet, then in 2 years at the most, the change to a better, but less forgiving racquet for advanced players will be on the agenda. This is a normal process of progression. You will also go through this process if you reengineer the corporate communications on the basis of the process model for communication excellence as described in this book. By taking the initiative, one does not become a passenger of InTechStack providers, but a mature and competent InTechStack manager and, in this context, a competent acquirer of a meaningful and relevant application from the current InTechStack landscape. Thus, IT becomes an enabler and you yourself with a possible small communications team are and remain the driver of Communication Intelligence. However, this also means that one should remain IT-independent for as long as possible in order not to squander one’s powder in terms of the budget at too early a stage. The examples from everyday life have hopefully made it clear that an unnecessarily early decision can, in retrospect, lead to the realization that one has made the wrong purchase or suddenly finds oneself in an unnecessary dependency, the so-called “log-in syndrome” (Shapiro & Varian, 1998). Against this background and the many different RCC projects, the three-stage concept described below was developed, which is in congruence with the RCC procedure model and can therefore be applied together. This procedural concept is by no means a blueprint for an ideal InTechStack, but rather a “template” for a goal- and resource-oriented approach for the best possible, sustainable development of the understanding for and the meaningful establishment of an organization-specific, ideal InTechStack. The following three phases can be defined (Fig. 7.13): These three phases are briefly described in more detail below, along with a definition of how to tell if you have successfully completed a phase.

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Structuring

Once again, we would like to point out the crucial fact that structures are the be-all and end-all. This applies not only to the entire area of organizational development, but also and especially when it comes to digitizing and automating structures. In connection with the technologization of corporate communication, this means that first of all, as already described in the process model, the field of organizational and process structures must be thoroughly explored and worked on. In this context, modules 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 from the process model for reengineering corporate communications are referred to. If these activities are not stringently implemented, the necessary basis for defining, designing, and realizing an ecosystem of IT solutions for corporate communications that will be required in the future will be missing. This is because it is the processes, the interfaces and the requirements and functionalities that result from elements such as the process documentation but also the updated position descriptions that form the basis of the framework for the future InTechStack. All those who have already implemented IT solutions in companies know, or have already had to experience it themselves, that the costs of such IT projects increase disproportionately when these IT solutions must be adapted to the processes. The buzzword and cost driver in this context is “customizing.” Of course, everything can be customized. And every provider of a corresponding IT solution will assure you that the system or product offered in each case is compatible with all possible systems and infrastructures. But to prevent the InTechStack from becoming a black hole of wasted time and financial resources, the corresponding structures should and must first be clearly defined and transparent. Based on this information, products available on the market or already in one’s own organization can be analyzed in a very targeted manner with regard to their functionalities and also stored workflows. The results of the modules from the first phase thus represent the relevant frame of reference for which a future InTechStack must be suitable. Without these results from the first four modules, the frame of reference and thus the all-important starting point is missing. Conversely, this means that you are looking for technological solutions for something that you do not know, if you have not clearly defined the processes, roles, and responsibilities in advance. Thus, the conception and definition of a relevant ecosystem of IT solutions for corporate communications cannot work at all. And if you start looking for appropriate solutions in the market against this background, then this lack of relevant knowledge will very quickly become transparent for the external service providers and suppliers. This subsequently leads to you becoming the plaything of the others, who are naturally interested in presenting their own product as the best fit for you and making it look good. If your own internal IT department is also involved, the worst-case scenario could be that the IT department comes to a joint conclusion with the external providers as to which solution is the right one for you. Is that what you want?

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Once these first four modules have been worked through, a kind of requirements specification can be created with this information. A functional specification describes the requirements for a relevant IT solution. After completing my university studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and various Executive MBA programs in the USA, I was de facto no expert in the field of information technology. But during various projects based on the Template-based Management (TBM) approach, I was able to analyze the most diverse processes in different departments with my customers in such a way that we were able to create corresponding functional specifications. With these specifications, we were then able to evaluate and analyze the corresponding IT solutions available on the market. With the help of these requirements specifications, we were then also able to recognize very quickly whether a solution was really suitable or was only designed and presented as suitable for us from a sales point of view. In around 30% of cases, we came to the conclusion that a suitable solution was not available on the market. Using the information from the specifications, the external providers were also able to quantify the corresponding adaptation requirements—the necessary customizing requirements—and translate them into concrete required budgets. This information provided valuable insight into whether it would not be more sensible to have the company’s own IT department develop an appropriate solution itself. In this way, innovative IT solutions were created for example in the areas of succession management at a large insurance company, marketing resource management at a large bank, multi-project management at an American management consultancy, a cargo booking system at an airline, and workforce management at a globally active hotel chain. For the first phase of establishing a meaningful and adequate InTechStack, it is important to be aware of the principle “structure follows strategy.” The principle “structure follows strategy” was coined by Chandler Jr (1962) and focuses on the fact that the organizational structure of a company is designed to support the implementation of a defined corporate strategy in the best possible way. This organizational structure includes elements such as business units, departments, teams, processes, and also the technology used in the organization. Chandler is the author of the quote (Chandler Jr, 1962): If the structure does not support the strategy, the result is inefficiency.

If you think about this principle further, it means that technology must also be subordinate to strategy. However, if we look at many actions today, we see a different picture, namely that IT often only defines its IT strategy with very little reference to the defined corporate strategy. Much greater in this context is the closeness in terms of content to the structures of the company, both the organizational structures and the process structures, which in turn are the corresponding underlying processes. This leads to IT systems and solutions that are not very popular and that are only insufficiently used by the relevant content-related and responsible departments in terms of initial costs and thus fall far short of expectations in terms of the operational added value to be realized.

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Until now, the field of corporate communications has been poorly technologized. For most corporate communicators, the field of information technology represents uncharted territory, because the current educational content logically does not yet include a separate focus on this exciting and increasingly important subject area. It is therefore all the more important to be aware of the business logic outlined above so as not to run the risk of putting the important reengineering of corporate communications or rather its success at risk, by taking the wrong approach to the field of technology. “Technology follows structure” and “structure follows processes” must be the guiding principles when tackling the topic of InTechStack. As a result of this first phase, you must be able to define and formulate relevant functionalities for a future InTechStack. However, you must also be able to derive and name relevant internal and external sources of information and specific segments. You must also already know and be able to determine the first relevant performance indicators and the calculation schemes or algorithms on which these indicators are based.

7.6.2

Aligning

With the results or contents described in the last paragraph of the last section, you can go into the second phase and coordinate with the marketing and sales department. If relevant solutions that are also applicable and usable for the InTechStack are available in an organization, then these can be found in these two departments. With regard to the area of communication intelligence, it may also be beneficial to contact departments such as Corporate Development, Business Development, or Business Intelligence. When contacting these departments, the goal is to understand if and if so which products or systems are already known, in selection, in implementation, or ideally already in use. Specifically, there are the following scenarios to be prepared for: 1. There are still no systems of any kind for automating administrative processes. 2. A CRM system and an ERP system already exist. 3. There are no systems or products in the field of Marketing Automation (MA) or Sales Automation (SA), or Business Intelligence (BI) yet available within the organization. 4. The process of selecting relevant solutions in the area of MA, SA, or BI is currently underway. 5. A system in the area of MA, SA, or BI is currently being implemented. 6. An MA, SA, or BI solution is already in use in the organization. Scenario 1 In the case of the first scenario, it is a matter of creating awareness among colleagues in other departments in the context of the results of the first phase that in the future, both marketing, sales, and communication must run in a data-driven automated

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manner as part of the entire management in order to be able to sustainably exist in the market. With regard to marketing, you can refer colleagues to relevant reference books, communities, and events, which are perfect for imparting the relevant knowledge here in order to be able to recognize and understand the connections and the logically derived need for action. Depending on the area or industry in which one’s organization operates, these sources will vary. As a pars-pro-toto, these three management books recommended by many experts can be referenced for the sake of simplicity: • Marketing: B2B Marketing Guidebook, Seebacher 2021. • Sales: Marketing and Sales Automation, Hannig & Seebacher 2022. • Business Intelligence: Predictive Intelligence for Data-driven Managers, Seebacher 2021. The advantage of referencing these specialist books is that they all describe and discuss congruent approaches and models in terms of their structuring and preparation, so that all the specialist areas involved can proceed in a coordinated and identical manner and complement each other. For example, the book on predictive intelligence contains a maturity model (Seebacher, 2021c, p. 71ff) and also a process model (ibid, p. 115ff) tailored to the field. Likewise, the B2B Marketing Guidebook contains a maturity model (Seebacher, 2021d, p. 53ff) and a concrete procedure model (ibid, p. 58ff), on the basis of which colleagues from marketing can act and proceed congruently. Many colleagues, also from the B2C area, have thankfully already pointed out to us the successful use of these models in B2C businesses, which initially were designed for the B2B area. Thus, the model is also possibly an interesting starting point for companies that are located in the consumer goods sector and can be used as a source of inspiration and advice. If you find yourself in scenario 1, as defined in point 1, the first thing to do is to develop a common basis for the need for action with the other departments. This involves working at eye level to develop a common understanding of the terms used. For this purpose, the terms introduced into the discourse in this publication can be used as well as the conceptual ecosystems of modern marketing (Seebacher, 2021d, p. 31ff) and predictive intelligence (Seebacher, 2021c, p. 21ff). Once this common ground has been established, all parties involved are talking about the same things and thus misunderstandings can be minimized or hopefully eliminated from the outset. Especially in this phase, it is essential to pay attention to the three criteria of trust-building communication that consist of authenticity, empathy, and logic, as discussed earlier in this book. A solid foundation is the key success factor for such a sustainable change for organizations, in which the reengineering of corporate communication is an important aspect.

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Common goals should be defined with colleagues based on a common schedule or project plan. The decisive factor here is to stringently pursue the principle of value-added communication. This means that the colleagues from the other departments will only be the so-called “partners in crime” for the joint project if they can explicitly recognize their own added value and the advantages for themselves and their teams. Many different case studies can be drawn from the aforementioned books to visualize the enormous potential of RCC and also marketing and sales automation. Specifically, the following points should be presented at the end: • • • • •

Common vocabulary. Department-specific presentation of added values. Document with timing and deadlines. Definition of responsibilities. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from Corporate Communications, Marketing, Sales, and Corporate Development for the explicit presentation of the joint project. • Concept of installing a Steering Committee (SteCo) with the involvement of the Executive Board. Scenario 2 If an CRM or an ERP system is already in place, this means that most likely the areas of marketing and sales are already working with this system. For the area of corporate communications, this scenario offers the possibility of being able to use the CRM system as a starting point for documenting information about the customers of corporate communications in terms of the recipients of the information. Again, it is crucial to approach the marketing area with the right arguments, which is to talk about shared use of the system in question. With regard to the use of a possibly existing ERP system, it is discouraged based on many different projects, as activities in the context of ERP systems are comparable to open-heart surgery. In addition, research has shown that the data held in ERP systems is almost exclusively aimed at the company’s product customers, whereas corporate communication is aimed at information customers. The distinction between product customers and information customers is crucial in the context of the RCC. Details and histories of product customers can be found in the ERP system in relation to completed orders and transactions, as these are the basis for the corresponding further accounting and tax transactions. This means that the ERP system has no relevance to the RCC. On the other hand, the CRM system contains sales-oriented information and histories that are collected and documented prior to the operational, accounting purchase closing. This in turn means that such data of the information customers of corporate communication can very well be entered into such a CRM system and managed and also evaluated there.

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Thus, the CRM system can be a good start for a structured data collection and, based on this, also a first automation of selected processes of the reengineered corporate communication. Under no circumstances should one be put off by possible bad opinions about the CRM system, since in most cases there is a very complex mixture in connection with such systems and often many management errors are still reflected many years after the decision for the system and its implementation. In the context of RCC, too, acting responsibly in the interests of the company is reflected in making the best possible use of what is already available in terms of solutions. If you follow this approach stringently, you always offer a very small attack surface in the event of possible cross-cutting. Specifically, the following points should be realized on the basis of contacting marketing: • Common vocabulary. • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Marketing and Corporate Communications for the realization of a pilot for the documentation and use of data of Corporate Communications’ clients. • Rough project plan for further cooperation with regard to the automation of marketing and corporate communication with joint development of process libraries, journeys, personas, and performance indicators. • Procedure for the integration of sales, possibly product marketing and product management, but also corporate development or business intelligence. • Clear definition of responsibilities. Scenario 3 If neither Marketing nor Sales have implemented and are using systems such as those shown in the respective figures above to automate activities and processes, the first path leads to these departments as well. This is because it is a matter of discussing the state of knowledge in these departments. Are the departments already using concepts such as personas, customer journeys, or customer experience, or not? By reading the previous chapters in this book, a tremendous amount of knowledge has already been developed in terms of relevant concepts. Many of the concepts of RCC find their origin in marketing and sales. In order not to burn too many bridges right from the beginning, it is therefore necessary to find out the level of knowledge sensitively and empathically regarding these important concepts of the respective counterpart. Three possible situations can occur: 1. The terms are not known. 2. The terms are known but not considered relevant. 3. The terms are well known and are already used in part or in full. In the first case, it is helpful to take one’s own work results with you to the conversation and to present them immediately in the context of value-added communication. The counterpart must immediately see why this exercise should also be

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worthwhile for him or her in the sense of extra effort. With this in mind, it must then be discussed that many things are similar and therefore a joint approach would bring many key benefits. Possibly consider presenting a specialist book on the subject as a gift to enable further and more in-depth reading. If these terms are not known, then you are already a big step ahead and must therefore strive to bring the colleague(s) on board and to the same level of knowledge. Because only a joint approach for an InTechStack within the framework of the development of a jointly used MarTechStack and ComTechStack makes sense in the long term. At this point, it is a matter of change management, and one must always be aware of this. In the second case, one is apparently dealing with a denier of change, because the knowledge of the terms is present, but the relevance of the undisputedly important concepts is negated. The question, therefore, arises whether in this situation one should not approach the relevant representative of the sales department in the context of sales automation. Sales, by its very nature, has a high intrinsic power in organizations, which in turn will certainly be beneficial in the context of a joint approach of a then jointly used SalesTech- and ComTechStack. If this colleague in sales does not yet know the relevant terminology, then the procedure described in point 1 above can be used as a basis. In the worst case, however, you get a similar response from the sales colleague as from the marketing colleague. This is therefore the worst-case scenario, and it would make little sense at this point to propose a joint approach. Therefore, the recommendation is clearly to drive the activities along the process model to the RCC alone and to coordinate them closely with the upper management level on an ongoing basis. The involvement of the IT department in terms of support for the selection of possible solutions in marketing automation is certainly a goal. It will not be long before the marketing department learns about the activities, from which everything else will follow automatically. Because inevitably, rapid results will emerge from the progressive implementation of the respective system, which will transparently demonstrate the enormous potentials and added values even more. It is always important to bear in mind that success is the result of many small steps. And these steps must be worked through sequentially, stringently documented, evaluated, and communicated. In the third case, if the terms are already known and used in marketing or sales, there is a good chance that activities are already underway to purchase a marketing automation or sales automation solution. This is actually the perfect situation to get in the game and move along with these activities against the backdrop of the RCC. This will most likely also be advantageous for the responsible project initiator in the area of marketing or sales if corporate communications now also get involved and participates as a supporter with resources but also financial means. Regardless of the respective initial situation, the following points should be implemented in scenario 3 on the basis of the alignment:

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• Clear picture of the level of knowledge in the areas of marketing and sales. • Precise assessment of the status of developments in the other areas of marketing and sales. • Case 1: – A common level of knowledge and a starting point for a joint approach in the sense of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between marketing and corporate communications for the further procedure for the acquisition of a solution or development of a system landscape for the automation of marketing, communications, and sales activities. Depending on the situation, the area of intelligence should also be part of this master plan and IT should be integrated and considered accordingly as an internal service provider. – Rough project plan for further cooperation with a view to developing process libraries, journeys, personas, and performance indicators for marketing with support from corporate communications. – Procedure for the integration of sales, possibly product marketing and product management, but also corporate development or business intelligence. • Case 2: – Knowledge that one is proceeding alone for the time being in coordination with the internal IT department. • Case 3: – Rough project plan for further cooperation with a view to automating marketing and corporate communications with coordinated structures and project goals and the exchange of data and knowledge. – Procedure for the integration of sales, possibly product marketing and product management, but also corporate development or business intelligence. • Clear definition of responsibilities depending on cases 1–3. Scenario 4 If the process of selecting relevant solutions is already underway, it is important to get involved in the project without too much irritation. This should normally not cause any major problems, especially if the person responsible for the project is promised to participate adequately in the initial project costs, but also in the ongoing system costs. Again, and again the question is asked whether it makes a difference at which point in the selection process one comes on board. Naturally, the room for maneuvers at the beginning of such a project is still greater compared to the situation when a shortlist of possible providers or their products has already been drawn up. Nevertheless, we already know today that the overlaps of a structural nature between marketing and corporate communications are so great, not to say congruent, that even coming on board late in the selection process is not a problem at all or does not entail any disadvantages for the RCC. If the corresponding structural homework has been done on the part of corporate communications, the provider can immediately recognize within a few days where corresponding fine adjustments might be necessary. However, if the process library, the personas, or the journeys are not sufficiently well structured, it requires a

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Fig. 7.14 Structures as the basis for automation within the RCC. Source: Own illustration

significantly higher effort to be able to make correspondingly valid statements on the part of the provider or the provider does not make the effort and creates a cost estimate that is knitted with a hot needle. This is often done under the assumption and with good reason, because once you have started the project with the selected provider, there is almost no escape, even if the costs explode. The term “log-in syndrome“ is used for this phenomenon, which entered business management with the beginning of the large ERP implementation (Shapiro & Varian, 1998). Once again, doing your homework has paid off. Because without this homework, you will most likely be relegated to passenger status if you come on board too late, since no one will question, analyze, or change decisions that have already been made retroactively. Scenario 5 If the process is even further advanced and a corresponding system for automation is already on the way to implementation either in marketing or in sales, then it is also important for corporate communications to come on board immediately. It is a matter of making appropriate contact with the responsible project manager and an initial coordination of one’s own objectives with his or her project goals. In this context, it will be important to demonstrate relatively promptly that the structural homework has already been done, so that the project manager immediately recognizes that only a slight slowdown at max can be expected as a result of corporate communications coming on board due to the preliminary work that has already been done (Fig. 7.14).

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Fig. 7.15 Schematic representation of template usage. Source: Own illustration

Many automation projects in the area of marketing and sales begin without the structural groundwork. In these approximately 80% of cases, this basic work is then implemented á la “quick and dirty” as part of the preparation for implementation. This often happens that the providers of the products and their associated implementation consultants let themselves pay very well for this service. If this is the case, one can get involved in the project very quickly and in a very value-adding way with one’s own preliminary work. The results of the RCC then serve as good templates for the creation or adaptation of the marketing or sales-relevant structural elements (Fig. 7.15). You gain time and save a lot of money! In turn, under normal circumstances, the prospect of an additional project partner and the associated possibility of sharing the costs should very quickly lead to a consensus on a common way forward. The great advantage is that through the already realized development of structural aspects such as process libraries, personas, and journeys, the structural competence has been established in corporate communication, which is required to contribute efficiently and effectively to the implementation of a system for automation. This is because such a project is about the best possible mapping of processes, the automation of interfaces for data transfer from and to systems, but also the mapping of the various functionalities along the defined journeys. Scenario 6 If one or the other solution has already been rolled out in full or in part in the organization, then it is a matter of docking onto the system in the best possible way on the basis of one’s own structural elements. Experience has shown that here again success is the result of many small steps. In a figurative sense, this means that instead

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of a big bang start, one should begin with a sub-process or functionality in terms of automation. Once this has been successfully completed, one can move on to the next functionality or sub-process. In this context, an approach along the value chain has proven to be successful. Specifically, this means proceeding along the respective communication journey and the defined sections and touchpoints, so that these journeys can be mapped automatically step by step right from the start. This approach offers several advantages. On the one hand, the costs and risks remain manageable, and on the other hand, the organizational units involved are given the opportunity to carefully run through the organizational learning process in the context of automation as part of the RCC. What very often happens is that the department initiating the project has not included certain partial functionalities in the framework agreement with the external provider, which are, however, required by corporate communications. If this is the case, this can be determined very quickly on the basis of the defined work results of the RCC and, building on this, the corresponding framework agreement with the provider can be expanded to include this functionality or functionalities. No matter at which stage one finds himself or herself, every scenario can be mastered if the principles of trust-building communication are followed and if one always acts at eye level in verbal and nonverbal communication. Once again, it should be pointed out at this point that it is not a question of who must be subordinate to whom or which department has to lead the other. The success lies in the cooperation, in the common knowledge acquisition, and the learning progress and synergies resulting from it. In today’s world, it is more and more about responsibility for the common good and above all about authenticity. Admitting what you don’t know and standing by it in discussions is a good basis for further development. A lack of internal organizational identity and authenticity inevitably has an external effect and will sooner or later be perceived accordingly by information customers and product customers. The fact that such a perception on the market will not have a positive impact on the perception of the organization among the relevant target groups, does not need to be mentioned separately. In this context, the motto should always be in mind: Perception is reality, and reality and aspiration must match!

7.6.3

Purchasing

If the previously presented tasks and situations have been mastered, then the homework has been done. The required knowledge regarding relevant features of potential solutions can be derived from the work results and is therefore available. If, unlike in Scenario 5 or 6, no system has yet been selected or is currently being implemented, this knowledge can be used to classify and evaluate products and providers in the field of communication, marketing, and sales automation.

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Currently, there is no dedicated ComTechStack landscape like there is in the area of marketing and sales. This can have several reasons. One reason may be that corporate communicators have never expressed the need for such solutions due to the outdated level of knowledge and expertise already described in detail. The other reason could be that IT vendors are well aware of the fact that all relevant functions of a reengineered enterprise communications can very well be mapped by existing solutions from the MarTechStack and SalesTechStack. If this is the case, then the providers have already taken the decisive step towards the right understanding, in contrast to most corporate communicators, namely that we always talk about a customer and have to look after him accordingly, regardless of whether he obtains information as a product or a product. So don’t go looking for solutions for corporate communicators. What we need can already be found in the market in the context of the MarTechStack and the SalesTechStack. At this point, it then also makes sense to think about relevant investments in relation to the InTechStack. On the one hand, the “Sturm und Drang” period in the development of the MarTech and SalesTech landscape has subsided in the meantime and one can assume an adult range of really valid and functioning solutions. On the other hand, one can point to an inherent identity and competence within the organization, against the background of which possible decisions regarding new, additional tech products can be made seriously and with a view to their sustainability. In doing so, the InTechStack must and should draw on solutions from existing SalesTech and MarTech infrastructures or be linked to them. In this way, redundancies can be avoided, and meta-information can be generated. We will not go into the procurement process of IT solutions in depth at this point, as most organizations have appropriate frameworks and processes in place for these activities. It is important that the IT is involved but always correctly assessed and used with regard to its position, namely as an enabler and service provider and by no means as a driver and sole decision maker. If one acts together with other departments such as marketing and sales on the basis of the structural elements described in detail above, one can be sure of successfully identifying the right solutions for the own organization and the defined requirements. Again, the use of templates is recommended, on the basis of which the relevant solutions and products can be compared transparently and stringently (Fig. 7.16). The focus here is on the fulfillment of functionalities as well as on initial and ongoing costs. It is crucial to be able to identify the relevant cost drivers of the respective providers and their payment models. For some providers, it is the number of contacts stored in the system on the basis of which the costs or monthly license fees are calculated. If this is overlooked, it can very quickly lead to a cost explosion for an organization that uses such a system completely and across all areas and functions. It is then

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Fig. 7.16 Example template for vendor selection. Source: Romero-Palma 2021

important to think about the use or even the intermediate storage of contacts in other databases outside of the respective system, in order to be able to keep the costs manageable. Often the providers suggest taking overall data records directly from the CRM system. In most cases, this is not the best option, as it is not always possible to work in parallel with all data records from the CRM, but usually only with certain segments in the sense of customer groups. Well-set up solutions enable a quick transfer of these specific customer groups from the CRM into the respective automation tool, whereby the costs can be kept manageable, as they are then copied into the system on a case-specific basis and then transferred out of it again. With regard to corporate communications, in most cases the data from CRM will not be relevant, but rather a start must be made on developing data on corporate communications customers over time. In this regard, it is important to consider in the context of quantities over what period of time which approximate amount of customer contacts must be generated and documented on the part of corporate

7.7 The InTechStack for A2A Interaction at a Glance

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communications. Similar to a profitability analysis, this development path must always be kept in mind as a frame of reference during negotiations.

7.7

The InTechStack for A2A Interaction at a Glance

In order to have the necessary view of the big picture in the context of the third phase named above, an attempt will be made at this point to depict the appearance of a sustainable operable InTechStack in the form of a generic structural representation (Fig. 7.17). The lighter the elements in the figure, the later in the process the elements should be added to the InTechStack. It becomes clear that the secret of efficient and effective predictive interaction intelligence as part of data-driven management is certainly not a complex IT architecture, but rather a well thought-out and smart algorithm that has matured naturally in and with the respective organization. When establishing an InTechStack for an organization, this only makes sense if a congruent development process takes place that also focuses on and actively considers the organizational learning process. Many projects have shown that less is often more and that in the first years of an RCC more should be invested in structures and their development as well as in basic competencies and exchange than in systems and products. The important aspects of a modern and sustainable InTechStack are the connection to the CRM system and the use of a marketing automation system. Depending on which marketing automation product is used, it may not even be necessary to connect to the company’s own CRM. This is the case when the marketing automation solution not only allows for the storage of customer information in terms of functionality, but also in terms of cost.

Fig. 7.17 Schematic InTechStack blueprint. Source: Own illustration

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These systems cover the entire functionalities in the narrowest sense that a InTechStack requires, because a marketing automation solution per se can track information on customer behavior in the external area in relation to all customer contact points, but also its queries and research activities. The area of segment-based interaction (SBI) plays an important role, especially in the area of larger companies, although not all marketing automation solutions provide this functionality. In order to keep an eye on the market, the various relevant information customer groups, general economic developments, but also relevant major projects and the associated interactions and communications, and to be able to work and act with this data, the second major area of the InTechStack (shown in the right-hand area in Fig. 7.17) is the external data area. This includes relevant and validated structured and unstructured, closed, and public data sources for the respective industries of an organization, as well as general and generic business and enterprise databases but also industry-specific project and investment platforms, and social networks. These networks are continuously monitored using artificial intelligence and corresponding insights are fed into the Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC) and displayed via CIC dashboards. Only when these areas have been developed in terms of data technology and a 360 data perspective has been mapped in the Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC) does it make sense to think about artificial intelligence (AI). Because along with this now complete data picture, the basic algorithms have also matured to such an extent that an additional artificial intelligence and the results and findings generated from it can be meaningfully and competently interpreted and validated in terms of their significance and thus meaningfully integrated into a data-driven corporate communication. Artificial intelligence (AI) works in part with so-called hidden processes, in which various levels of data processing in the artificial intelligence system run hidden from the viewer or user. This means that some processes run as if in a black box. If, however, the basic competence in relation to data-driven corporate communication is now lacking and thus many contexts but also the corresponding sensitivity in dealing with data and algorithms is not present, AI in combination with a lack of competence becomes a dangerous cocktail. This can lead to wrong conclusions and risky communication decisions. The InTechStack blueprint shown offers many different advantages: • • • • • •

Cost minimization. Incrementally achievable. No serious information technology interventions in existing structures. Applicable for all possible organization-specific IT strategies. Greatest possible independence from external solutions. Greatest possible, long-lasting adaptability with regard to the course of the project.

With this information technology frame of reference, one should be able to prepare and implement the right steps and decisions in each case, even from the perspective of a future InTechStack system environment. This must also be an

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obligation for a responsible manager who takes on the RCC to his own organization or management, namely, to act in a resource-conscious manner. Against this background, the InTechStack Blueprint introduced also allows further peripheral systems such as applications from Event-Media-Intelligence, Sales Intelligence, Procurement Intelligence, or even Engineering Intelligence to be integrated or networked with it, as well as an automated system for configuration, pricing, and automatic quotation. This can then result in a company-wide system landscape for a predictive intelligence All-2-All (A2A) Corporate Interaction (Fig. 7.18). Such a connection always requires an exact specification of relevant data fields ex ante in order to avoid unnecessarily inflating predictive intelligence in terms of data technology while at the same time making the best possible use of data. Once again, an authentic internal PI project pays off in this step, because only then is it possible to immediately recognize the relevant and meaningful information for each additional peripheral system. In the context of the connections and interfaces that have already been implemented, the further technical connection of a sales intelligence system to take over certain defined data fields should no longer represent a major challenge.

7.8

The S-Curve Model for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

Based on the development process described, it becomes clear that the path for corporate communicators to achieve interaction excellence is long and complex. The organizational maturation process is stringently accompanied by that of the MarTechStack and InTechStack development of a corporate communications department. Internationally recognized IT industry veteran Peter O’Neill9 has used his experience—similar to the Marketing Maturity Model (Seebacher, 2021e)—to map an organization’s IT development in relation to its MarTech stack. According to O’Neill, this results in a five-stage process in which the various systems and solutions are arranged in an S-shaped curve. Based on this model by O’Neill, an S-curve model was developed that operationally represents how to proceed step-bystep in relation to the instrumental level (Fig. 7.19). The representation makes it very easy to assess one’s own InTechStack maturity level and can also be used directly as an operational development path. With the help of these models, it should be possible to orient oneself with regard to relevant meaningful InTechStack considerations and organizational measures in order to be able to successfully and effectively shape one’s own journey to interaction excellence.

9

http://marchnata.eu/. Accessed on: February 12, 2021.

Fig. 7.18 Schematic blueprint for entrepreneurial predictive intelligence. Source: Own illustration

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Fig. 7.19 Process management S-curve for predictive A2A corporate interaction. Source: Own illustration based on O’Neill

7.8 The S-Curve Model for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction 197

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What Is the Nuts and Bolts of an Effective InTechStack?

In this chapter, we have attempted to define and discuss an ideal-typical structure plan for a company’s own communication intelligence at a very early stage in the development of a completely new generation of system for data-driven corporate communication as the result of an RCC. For IT fans, the resulting structure plan will be a disappointment, because it is a logically deductive, lean but pragmatic and operable approach without frills or specifics. And indeed, many different projects have confirmed that it does not require expensive tools and applications, but only a small group of authentic and committed communication professionals, whose motivation is based on being able to sustainably launch something decisive for their own organization. IT only plays an important role in the further course of the RCC initiative, which then provides the entire topic with the corresponding stable and secure framework to be able to practice valid and serious, data-driven corporate performance communication based on it. An instrument or a tool is and remains just a tool. Even the biggest fool with the best InTechStack will continue to remain just a fool, because the basis is not available to be able to generate added value from such an infrastructure. Less is more when taking the path toward communication intelligence and when it comes to applications and products from the InTechStack landscape. Success lies first and foremost in human brilliance and intelligence, which forms the foundation for predictive interaction intelligence equipped with artificial intelligence that builds on it. If children today were taught to calculate with a calculator right from the start, they would not be able to learn the basic skills of mathematics. Only when these have been acquired and learned may children begin to accelerate and support the processes of calculation through the use of calculators. And it is exactly the same in the context of communication intelligence and the InTechStack. First, the basic competencies must be learned and worked on, both individually and organizationally. Only then is it sensible and purposeful to buy and start using the “calculator.” If this basic rule, which has apparently been used successfully for generations in mathematics with our children, is not observed, one will not be able to establish and meaningfully master the reengineering of corporate communication in the long term, because one has figuratively neglected to learn mental arithmetic.

References Brynjolfsson, E., & Collis, A. (2020, April). The value of the digital economy. Harvard Business Manager, 2020, 50–58. Chandler, A. D., Jr. (1962). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the American industrial Enterprise. MIT Press. Frey, A., Trenz, M., & Veit, D. (2019). A service-dominant logic perspective on the roles of Technology in Service Innovation: Uncovering four archetypes in the sharing economy. Journal of Business Economics, 89(8–9), 1149–1189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-019-00948-z Iansiti M., & Lakhani K. R (2017, January/February) Technology: The truth about blockchain. In: HBR.org.

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Kotler, P., Pfoertsch, W., & Sponholz, U. (2021). H2H marketing–the genesis of human-to-human marketing. Springer. McKinsey. (2021). Next in personalization: 2021 consumer survey. McKinsey. Müller E. (2019, July) The Netflix industry. Manage Magazine 2019, pp. 95–97. Negovan, M., & Seebacher, U. G. (2021). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), 365 days B2B marketing turnaround: A fact-driven, bullet-proof showcase guide (B2B Marketing. Management for professionals ed.). Springer. Rifkin, J. (2019). The global green new Deal: Why fossil-fuelled civilisation will collapse around 2028–and a bold economic plan can save life on earth. Campus Verlag. Seebacher, U. (2020). Template-based management. A guide for an efficient and impactful professional practice. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021a). Data-driven management: A primer for modern corporate decision making. AQPS. Seebacher, U. (2021c). Assets-as-service: A crash course into the industrial subscription economy. AQOS. Seebacher, U. (2021d). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers: Process model, assessment-tool, IT-blueprint, competence model and case studies. Springer. Seebacher, U. (2021e). B2B marketing: A guidebook for the classroom to the boardroom. Springer. Seebacher, U. G. (2021b). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), The B2B marketing maturity model: What the route to the goal looks like! (B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals ed.). Springer. Shapiro, C., & Varian, H. R. (1998). Information rule: A strategic guide to the network economy. Harvard Business School Press. Wierse A., & Riedel T. (2017) Smart data analytics (English). De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2017. Steinmetz, R., & Wehrle, K. (2006). Peer-to-peer networking & computing. Current buzzword. In Informatik Spektrum (pp. 51–54). Springer, 27.2004, 1.

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The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

8.1

Why the RCC Requires New Competencies and Skills?

At the beginning of this book, against the background and building on the developments in the field of modern industrial goods marketing, many new terms and concepts were discussed and presented in the context of the reengineering of corporate communication. Indeed, a modernized and reengineered corporate communication offers an enormous potential, because based on the data, concepts, tools, and systems, it is suddenly possible to work in a very focused, structured, and measurable way. Everything suddenly gets a hand and a foot and practically every communicative issue can be underpinned with data and discussed and interpreted on this basis at a completely new content level. However, such a paradigmatic change will only take place if the topic of RCC toward Predictive Interaction, as described in this book, is implemented independently and authentically in and for an organization. Only then will the necessary human potential develop gradually and congruently within the organization to be able to deal with and apply the increasingly complex and valid information in a meaningful and value-added manner in the sense of entrepreneurial development. With such a development, the necessary knowledge and competence areas will also emerge in the organization and thus automatically a team of experts for Predictive Interaction. In this context, a key user network plays a role that should not be underestimated, especially for global companies because it can also establish an important aspect of knowledge transfer in the organization and ensure it on a sustained, continuous basis. Nevertheless, it is important to know from the beginning which skills will be necessary over time in order to be able to set up the reengineered corporate communication successfully in the long term. Against this background, this chapter looks at the subject area of corporate communications for the twenty-first century from the perspective of human resources management. This involves aspects such as roles and responsibilities as well as fields of competence, competencies, and associated behavioral anchors. The aim must be, as a business partner of HR also to be the master mind in this regard, so # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_8

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that the company’s own HR department can provide the best possible support if required. It is not the task of the HR department to always have the corresponding watertight job descriptions and competencies for new topics. In the field of corporate communications, there will and must be drastic changes in the coming years. Everything is in flux, and nothing is fixed. What is certain, however, is that in the course of the RCC there will be completely new and changed jobs and role models in corporate communications.

8.2

What Managers Need to Know?

Most of the buzzwords introduced as part of the ecosystem for revamped corporate communications are new. More and more companies are facing the challenge of dusting off and digitizing this last island of bliss. This creates an important basic requirement in terms of skills and expertise regarding the evolution of predictive Interactions. The problem, however, is that these new competencies have not yet found on broad level their way into traditional training and fields of study. Why this so becomes clear from the chapter at the beginning of this book on the current state of the art, as research and teaching itself have somehow failed to realign itself. This also leads to the fact that most of today’s heads of corporate communications, with a few exceptions, also lack the necessary meta-competence themselves to find employees with these new skills in the market, or to develop them purposefully in their own team. In most cases, therefore, all projects in the field of RCC have one thing in common: successful projects in the field are not driven forward by such classic and long-established corporate communicators, but by managers who either have a marketing background or are themselves so far-sighted and authentic as to venture into this new and unknown terrain. They are the ones who, at eye level with the teams, establish the connection to the business, to marketing, to sales, and thereby successfully shape the RCC. As described in the section on self-assessment various thematic and systemrelated aspects are asked. The corresponding questions already allow conclusions to be drawn about new competencies to be developed or established. If experts or departments on the various topics are already available in the organization concerned, they should in any case be drawn upon in the context of the RCC. However, one must also be aware of the fact that the competency-technical perspective will rapidly refine in the course of the RCC with regard to the following nine competency fields described in the further course of the chapter. From the point of view of content, the following typologies of competences are required in this context: • • • •

Communication Marketing Distribution Process

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• Data • Information Technology As described in the process model for RCC, managers must act as an active interface in the organization. In this function, they must act as interpreters, stringently conveying knowledge and establishing and ensuring the connection to operational practice by taking up the requirements and goals of a company and translating them into questions and problems of Predictive Interaction, which are subsequently solved by the revised Corporate Interaction. Through these link functions, they create understanding and acceptance for data-driven Corporate Interaction, because without transparency, acceptance, or trust, the results will not be used in day-to-day business. While day-to-day business in sales usually revolves around topics such as increasing sales or generating new leads, questions such as data quality or choosing the right algorithm are important for many communication data scientists. In this context, four essential fields of competence can be defined for managers, which they have to perceive in order to be able to establish Predictive Interaction successfully in their own organization in the long term: • • • •

Speaking and living Predictive Communication (Seebacher, 2021). Managing data in interaction as a strategic resource. Building data-driven Corporate Interactions. Building competitive advantage through Predictive Interaction.

8.2.1

What It Means to Speak and Live Predictive Interaction?

In order to be able to provide the necessary management support for all activities right from the start, it is necessary to be well-versed in the content of Predictive Intelligence(Seebacher, 2021). It is not about knowing everything exactly, but to deal authentically with one’s own knowledge. The goal is not to lecture the rest of the organization, but to enable the necessary knowledge transfer at eye level. For everyone together, the successful establishment of modern corporate Interaction is a path with many small steps. Only if each step can be climbed together will it lead to success in the long run. As a manager, it is, therefore, necessary to act as an ambassador for data-driven Corporate Interaction as part of data-driven management (Seebacher, 2021b). The goal should be always be one knowledge step ahead in order to be able to further develop the organization. One does not become a proven expert overnight, as the process requires perseverance and patience. A big theme in this context of living and talking about data-driven business interaction is also uncertainty, fear but also rejection, because “after all, it has worked very well without big data, machine learning and Predictive Intelligence until today.” However, this overlooks what was said at the very beginning of the book regarding the contingency of a disruptive industry.

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In this context, the aim is to create transparency through continuous and constant information and to gradually expand the network of companions and supporters by interacting with the organization in the context of pilot projects and pilot studies in order to communicate the topic to the organization through informal channels as well. A helpful and important tool or model in this context is the triangle of trust, which was already discussed at the beginning of this book, and which makes it possible to create sustainable trust through authentic, empathetic, and logical behavior in order to be able to consolidate a complex and protracted topic such as that of data-driven management in an organization. Authenticity is closely related to appearance and perception in the sense of a certain quality of perceptual content. Such content may be associated with things or objects, persons, events, or even and especially human actions. Authenticity presupposes the congruence of appearance and reality. In the case of conscious or unconscious inconsistency of appearance and reality, this implies a possibility of deception and falsification. Content can be considered authentic if both perceptual dimensions are assumed to be consistent and congruent. The divergence of the “really” real and authentic from the “fake” or “supposed” real is interpreted in the social behavioral sciences as a meta-level competence of humans in terms of contingency and self-knowledge. Whereby this statement is also a statement to be critically questioned because it is assumed that animals have a much more pronounced competence to distinguish authentic from simulated behavior. Authenticity is a complex, intrapersonal growth process. One must be ready, prepared, and mature for this journey. Experts attest that this also requires the appropriate people around you to facilitate and support this growth process. And only authentic leaders can and will be able to transform an organization or team into an equally authentic one. An authentic organization is a structural construct in the sense of what renowned Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School Amy C. Edmondson describes as her “fearless organization” (Edmondson, 2018). And here, again, the big difference between managers and leaders comes into play. Managers, in the sense of leaders, can light fires in people because they are authentic. They also accept to fail every now and then and let their people fail and take such opportunities to let employees learn and grow from them. Managers are technocratic and manage through pressure and fear. Yes, leaders also put pressure on their employees as it promotes growth. Yes, leaders also use KPI but the setting of these performance targets is collaborative, and as a result, leaders’ employees know the why of what they are doing (Fig. 8.1). Can we measure authenticity? Not really, but very far-reaching techniques have been developed to prove authenticity, which attempt to define and establish a set of criteria for authenticity in a normative way, at least for a certain area of the object.1

1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative. Accessed on: December 3, 2021.

8.2 What Managers Need to Know?

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Fig. 8.1 Difference between managers and leaders. Source: Own illustration

The second pillar of the triangle of trust is empathy,2 derived from the Greek word ἐμπάθεια, meaning “physical affection or passion.” The main part of the word is “pathos” in the sense of “passion,” but also “suffering.” In a virtual, remocal world, this skill will play an increasingly important role, enabling people in business environments not only to be empathetic, but more so to do so remotely and virtually. Many definitions of empathy are used for many different emotional states such as cognitive, emotional, or affective and somatic empathy. What they all have in common is that empathy is about the authentic effort and desire to help and care for someone, and to eliminate the difference between the “I” and the “other.” With this skill, one is enabled to experience feelings and emotions that match the emotions of another person. Martin Hoffman, an American psychologist, has done extensive research and study on the development of empathy, and according to him, every human being is born with the ability to feel empathy (Hoffman, 2000). Empathy is divided into three categories: 1. Affective empathy or emotional empathy in the sense of the ability to respond to another person’s state of mind with the appropriate emotion. 2. Cognitive empathy describes the ability to understand the mental state or emotions of any other individual. 3. Somatic empathy is used in the sense of bodily reactions—where otherwise the latter are mental reactions—based on the mirroring of neuron reactions triggered by the somatic nervous system (Rothschild, 2006). Many top managers have great problems with empathy because they are very analytical and logical people who get bored quickly. The realization that their colleagues or direct reports are not as quick as they are makes them impatient.

2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy. Accessed on: December 3, 2021.

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This in turn is perceived by their peers as ignorant and not empathetic. But people strive for recognition at their core, and if they can’t expect that kind of mental state from their boss, it leads to insecurity, mental misbehavior, and distrust. The third area of the triangle is the logic. The word is derived from the Greek word λoγική, which means “to be in possession of logical thought, intellect, dialectic and reasoning.” Despite much and extensive research and debate, the philosophy of logic (Quine, 1986) conclusively uses only the following three criteria as the basis for a common understanding to date: • Classification of arguments • Systemic representation of logical forms • Validity and robustness of deductive reasoning If a manager has a problem with logic, this is seen as a weakness in leadership. After all, if the manager is not convinced of his ideas, why should the others follow him? This means that all three skills are essential to create a sustainable and successful trust-based leadership environment as part of a data-driven organization where collaboration is a continuous learning process for both the individual and the organization. Tip: Living and talking data-driven Interaction can be figuratively compared to the classic walk-the-talk. Even such an important topic can only be established sustainably in an organization if the manager(s) or the management team also wants to drive and operate data-driven action in general authentically and stringently in the long term.

8.2.2

How to Manage Data as a Strategic Resource?

Data is the new gold. In the future, it will no longer be about products or machines, but about the relevant data and information about these machines. The race for this last mile to the plants and machines has long since begun. All of this goes hand in hand with the development of precisely these disruptive “assets-as-services” business models that aim to collect and aggregate ever more and greater amounts of data 24/7. However, especially in the initial phase with about 80% of the effort usually amounts to the preparation and processing of this data. Only in the further course of such initiatives can this effort be significantly reduced through automatic interfaces and connections of the relevant data sources. Communication Data Engineering (CDE) is thus the duty and only when this homework is completed stringently and consistently done, can the development of predictions in relation to corporate communication take place as a freestyle. Especially in the early stages of RCC projects, however, the sensitivity of many departments to CDE is very low, precisely because these activities take place hidden in the background. Against this background, the top priority from the very beginning must be to be able to demonstrate rapid success with generated data on the basis of

8.2 What Managers Need to Know?

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small pilot projects. These results can and should flow back into the area of “Talking and living data-driven corporate Interaction” from a content point of view and be communicated to the organization personally, but also virtually in the form of internal PodCasts, VodCasts, or webinars. Such proactive Interaction can be used to motivate other internal customers to also benefit from RCC on the basis of project results and to manifest the value of data and information accordingly on the metalevel. Managers need to be familiar with basic organizational and technical issues in order to assess in advance how data, once collected, can be effectively harnessed for different contexts. With this knowledge, additional economies-of-scale can be realized, as data that has already been processed can be reused for other pilot projects. As a manager, it is also necessary to have not only an overview of common data infrastructures and applications, but also an understanding of data and data quality management. In order to be able to manage data as strategic resources, the template-based creation of profitability analyses—Automated Business Planning (ABP) (Seebacher, 2021, p. 265)—has also proven helpful in various projects. To this end, an attempt must be made from the outset to record and document savings in the area of data procurement and processing on the one hand and the revenue-oriented evaluation of the use of the data on the other. The better the attempt succeeds in establishing this connection between the company’s own cost minimization and entrepreneurial revenue optimization through data and Predictive Interaction, the faster the change in the organization will take place regarding the view of data as strategic resources and the relevance of revised corporate communication.

8.2.3

How Do you Build Data-Driven Corporate Interactions?

From a structural-theoretical point of view, this question has already been dealt with comprehensively using the process model for reengineering corporate communication; however, data-driven corporate interaction must be considered in the context of the big picture in the sense of data-driven management (DDM). This can mean that RCC is first implemented for defined pilot units or pilot projects, in order to then determine the further course of action based on the results. Especially for small companies, this can make sense in terms of scarce resources. However, it is advisable to define the pilot approach not department-specifically, but process-driven, in order to gradually revise all the different fields of activity of corporate communication one after the other. While some large companies successfully implement initial DDM projects, many fail to systematically integrate them into their organization. Especially in large companies, where one of several divisions will be very successful in immediately recognizing the benefits of Predictive Interaction as a data technology pioneer, covetousness will soon arise elsewhere in the overall organization. Based on our experience, the following scenarios have emerged:

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• Best-case scenario: Based on the first successful pilots with certain divisions or departments in relation to, for example, certain target groups for upcoming major projects, the topic is then rolled out by the company management to all other divisions and, in a next step, raised globally to the group level. This will result in enormous savings, as data and systems for the reengineered corporate communications can be acquired and used centrally for the entire Group. • Neutral case scenario: The respective managers coordinate informally in order to coordinate and jointly drive the predictive interaction activities on the basis of a “shared service approach” without any official requirements to coordinate and jointly drive forward predictive interaction activities. • Worst case scenario: No organizational changes are initiated from the official side, which is why each division alone develops the modernization of communication in a decentralized manner, continues to collect data autonomously, establishes and also uses its own systems and resources, and thus the respective critical dimensions and the corresponding learning curve cannot be realized in order to be able to operate optimally efficient and effective predictive interaction orchestrated for the entire company in a timely manner. In order to be able to proceed in a resource-optimal manner from an organizational point of view, companies must design an overarching strategy and create appropriate organizational structures for the transfer of a possible RCC prototype unit, as described above, into regular operation on the basis of the overall organization. Ivo Blohm3 states in this context: Building data-driven organizations, however, is not just about building scalable prototyping factories. Rather, it often involves the systematic redesign of decision-making and business processes and accompanying change management. A recent survey by consulting firm McKinsey shows that leading companies here spend about 50% of their analytics budgets on organizational integration of the solutions they develop—more than twice as much as the rest.

This means that in addition to the content-related structural implementation of Predictive Interaction, organization-related change management is at least as important in order to be able to sustainably establish data as a driver for corporate interaction as part of corporate management and control.

8.2.4

How to Create Competitive Advantages Through Predictive Interaction?

Jeremy Rifkin puts it brilliantly in his current book “The New Green Deal” (Rifkin, 2019), in which he attests that the unwillingness of many top managers in

3 https://www.zoe-online.org/meldungen/was-manager-ueber-business-analytics-wissen-muessen/. Accessed on: December 3, 2021.

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the industry to change will lead to the disappearance of many international and global corporations. Managers must learn to understand the rapidly changing rules of the digital and data-driven world. Because it is up to them to deduce how their own products, services, and processes need to be adapted. But this per se is also a paradigm shift, because up to now products have sold themselves because one knew or could know one’s own customers personally. In order to be able to initiate and go through this process of change, managers are needed who start on a small scale to solve short-term business situations that arise with Predictive Intelligence and immediately show how Competitive Advantage could be realized. Competitive advantages tend to be proven generically and conceptually, but a very operative competitive advantage can also be realized and proven in many small, different measures, at least through data-driven corporate management. It is also helpful to consider the findings of analytics in the area of product development. Data-based adaptations of products are usually associated with high risks and it is often unclear whether and, if so, which specific customer needs can be met with innovative data-based solutions. It is much more difficult to recognize ex ante or to estimate whether customers are basically willing to pay for data-based, generated additional services. In order to solve this data paradox, many companies therefore consistently rely on agile methods of innovation development, such as Design Thinking, Canvasing, Template-based Management, Lean Startup, or Prototyping. The expectation is to be able to identify and evaluate possible application potentials for predictive intelligence and to prepare them for further development, so that the business can then evaluate the strategic benefit and the feasibility of such a data-based innovation. What can be learned from this is that, once again, it is the path of small steps that leads to success. It is crucial to conduct applied research and development as part of an authentically, empathetically, and logically lived organizational learning process. It is up to leaders to pull the various threads and, most importantly, to link and connect them so that a stringent and coherent RCC story emerges. When such a foundation is lived and laid by the management as part of a fearless organization according to Amy C. Edmondson (2018), then from an operational perspective, predictive interaction can be set up very quickly and effectively for data-driven enterprise interaction.

8.3

What the Future Corporate Interactions Team Will Look like?

Right at the beginning it must be stated that the perfect team as such does not and cannot exist. It is therefore much more about the “how” and only secondarily about the “what.” This “how” is based on process authenticity and is defined by the focused but predominantly natural emergence of the new competence during the reengineering of corporate communications.

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Because only when a team-internal predictive interaction identity is created on the basis of this process authenticity can information and communication to the outside world, to the various customers and interest groups, be coordinated and consistent. As in the area of marketing, which is currently undergoing an enormous change process (Seebacher & Güpner, 2021, p. 45ff), team-internal authenticity is also the decisive factor in the area of the new topic of RCC in order to be able to efficiently and effectively initiate and implement the necessary organizational change process.

8.3.1

What Human Ontogenetics Teaches Us?

Organizations are comparable to individuals in terms of their modes of action. What the limbs are in the human body of an individual, the various organizational units represent in the organizational construct. The arms and legs are the divisions or business units. The forearm and the upper arm are comparable to different departments that are dependent on each other in a certain way in terms of value creation, but still act independently in principle. The individual fingers on a hand are comparable to departments, which in turn are attached to the forearm department and thus work for it. The brain is the corporate management, which acts either rationally or emotionally, based on the theories and findings of the two different hemispheres of the brain. The central and all connecting systems, such as the bloodstream and the nervous system, are comparable to regulations, guidelines, and generally applicable standards that apply in the organization. Existing information and reporting systems are also part of the central information systems, which—similar to the human body—can be faulty and impaired in their functioning. Apart from these physical parallels between organizations and people, the much more impressive element is their mental somatic comparability. For, as with humans, from the point of view of human ontogenetic (Wessel, 1998), as a system of statements about the holistic development and structure of the individual, both physical and mental health are required. The basic premises of human ontogenetic are firstly the possibility of lifelong development from conception to death and secondly the mode of existence of the individual as a biopsychosocial unit. In this context, organizations are also subject to a process of development and learning throughout their life cycle and represent a unity of formal and informal—conscious and unconscious—structures and behaviors. A basic thesis of human ontogenetic defines that a human being can only exist sustainably in a system-preserving way in the sense both physically and mentally if the state of an authentic-stringent identity can be achieved. Following the theory that organizations and individuals are fundamentally comparable system complexes, this means that an organization can only exist sustainably “healthy” if the state of such an authentic-stringent organizational identity is achieved. In such a state, short-term limitations of individual subsystems can be eradicated by the common unifying factor and thus the return to the holistic functioning of the system can be realized.

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Human ontogenetic combines system-theoretical, developmental-psychological, and behavioral-biological elements into a unified model and thus forms an ideal frame of reference and also validation for the subject area of organizational development. This is because human ontogenetic, like modern organizational development, is based on the theses of lifelong development, the system of competencies and the model of sensitive and critical phases. This means that the laws of human ontogenetic also appear to be applicable to organizational constructs at all levels. What we can therefore derive from the comparison with the human system for an interaction team, but also of course for any other team, is the realization that a purely technocratic establishment of relevant competencies is by no means the sole criterion for success. Rather, it is essential to deepen knowledge on the basis of joint action and communication, thereby gradually developing a natural common understanding of predictive intelligence, in order to establish team authenticity on this basis. Only when this team authenticity has been created can it be assumed that the subject area will develop congruently and stringently into an organization and develop together with it. This team authenticity is also the nucleus for the creativity and perseverance required to develop such an exciting, but also a complex construct of predictive intelligence for data-driven corporate management. In addition to this team dimension, reference must not be made once more here to the previously discussed tasks, competencies, and roles that managers must fulfil within the framework of RCC as part of the manager dimension. Ultimately, only this interaction will make an efficient and effective realization of the RCC possible. Tip: If no new resources with relevant competencies are available or can be brought on board from the beginning, this should not be a knockout criterion for the RCC. Many projects have started exclusively with existing employees from the areas of controlling, marketing, or sales and only after about 8 to 12 months were subject-specific, student employees brought on board for reinforcement.

8.3.2

Why the Good Is so Close?

From the very beginning, a good RCC team must also have the ambition to set itself up according to the dimension in terms of the size of its own organization. The approach often found in conservative structures of defining one’s own significance and importance on the basis of the number of employees assigned to a manager contradicts the ideology that a manager acting in the interests of the company should display. This size-specific awareness should shape RCC activities from the very beginning. Any premature request for additional resources and budgets might cause unnecessary frictions and increases the pressure for demonstrable and valid results. Furthermore, such requests for resources and money tend to make bigger waves, unnecessarily creating a need for clarification and demand. Inevitably, discussions

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and conversations have to be held in the management circle about this, and thus answers have to be given at an early stage without comprehensive information. All of this costs time that could be much better spent discussing and collecting ideas together in the RCC team and on operational work. It has been shown that the longer activities get by with existing or available resources, the steeper the learning curve is already after a short time and also in the long term. This can be explained simply by the fact that only content-related aspects are discussed and no one in the organization associates this new topic with additional costs or employees. Through this intensive content-related work with various internal customers, who also belong to the original RCC team in the broader sense, the understanding of the topic itself, as well as the value of data as a strategic resource, slowly begins to establish itself in the organization. Through such a resource-minimizing approach, one gains time to approach the topic slowly “under the radar.” One gets valuable and unfiltered feedback in the direct discussions with the various internal customers. Only when results are available and something can be presented, the “official” communication begins, not with the goal of requesting new resources and funds, but only with the focus of communicating RCC activities and tangible and measurable, presentable results. In any case, all RCC team members need to have a basic understanding of business in order to be able to argue and communicate competently with internal customers in the context of their own business during the initial pilots. Managers who are broad-minded and prudent about this internal selection process will also be very open with candidates about their motivations and, more importantly, their perspectives for the next 5 years. Based on these conversations, empathetic managers can immediately identify the right colleague or colleagues. If this employee starts with the first activities based on the RCC procedure model, then this should be sufficient in terms of resources for the following 6 to 8 months in any case. The expansion of resources in the form of student workers has proven to be ideal, since they already have a basic knowledge and can also support the RCC activities with 20 or 30 hours of work per week, depending on availability and budget, during their studies, and in this way one invests more than cost-optimally in the future human potential. Such student workers can be found in the new courses of study in the fields of marketing, international sales, applied interaction management, datadriven interaction, or predictive interaction sciences. However, as such innovative educational offers are still very rare, it is advisable as part of the RCC itself to develop these applied cross-cutting competencies in its own organization in order to be independent of research and teaching. Based on today’s discussions around the adaptation of the various curricula and training programs, it can in fact be assumed that corresponding teaching content will not yet be available in the next 3 to 5 years. This means that appropriately trained graduates will not complete these adapted training courses and thus be available to the labor market for another 5 to 8 years or so unless the content in research and teaching is radically adapted with courage and concept. Perhaps this book can contribute to this. . .

8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction

8.3.3

213

Why the Team Sets the Direction?

Regardless of the current situation in the training sector, it will be up to the respective manager to make the right decisions situationally. This sounds simple, but it is by no means. Because it also means, in the form of an HR Business Partner, performing the so important functions of an operative personnel manager as well as those of a specialist manager. Innovation through strategic HR management (Seebacher & Güpner, 2015) is only possible if brilliant employees are managed and developed according to the latest findings in HR management. Especially in such a young knowledge discipline, the rules of a supplier market apply, within the framework of which job seekers can choose between several offered positions. The war for talent that has been proclaimed since the 1990s is taking place nowhere else with greater intensity than in new, emerging specialist and knowledge disciplines (Busol, 2019). In this context Employer Branding as part of an A2A Corporate Interaction function plays an ever more decisive role to attract the best talents nurturing them effectively through the Talent Journey. In order to be able to promote and challenge young and committed employees, it is necessary to talk to employees about their sensitivities, activities, goals and, above all, their wishes and plans in half-yearly review and alignment meetings. There are sufficient templates for such employee engagement meetings either in the in-house HR department or on the Internet, so that even a non-experienced HR business partner can conduct such employee engagement sessions professionally in the interest of all parties involved. On the basis of this information, further, upcoming decisions can be made with regard to the possible team expansion for the RCC. By defining the results of the appraisal interviews with regard to the future deepening and development wishes of the respective employee(s), coordinating them and thus knowing them, a competence map can be developed for the team.

8.4

The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction

This competence model depicts the current team competence value for all competence fields in Predictive Interaction. The map is based on the Predictive Interaction Competence Model (PCCM), which maps the essential areas of a reengineered corporate communication, and which can also be used on the disaggregated level as a reference framework for corresponding employees in terms of their suitability. The competence model is composed of the following areas (Fig. 8.2): • • • • • •

Industry and Product Competence (IPC) Strategy competence (SC) Leadership competence (LC) Analytics and Data Literacy (ADC) Methodological and structural competence (MSC) Technology Management Competence (TMC)

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Fig. 8.2 Competence model for RCC. Source: Own illustration

• Language competence (LC) • Interaction competence (IC) • Performance Marketing Competence (PMC) Based on this competence model, each individual employee can now be classified. In general, there are different approaches to classification, as this must always take into account the respective age and experience background as well as the corresponding hierarchically relevant integration. Normally, common HR practice has shown that models with four to six competency levels are the most practicable. This means that for each competency characteristic, formulated and defined behavioral anchors can be used to classify the respective behavior of the employee(s) in the respective competency field. The behavioral anchors4 are an essential aspect of a fair and, above all, consistent assessment that works with the same standards throughout, as they explicitly define behaviors in a clear manner, leaving little or no room for interpretation in terms of preferential or disadvantageous treatment of individual employees. In the following section, the nine areas of the competence model for reengineered corporate communication are now briefly explained and discussed. To facilitate the application of the model, each section uses a four-point scale to define the relevant behavioral anchors which, when combined, provide a complete and ready-to-use competency model that can be immediately applied in an organization. The fourlevel scale maps the following hierarchical or experience levels: • E1: graduate, entry-level • E2: Advanced knowledge and (sub-)project management level

4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behaviorally_anchored_rating_scales. Accessed on: December 4, 2021.

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• E3: In-depth and proven knowledge and expertise (team leadership) • E4: Corporate Communication director/manager (head of department)

8.4.1

Industry and Product Competence

Corporate interaction as part of data-driven corporate management requires an uncompromising connection to the business. Data as an end in itself as well as Predictive Interaction as an end in itself do not create added value. It is therefore crucial that the necessary knowledge of the industries relevant to the organization in question and the corresponding products is always available in the development but also in the further analytical and creative application of a reengineered corporate communication. Only if this field of competence is sufficiently covered can the best possible interaction be achieved with the respective target group in terms of language use, texting, and layouting. On the basis of the RCC activities, this competence will develop automatically or will be deepened very quickly as soon as the work is actively started. Another important factor is the independent, internal creation of market as well as industry profiles based on the concept of personas since the relevant employee(s) are de facto forced to continuously deal with the industry and the subject matter. Thus, the shift of this activity from previously external suppliers to internal, own value creation makes sense in several respects, not only economically, but also tactically strategically. In relation to the four competence levels, the following behavioral anchors can be derived for the area of industrial and product competence: • E1: The employee has no knowledge of relevant industries or products in the relevant field. • E2: The employee has a rough overview of the relevant industries and knows the most important interest groups and information groups. • E3: The employee knows the language use, the segments, the structures in the relevant industry or industries and has comprehensive, structural knowledge of the experts, influencers but also critical and high-risk communication participants. • E4: The employee has many years of experience in the field of marketing and communication in the industry and, in addition to comprehensive structural competencies, has a deep network in the industry or industries in all areas from event organizers, media, investors to NGOs, political parties and lobbyists. Against this background, the employee is able to situationally place all of his or her knowledge in the overall context of strategic communications management, thereby contributing significantly to decision-making within the management opinion-forming process.

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The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

Strategy Competence

This area of competence is de facto not an interaction-specific area of competence, but in the context of the topic area of establishing multidimensional, interagile, and dynamic-predictive corporate interaction, it is a central component as a basis for fulfilling the multilayered, complex requirements. Together with the competence field “analytics and data competence,” strategic thinking ensures that Predictive Interaction as part of data-driven corporate interaction is not an end in itself. Only if the transfer or the interactive and intensive link with the business can be successfully established will the entire potential of a modern, reengineered corporate communication be able to be leveraged by an organization (Oberholzer-Gee, 2021). In this context, it is also about the necessary acceptance of the topic, which can only be realized through a joint and transparent approach. The better the internal customers understand what Predictive Interaction can do and for what diverse issues it can be used to support, the better it will develop within an organizational environment. What has been shown again and again in the various projects is an enormous, shared creativity that arises when everyone is consensually involved and involved in the reengineering of corporate communication on the basis of a shared understanding of the enormous potential and added value. Since the entire subject area of Predictive Interaction as the core of data-driven corporate interaction is still a young knowledge discipline, it can only be mastered in terms of content through organizational learning. Authenticity, therefore, plays an essential role in this context because it is about the awareness that much can and will only emerge in the course. Those managers who are open about their own partial lack of knowledge to their colleagues and internal customers in the various projects are also those who are going through the development steps more quickly and effectively together with their organizations. Strategy competence in the context of the RCC can be ranked using the following four behavioral anchors: • E1: The employee is studying in the field of economics and social sciences or in the field of management and has gained first experience in the field of management consulting. • E2: The employee has between 3 and 5 years of professional experience in a corporate development department or in a management consulting firm. He has demonstrated in various projects that he can derive a well-founded picture of a situation on the basis of data and information in order to design possible scenarios and causalities in the form of action and communication alternatives or interaction strategies. For this purpose, the employee can draw on a set of common concepts and instruments of communication and linguistics, which he intuitively selects and uses correctly. The employee has shown that he can apply the fields of strategy and communication synergistically. • E3: The employee has comprehensive conceptual and strategic experience in the environment of modern operational practice. He can document, interpret, and evaluate complex contents and contexts in a methodically and structurally

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stringent manner. In addition, he can also present and discuss these with support at management level. • E4: Due to his extensive operational experience and practice, the employee has the necessary know-how to translate all entrepreneurial issues into predictive interaction structures and to accompany their elaboration with a view to stringency and congruence. Against this background, the employee can select and justify an option from a number of possibilities as a recommended course of action. Due to the comprehensive strategic thinking ability and the extensive knowledge in the field of communication and linguistics, complex facts can be grasped, processed, and immediately transferred into new thoughts and options.

8.4.3

Leadership Competence

The competence field “Leadership” is probably the most important when it comes to the long-term success of a corporate communication reengineering, but above all also the change process of an RCC. The initiation of measures, as well as the identification of the possible, enormous potential up to the overcoming of internal company resistance requires the perfect mastery of this competence toward a datadriven corporate interaction. In most projects, it has been shown that the dimension of this almost paradigmatic change of perspective is often underestimated. In many organizations, management is not aware of the fact that their own corporate communication is outdated in its nature and way of working. It takes a leader to raise awareness of this at eye level and with the right, adequate narrative, especially at top management level. Once again, the buzzword is “value-added interaction,” which uses data-driven corporate interaction to show what added value the RCC realizes for the company. This, in turn, can only function optimally in the canon toward a general, establishing data-driven corporate management. However, in many places in top management there is a misconception that their own organization is datadriven anyway since ERP and CRM systems create a valid database. Behind the scenes in day-to-day operations, however, things look completely different, and the majority of sales planning is still done with a dangerously hot needle. A closer look reveals that in most cases only a fraction of the companies are managed with regard to their entire potential of data-driven management and that the data held in the systems is completely insufficient in terms of validity but also completeness. There are many reasons for this, which will not be discussed in detail here, as many brilliant reference books have already dealt with this topic almost exhaustively. De facto, however, most companies today are still not data-driven at all, which becomes frighteningly clear when you happen to witness how essential data and information is compiled and prepared for board meetings on business and revenue planning for the following period. Often such data is called out to each other “on the fly” via Skype call and an employee from Commercial or Controlling then puts this information into a more or less stylish slide. Any validity check is omitted, since the employee(s) have negated multiple requests to provide the data anyway and

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therefore ultimately lack the necessary time to perform such cross-checks, which are necessary in any case. The result is sales and group planning that always must be adjusted and corrected. Leadership in the context of Predictive Interaction, therefore, requires that a manager has the expertise, but above all also the format, that allows him to point out to the company management clearly and unambiguously the inherent and latent organizational structural weaknesses with regard to data-driven corporate interaction. This, in order to build on this with knowledge about the need for adaptation to a serious and also value-added predictive interaction. This includes above all the awareness of the organizational, uncompromising discipline, and the appreciation of data as a strategic resource and not an evil for the purpose of enabling management to draw up an annual plan. How can the competence field of “leadership” be measured or defined? • E1: The employee has a professional appearance and a well-founded awareness of the value of professional handling of data and information. He is empathetic and reflects on his behaviors, and also accepts feedback and positive criticism in order to develop further. • E2: The employee has shown in initial meetings that he or she is confident in dealing with specific target groups and that he or she acts objectively and constructively even in complex situations. He has shown that he is aware of the strategic dimension of data and thus serves as a role model for colleagues and internal customers with regard to the appreciative and valid handling of data. • E3: The employee has already successfully implemented many different communication campaigns and projects and has actively acted as an ambassador for modern corporate communication based on data as a strategic resource. The employee is accepted throughout the organization as an expert and is proactively involved by the organization in all aspects of data-driven corporate interaction. The employee has comprehensive knowledge in the area of interaction, language, leadership, and motivation, but also of the company’s own management infrastructure. • E4: The employee is involved at management level in all corporate interaction issues. Together with his team, he can quickly work out any business issue that arises in a valid and reliable manner with regard to data-driven, predictive corporate interaction and derive and define possible resulting situations and scenarios. In addition, the employee regularly provides impulses with regard to aspects of corporate development against the background of data-driven, predictive performance interaction and is constantly represented and present in the company management. He is involved in every decision and his word is valued and taken into account.

8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction

8.4.4

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Analytics and Data Competence

This skill set is a very personal trait that can only be trained or learned to a limited extent. To some degree, sensitivity to analytics and data can be deepened, but unless a person has a strong analytical aptitude and affinity for data in the first place, they will never become a top analyst. Analytical thinking defines the ability to identify and solve problems, not the expertise to solve complicated mathematical problems. Analytical thinking does not solve mathematical problems, but rather illuminates certain facts with the appropriate “if-then formula.” Analytical thinking recognizes dependencies or causalities of and within data, which is why recognizing correlations, structuring them, interpreting them, and drawing the right conclusions from them are among the core characteristics. Many recruitment tests, therefore, use text analysis tasks in which applicants are asked to demonstrate their analytical thinking skills. The process of analytical thinking is divided into three steps: • Basic problem identification. • Capturing the problem structure with regard to individual (sub-)aspects. • Problem-solving strategies. Professional data management includes aspects such as methodological, conceptual, organizational, and technical measures and activities for the strategic resource of data with the aim of achieving the best possible availability, usability, validity, integrity, and security (Hildebrand et al., 2018). Professional data management must also ensure appropriate data consistency for the entire area of Predictive Interaction. Against the background of the classic definition of data management in terms of business processes and operations, the focus in the context of predictive interaction shifts to the operational management of the various internal and external source systems, the extraction, interpretation, and even the extrapolation and modulation of data. Likewise, it is about the algorithms and simple visualization of data in dashboards. In the area of corporate communication, a basic competence is required. For more specific needs, a business intelligence or predictive intelligence department can and should be called upon. Particularly in the competence field of data management, the training area needs to be sharpened with regard to Predictive Intelligence, because in this environment, external data and source systems move much more strongly into the focus of consideration. As discussed earlier, the focus in the current discussion and content orientation of business analytics is almost exclusively on product and process data, which is a significant difference from Predictive Intelligence as part of data-based corporate management. Against this background, the following four behavioral anchors can be defined for the competence field of analytics and data competence: • E1: The employee can refer to experience in dealing with spreadsheets and is able to implement correspondingly concrete, defined evaluations for existing data. Under guidance, the employee can recognize and understand structures in simple and already elaborated problems and interpret them.

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• E2: The employee has an overview of the communication-related external data and database landscape and can refer to corresponding experience in the use of these sources, but also the active integration into a simple table system of such systems. The employee is able to take over, clean, and prepare data for a defined content-related field and to independently validate results with regard to validity, reliability, and objectivity. The employee can independently record larger, more complex problems in the sense of analyses, reports, and studies in a structured manner, recognize inconsistencies, eliminate them, and then work them out. The employee has basic knowledge of data algorithms, data extraction, and data visualization. • E3: The employee can independently cover and set up one or more industrial interaction fields or arenas from a data management perspective and manage and ensure ongoing operations. The employee is proactively able to discuss communication and interaction measures´ optimization in relation to ongoing data management with stakeholders and in this way contribute to the continuous improvement of the standard of data-driven, predictive corporate interaction. The employee can structure, optimize, supplement, and precisely formulate complex, not yet finally and precisely defined inquiries and problem definitions in direct dealings with internal customers, and in doing so also reference and incorporate existing data and information material and corresponding expertise in order to define integrated, orchestrated, KPI-supported interaction concepts from this as decision templates for management. The employee does this on the basis of in-depth knowledge of data algorithms, data extraction, and data visualization. • E4: The employee has already designed and established several data management systems. He also has comprehensive conceptual-strategic knowledge of best practices in interaction data management. In this context, the employee is able to proactively contribute to a modern data-driven interaction infrastructure. The employee is able to present complex, multivariate analyses, reports, and problems in an easily understandable and clear manner at management level, in order to be able to guide, support, and advance the data-based opinion-forming process in a focused manner. The employee manages to change the levels of observation situationally in order to actively ensure a valid formation of opinion at all times.

8.4.5

Methods and Structure Competence

In order to be able to implement a reengineered corporate communication in a situation-agile and cross-segment manner, comprehensive competence in the area of the relevant methods and structures is required. The methods include both the subject-specific methods as well as the newly added methods from the adjacent subject areas such as marketing, sales, but also business intelligence. These methods are essential in order to be able to use the right instruments and concepts in combination or symbiosis. Comprehensive knowledge of methods is an essential aspect of risk management with regard to forward-looking corporate interaction. Because if target group-

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specific adapted content is not played out via the right instruments, channels, or arenas because the wrong methods are used, the respectively defined communication and interaction goals cannot be realized. In this context, the relevant methods can be divided into three different layers and include exemplary concepts such as: • Methods in the narrowest sense: SWOT analyses, PESTEL analyses, personas, touchpoints, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine advertising (SEA), simple algorithms, customer experience, interaction experience, target definition, and performance measurement. • Methods in a broader sense: Buyer Journey, communication journey, interaction journey, touchpoint management, touchpoint optimization, communication experience and communication excellence, interaction experience and interaction excellence, Account-based Management (ABM), Segment-based Communication (SBM), Segment-based Interaction (SBI), marketing automation, communication automation, interaction automation, secondary algorithmics, dashboarding, conversion-rate optimization (CRO), performance management, Balanced Scorecard (BSC), and Template-based Management (TBM). • Methods in the broadest sense: Performance Communication, Predictive Intelligence, Predictive Communication, Predictive Interaction, Scenario Technique, Multivariate Analytics, Tertiary Algorithmics, Predictive Touchpoint Intelligence (PTI), Predictive Touchpoint Optimization (PTO), Neurocommunication, Neuromarketing, and Neurointeraction. With regard to the second layer of structural competence, it is a question of being able to place any content or any facts in a structural context in order to be able to make an assessment with regard to congruence, consistency, and stringency. However, structural competence also allows conclusions to be drawn in relation to reference models as to how certain situations should be dealt with in the best possible way. This can, for example, refer to certain incidents and events in certain target groups or to the structural analysis of content-related information, its referencing to comparative situations, and a definition of an interaction measure to be derived from this. In congruence with structural competence, methods competence ensures that correct analysis and referencing are carried out in order to be able to identify and define the best possible ex antes action alternatives that maximize yield and minimize risk. Regarding this field of competence, the section at the beginning of this book has discussed and outlined this scientific area very comprehensively. Based on this, the following four competence characteristics can be defined for the competence model of the reengineered corporate communication: • E1: The employee has had initial experience of structures and methods as part of his educational background. • E2: The employee has already worked on projects implemented on the basis of the Template-based Management (TBM) method or has successfully completed individual activities or sub-projects. • E3: The employee has already successfully implemented several TBM projects in terms of budget achievement and timelines. He has shown comprehensive

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competence in the area of structure recognition and specific method selection. The employee has already realized first successes using the Dual-level Coaching (DLC) method. • E4: The employee has already been responsible for many TBM projects in parallel as part of program management or multi-project management and has ensured that they are implemented in line with objectives. He has shown that he is proficient in the Dual-level Coaching (DLC) method and can use it to coach and support important corporate strategy initiatives at top management level as part of predictive performance interaction (PPI).

8.4.6

Technology Management Competence

The area of technology management must take care of the ComTechStack and respectively the InTechStack, as this has already been described and discussed in detail in the previous chapter. This also involves the selection of possible new elements of the Com/InTechStack and, in the context of this, the exact elaboration of template-based comparative analyses between different solutions. Especially in larger company structures, it is important to be able to efficiently and effectively use and profit from in-house IT competence. Stringent and comprehensively elaborated documents are therefore of decisive importance when it comes to the decision preparation of possible new elements for the extension of the Com/InTechStack. The technology manager must pay attention to the following aspects: • Which key features are required? • What systems already exist in the organization that can be used for the Com/InTechStack? • How are the potential providers positioned in the general benchmarking (e.g., in the Gartner ranking)? • How do the solutions perform in a direct operational comparison? The use of defined and agreed key performance indicators (KPIs) has proven to be a good approach here, on the basis of which the solutions can be compared very precisely (Fig. 8.3). • What do the cost models look like and what are the cost drivers (Fig. 8.4). • What do the RoI considerations look like in relation to the Com/InTechStack solutions that are available? Here it is important to define relevant KPIs for the Com/InTechStack in general but also for the specific applications in the Com/InTechStack. In most cases, these are cost optimizations through automated and thus accelerated processing of activities or realized sales in the form of additional sales or short-term sales optimizations. • How compatible are the various solutions with regard to integration or connection to the existing company IT infrastructure? Ideally, this criterion should also be included in the direct comparison.

Fig. 8.3 Sample solution evaluation template. Source: Own illustration

8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction 223

8

Fig. 8.4 Sample cost model comparison template. Source: Own illustration

224 The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction

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Based on these criteria, a possible investment decision can be validly prepared in coordination with the company’s own IT. The following four behavioral anchors can be derived for the area of technology management: • E1: The employee has basic knowledge of the current state of development of the MarTechStack, SalesTechStack, and ComTechStack landscape and can describe and recognize the different types of existing solutions against this background. • E2: The employee has a network within the company and can therefore approach marketing, sales, and possibly also business intelligence and IT in order to be able to carry out an evaluation of the systems available internally. He has comprehensive knowledge of the current status of the various TechStack-maps and can validate different solutions in terms of their application areas and orientations with regard to their use in the own organization. The employee has initial experience in creating documents for preparing decisions on the purchase of a possible solution in the relevant subject area. • E3: The employee has a deep insight into the TechStack maps and can refer to comprehensive interface knowledge in the area of business and IT. The employee can lead content-related discussions with the in-house IT regarding IT-strategic aspects and content in order to continuously evaluate and optimize the technology management for corporate communications operationally, but also conceptually in terms of user and user friendliness. • E4: The employee can present and represent the ComTechStack strategy on a corporate strategic level alone and in coordination with, for example, Corporate Marketing, Corporate Sales, Corporate Development, Corporate Intelligence, and IT. His comprehensive operational and conceptual knowledge enables him to identify relevant developments in the market in order to sustainably ensure a state-of-the-art ComTechStack, to relate them to his own ComTechStack landscape, and to assess their relevance for it. He always does this by making the best possible use of the existing internal company resources.

8.4.7

Language Competence

This competence field originates from the classic field of corporate communication and focuses on the ability to use language and texts in a target group-specific, situation-specific, and intention-related manner. Linguistic competence refers to the agility in dealing with the written word, which can be defined in the figurative sense of oral communication following the concept of eloquence. Educalingo defines this under the concept of linguistics5: Linguistic competence, also linguistic knowledge in contrast to linguistic ability, is on the one hand a part of the general cognitive abilities, the basis of which are conceptualization,

5

https://educalingo.com/de/dic-de/sprachkompetenz. Accessed on: December 06, 2021.

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pattern recognition and categorization, and on the other hand the ability to formulate the content of a statement grammatically, orthographically and syntactically correctly is also commonly referred to as linguistic competence. The third part of linguistic competence is the ability to express oneself adequately in a social context. “Linguistic ability is a central component of the human cognitive system. Its study provides insights into the nature of cognitive representations and processing of extra-linguistic reality.”. . .

Language skills are also referred to as language system competence and language norm competence (Efing, 2012), which focus in particular on the following aspects: • • • •

Phonology (phonetics) Morphology (inflection and word formation) Semantics (word meaning) Syntax (sentence structure)

The congruence with the specifications of the language system and language norm can be assessed as an outsider without knowledge of the context and communication situation with the aid of dichotomous evaluations. In this perspective, language is evaluated on the basis of formal aspects. Based on this, the following behavioral anchors for the four competence levels result in the competence model: • E1: The employee has successfully completed a relevant course of study or training and in this context has gained initial professional experience in the application of linguistic competence. • E2: The employee has already gained in-depth experience in the use of linguistic competence in the context of activities in the field of corporate communication, sales, marketing, or similar fields of application and is aware of the effects of different wording and formulations and has developed a corresponding sensitivity in this respect. • E3: The employee has already gained extensive experience in the conception and implementation of communicative measures of a short-, medium-, and long-term nature and, in this context, has also led a team of employees entrusted to him or her in deepening and expanding the applied language competence. In addition, the employee has also demonstrated a comprehensive linguistic competence in the area of the spoken word in the context of trade fairs, speeches, press conferences, or lectures. • E4: The employee has comprehensive expertise in predictive language competence for intent-related texting and design and has demonstrated this in many different operational as well as strategic initiatives. The employee is able to predictively shape data-driven corporate interaction along the entire interaction journey and lead the entire organization in terms of goal-oriented use of language.

8.4 The Competence Model of the New Corporate Interaction

8.4.8

227

Interaction Competence

Interaction competence defines the abilities for both communication as well as interaction of a person or an organizational construct. Communicative competence is also referred to as language use competence and focuses on the use of language skills and acting with language in a concrete context. This means that the contingency situation such as communication partner, situation, and goal are also included in the consideration. In the context of communicative competence, language has the function of a means of (extra-linguistic) purpose realization. Polar criteria with more than two degrees of expression are best suited for the evaluation of communicative actions in the sense of assessing the degree of competence, such as: • • • • •

Appropriate—inappropriate Efficient—inefficient Effective—not effective Target-oriented—non-target-oriented Stringent—not stringent

What is important here is the fact that the appropriateness of one and the same communicative action can vary context specifically. What may be appropriate in terms of communicative style in the energy industry, for example, may lead to irritation in the financial industry—even if the language system is correctly adhered to. For the competence model of corporate communication, this means that social aspects must be taken into account in order to assess communicative skills and therefore the employee has communicative skills if he or she is able to use individual linguistic skills in a specific situation in a situationally, socially and functionally appropriate way. Communicative skills, therefore, include the following areas: • Language skills: Lexical (vocabulary, fixed phrases), grammatical, semantic, phonological, and orthographic (Council of Europe, 2001, pp. 110–118). • Sociolinguistic skills: Marking social relations, use of politeness conventions and common idioms; use of different register(s) ((in)formal, friendly, familiar, etc.) and varieties (standard, technical, youth, dialect, etc.). • Pragmatic skills: Coherent utterance formation, for the performance of communicative functions, and knowledge of social interaction schemes (e.g., sales talk) (Council of Europe, 2001, pp. 118–130). Communicative competence can therefore be measured by the extent to which an employee is able to bring linguistic, social, and pragmatic skills into a context. This does not only refer to grammatically correct sentence constructions, but also to the ability to create appropriate and intent-related linguistic actions in the sense of speech acts and text patterns. For this, it is necessary on the one hand to be able to analyze the situation and on the other hand to have a sufficiently large stylistic repertoire and knowledge in order to recognize how the respective situation, the

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linguistic expression, and the probability of a certain stylistic effect are causally connected. It is therefore a question of aspects such as language awareness, the ability to reflect on language, empathy, and knowledge of strategy. But in the context of predictive A2A corporate interaction, the team member must also provide knowledge, experience, and competence in the area of interaction management which means not only sending a message but actively designing, deploying, managing, and monitoring interactive, dynamic, information exchange with two or more individuals or groups. Against this background, the following behavioral anchors can be derived for the competence field of communication competence: • E1: The employee does not yet have the appropriate experience to apply his interaction competence to specific situations and contexts. • E2: The employee has already gained initial experience and success in the situational use of spoken and written language but also multidimensional interaction management in the context of marketing and communication activities. • E3: The employee has extensive experience in the use of interaction skills to achieve defined intent-related objectives. In this context, the employee has also demonstrated that he can guide, support, and lead a team of employees entrusted to him in the development of individual interaction competence. • E4: The employee has many years of comprehensive and in-depth experience in the targeted application of his or her own interaction competence and has thus already contributed significantly to the planning, realization, and evaluation of successful measures and campaigns for the sustainable development of the company in the context of the defined strategic objectives within the framework of strategic corporate development by means of targeted, successful forwardlooking corporate interaction.

8.4.9

Performance Marketing Competence

With regard to the definition of performance marketing, a distinction must be made between three conceptual levels (Seebacher, 2021b, p. 47ff): • Performance marketing in the broadest sense: An organizational-strategic orientation of the entire marketing of an organization, which makes not only the original marketing measures, but also all directly and indirectly related actions measurable and continuously reviewed. Due to the enormous developments and technological possibilities in the area of Business Intelligence up to Predictive Intelligence and the software tools offered in this area, the Marketing Return on Investment (MRoI) of the entire spectrum of measures can not only be measured comprehensively, interactively and 24/7, but also evaluated comparatively. For this comprehensive measurability, the approach of indexing and the index-based measurement of all measures based on percentage values (Seebacher & Güpner, 2021), which is derived from this, is to be applied.

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• Performance marketing in the narrower sense: The attempt by marketing to measure all marketing and communication activities and measures transparently, objectively, and reliably. For this purpose, a continuously expanding set of performance indicators is used. Performance Marketing in the narrow sense is thus a Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) following the work of Masing on “Quality Management” (Masing, 1999, p. 356). • Performance marketing in the narrowest sense: The use of online marketing tools with the aim of achieving a measurable response or transaction with the user. This term thus corresponds to direct marketing in interactive media and focuses on techniques or concepts such as search engine optimization (SEO) (Kelsey, 2017), landing page optimization (LPO) (Schreiber & Baier, 2015) as part of the overall conversion rate optimization (CRO) (Silbermann et al., 2020). The area of Performance marketing (PM) will take on an increasingly important role in the long term. PM, if used correctly, will also contribute sustainably to the repositioning of marketing in the area of B2B marketing. Through PM, the added value of marketing and communication can be made transparent and measurable, and therefore tangible, in both financial and economic terms. This will be crucial in order to be able to realize the long-needed investments in modern marketing and communication infrastructures, which must also go hand in hand with the reengineering of corporate communication. Successful interaction and marketing managers must do everything they can to become measurable. The same rules must apply to all departments. And so corporate interaction must also do everything possible to make its own activities measurable via performance indicators. These bundles of performance indicators must in turn be translated into concrete values per unit of time, which must then be adhered to in order to achieve the goals. Performance management is a development and learning process. Not only for corporate interactions, but also for most marketing and sales departments. Today, we are facing a paradigm shift in which no stone will be left unturned, as described and illustrated in the chapter by Kleinemaß and Seebacher (2021). In this context, the role of performance marketing cannot be underestimated. This area can be a key driver of the changes that are so important. Performance marketing can also finally be the redeeming factor for interactions and marketing managers, with the help of which it becomes understandable and comprehensible for their colleagues in the other departments and areas how important and valuable marketing and interaction can and will be for corporate success in companies—namely when, with the help of performance marketing, the direct and indirect economic added value realized through marketing and interaction is clearly documented. This in turn requires analytics and data competence as part of business intelligence (Strohmeier, 2021). The following behavioral anchors for determining the respective individual competence characteristics are derived against this background: • E1: The employee has no previous experience with the realization of the measurability of any kind of communication or marketing measures. • E2: The employee has gained initial experience with regard to performance indicators for relevant measures, for example, by defining and fulfilling

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corresponding parameters from the context of performance marketing or performance communication as part of the individual target agreement. • E3: The employee has extensive, multi-year experience in deriving, setting, and measuring relevant performance indicators and can define and evaluate these in a consistent structure, also for entire teams. In addition, the employee has the competence to link various parameters through algorithms and, based on this, to expand the set of performance indicators agilely and continuously and to prepare and communicate them in dashboards. The employee understands how to present the activities and measures directly and indirectly in the form of the economic added value generated in each case. • E4: Building on the comprehensive knowledge of methods and structures, the employee understands how to design complex systems of performance indicators for the entire field of reengineered corporate communications and to implement them together with the team. In addition, the employee is able to creatively and agilely define and apply so-called meta-indicators for evaluating the ongoing development of the organization in terms of optimizing efficiency and effectiveness. Due to his stringent added value orientation, the employee is an active component of the expansion of transparency with regard to the economic added value of the reengineered corporate communication and as such an essential component of the sustainable safeguarding of the company and the preservation of strategic competitive advantages.

8.5

The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix

On the basis of the behavioral anchors derived step by step for all nine competency fields, the competency matrix for the reengineered corporate communication can then be compiled, which shows all the competency fields with their four behavioral anchors at a glance (Table 8.1). This matrix is intended to serve as a frame of reference for focusing on and referring to the relevant aspects in the context of team development. Based on common HR practice, the fulfilment of each behavioral anchor can be measured on the basis of, for example, a five-part Likert scale, from which an even more accurate picture can then be derived for each of the four levels and for each potential candidate, also with regard to any existing development potential. It can also be helpful to evaluate candidates and employees according to all competence fields. In the rarest cases, one or more employees will be available for each competence field. Then it is a matter of identifying which employee can best cover which areas of the competence matrix. Such an analysis can also help to provide an early assessment with regard to future decisions concerning the specialist and management careers of employees. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to describe an ideal-typical team for the field of reengineered corporate communication. Normally, these competencies will develop automatically, organically, and naturally during the reengineering of corporate communication. This is also the ideal case, because it creates an authentic-

Strategy Competence

The employee is studying in the field of economics and social sciences or in the field of management and has gained first experiences in the field of management consulting.

The employee has between three to five years of professional experience in a corporate development department or in a management consulting firm. He has demonstrated in various projects that he can derive a well-founded picture of a

Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix # Seebacher 2021 Behavioral Anchors Competence Fields Level 1 Level 2 Industry and The employee has no The employee has a rough Product knowledge of relevant overview of the relevant Competence industries or products in the industries and knows the most relevant field. important interest groups and information groups.

Table 8.1 Competence matrix for RCC. Source: Own representation

The employee has comprehensive conceptual and strategic experience in the environment of modern operational practice. He can document, interpret, and evaluate complex contents and contexts in a methodically and

Level 3 The employee knows the language use, the segments, the structures in the relevant industry or industries and has comprehensive, structural knowledge of the experts, influencers but also critical and high-risk communication participants.

(continued)

Level 4 The employee has many years of experience in the field of marketing and communication in the industry and, in addition to comprehensive structural competencies, has a deep network in the industry or industries in all areas from event organizers, media, investors to NGOs, political parties and lobbyists. Against this background, the employee is able to situationally place all of his or her knowledge in the overall context of strategic communications management, thereby contributing significantly to decision-making within the management opinion-forming process. Due to his extensive operational experience and practice, the employee has the necessary know-how to translate all entrepreneurial issues into predictive interaction structures and to accompany their elaboration with a view to

8.5 The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix 231

The employee has a professional appearance and a well-founded awareness of the value of professional handling of data and information. He is empathetic and reflects on his behaviors, and also accepts feedback and positive criticism in order to develop further.

The employee has already successfully implemented many different communication campaigns and projects and has actively acted as an ambassador for modern corporate communication based on data as a strategic resource. The employee is accepted throughout the organization as an expert and is proactively involved by the organization in

structurally stringent manner. In addition, he can also present and discuss these with support at management level.

Level 3

The employee is involved at management level in all corporate interaction issues. Together with his team, he can quickly work out any business issue that arises in a valid and reliable manner with regard to data-driven, predictive corporate interaction and derive and define possible resulting situations and scenarios. In addition, the employee regularly

stringency and congruence. Against this background, the employee can select and justify an option from a number of possibilities as a recommended course of action. Due to the comprehensive strategic thinking ability and the extensive knowledge in the field of communication and linguistics, complex facts can be grasped, processed, and immediately transferred into new thoughts and options.

Level 4

8

Leadership Competence

situation on the basis of data and information in order to design possible scenarios and causalities in the form of action and communication alternatives or interaction strategies. For this purpose, the employee can draw on a set of common concepts and instruments of communication and linguistics, which he intuitively selects and uses correctly. The employee has shown that he can apply the fields of strategy and communication synergetically. The employee has shown in initial meetings that he or she is confident in dealing with specific target groups and that he or she acts objectively and constructively even in complex situations. He has shown that he is aware of the strategic dimension of data and thus serves as a role model for colleagues and internal customers with regard to the

Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix # Seebacher 2021 Behavioral Anchors Competence Fields Level 1 Level 2

Table 8.1 (continued)

232 The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

Analytics and Data Competence

The employee can refer to experience in dealing with spreadsheets and is able to implement correspondingly concrete, defined evaluations for existing data. Under guidance, the employee can recognize and understand structures in simple and already elaborated problems and interpret them. The employee has an overview of the communication-related external data and database landscape and can refer to corresponding experience in the use of these sources, but also the active integration into a simple table system of such systems. The employee is able to take over, clean and prepare data for a defined content-related field and to independently validate results with regard to validity, reliability and objectivity. The employee can independently record larger, more complex problems in the sense of analyses, reports, and studies in a structured manner, recognize inconsistencies, eliminate them and then work them out. The

appreciative and valid handling of data.

The employee can independently cover and set up one or more industrial interaction fields or arenas from a data management perspective and manage and ensure ongoing operations. The employee is proactively able to discuss communication and interaction measures´ optimization in relation to ongoing data management with stakeholders and in this way contribute to the continuous improvement of the standard of data-driven, predictive corporate interaction. The employee can structure, optimize, supplement, and precisely formulate complex, not yet finally and precisely defined inquiries and problem

all aspects of data-driven corporate interaction. The employee has comprehensive knowledge in the area of interaction, language, leadership, motivation, but also of the company's own management infrastructure.

(continued)

provides impulses with regard to aspects of corporate development against the background of data-driven, predictive performance interaction and is constantly represented and present in the company management. He is involved in every decision and his word is valued and taken into account. The employee has already designed and established several data management systems. He also has comprehensive conceptualstrategic knowledge of best practice in interaction data management. In this context, the employee is able to proactively contribute to a modern datadriven interaction infrastructure. The employee is able to present complex, multivariate analyses, reports and problems in an easily understandable and clear manner at management level, in order to be able to guide, support and advance the databased opinion-forming process in a focused manner. The employee manages to change

8.5 The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix 233

The employee has had initial experience of structures and methods as part of his educational background.

The employee has already worked on projects implemented on the basis of the Template-based Management (TBM) method or has successfully completed individual activities or sub-projects.

definitions in direct dealings with internal customers, and in doing so also reference and incorporate existing data and information material and corresponding expertise in order to define integrated, orchestrated, KPI-supported interaction concepts from this as decision templates for management. The employee does this on the basis of in-depth knowledge of data algorithms, data extraction and data visualization. The employee has already successfully implemented several TBM projects in terms of budget achievement and timelines. He has shown comprehensive competence in the area of structure recognition and specific method selection. The employee has already realized first successes using the Dual-level Coaching (DLC) method.

Level 3

The employee has already been responsible for many TBM projects in parallel as part of a program management or multiproject management and has ensured that they are implemented in line with objectives. He has shown that he is proficient in the Dual-level Coaching (DLC) method and can use it to coach and support important corporate strategy

the levels of observation situationally in order to actively ensure a valid formation of opinion at all times.

Level 4

8

Methods and Structure Competence

employee has basic knowledge of data algorithms, data extraction and data visualization.

Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix # Seebacher 2021 Behavioral Anchors Competence Fields Level 1 Level 2

Table 8.1 (continued)

234 The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

The employee has basic knowledge of the current state of development of the MarTech, SalesTech and ComTechStack landscape and can describe and recognize the different types of existing solutions against this background.

The employee has successfully completed a relevant course of study or training and in this context has gained initial professional experience in the application of linguistic competence.

Technology Management Competence

Language Competence

The employee has already gained in-depth experience in the use of linguistic competence in the context of activities in the field of corporate communication, sales, marketing, or similar fields of

The employee has a network within the company and can therefore approach marketing, sales and possibly also business intelligence and IT in order to be able to carry out an evaluation of the systems available internally. He has comprehensive knowledge of the current status of the various TechStack-maps and can validate different solutions in terms of their application areas and orientations with regard to their use in the own organization. The employee has initial experience in creating documents for preparing decisions on the purchase of a possible solution in the relevant subject area. The employee has already gained extensive experience in the conception and implementation of communicative measures of a short-, medium- and long-term nature and, in this context, has

The employee has a deep insight into the TechStack maps and can refer to comprehensive interface knowledge in the area of business and IT. The employee can lead contentrelated discussions with the in-house IT regarding IT-strategic aspects and content in order to continuously evaluate and optimize the technology management for corporate communications operationally, but also conceptually in terms of user and user-friendliness.

(continued)

initiatives at top management level as part of predictive performance interaction (PPI). The employee can present and represent the ComTechStack strategy on a corporate strategic level alone and in coordination with, for example, Corporate Marketing, Corporate Sales, Corporate Development, Corporate Intelligence, and IT. His comprehensive operational and conceptual knowledge enables him to identify relevant developments in the market in order to sustainably ensure a state-ofthe-art ComTechStack, to relate them to his own ComTechStack landscape and to assess their relevance for it. He always does this by making the best possible use of the existing internal company resources. The employee has comprehensive expertise in predictive language competence for intent-related texting and design and has demonstrated this in many different operational as well as strategic

8.5 The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix 235

The employee does not yet have the appropriate experience to apply his interaction competence to specific situations and contexts. The employee has already gained initial experience and success in the situational use of spoken and written language but also multidimensional interaction management in the context of marketing and communication activities.

also led a team of employees entrusted to him or her in deepening and expanding the applied language competence. In addition, the employee has also demonstrated a comprehensive linguistic competence in the area of the spoken word in the context of trade fairs, speeches, press conferences or lectures. The employee has extensive experience in the use of interaction skills to achieve defined intent-related objectives. In this context, the employee has also demonstrated that he can guide, support, and lead a team of employees entrusted to him in the development of individual interaction competence.

Level 3

The employee has many years of comprehensive and in-depth experience in the targeted application of his or her own interaction competence and has thus already contributed significantly to the planning, realization and evaluation of successful measures and campaigns for the sustainable development of the company in the context of the defined strategic objectives within the framework of strategic corporate development by means of targeted, successful forward-looking corporate interaction.

initiatives. The employee is able to predictively shape datadriven corporate interaction along the entire interaction journey and lead the entire organization in terms of goaloriented use of language.

Level 4

8

Interaction Competence

application and is aware of the effects of different wording and formulations and has developed a corresponding sensitivity in this respect.

Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix # Seebacher 2021 Behavioral Anchors Competence Fields Level 1 Level 2

Table 8.1 (continued)

236 The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

Performance Marketing Competence

The employee has no previous experience with the realization of the measurability of any kind of communication or marketing measures. The employee has gained initial experience with regard to performance indicators for relevant measures, for example by defining and fulfilling corresponding parameters from the context of performance marketing or performance communication as part of the individual target agreement. The employee has extensive, multi-year experience in deriving, setting, and measuring relevant performance indicators and can define and evaluate these in a consistent structure, also for entire teams. In addition, the employee has the competence to link various parameters through algorithms and, based on this, to expand the set of performance indicators agilely and continuously and to prepare and communicate them in dashboards. The employee understands how to present the activities and measures directly and indirectly in the form of the economic added value generated in each case. Building on the comprehensive knowledge of methods and structures, the employee understands how to design complex systems of performance indicators for the entire field of reengineered corporate communications and to implement them together with the team. In addition, the employee is able to creatively and agilely define and apply so-called meta-indicators for evaluating the ongoing development of the organization in terms of optimizing efficiency and effectiveness. Due to his stringent added value orientation, the employee is an active component of the expansion of transparency with regard to the economic added value of the reengineered corporate communication and as such an essential component of the sustainable safeguarding of the company and the preservation of strategic competitive advantages.

8.5 The Corporate Interaction Competence Matrix 237

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The New Competencies for Predictive A2A Corporate Interaction

intrinsic organizational competence as a foundation for sustainably successful revised corporate communication. One must be aware of the fact that this topic area is currently more than ever subject to enormous dynamics. This will also have an impact on the area of predictive interaction workforce management. Since the entire topic of data-driven corporate interaction can only be successfully set up and established in the long term if the topic is authentically driven forward by the organization itself in the context of establishing data-driven management (DDM, Seebacher & Garritz, 2021), it will also only be logical to continuously deal critically with the aspects of competencies and their further development.

References Busol, M. (2019). War for talents: Success factors in the fight for the best. Springer Gabler. Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization–creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley. Efing C. (2012). Linguistic or communicative skills–what is the difference and what is required in training? Berufsbildung in Wissenschaft und Praxis–BWPBWP 2/2012. Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Bonn. URN: urn:nbn:de:0035-bwp-12206-0. Council of Europe/Council for Cultural Cooperation. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Hildebrand, K., Gebauer, M., et al. (2018). Data and information quality: Towards information excellence. Springer Vieweg. Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. Cambridge University Press. Kelsey, T. (2017). Introduction to search engine optimization: A guide for absolute beginners. CA, Apress. Kleinemaß, M., & Seebacher, U. (2021). The Netflix economy is coming–the question is not if, but when! In U. Seebacher (Ed.), Praxishandbuch B2B-marketing. Springer Gabler. Masing, W. (1999). Integrated application of methods in development. In W. Masing (Ed.), Handbook of quality management (p. 356). Hansen. Oberholzer-Gee, F. (2021). Better, simpler strategy: A value-based guide to exceptional performance. Harvard Business Review Press. Quine, W. V. O. (1986). [1970]. Philosophy of logic (2nd ed., pp. 61–75). Harvard University Press. S. 1–14. Rifkin, J. (2019). The global green new Deal: Why fossil-fueled civilization will collapse around 2028–and a bold economic plan can save life on earth. Campus Verlag. Rothschild, B.. (with Rand, M. L.) (2006). Helping the helper: The psychophysiology of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. Harvard University Press. Schreiber, S., & Baier, D. (2015). Multivariate landing page optimization using hierarchical Bayes choice-based conjoint. In B. Lausen, S. Krolak-Schwerdt, & M. Böhmer (Eds.), Data science, learning by latent structures, and knowledge discovery. Studies in classification, data analysis, and knowledge organization. Springer. Seebacher, U., & Güpner, A. (2015). Innovation through strategic human resource management: Securing the “made in Germany” through workforce and diversity management. USP Publishing. Seebacher, U. (2021). Predictive intelligence for data-driven managers. Springer, Cham. Seebacher, U. (2021b). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), The B2B marketing ecosystem: Finding your way through the world of colorful B2B terms! (B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals ed.). Springer.

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Seebacher, U., & Garritz, J. (2021). Data-driven management: A primer for modern corporate decision making. AQPS. Seebacher, U., & Güpner, A. (2021). Marketing resource management: Practice guide for organizational development with many examples, explanations and action instructions. AQPS. Inc. Silbermann, P., Fertig, T., Schütz, A. E., & Müller, N. H. (2020). Utilizing context effects of banner ads for conversion rate optimization. In P. Zaphiris & A. Ioannou (Eds.), Learning and collaboration technologies. Human and technology ecosystems. HCII 2020. Lecture notes in computer science (Vol. 12206). Springer. Strohmeier, L. (2021). In U. G. Seebacher (Ed.), Central business intelligence: A lean development process for SMEs (B2B Marketing. Management for Professionals ed.). Springer. Wessel, K. F. (1998). Human ontogenetic: New reflections on old questions. USP Publishing.

9

Has Everything Been Said?

No, I don’t think so. Because now the discourse must begin to completely rethink the so fascinating topic of corporate communication. The world is changing and with it the entire corporate communications environment. This process of change is so dynamic that we must not close our minds to the facts that are changing before our eyes, as we would be maneuvering ourselves into the sidelines. At the time of authoring these final lines and thoughts, we in Austria are currently confronted with a frightening phenomenon. Studied and trained doctors, who have taken an oath on science and its diligence with regard to the exercise of their profession in the course of their graduation, are stirring up fear, insecurity, and even violence by spreading demonstrable untruths. This leads to people ending up in hospitals with poisoning because they believe supposedly respectable politicians and doctors who have been disbarred and take dewormers to fight COVID. In times of an “always-on” society driven by digitalization, communication, and interaction take on a completely new, unprecedented function, and significance. Because through these new communication arenas, information of all kinds is spreading ever more rapidly and uncontrollably. Governments are teetering between chaotic communication and total message control if the opposition parties are to be believed. The truth certainly lies somewhere in the middle. But what the lesson of the fourth wave of the COVID crisis should be for us is that corporate communications, based on previous widely loved practice and based on previous knowledge and understanding up to the publication of this book, is a ticking time bomb. And when that bomb explodes, companies will find themselves caught completely by surprise in unprecedented shitstorms and scandals being unable to adequately manage these communications crises. More and more companies are becoming powerless co-drivers of unscrupulous liars and conspiracy theorists who are not concerned with the truth and finding sustainable solutions, but only with brutal self-interest costing whatever it takes. This means that not only financial markets will lead to the implosion of economic bubbles, but that communication markets will also gain this power and thus the risks for market participants will increase significantly and by an unprecedented dimension. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 U. Seebacher, Reengineering Corporate Communication, Future of Business and Finance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03838-9_9

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This is because globally integrated control mechanisms already exist for risks relating to financial markets, market mechanisms, and also economic developments, which can indicate devastating economic tsunamis at an early stage and are set up with increasing precision thanks to predictive intelligence applying technologies from artificial intelligence. Based on the lack of basic research in the area of corporate communications, as critically discussed in detail in the chapter on the current state of research and knowledge based on the current literature at the beginning of this book, the so urgently needed basic elements of 24/7 predictive communications intelligence are still neither available nor under development in the organizations on broad level. For many markets and countries, in addition to being left behind in the area of technologization and digitalization, there is now also the communications technology risk of being left behind by a communications society that is constituting and establishing itself ever faster and more rapidly, with a verbal and interactive violence and clout never seen before. This new violence is based on networking, uncontrollable dynamics, and a global network self-enforcing and reinforcing itself through fake news, slanderers, conspiracy theorists, science ignoramuses, and politicians, whose only goal is self-promotion and power respectively power maintenance for their own sake. Constructs acting according to economic principles in the sense of profit-oriented companies can only survive sustainably in such a contingency situation if the respective communicative system intelligence is above that of the uncontrollable communication society, because then corresponding developments can already be predictively recognized in advance by this organizational communication intelligence, analyzed, and modelled in the form of various scenarios of alternative actions based on the findings of game theory. If, however, the swarm intelligence of the uncontrollable communication society leads to its communication intelligence being more highly developed and thus technically more mature than that of the individual companies and institutions, then the communication society will in any case have an advantage. Then it is only a question of time until the communication society’s shitstorm tsunami hits the respective organizations. Then, at the latest, the experts both in science and in the organizations will look deep into their eyes and ask themselves how something like this could happen. The failures of the past years will then be more than obvious. The book has fulfilled its mission if, building on this, the necessary process of change and the important and accompanying discourse in science and practice now emerge. In the context of predictive corporate communications, companies as well as institutions, and their managers need the best possible trained young executives. To this end, the relevant concepts must be adapted and rethought in science and research, or new concepts must be introduced into the field of corporate communication. All this has been attempted to discuss and validate stringently in this publication. On the other hand, however, it is also necessary for managers in all kind of organizational constructs to get out of the familiar waters with regard to corporate communications, marketing, and sales, in order to take proactive action on the part of top management against change-inhibiting, dangerous silo thinking, and pride of place.

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In this sense, this reading should be stimulating, interesting, and exciting and expand and enrich the own field of vision with so many fascinating aspects. Because then there will be many interesting discussions and conversations that are needed for change to happen. Innovation needs provocation and discussion. Talk about it—with pleasure also with me! I am looking forward to it.

Glossary

Marketing Account-based marketing (ABM

Buyer journey (BJ)

Buyer persona, Persona

Customer experience (CX), user experience (UX)

Customer excellence (CE)

Customer journey (CJ)

Short description Special approach to interacting with selected, important customer groups or information recipients Describes the symbolic journey of a customer or information recipient from not knowing a company to the status of a buyer of products or information. It is important to distinguish it from the customer or user journey. Archetype of groups of customers or information recipients The experience of customers or information recipients in the context of the entire interaction with a company The result of the customer experience or communication experience measures, which ensures an always optimal experience and perception of the customer or information recipient at all points of contact along the entire journey. The continuation of the buyer journey from the point of “purchase” of a product or information in the sense of use or redistribution in the interest of the company and not to its detriment

Communication Segment-based interaction (SBI)

Communication journey (CJ)

Communication persona

Communication experience (CX)

Communication excellence (CE), Interaction excellence (IE)

Interaction journey (IJ), information journey, stakeholder journey

(continued)

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246

Marketing Customer relationship management (CRM) system

Data-driven marketing (DDM)

Marketing automation (MA) or sales automation (SA)

Marketing excellence journey

Marketing intelligence

Marketing intelligence cube (MIC)

Glossary

Short description Systems for documenting, storing and evaluating data and information on future, current and former customers of products which, in the context of the fact that corporate communication or interaction also has “information customers” such as journalists, are also used directly for documenting, storing and evaluating data for information customers. Stringent data-driven realization of all activities in the field of marketing or communication with the aim of creating transparency, trust, efficiency and effectiveness to optimize the perception of the department in the organization but also the operational achievement and implementation of the defined goals to actively contribute to the economic success of the organization. IT-supported (partial) automation of activities in marketing and sales or communication and interaction. Concrete procedure model for a do-it-yourself implementation of all necessary measures for the reengineering of the marketing or communication department. The knowledge of data and information on all activities and processes in the field of marketing and communication. Originated in the field of business intelligence (BI) or business analytics (BA) and the basis for predictive profit marketing (PPM). Multidimensional data model for the documentation, processing, evaluation, and prediction of data on marketing or communication.

Communication Communication relationship management (CoRM) system, journalist relationship management (JRM), stakeholder relationship management (SRM)

Data-driven communication (DDC), data-driven corporate interaction

Communication (CA) or interaction automation (IA)

Communication excellence journey (CEJ), interaction excellence journey (IEJ)

Communication intelligence, interaction intelligence

Communication intelligence cube (CIC), interaction intelligence cube (IIC)

(continued)

Glossary

Marketing Marketing orchestration (MO)

Marketing monitoring system (MMS)

Marketing process library (MPL)

MarTechStack

Performance marketing

Predictive marketing

Predictive marketing intelligence (PMI) Predictive touchpoint management (PTM), predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO)

Touchpoint management, touchpoint optimization

247

Short description Concerted coordination of all relevant direct and indirect activities in the sense of a “onevoice” approach Semi- or fully automated model or system for ongoing measurement of marketing or communication activities as part of performance marketing or performance communication u/o interaction. Representation of all relevant activities in marketing or communication in the form of flowcharts, process diagrams or flowcharts IT infrastructure required to optimize and automate marketing/communication/ interaction activities Result-oriented action in marketing and communication with the aim of making every activity transparent, objective, reliable and validly measurable with more or less direct reference to the economic success of the company. Forward-looking activities in the area of marketing or interaction, based on data on customers or recipients of information from the past in the context of all their contacts with the company. Stringent data-driven, forwardlooking activities in the area of marketing and/or interaction The anticipatory manual, automated or interactive optimization of contact points in terms of customer or communication and interaction excellence. The ongoing management and optimization of all of a company’s contact points with all of the different groups of customers or information recipients

Communication Interaction orchestration (IO), Communication orchestration (CO) Interaction radar system (IRS)

Communication process library (CPL)

ComTechStack, InTechStack

Performance communication, performance interaction

Predictive communication, predictive interaction

Predictive interaction intelligence (PII) Predictive touchpoint management (PTM), predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO)

Communication touchpoint management (CTM), communication touchpoint optimization (CTO)

Index

A A/B tests, 95 Account-based Management (ABM), 221 Account-based Marketing (ABM), 53, 78, 79, 97 Account Intelligence, 174 ACIA, 146 ACIC, 146 ACIT, 146 Activity-Cycle-Time (ACT), 146 Ad-hoc-networking, 159 Advertising, 18, 40, 41, 43, 57, 59, 76, 77 Advocacy, 40–42, 119 Agile management, 12, 86 Algorithmic business, 163 Algorithms, 87, 154, 163, 167, 182, 193, 194, 203, 219–221, 230, 234, 237 Alibaba, 73 Alignment-meetings-ratio (AMI), 147 Aliquot-cost-indicator, 146 All-2-All (A2A), 145, 155–198, 201–238 Allianz, 2, 101 Alumning, 1 Always-on-Communication (AoC), 79 Amazon, 73, 163, 166 Ambassadors, 132, 203, 218, 232 American Idol, ix Analytical thinking, 219 Anchors behavioral, 148, 201, 214–216, 219, 225, 226, 228–232, 234, 236 Apostroph Group, 164 Arenas, 45, 72, 80, 85, 148, 169, 220, 221, 233, 241 Argenti, Paul A., vii, 7, 18, 19, 37–40 Aristotle, 37

Artificial intelligence (AI), 10, 16, 36, 73, 77, 79, 85, 96, 100, 113, 127–137, 160, 162, 165, 167, 194, 198, 242 Asclepiades, 4 Asclepiades of Bithynia, 4 Assets-as-services (AAS), 36, 161, 166, 206 Astra Zeneca, 24 AUDI, x Authentic organization, 204 Authenticity, x, 20, 42, 91, 94, 137, 142, 161, 183, 190, 204, 211, 216 process, 209, 210 Authentic-stringent identity, 210 Automated Business Planning (ABP), 207 Automation, 10, 16, 17, 24, 39, 45, 47, 48, 55, 64, 75–77, 80, 89, 90, 92, 94, 96, 107, 111, 116, 123, 125, 127, 185–190, 192 communication (CA), 44, 47, 51, 77, 94, 123, 129 interaction, 155, 221 marketing (MA), 45, 46, 76, 94, 116, 125, 129, 134, 182 sales, 45, 46, 76, 80, 116, 141, 182–184, 186, 190

B Balanced Scorecard (BSC), 5, 221 Barcelona Principles, 59 BASF, 2, 101 Bayernwerk AG, 3 Behavioral anchors, 148, 201, 214–216, 219, 225, 226, 228–232, 234, 236 Behavioral patterns, 28, 31 Berlin, 1 Berrettini, Matteo, 132

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250 Best-of-breed, 171 Big data, 11–13, 18, 163, 167, 203 Big science, 18 Biochemistry, 12 Blockchain, 159–161 Blohm, Ivo, 208 Blueprinting, 11, 12, 113, 172, 179, 193–196 Board of directors, 142, 143 Braddock, Richard, 37 Brand management, 41, 42 Brand Marketing, 57 Braxton Associates, 3 Brinker, Scott, 169, 172 Broadcasting, 45, 102 Business analytics (BA), 169, 219 Business development (BD), 107, 129, 143, 182 Business intelligence (BI), 40, 49, 73–75, 83, 107, 113, 143, 169, 182, 183, 185, 187, 219, 220, 225, 228, 229, 235 Business partner, 201, 213 Business process optimization, 3 Business process reengineering (BPR), 10 Business-to-business (B2B), vii, viii, 29, 60, 66, 115, 132, 135, 161, 163, 172, 183, 229 Business-to-consumer (B2C), 29, 66, 183 Buyer behavior, 73 Buyer experience (BX), 70 Buyer insights, 174 Buyer journey, 28, 45, 51, 52, 57, 65, 66, 68, 70, 132, 168, 221

C Call-to-action (C2A), 55, 116 Campaign, viii, 25, 38, 50, 52, 58, 68, 75, 76, 78, 85, 129, 146, 147, 218, 228, 232, 236 Cancel culture, x Canvases, 12 Canvasing, 209 Capital expenditures (CAPEX), 160, 161 Carnegies, 19 Caterpillar, 36 Central Company Data Room, 53 Chain-of-custody processes, 159–160 Change management, 25, 137, 142, 186, 208 Channels, viii, 15, 22–24, 28, 31, 36, 45, 48, 50, 53, 64, 70, 71, 78, 79, 85, 135, 148, 169, 204, 221 Chaotic communication, viii, 241 Chief Communication Officer (CCO), 30

Index Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), ix, 30, 36 Chief Revenue Manager (CRO), 36, 221, 229 Chief Success Manager (CSM), 36 Citizen journalists, 45 Cloud computing, 159 Cloud suites, 171 Clubhouse, ix Communication automation (CA), 26, 44, 51, 53, 55, 58, 77, 86, 116, 129, 221 brand, 58 conflict, 52 crisis, 51, 52, 75, 86, 92, 241 data-driven, 59 dialogue, 57 digital, 43 employee, 52, 89, 94 integrated, xi, 53, 56, 57, 89 intelligence (CInt), 26, 28, 44, 47, 52, 58, 64, 72–78, 83, 92, 113, 114, 127–137, 147, 148, 154, 155, 160, 161, 169, 179, 182, 198, 242 internal, 30, 40, 41, 43, 52, 57, 107, 119 international, 57 investor, 52, 119 language use, 215, 227, 231 many-to-many, 45, 53 many-to-one, 45 marketing, 41, 57, 187 mass, 22–26, 37, 39 media, 44, 52 neuro, 26, 29, 54, 134, 221 occasion-related, 57 one-to-many, 45 online, 43, 57 performance, 26–27, 46, 47, 49, 51, 54, 59, 69–70, 137, 145, 198, 230, 237 planning, 52 political, 52, 53, 57 risk, 58, 194, 242 strategic, 58, 215 trust-building, 20, 91, 183, 190 two-way, 22 Communication Controlling, 59 Communication Data Engineering (CDE), 206– 207 Communication data scientists, 203 Communication excellence (CE), 49, 70–78, 95, 113, 127, 129, 134, 221 Communication excellence journey (CEE), 77 Communication experience (CX), 49, 70–72, 77, 78, 93, 95, 113, 116, 123–125, 127, 129, 161, 221

Index Communication integration, 52, 116–119 Communication Intelligence Cube (CIC), 74, 75, 85, 86, 94, 113, 129, 134, 135, 147, 148, 160, 194 Communication journey (CJ), viii, 36–37, 41, 46, 47, 58, 59, 64–68, 75, 77, 79, 85, 96, 100, 111, 116, 119–123, 129, 134, 141, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 160, 166, 167, 169, 190, 221, 226 Communication Maturity Model, xi Communication orchestration (CO), 79, 127, 135–137, 146 Communication Performance Parameters (CPP), 146, 148, 149 Communication Personas, 66–68, 86, 125, 129 Communication Process Library (CPL), 25, 26, 51, 53, 58, 86, 87, 89, 93, 101, 102, 104–108, 110, 111, 123, 139, 146, 150 Communication Radar System (CRS), 86, 96 Communication Radaring System (CRS), 88 Communication risk management, 46, 91 Communication strategy, 37, 38, 69, 86, 129, 143 Communication Technology Stack Engineers, xi, 26, 47, 54, 156 Communication touchpoints (CTP), 58, 68–70, 96, 123, 127, 129, 134 analysis, 58 Community-Maturity-Rate (CMR), 148 Community Nurturing, 149 Community Relations, 43 Competencies, 15, 24, 28, 53, 87, 93, 96, 98, 152, 158, 168, 193, 198, 201–238 cross-sectional, 11 language norm, 226 language system, 226 predictive language, 226, 235 typologies, 202 Competitive advantage, 164, 168, 208–209, 230, 237 Complaint management, 3 Compliant reports, 148 Composable architectures, 162 ComTechStack, xi, 26, 28, 47, 54, 56, 157, 158, 168–171, 186, 191, 222, 225, 235 Consumer experience, 45 Content emotional, 66 rational, 66 Content assets, 50, 75, 79, 94 Content manager, 26, 87 Content marketing, 29, 57, 87

251 Content-reuse-rate (CRR), 147 Contingency situation, 8, 15, 17, 20, 37, 45, 52, 71, 79, 135, 227, 242 Contingency theory, 2, 5, 36, 37 Continuous improvement, 54, 110, 146, 162, 220, 233 Continuous Improvement Process (CIP), 229 Conversion rate optimization (CRO), 36, 221, 229 Cookie-free world, 161 Cornelissen, Joep, vii, 42–45, 47–50 Corporate Communication Dashboard (CCD), 88 Corporate Communication Managers (CCM), xi, 54, 89, 152 Corporate Communication Map (CCM), 135 Corporate Communication Maturity Model (CCMM), 53, 68, 83 Corporate Communication Plan, 52, 53 Corporate Communication Self-Assessment (CCSA), 139–154 Corporate Communication Strategy Framework, 37 Corporate communications data-driven, 167, 194, 198 Corporate communicators, 24, 46, 48, 54, 56, 63, 64, 71, 73, 96, 113, 149, 174, 182, 191, 195 Corporate design (CD), 88, 104, 111 Corporate development, 182, 184, 185, 187, 216, 218, 225, 228, 231, 233, 235, 236 Corporate functions, 24, 26, 33, 41, 53, 71, 94 Corporate identity (CI), 49, 58, 88, 104, 111 management, 49 Corporate Intelligence, 225, 235 Corporate Interaction, 15–32, 146–149, 155– 198, 201–238 data-driven, 203, 207–208, 216–218, 226, 233, 238 Corporate Marketing, 225, 235 Corporate Mental Wellness, 1 Corporate newsrooms, 7, 24, 25, 56, 58–59 Corporate positioning, 45, 52 Corporate reputation, 49 Corporate Sales, 225, 235 COVID-19, 163 Creator journey, 65 Crisis communication, 51, 52, 75, 86, 92 Crisis management, 40, 41, 92 CRM-paradox, 77–78, 100 Crowd-casting, 45 Crypto industry, 159

252 Customer behavior, 72, 194 Customer centricity, 27–29, 44 Customer excellence, 48, 70 Customer experience, 69–71, 185, 221 Customer intelligence, 49 Customer journeys, 44, 45, 48–51, 53, 57, 58, 65, 161, 185 Customer loyalty, 166 Customer Relationship Management (CRM), 39, 40, 55, 76–78, 94, 100, 125, 143, 182, 184, 185, 192, 193, 217 Customer satisfaction, 63, 64, 141 Customer Touchpoint Management Process (CTMP), 69 Customer touchpoints (CTP), 68, 123, 127, 134 Cyber Commerce Reframing (CCR), 1, 10

D DACH region, 36, 74 Dacia, 47 Dashboarding, 221 Dashboards, 74, 86, 129, 146, 153, 169, 194, 219, 221, 230, 237 Data-driven corporate communication, 167, 194, 198, 218 Data-driven corporate interaction, 203, 207– 208, 216–218, 226, 233, 236, 238 Data-driven management (DDM), 59, 113, 160, 193, 203, 204, 207, 217, 238 Data-driven Marketing, 59 Data-driven organization, 206, 208 Data integration, 58 Data optimization, 58 Data protection, xi, 129, 146 Data room making, 55 Data Scientists, 26, 203 Deloitte, 2, 3, 101 Deloitte Consulting, 101 Design thinking, 12, 209 Dialectic, 206 Digital ethics, 168 Digitalization, vii, x, 17, 23, 39, 42, 63, 90, 96, 107, 163, 171, 241, 242 Digitization, 7, 11, 16, 17, 64, 94 Direct Marketing, 43, 229 DiscoverOrg, 174 Distribution theory, 29 Diversity, x, xi, 22 Dogmatists, 4 Dow Chemical, 19 Dual-level Coaching (DLC), 34, 35, 222, 234

Index Düsseldorf, 3 Dynamic-reuse-rate (DRR), 147

E Economic bubbles, 241 Economic principles, 27, 242 Economies-of-scale, 207 Economy remocal, 41, 163, 164, 167, 170 Edge computing, 159–160 Edmondson, Amy C., 20, 204, 209 Educalingo, 225 Email marketing, 76, 77 E-mobility, 23 Empathy, 20, 69, 91, 94, 137, 183, 205, 228 affective, 205 cognitive, 205 somatic, 205 Empiricists, 4 Engineering Intelligence, 195 Enterprise resource planning (ERP), 10, 100, 182, 184, 188, 217 Epicureanism, 4 Epicurus, 4 Epidaurus, 4 ERP systems, 10, 182, 184 EU, 36 EU Competence Centre for Neurocommunication and Digital Processes, 134 Event Management, 57 Event-media-discounts (EMD), 146 Event-media-intelligence (EMI), 52, 55, 59, 75, 85, 86, 135, 195 Event organizers, 215, 231 Exception reporting, 74

F Facebook, 45 Financial markets, 18, 31, 241, 242 Ford, Henry, xii Functionalities, 76, 77, 79, 129, 156, 180, 182, 189–191, 194

G Gates, Bill, 35 GDP-B, 170 GE, x GEA, x

Index Generation Z, x, 53 Globalization, 11 Google, 73, 113, 156, 157, 166, 171 Great Britain, 164 Grün, Oskar, 2

H Harvard Business Manager, 170 Harvard Business School, 204 Health mental, 210 physical, 210 Hidden champions, 2, 72 Hippocrats, 4 Hoffmann, Martin, 205 Human ontogenetic, 210–211 Human ontology, 5 Human resources (HR), xi, 27, 40, 49 management, 71, 148, 201 Human-to-human (H2H), 166 marketing, 164 Hypervision, 34–35

I Imbalance paradox, 80 Immunology, 12 Inclusion, x Index-based approaches, 72 Individual learning, 101 Industrial goods marketing, vii, 24, 60, 66, 115, 201 Industrialization, 10 Industrial revolution, 10, 19 Industries, virtual-remote, 10 Influencer journey, 132 Influencer marketing, 31, 65 Influencers, ix, 23, 85, 119, 132, 215, 231 Information competition, 28, 31 Information customers, 28, 44, 49, 59, 65, 69, 70, 85, 94, 119, 129, 131, 134, 148, 184, 190, 194 Information excellence, 54 Information experience, 54, 69, 71 Information journey, 51, 53 Information technology (IT), 12, 36, 39, 47, 55, 75, 80, 92, 94, 116, 129, 155, 156, 166, 168, 181, 182, 194, 203, 225 Instagram, 25 Institute for Sales and Marketing Automation (IFSMA), 76 Integrated-Campaign-Ratio (ICR), 147 Intelligent materials, 163 Intent Data, 174, 177

253 Intention, 37, 71, 174, 225 Interaction, 228 data-driven, 206, 212, 220 Interaction automation (IA), 155, 221 Interaction-Delay-Rate (IDR), 148 Interaction excellence, 195, 221 Interaction Excellence Journey, 172 Interaction experience, xii, 221 Interaction intelligence predictive, 165, 167, 193, 198 Interaction journey, 221, 226, 236 Interaction Technology Stack (InTechStack), xi, 86, 155–198, 222 phases, 179 Interactivity, 42, 96 Interagility, 90–97 Interfaces, 16, 68, 85, 88, 89, 104, 116, 125, 142, 156, 180, 189, 195, 203, 206, 225, 235 Internet-of-People (IoP), 159, 165 Internet-of-Things (IoT), 159 Interrelationships, 16, 98, 142 Investor Relations, 40, 41, 43 Investors, x, 18, 19, 26, 28, 31, 40, 65, 69, 74, 85, 119, 121, 132, 215, 231 Investors Journeys (IJ), 26, 44, 51, 66 ISO standards, 2, 24, 88 Issues Management, 43

J Job descriptions, 140, 202 Job profiles, 24, 142, 145 Jobs, Steve, 35 Journalist Journey (JJ), 55 Journalists Relationship Management (JRM), 55 Journeys, 189 communication, viii, 36–37, 41, 46, 47, 58, 59, 64–6875 JXTA, 165

K Kanban, 12 Kaplan, Soren, 170 Kaufland, ix Kern, Helmut, 3 Key performance indicators (KPI), 59, 72, 132, 135, 204, 220, 222, 234 Key success factor, 56, 183 Key user network (KUN), 113 KISS principle, 110 Knowledge convergence, 9 Knowledge symbiosis, 5, 9

254 Knowledge, symbiotic, 11 Knowledge transfer, 5, 7, 9, 30, 164, 201, 203 Komito, 45 Kondratieff, 9, 911

L Landing page optimization (LPO), 229 Leadership development, 1 Lead generation, 76, 123 inbound, 52 Lead management, 123 Lead nurturing, 76, 123, 149 Lead scanning, 116 Lean management, 10 Lean Startup, 209 Learning organization, 6, 73, 83, 94, 95, 101, 104, 119, 190, 193, 209, 216 Ledger, 160 Leisure society, 10 Lifelong development, 210, 211 Linguistics, 151, 216, 217, 225–228, 232, 235, 236 LinkedIn, ix, 174 Lobbyists, 148, 215, 231 Logic, 20, 91, 137, 182, 183, 206 Log-in syndrome, 179, 188 Lufthansa, 77 Lurati, Francesco, vii

M Machine learning (ML), 79, 135, 203 Management boards, 149, 151 MarComTechStack, 53 Marketing automation (MA), 28, 76, 79, 94, 116, 123, 125, 129, 132, 134, 140, 156, 182, 186, 193, 194, 221 Marketing Excellence Journey, 147 Marketing intelligence cube (MIC), 52 Marketing maturity model, xi, 24, 77, 195 Marketing Orchestration, 79, 135 Marketing Process Library (MPL), 24, 25, 44, 51, 53 Marketing-Qualified Leads (MQL), 145 Marketing Resource Management, 71, 72, 181 Marketing Return on Investment (MRoI), 228 Market intelligence, 74, 143 MarTech, 36, 135, 155–158, 168–177, 191, 195, 235 MarTech 8000, 172, 175 MarTech Journey, 134, 172 MarTechStack, 27, 47, 48, 56, 79, 155–157, 168, 171, 172, 174, 186, 191, 195, 225 Martin, Sieglinde, vii

Index Maschinensucher.de, ix Maturity anchors, 148 Maturity level, 64–66, 86, 90–92, 94–98, 119, 131, 152, 153, 172, 195 McKinsey, 163, 208 Media, ix, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 31, 40, 44–50, 52, 55–57, 59, 76, 77, 85, 131, 146, 147, 159, 215, 229, 231 Media landscape, ix, 23, 45, 47, 49 Medialization, 39, 42 Media relations, 40, 41, 43, 57 Megatrends, 8, 163 Mellons, 19 Message control, viii, 241 Meta-competence, 4, 202 Meta-indicators, 230, 237 Methodologist, 4, 5, 36 Methods, ix–xi, 9–12, 16, 26, 27, 51, 72, 170, 209, 220, 221 Methods and structural sciences, 2, 5–8, 11–13, 23, 35, 41, 60, 72 Methods Consulting, 2 Microbiology, 12 Morphology, 226 mRNA, 12 Multi-dimensional data cube, 74, 113 Multiplier Nurturing, 149 Multi-project management, 2, 181, 222, 234 Multivariate Analytics, 221 Munich University of Applied Sciences, 36 Musk, Elon, ix, x

N Naidoo, Xavier, ix Netflix-Economy, 165, 166 Networking, 1, 11, 12, 159, 165, 167, 242 Neurocommunication, 29, 54, 134, 221 Neurocommunication Specialists, 26 Neuromarketing, 221 New green deal, 41, 167, 208 New York, 19 NGOs, 20, 22, 28, 69, 119, 131, 215, 231 Nokia, 47 Non-compliant reports, 148

O ÖBAG, 3 Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, 216 Online marketing, 68, 229 Open-source technologies (OST), 95 Operational expenditures (OPEX), 160, 161 Orchestration, 29, 79, 110, 127, 135, 142 Organizational authenticity, 190

Index Organizational development, 2, 83, 94, 180, 211 Organizational etymology, 37 Organizational identity, 49, 80, 190, 210 Organizational learning, 73, 83, 94, 95, 101, 104, 119, 193, 209, 216 Organizational maturity process, 83 Organizational psychology, 94 Organizational science, 4, 6 Organizational strategy, 38 Organizational structure, 2, 10, 36, 38, 43, 58, 100, 135, 142, 165, 170, 181, 208, 218 Organizational theory, 56, 83 Österreichische Postsparkasse, 3

P Pareto Principle, 93 Peer-to-peer (P2P), 12, 165 Peppel, Lothar, 6 Performance communication, 26–27, 46, 47, 49, 51, 54, 70, 137, 145, 198, 221, 230, 237 interaction, 218 management, 26, 221, 229 marketing (PM), 137, 214, 228–230, 237 Performance indicators, 24, 25, 88, 142, 145, 146, 149, 150, 182, 185, 187, 229, 230, 237 Performance measurement, 71, 72, 221 Peripheral systems, 195 Persona, viii, 20, 28–31, 50, 51, 53, 57, 66–70, 75, 77–79, 86, 96, 100, 111, 116, 119, 132, 142, 143, 146, 147, 150, 160, 185, 187, 189, 215, 221 Persona Communication Template (PCT), 111 Personalization, 163, 166 Personas, viii, 20, 27–31, 50, 51, 53, 57, 66–70, 75, 77–79, 86, 96, 100, 111, 116, 119, 132, 140, 143, 146–148, 150, 160, 185, 187, 189, 215, 221 buyer, 28, 31, 66 communication (CP), 125, 129 dynamic, 160 predictive, 160 Persona template, 111 PESTEL, 221 Peter Principle, 137 Pförtsch, Waldemar, 163 Phase after-sales, 64 pre-purchase, 64 purchase, 64

255 Phonetics, 226 Phonology, 226, 227 PITechStack, 48, 155, 169, 171, 172 Platforms, 45, 73, 165, 171, 194 PodCasts, ix, 163, 207 Point-of-sales (PoS), 68 Political parties, 15, 215, 231 Predictive Communication, 221 Predictive Communication Excellence, 58 Predictive Communication Intelligence (PCI), 51, 64, 85, 86, 96, 97, 127, 165, 242 Predictive Communication Optimization (PCO), 51 Predictive community management (PCM), 168 Predictive Content Optimization (PCO), 59 Predictive corporate communication, 100, 242 Predictive intelligence, 26, 40, 48, 49, 54, 73, 86, 92, 116, 166, 203, 209, 219, 221, 228 Predictive intelligence maturity model, xi, 77 Predictive Intelligence Stack, 48 Predictive interaction, 201, 203, 207–210, 212, 213, 215–219, 221, 231, 238 Predictive Interaction Competence Model (PCCM), 213 Predictive interaction intelligence (PII), 165, 167, 193 Predictive interaction structures, 217, 231 Predictive maintenance, 76 Predictive performance communication (PPI), 222, 235 Predictive profit marketing (PPM), 49, 51, 59, 88 Predictive touchpoint intelligence (PTI), 50, 54, 59, 142, 221 Predictive touchpoint optimization (PTO), 54, 123, 134, 161, 165, 221 Press center, 56 Process efficiency, 75 Process libraries, 88, 104, 185, 187, 189 Process quality, 24, 75 Procurement Intelligence, 195 Product customers, 69, 184, 190 Profitability analysis, 193 Proof of concept, 115 Prosuma Journeys, 31 Prototyping, 209, 208 Public Affairs, 43 Publicity, 43 Public relations (PR), 18, 25, 30, 45, 51, 57, 58 Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), 51

256 Purchase behavior, 73 Purchase probability, 71

Q Quality management, 3, 72, 88, 102, 104 Quick wins, xi, 115

R RainKing, 174 Recipient Generation, 77 Recipient Nurturing, 77 Relationship intelligence, 174 Relationship management, 40, 41, 164 Remocal economy, 41, 163, 164, 167, 170 Remote maintenance, 76, 168 Resource-minimizing approach, 212 Retargeting, 76, 77 Return-on-Communication (RoC), 26 Return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI), 72 Return-on-sales (RoS), 72 Rezo & Co., ix Rifkin, Jeremy, 8, 36, 41, 167, 208 Risk management, 72, 91, 220 Rockefellers, 19 RoI, 222 RTL, ix

S SAGE Publishing, 42 Sales automation (SA), 45, 46, 76, 80, 116, 141, 182–184, 186, 190 Sales channel excellence, 115 Sales intelligence, 174, 178, 195 Sales optimization, 88, 222 Sales performance, 137 Sales promotions, 43 Sales-Qualified Leads (SQL), 145 SalesTech, 36, 155, 156, 158, 168–172, 174, 176, 186, 191, 235 SalesTech blueprint, 172 SalesTechStack, 47, 56, 155, 156, 171, 173, 191, 225 Scenario Technique, 155, 221 Schmidt, Sven, ix Schröder, Gerhard, ix Schumpeter, Joseph Alois, 10 Search behavior, 73, 129 Search engine advertising (SEA), 73, 221 Search engine optimization (SEO), 73, 87, 221, 229

Index Segment-based communication (SBC), 78, 79, 86, 97, 100, 111, 127, 129, 131, 132, 147, 148, 221 lite, 131 programmatic, 131 strategic, 131 Segment-based interaction (SBI), 53, 99, 131, 160, 174, 194, 221 Segment-Interaction-Rate (SIR), 148 Segment-Reaction-Rate (SRR), 148 Self-assessment, xi, 6, 202 Semantics, 42, 226, 227 Sensor networks, 159, 167 Servatius, Hans-Gerd, 3, 4 Service Level Agreement (SLA), 58 Shared service approach, 208 Sharing economy, 161 Shklarek, Alon, 2 Siemens, x Silo thinking, 6, 11, 17, 25, 28, 30, 44, 46–48, 51, 71, 79, 94, 242 Simon, Hermann, 72 Situative Segment-based Communication (SSBC), 131 Skype, 217 Smart data, 167 Smart economy, 167 Smart interaction, 167 Smart machines, 168 Smart products, 76 Smart Publishing, 2 Smart sensors, 76, 159, 167 SME, xi Social CEO, x Social Communication, ix Social Listening, x Social media, 25, 31, 45–48, 57, 59, 76, 77, 121, 122 Social media advertising, 76, 77 Social sciences, 5, 12, 216, 231 Social selling, 36, 174 Social thinking, 161 Software-as-a-service (SaaS), 166 Software-based virtualization, 159, 162 Soranus of Ephesus, 5 Sponsorship, 43 Stakeholder engagement, 42 Stakeholder Generation, 77 Stakeholder-Impact-Value (SIV), 147, 148 Stakeholder Journey (SJ), 51, 55 Stakeholder management, 58 Stakeholder Nurturing, 77 Stakeholder-Perception-Value (SPV), 147, 148

Index Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM), 55 Steering Committee (SteCo), 184 Strategy theory, 38 Structural theory, 2, 13, 30, 48 Success factors, 25, 44, 53, 56, 68, 79, 84, 101, 104, 164, 183 Sun Microsystems, 165 Supervision, 34 Sustainability, x, xi, 41, 42, 191 Sustainability management, 41, 42 Swarm intelligence, 160, 161, 242 SWOT, 5, 221 Syntax, 226 System intelligence, 242 Systemic reflection, 34

T Tactical-political perspective, 142 Target group, v, viii, 27–32, 42, 44, 45, 48, 50, 52–54, 57, 59, 64, 66, 68, 69, 74, 75, 78, 79, 85, 86, 91–97, 111, 113, 119, 123, 129, 131, 140, 141, 143, 144, 150, 160, 161, 168, 190, 208, 215, 218, 220, 221, 225, 232 Technologization, 10, 11, 24, 63, 180, 242 TechStack, 158, 162, 168, 225, 235 Telecommunications, 10, 166 Telegram, ix Template-based Management (TBM), 2, 34, 35, 44, 51, 58, 66, 101, 104, 107, 108, 156, 165, 181, 209, 221, 234 Templates, xi, xii, 2, 12, 44, 51, 55, 58, 67, 100–102, 104, 108–112, 114, 116–119, 124–126, 128, 130, 133, 136, 137, 139, 149, 156, 170, 179, 181, 189, 191, 192, 213, 220, 223, 224, 234 Tertiary Algorithmics, 221 Tesla, x Themison of Laodikeia, 5 3D-printing, 163 Thyssenkrupp, x Total Quality Management (TQM), 110 Touch point optimization, 29, 221 Touchpoint excellence, 26, 58 Touchpoint experience management, 27 Touchpoint management, 50, 58, 68, 69, 71, 147, 221 Touchpoint optimization, 221 Touchpoints, viii, 26, 27, 29, 31, 44, 50, 54, 58, 59, 68–70, 72, 74, 75, 85, 120, 123, 125, 127, 129, 134, 141, 147, 161, 165, 190, 221 awareness, 70 influence, 70

257 quality, 70 relevance, 70 Transparency, 23, 27, 42, 59, 64, 88, 107, 110, 137, 142, 153, 154, 203, 204, 230, 237 Treating individual accounts as a distinct market (ITSMA), 78 Triangle of trust, 91, 204, 205 Triangle Shirtwaist factory, 19 Trust-building communication, 20, 91, 110, 183, 190 Tsitsipas, Stefanos, 132 Twitter, 10, 45

U Uniper, x United States, x, 19, 164 University of London, vii Upcycling, 161 User excellence, 54 User experience (UX), 29, 31, 49, 54, 70, 88

V Validator journey, 65 Value chain, 10, 56, 75, 76, 116, 160, 161, 166, 167, 190 industrial, 10, 160, 161 smart, 167 Vietnam War, 19 VodCasts, 207 Volkswagen, ix

W Walk-the-talk, 137, 206 War for Clients, 80 War-for-talents, x, 40, 213 Watergate, 19 WeChat, 36 Wendler, ix WhatsApp, x Wieners+Wieners, 164 Wikipedia, 171 Workflows, 107, 110, 123, 180 Workforce Management, 72, 181, 238 World War 1, 19

Y Yale, 37

Z Zoominfo, 174