Karina Aguirre-Vazquez![]() A large part of what forms a small city are the nonprofit organizations there to help. But how important are these nonprofits, you might ask? Well, nonprofit organizations are in place to help each community member in many different ways. Some focus on helping parents with their children, others focus on helping the parents and others are there to help both the children and the parents. Some focus on mental health while others focus on financial stability. All these organizations only function if the community members need them, but how do nonprofit organizations reach people in need? How do nonprofits talk to community members, how do community members talk to nonprofit organizations? Simple. Nonprofits go to where they are needed. For example, the United Way of Sheboygan County focuses on three main pillars: financial stability, education and health. They reach out to community members through different programs ran by different nonprofit organizations. Of course, there are a lot of things that goes into funding and running programs, but one of the United Way’s very successful program is Sheboygan County Community Partnership for Children—Welcome Baby Program, they can go into the hospitals and offer their education services to first time parents. Nonprofit go to where they might be needed most and offer services that might not be provided elsewhere. Unfortunately, meeting people’s needs is not always an easy task, and people’s needs might not be heard because people might not know how to get a hold of these programs. Which is a problem don’t you think? Have you ever just been so frustrated because you are in need of prescription medication and your insurance is not coving it? All you want is to find a website that could possibly help you get cheaper medication? Well, there is a site that allows for you to download a card that can help you. Family Wize is a United Way partner that is here to help you find cheap prescription medication! But, how can a nonprofit make it easy for you to find cheaper medication? There isn’t unless you know of a friend that knows a friend that heard about this program. That is a problem. Like I said before the community members are the reason why nonprofit organizations are here. The United Way found a great way to have all the nonprofit organizations at the tip of each community members fingers—211. They came up with a quick dial that offers the person all the services and programs available in their area. Unfortunately, there is still a miss communication between these nonprofits here to serve the community. Let’s work together to have all of the great services available for each community members when they need it. I wish it was that easy. Nonprofit organizations largely function through the funding from community members and larger corporations. Many people do not want to give because they believe that they will not ever use any of the nonprofit programs. There are a lot of challenges that go into running a nonprofit for example, have an effective program that can over the budget provided. Overall, nonprofit organizations are here to serve you and your community. Use all your available resources when you need them.
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Emily Marten![]() Have you ever looked at your bathroom or kitchen appliances and seen the name Kohler? Ever seen commercials promoting the newest Kohler product? Heard of where the corporation is located? Kohler is a worldwide corporation that designs, produces and sells kitchen and bathroom products. They also manufacture engines and generators for schools, companies, yachts, and even homes. You think that is all they do? Nope. Kohler has golf and resort destinations in Wisconsin and even overseas that provide only the best accommodations for their guests. You may be asking why I am bringing up Kohler Company in a blog post about communication. Well, Kohler headquarters, along with two of their plants, are located in the small towns of Kohler and Mosel in Sheboygan County. Kohler makes up a big part of this county, and for a corporation like this to be in such a small community is a great example to how important it is that they keep the communication with the community. For Kohler, and other corporations in small and medium towns, communication is key. They are a successful corporation that has a home in a small community. It can create pressure on the business to make sure that they have good communication with the community around them. Over the past couple years, we are seeing the number of corporations including the community into their business strategy increase. To see this happening is a great move on the company. They are looking into how to better that relationship to get the word out about their products and services, and even get the community’s feedback on what the corporation can improve on or what they would like to see them do. And that is exactly what Kohler is doing in this small community. One of the ways that Kohler is communicating is through their Resorts and Golf courses. Around the community here in Sheboygan County, Kohler is well-known for the luxurious hotels and beautiful yet challenging golf courses along with the other products they produce. What I mean by this is that they are showing the high-quality service that they provide to represent what they are doing in the factory. To show that they only make the best quality generators, engines, sinks, faucets, and the rest of their products. They only want the best products to be Kohler branded, and that goes the same with the accommodations that they are providing to the community that they reside in. You would never think that they could communicate with the community through a golf course or resort, but they do an amazing job at it. Now, how would an employee of Kohler see how they are communicating to their community? Well you are in luck, I am currently employed by Kohler. I work in the Power Systems plant as a material scheduler. Long story short, I track the parts that are needed for the generators and engines that we are building. I also make sure that the associates out on the plant floor have enough parts every day. I am noticing that Kohler only wants the best parts to help assemble the generators and engines that we produce. This is another way that they are communicating with the community. Showing that they only want the best parts to be put into their products is showing that they care. I have seen multiple Kohler generators around Sheboygan County, with Lakeland being one that has a couple. Seeing these products of Kohler around the community is a big part of the communication between the two. It is showing that they are not just there to make their products and be done, they want the best for the community and that is a Kohler generator or engine. Another route that a corporation can take to keep the communication strong is to get involved with the community. Doing this will not only help to build the relationships but also benefit the company by getting the word out about them. Kohler does this in many ways. One of the biggest ways is that they are a sponsor of the World Golf Championships. Crazy, right? They are bringing an event such as PGA to the community to show that they do have the best products and services. In return, the World Golf Championships use Kohler Power Systems to power their events. To bring it back down to the community level, Sheboygan has a Children and Teen’s Book Festival, one of many events that happen around here, and Kohler is a huge sponsor. This is also showing the community that they only want the best for the people who reside around them. At the end of the day, one of the most important parts of a corporation’s strategy is to have a good communication with the community around them. They need to be able to show the community who they are and that they are there to help and to be apart of it. What are your thoughts on the importance of communication between a corporation and their community? Alex Kleiber![]() From metropolitan supercenters, to rural farmers, businesses need a way to get their customers’ attention, and customers need a way to know what businesses have to offer. In order to fully utilize what local businesses have to offer, it is important to know the different ways of communication. This is especially true in small towns, where small businesses hold the communities together. When I was young, our family raised pigs. Usually just two or three a year that lived in a pen in our back yard. And let me tell ya, those pigs could EAT. The mill that sold us our pig food was in a small rural town near our house. It was one of the few small businesses in the town, and provided many farmers in the vicinity with food, some basic medication, and livestock when it was available. Its size and location allowed for a very unique way of communicating with its clientele. Whenever my Dad and I walked into the storefront, we were always greeted by name, and they could guess exactly what we needed each time. When it came to be spring time, and meat chickens were coming in, we would get a personal call to see if we wanted to order any, which we always did. The mill knew us personally and was able to communicate with us as a friend and a client. All small businesses in small towns should try to focus on this form of communication and form these relationships with their clientele. Likewise, customers in small towns should strive for a personal relationship with the small businesses that they frequent. As I got older and was able to get a job, I reached out to a veterinary clinic to see if I could work for them. I knew a friend that worked there and was family friends with the people who owned the business. This taught me more about forming strong personal relationships with clientele. The first day that I worked at Dairy Doctors was a big day for them (and not only because they hired me). It was the day of their annual Dairy Doctors picnic which was a cherished tradition. They rented out a dining hall at the local fair grounds to host a large gathering for all of their clientele. It was a time to develop and strengthen relationships, both old and new. The smell of steak sandwiches and hotdogs filed the air as farmers started arriving in their pickups. I stood behind the counter side by side with the doctors, a smile on my face and tongs in hand. I was there to not only serve up good eats, but unknowingly begin a lesson in business-client communication. The doctors greeted almost every person by name, asked questions about family and the farms. Soon we had a room packed with over one hundred and fifty people. After everyone was served, the doctors filled their own plates, and the festivities began. There were raffle prizes, children running around playing games, and many great conversations between long time friends. At the end of the day, as we were taking everything down, I realized that small businesses do more for small towns than simply provide goods and services; they reinforce community. These experiences showed me the importance of consumer – business relationships. So why should small town businesses strive to develop these relationships? Building relationships as a business shows that you care. When you run a business, it is important to care for and about your clients. They are there because they need a good or service. If you show that you care about them as you provide that good or service, you not only build credibility in your brand, but relationships that can last outside of the business world. One way to build these relationships is to know and understand what your consumer base wants. This can easily be accomplished through a well thought out survey. It should include specific questions that target key factors in your businesses. If what you are focusing on is a large scale question, try breaking it up into multiple questions. Scales (on a scale of 1-10 how satisfied are you with our phone line?) can give you a great view on what needs work, and what is working smoothly. Another way to grow relationships with your customers is show that you appreciate them. Through my experience at the veterinary clinic, gathering together your customers is a great way to show your appreciation. In addition, many companies will have rewards or loyalty programs to offer discounts and other benefits for their continued patronage. These methods will help build, reinforce, and maintain strong business-client relationships. But enough about business owners, why should any small-town residents strive for personal relationships with local businesses? Businesses are key components to any community. They provide goods and services, livelihoods for those employed, and, if done correctly, encourage a strong sense of community. You never know if they may open up an opportunity for employment or even just a great sale. Businesses also like to stay active in communities, so keep on the watch for fun events they may have. From picnics to parties, booths at local fairs, or even just games in the park, joining in can be a fun way to spend an evening. I will always remember the fun times that I had with the picnics, and whenever I go to the local mill I look forward to seeing a familiar face. Relationships like that keep customers coming back, and having businesses reward and know their customers will ensure continued patronage. What is the best relationship you’ve ever had with a business or customer? Do you wish you were closer with any businesses? Robert Rayfield ![]() Do you know what’s happening in your city tonight? Do you know where to look to find out? Many of us will, at some point, share a message that we hope reaches as many people as possible. But how do we go about it? Every time we communicate, we are making choices. Sometimes, we make these choices deliberately. Often, we may not even be aware we had a choice in the first place. This blog, which will be continued on a weekly basis by our class of six students, is meant to elaborate on the many facets of the communication process within a medium-sized city. We will cover topics such as audiences, channels and avenues of communication, as well as topics that pertain to government, non-profit, and for-profit corporations. Recently, I worked as an intern for the planning department of the city of Sheboygan. I attended several “community listening sessions” where different organizations received feedback from the general public. One topic was brought up at nearly every session. Communication. No one knew what the city had planned for the future. Older citizens felt completely out of the loop and didn’t know where to look to find information. Homeowners were upset with the changes the saw happening around them. “What is being built on 7th and Pennsylvania?” “Why is the city destroying the skyline with so many new apartments?” “Are we ever going to re-pave the roads?” As it turns out, the city did communicate nearly every item that was brought up. In 2014, Sheboygan authored a strategic plan outlining goals for the future and detailing projects that will be funded over the coming years. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of this. Not many read the newsletters that the planning department creates on a semi-regular basis. Fewer still attend common council meetings and actively engage with their community. Who bothers to visit the website? Even more disappointing was the lack of knowledge of community events. Lots of effort and money is dedicated to spreading the word about free concerts, cultural activities, and events that support local businesses. Yet, the intended audience is not receiving the message. As we found after months of feedback, the channels that the city chose to send messages through were not the channels preferred by a substantial portion of the target audience. We will talk more about this in the future. Challenges like the ones above are not inherent only to the planning department of Sheboygan. Every company, community, and organization that wishes to effectively communicate will have to overcome barriers. People aren’t always interested in the things they need to know, and the most intuitive, or sometimes the easiest, way of reaching your audience may not be the most effective. Corporations need to reach customers, non-profits need volunteers and fundraising. Government needs to keep people informed and safe. In a community of 50,000, things can change quickly. Trends affect what channels of communication your audience is engaged with. Background noise can be overwhelming, and attention spans seem to be getting shorter and shorter. According to an article by Mike Dianetti, the average attention span is about eight seconds. A goldfish clocks in at nine seconds. As communicators, we must load more information into the headline, or first eight seconds, of a message than ever before. In short, effective communication can be hard. However, when we know what choices are available to us, we can tailor our options for a better result. When we are increasingly aware of the possibilities surrounding our message, we can become increasingly deliberate. As Susanne Madsen points out, deliberate communication is the opposite of poor communication. As we contribute to this blog over the course of the semester, we hope to expand upon the challenges and opportunities encountered in the communication process as it pertains to the city and the community. We aim to identify the choices available to us when we construct a message, as well as apply and share the knowledge we have garnered over the course of our studies. Hopefully, we can help our readers become better communicators and learn something ourselves in the process. Join us next week! |
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