Candor Can-Do

Charlie Cole does not sit for an interview.

The CEO of FTD (a celebrated floral company founded in 1910) is on his feet, moving, gesticulating. His eclectic ideas need space.

In search of outside-the-box communications tactics, EB asked the man who as vice president at Reckitt Benckiser/Schiff Nutrition once lobbied for pickle-flavored nutritional supplements long before the pickle trend exploded to bring us pickle vodka, pickle ice cream, and more.

Before joining FTD in 2020, Cole was VP at Lucky Brand Jeans, CEO of The Line, entrepreneur-in-residence for venture capital firm Maveron, chief digital officer for luggage brand Tumi, and global chief e-commerce officer for Samsonite. He advises many organizations, including the digital team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business.

DO! BE VULNERABLE.

“All of us went through a truly generational event and whether you’re talking internal culture or external customer outreach, we are all forever changed by it,” says Cole. “The way a business can differentiate itself now is to be utterly vulnerable.”

A struggling small business could communicate: We are gearing back up and want to hire more people, but we are not quite there yet. We hope to see you soon.

“That is a very vulnerable thing to say,” Cole says. “You’ve admitted you’re not back to where you were, and that you still are a little short-staffed.” Such candor resonates. Consumers empathize because they’ve had Covid challenges of their own.

“It used to be if you didn’t talk about Covid, you were tone-deaf. I would argue if you stop talking about Covid now, it’s too soon.”

DO! REVISIT ACTIVE VS. LAPSED (AND SMS).

Examine your customer relationship management (CRM) strategy. It may be time to start over from scratch because the Covid pandemic invalidated concepts of “active” and “lapsed” customers.

Patients who’ve stayed away because of safety concerns may be mislabeled by CRM as lapsed/lost, triggering a message or offer that strikes a sour note because patients feels they never left.

SMS (text messaging) is a powerful way to reengage, Cole advises. Start with texts that patients want and need, such as appointment confirmations and prescription refills.

“Get opt-in there and use it as a way to improve your business and customer experience,” he says. Once patients are comfortable with these text messages, request opt-in for marketing texts to determine if they’ll be receptive.

DON’T! WEAR BLINDERS.

“We are in a politically charged world right now and need to act like it,” Cole says. Don’t pretend there isn’t divisiveness.

If a business promotes Black Lives Matter or Pride Month, recognize that may draw criticism. That’s not an unintended consequence, he says. That’s expected. “What you want to avoid is the blind side, the thing you didn’t see coming,” he says.

Remove yourself and think about customers’ points of view. “Contextualize decisions from a business perspective, as opposed to personally, before you do it.”

Understand your community. “You can still take a stand and do what is right for your business, but you shouldn’t do it blindly,” notes Cole.

Allocate some of the budget for experimentation, media spends that aren’t held to the same standard as other marketing.

Cole’s sage advice? “Don’t stop testing, ever.”