MARKETING YOUR RIM MARKETING YOUR RIM PROGRAMPROGRAM

2007 ARMA SOUTHEAST REGION EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE

What’s Ahead?What’s Ahead?

• Defining success

• Challenges

• Marketing basics

What Does Success Look Like?What Does Success Look Like?

• What do you want to accomplish?– Short term or this year– Mid-term– Long term

• Who are we?• What do we want to become?• How do we get there?

ChallengesChallenges

• Societal changes

• Inconsistency

• Identifying audience

• Limited resources

Challenges: Societal ChangesChallenges: Societal Changes

“…I'm overdue. I'm really in a stew. No time to say goodbye, hello! I'm late, I'm late,

I'm late!” -- White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland

Challenges: Societal ChangesChallenges: Societal Changes

• Time priorities & restraints– How can you make RIM a priority – How can you change the perception of

RIM?

Challenges: InconsistencyChallenges: Inconsistency

• How is your program viewed within the organization?– How do you change the perception of RIM?– How do you focus on both e-records &

paper?

• What are the organizational changes taking place?

Challenges: InconsistencyChallenges: Inconsistency

– Standard description– Records and information management or

records management or managing records and information

– Information coming out of the RIM program, both textual and visual, impacts the program

Challenge: Identifying WhoChallenge: Identifying Who

• Who is the target audience?– What is the message for each target

audience?– Message will be consistent but conveyed

differently depending on audience

Challenges: Limited ResourcesChallenges: Limited Resources

• How do we do more with less?

• Creativity

CHALLENGES: CHALLENGES: COMPETENCYCOMPETENCY

• Do I have the knowledge and skills to grow my program?

• How do I educate myself and my staff as the program grows?

Back to BasicsBack to Basics

• Setting goals & priorities

• Who’s the audience?

• What are we selling?

• How will we reach them?

Setting Goals & PrioritiesSetting Goals & Priorities

• What is the goal?– What will gaining support do for the program?– Do you have the resources to deliver– 30 second sound bite

Who, What, Why, How?Who, What, Why, How?

• Who is our audience?

• What are we selling them?

• Why should they respond?

• How are we going to reachthem?

It’s Who You Know…It’s Who You Know…

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells

itself.

Peter F. Drucker

Who?Who?

• Who are we marketing to (audience)?– Senior Management– Customers– Staff

What?What?

• What are we marketing?– Ourselves– Specific products, programs & services

• Records managers/records management principles

• Electronic records knowledge and ability

– Records Management Staff/Team

Why?Why?

• Why should they act?– What’s the value?– One size doesn’t fit all – the message

changes with the audience– What’s in it for me?– Benefits vs. features

• Did you ask them to?

How?How?

• How do we reach them?– E-mail– Print– Web– Telephone– Newsletters– Intranets

Let’s Talk OpportunityLet’s Talk Opportunity

The success of each is dependent The success of each is dependent upon the success of the other. upon the success of the other.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

The RIM/ IT PartnershipThe RIM/ IT Partnership

• Opportunities to reach out to this audience– Email– EDRMS– Records compliance – Storage

The RIM/AUDIT PartnershipThe RIM/AUDIT Partnership

• Opportunities to reach out to this audience– Compliance– Financial– Risk

THE RIM/COMPLIANCE THE RIM/COMPLIANCE PARTNERSHIPPARTNERSHIP

• Opportunities to reach out to this audience– Privacy– Regulations– Knowledge of the organization

REACHING OUT TO SENIOR REACHING OUT TO SENIOR MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT

• Make RIM program part of organization’s strategic plan

• How RIM benefits the organization

• How RIM benefits them (especially those you report to)

• Negative impacts of not having RIM

MARKETING IDEASMARKETING IDEAS

• Steering Group or Committee

• Department Champions

• Newsletters/leaflets

• Posters or postcards

• Awards

• Competition

MARKETING IDEASMARKETING IDEAS

• RIM Month

• Tours/Open Houses

• Treats

MARKETING YOURSELFMARKETING YOURSELF

• Believe in yourself and your worth to the organization

• Believe in your RIM program

• Attitude

• Keep yourself relevant

• News Articles

• Be Enthusiastic and open to new ideas

SUMMARYSUMMARY

• RIM is an asset to the organization

• You are an asset to the organization

• We have to market ourselves just as much as we market our program

• ARMA can help with tools and education

• Success depends on YOU

QUESTIONSQUESTIONS