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What You’ll Learn
Communicating in a competitive community? Prepare yourself by learning who you’re up against — and know your differences — focus on your community, get peer support and strengthen your story.
Guest Speaker
Lindsay BrinkerShow Notes
Transcripts have been lightly edited for clarity and readability.
Intro: A production of Pioneer Utility Resources. StoryConnect, helping communicators discover ideas to shape their stories and connect with their customers.
Megan McKoy-Noe: What should you know when launching fiber in a competitive area? That’s what we’ll be talking about on this episode of The StoryConnect Podcast. Hi, I’m your host, Megan McKoy-Noe, one of the storytellers at Pioneer Utility Resources, and I am joined by Lindsay Brinker, design supervisor for Rural Telephone and NexTech in Kansas. And y’all have, what, 24,000 customers for both telephone, broadband and streaming? So, you’ve got your hands full.
Lindsay Brinker: Yes, we do. Yeah, we’re very busy.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I should say, we are recording live at the Calix ConneXions Conference in beautiful Las Vegas with, oh, just a few thousand other broadband storytellers that are here. So, we’re going to call any noise you hear in the background ambiance, so it sets the mood, I think, for story sharing and ideas. So, Lindsay, thank you so much for joining me today.
Lindsay Brinker: Thank you so much for having me.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Now we were talking earlier, we were in the line together for registration. It was a bonding experience. It was lovely. And you were talking about competition and how it changes the game for so many people. And I mean, I have a background with electric cooperatives, and then your background is with your telephone cooperative. When you start talking about competition, what have you found that people need to think about when working on their communication, their storytelling strategies? Because it’s very different than just saying, “Hey, here, come sign up for service,” and that’s it.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah, it definitely is. And it’s just becoming a more and more competitive landscape with all of the funding that’s coming available now. So, it’s definitely top of mind for a lot of people. And there’s a lot of things that need to be thought of before going into a new competitive area or expanding services that somebody offers. And so, I think the first one of those is competitive research. If you’re going to look at going into a new area, you really need to figure out who you’re going up against and what kind of services they’re currently offering, and then figure out how you’re different from them.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Now, so when you’re doing your research and you’re figuring out. So, you’re entering an area and you’re saying there’s already someone providing fiber to that area?
Lindsay Brinker: It may not be fiber. It may be wireless, or it may be DSL. So you need to figure out what kind of service they’re offering.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Okay.
Lindsay Brinker: What speeds and prices they’re offering, and what marketing tactics they’re also using and how that compares to what you can offer.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Okay. So, a little bit of voyeurism is involved to kind of see what are they doing, which is always smart to do, to see what messages folks are already receiving in the area and how successful those messages are. Okay. So, step number one, know the competition.
Lindsay Brinker: Know your competition. I think a great way to do research on them is just start following their social media. You can learn a lot about what their customers are experiencing as their customers, just by listening and following along.
Megan McKoy-Noe: That’s smart. Yeah. Listening. Following along. I find that if I’m ever at community events or conferences, and we have folks that are providing some of the same services, I take pictures. I just say, yeah, this is what they’re doing right now. And it’s good. It’s just it’s part of their story, and it can help you strengthen your story at the same time.
Lindsay Brinker: Right. Yeah. And so, I think when you’re learning about your competition, you also need to figure out what your message is and what sets you apart from them and what’s different. So, make sure that you have a very strong story to tell and that you know what message you’re going to go into that new community with.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I like that, okay. So that’s step one. What is step two?
Lindsay Brinker: Step two, and this is something that you guys talk about all the time on your podcast is community involvement.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Oh yes. We’re fans.
Lindsay Brinker: Yes. It’s so important. And making sure that your new customers see you in the community and see you supporting them in different areas. Getting involved with schools is a great way to show your support. And I think just having a visual presence and making sure that your employees know how important it is to be part of the community and give a local feel.
Megan McKoy-Noe: So, how have you seen people do that?
Lindsay Brinker: As ourselves, as NexTech, we sponsor a lot of different community events: parades, school events. We’ll sponsor popcorn bags at the local high school games or, you know, scoreboards and things like that. We just find ways to be visual and involved in the community.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I like that. We just had James from WAVE Rural Connect speak with us earlier on the podcast, and he was talking about branding Igloo coolers with the school’s mascot on it, which I just thought was really clever. And then it just has provided by WAVE Rural Connect.
Lindsay Brinker: That’s great.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Yeah, school involvement is huge, I agree. And then getting involved with the community in other ways. I’ve seen some folks that have gaming trailers that they get out into the community to let people experience different speeds that they might not have known, because you don’t know what you don’t know.
Lindsay Brinker: Right.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Right. So, having those kinds of experiences out there are good.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah. Something that we’ve done for years and years is our football donation campaign. We partner with about 30 different schools in our service area in Kansas, and we provide about 100 t-shirts per school that the cheerleaders can throw out during games. And then we donate $10 per touchdown that that school scores for the whole year. So, it’s a great way –.
Megan McKoy-Noe: For a whole year?
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah. So, it’s a great way for us to get involved and stay involved with the schools. And they count on it every year, and they use the money for their sports programs.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Oh, I like that. I didn’t think of it for sports programs, but it makes complete sense for it to do that. So nice. And did the shirts that you give to them, do they have a special message on them or?
Lindsay Brinker: They all are pertinent to whatever school it is. So, we customize them per high school with their logo or mascot.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I like it. I see a future of many folks that are friends of the pod who get very excited about this idea, both what James has said and what you’re saying with really getting involved with your schools.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah.
Megan McKoy-Noe: And using their story, their logos, their message, and then having your story as kind of a supporter there. I like it. Okay. So that’s step two, community involvement. What’s step three?
Lindsay Brinker: Step three, I think it’s important to partner with an agency that has experience launching broadband. For somebody that’s maybe never gone into a competitive market before, it can be really crucial to find a mentor or somebody that can act as a consultant when you’re moving into a competitive area, because there’s a lot of moving parts. It’s very multifaceted to make sure that you go in and do it right the first time.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Yeah, I should say one of the things I love about the Calix ConneXions event is they have the circles of success, which I haven’t heard that phrase before, but I’ve heard of round table sessions. You know, a lot of events I’ve been to, they have those. But I love the idea of everyone cheering each other on and building on that success together. It’s one of the reasons that we have at Pioneer, we have an e-book on “What to Expect When You’re Connecting.”
Lindsay Brinker: Oh, wow. Okay, perfect.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I know.
Lindsay Brinker: That’s exactly what we’re talking about.
Megan McKoy-Noe: But it’s just examples from your peers and ideas that have worked for other people and to help support each other. It’s one of the things that cooperatives do best.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah, yeah.
Megan McKoy-Noe: So, I love that. So, find a mentor, a mentee, someone that has been through this and can do it. And I think conferences are great way to start. And there’s tons of folks in the co-op network that are here to help you shine and connect your community.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah. And Calix is a great resource for finding those mentors and those partners to work with.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Excellent. All right. So, I think you said there were four steps. This is very exciting. We’re coming down to the final step.
Lindsay Brinker: So, the fourth step I have is clear communication with customers. When you’re moving into a new area, don’t confuse people right off the bat. I think it’s very important to have clear communication. Let them know why you chose to come to their area as a new provider. Why you picked them, why you’re investing money to build a network there. They’re going to be interested, and they’re going to want to know why. And so I think, don’t hide it, be honest and let them know what your goals are. And something that I’ve experienced too, a lot of times when you’re moving in and you have big projects, you have construction costs and timelines and things can maybe not go as planned from the beginning.
Megan McKoy-Noe: What are you talking about? No.
Lindsay Brinker: Timelines can shift a little bit. So as things change, I also think it’s important to keep customers up to speed on what’s happening and just be up front and honest with them and use all of your resources to communicate, whether that’s sending out email updates or direct mail or posting updates on the website.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Sure. Now a question, because we’re talking about entering a competitive environment, and I know some electric co-ops, when they got into broadband, they got very excited. And they said, “These are all the areas that we’re going to be building out in in the next, you know, five years,” or whatnot. And then the competition said, “Thank you so much for giving us your plans. We shall now lock everyone in contracts so that you will have a very abysmal take rate when you get launched.” So, is there a point where you’re like, you know you want to communicate clearly, but don’t communicate everything? How do you decide?
Lindsay Brinker: So, a way that we’ve kind of combated that issue is rather than posting publicly on our website or putting maps out there to the public, we’ll download mailing lists and send targeted messages through the mail just to the people affected. So, it helps you kind of keep that under the radar a little more than just broadcasting it to everybody.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Targeted storytelling? You’re speaking my language there.
Lindsay Brinker: Speaking to the right audience. Yeah.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Well, but I think it goes to the fact that with competition comes the need to have very strategic, targeted storytelling tactics, right?
Lindsay Brinker: Absolutely.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Which is a mouthful to say, but it’s true. You can’t just, especially with a competitive environment, you cannot just use the same message for everyone and just blanket it out in your community anymore. You’ve got to put the billboards aside for a minute and really focus on that specific story to meet the right folks where they are to help grow your subscriber base.
Lindsay Brinker: Absolutely. And another thing that can happen is if you do put that out there that you’re building, say, to a whole town, but you know it’s going to happen in phases. Sometimes those new customers can experience fatigue because it takes so long to actually get the services turned up.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I have no idea what you’re talking about. That never happens.
Lindsay Brinker: Yeah. So, if you can craft that message, but then send it at strategic times to the right audience, that can help.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Have you seen anyone do something to help with the weight? Because the weight of the weight is heavy with communications, especially in a competitive environment. If they could get it somewhere else or someone else is maybe rushing to get it to them first, like how do you tell that story?
Lindsay Brinker: It is. And we were just having this conversation because we have to send that message out now to a bunch of customers that we expected to have turned up by the end of this year, and it’s just not going to happen.
Megan McKoy-Noe: I don’t mean to bring up.
Lindsay Brinker: No, it’s fine. It’s very relevant. But we were honestly just thinking about something as simple as a Christmas card and just sending them a card. “Hey, I know we don’t have service yet, but we’re still coming. Thank you for your patience.” And I think, you know, as somebody who hasn’t paid a dime yet to this new company, that would be really meaningful to me as a potential new customer to know, like, “They didn’t get to me yet, but they haven’t forgotten. And they took the time to send me a little something just to say, ‘Hey, thanks for sticking with us.’” And maybe we include a little fun trinket or something in there.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Fun trinkets are always nice. Yeah, just something too. Because you’re trying to build trust with them and build a relationship with them. So, I like that idea. I mean, I’m sorry for the delay, but these things happen.
Lindsay Brinker: It’s the world we live in, so.
Megan McKoy-Noe: It’s fun. It’s just another challenge for you to rise above. Right?
Lindsay Brinker: Right.
Megan McKoy-Noe: Yeah.
Lindsay Brinker: That’s what marketing is, right?
Megan McKoy-Noe: It’s a lot of hurdles, but we jump them gracefully.
Lindsay Brinker: We do. Yeah.
Megan McKoy-Noe: All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with utility pioneers. She is Lindsay Brinker with Rural Telephone and NexTech. And I’m your host Megan McKoy-Noe with Pioneer Utility Resources. And until we talk again, keep telling your story.
Outro: StoryConnect is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources, a communications cooperative that is built to share your story. StoryConnect is engineered by Lucas Smith of Lucky Sound Studio.