Federal Women's Program Resources * Why do we have an FWP? * Marketing the FWP * Involving a New Top Manager * Training the FWP Committee * The Ideal FWPM About my work Mary Dingee Fillmore, Director Clients Projects	Marketing the Federal Women's Program Basic principles of marketing apply to the FWP just as they do to businesses in the private sector. If you make marketing part of every strategy or goal, your Program will be more visible and more likely to succeed. No matter how strong it is substantively, you won't get very far if people don't know about what you are doing, and believe in it. Consider your audience. Tailor your presentation or written information to the people you are trying to reach. If you want to persuade management to do something, approach it from their point of view; if you're trying to motivate people to participate on your advisory committee, use the arguments that will be most persuasive to them. Put yourself in the other person's position, and think about what will interest them most. Plan your marketing as carefully as your programs. Often FWPMs put a great deal of energy into quality programs -- either a seminar series or a strategic program such as leadership development -- but don't invest the same quality of time into marketing. When you are planning what needs to happen when, include marketing from the start, rather than as an "add on." That way you won't have the proverbial party to which nobody comes. Stress benefits they will gain, not altruism. Talk about how the person or group will benefit from the FWP and the particular action you want them to take. Don't let people get away with the fallacy that the FWP is something the organization does for women out of the goodness of its heart; it is a legally mandated program which benefits all employees by improving opportunities and the quality of working life. For management, the FWP is a means to learn about and act on women's concerns, and to help them address the recruitment and retention issues which are especially significant in light of Workforce 2000. For women themselves, the FWP is a voice and a place where they can build skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other move up. If your program has been stereotyped as "just" for one group or another (occupational, age, or racial), talk up the benefits to the people who feel left out. Repeat the message through different media. People should hear about the FWP from every direction: by word of mouth as well as official memos, through a newsletter, flyers, bulletin boards, displays, and circulated articles or cartoons. Try to place FWP information where people aren't expecting it: the weekly activities report, for example, or at a staff meeting of supervisors. Word of mouth is still the best advertising. While well-designed posters and flyers certainly help and make a difference, there is still no substitute for one person's saying to another "Come with me to the meeting. I think it will be interesting, and I know you'll meet some fine people there." Be sure all your Committee members are well informed about what's going on, and understand that it's their job to spread the word, both informally and formally. Follow up after every contact. After a successful brown bag event, be sure you have names and numbers of the attendees so you can be in touch with them next time. Get the participants in your mentoring program to suggest others who would be interested. When a Committee has worked hard on a project, find a way to recognize them. Once you're in touch with someone -- even if it's just through their attending a session -- stay in touch. Learn about the resistance to your program, and address it. Learn as much as you can by listening to the people who are willing to criticize or be cynical about your program. They are often saying what others are thinking, and you can learn a great deal by paying close attention and creating strategies accordingly. For example, if the FWP is perceived as a program for black professionals, organize a multicultural task force of support staff to identify issues related to their field. When you conduct a program, be sure to ask for written evaluations at the end so that people can tell you the criticisms they might be uncomfortable expressing verbally. Try new marketing techniques all the time. Don't be satisfied with one successful approach; keep on approaching people in ways they don't expect. If you've had good luck with posters, try reinforcing them with "tents" on the cafeteria tables. If you've never put flyers on the inside doors of the toilets, it works like a charm in many organizations. By changing your strategy, you keep people engaged and interested.
© 1996 - 1998 Mary Dingee Fillmore, Changing Work <mfillmore@usa.net>. All rights reserved.