Considering Communication

When logging on to the Lauderdale House website, I noticed one thing: the horrifying fact that the last update from the House was in November 2009 (Lauderdale House Facebook, 2010). Yes, granted everyone has been extremely busy and I updated the General Manager's calendar with over fifteen tasks to do in one week, but Facebook should definitely be one of them. Perhaps if another mode of communication, say e-mail was used, customers can get live updates? When Saddler's Wells, a theatre in London, implemented an e-mail list, they saw that an overwhelming number of 3000 more people had signed up to receive information (de Kretser, n/a). With this being easily achieved through the launch of the website, Lauderdale House can benefit from word of mouth and individuals passing on e-mails to friends, as the case of Saddler's Wells (de Kretser, n/a). Through e-marketing and informational e-mails, Lauderdale House can also include a simple survey, assisting the organization with continuous feedback and communication. Since only one official quantitative survey has been done in 2009 (Ives, 2010), the organization can utilize its e-mails to participants go gain valuable feedback used to possibly create new strategies or change existing ones. While Facebook should still be updated, individuals might be hesitant to state their opinions of the organization on the the organization's homepage. Thus, e-mails can be used as more of an "anonymous" and "confidential" source for feedback. And with over 400 million users on Facebook (Facebook, 2010), anonymity might not be such a bad thing.

de Kretser, H. n/a. E-mail: Describes how Sadler’s Wells has used direct e-marketing to generate 18% of all box office sales online. [Online] Available at: http://www.a-m-a.org.uk/casestudy.asp?id=32 [Accessed 25 April 2010].

Facebook, 2010. Press Room: Statistics. [Online] Available at: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics (Accessed 25 April 2010).

Ives, K., 2010. Surveys done by the House. [Discussion] (Personal Communication 25 April, 2010).

Lauderdale House Facebook, 2010. Lauderdale House. [Online] Available at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-United-Kingdom/Lauderdale-House/78576823105 (Accessed 25 April 2010).