Evolution of a Knowledge Broker

Christopher Ward
Director of Sales
WebWorks
Bernard Aschwanden
President
Publishing Smarter

13:11@PublishSmarter www.publishingsmarter.com
2
@WebWorksChris www.webworks.com
 Not all slides or topics are equal weight
 Use what you can, discard the rest
 Slides are a reference, so we may go
quickly
 Questions? Ask as they come up!
 If you are taking notes, note the slide
number (if online for a webinar track
the time stamp)
 We’d love to claim that errors/typos are
intentional… they isn’t, weren’t ever,
and ain’t, but we’ll fix them as we can…
B

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 President of
Publishing Smarter
 Content strategist,
publishing
technologies
expert, and author
 Certified Technical Trainer
◦ DITA
◦ Content management
◦ Topic-based writing
 Society for Technical
Communications
◦ Director
◦ STC Associate Fellow
 Director of Sales
WebWorks
 4 years of military
service in Army
Intelligence
◦ Taught to separate
procedure from strategy and
to look at both differently
 3 years with Dell
Computers
◦ Applied analysis experience
to business world
BC

4
 Discover savings: lower cost, improve quality, more
productive
 Understand your documentation needs
 Improve how you create, manage, and distribute content
 Analyze and convert legacy docs
 Review workflow and identify best practices
B

5
 A company dedicated to helping the Technical
Communication community
 Increase efficiency and collaboration with advanced
software solutions
 Deliver content anywhere via outputs compatible in
any environment
 Show the full value of documentation through
increased client loyalty and product value
C

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 In the interest of brevity some
blanket statements are made
to keep things simple
 Not everything we say is 100%
the truth—we’ll stay close
though
◦ Remember one of us is a sales guy
◦ The other is a consultant!
 Could get in trouble from
purists
◦ In some cases they are just wrong
◦ Of course, some points are valid
 PRESENTED LIVE!!!
B

Setting expectations for what is
about to follow
B

8
 Content creators have an opportunity to position content as
the most pivotal asset to a company’s continued success
 Users want instant access to information
 Evolve into Knowledge Brokers (KB) and align your
development process with your company’s business strategy
 In this presentation we:
◦ Discuss the role KB content plays in business strategy
◦ Explore the correct workflow that is needed to generate revenue
through documentation
◦ Look at methods used to deliver content across multiple devices and
the method that is most effective and why
C

Content Creation
becomes the most
pivotal asset
for a company’s
continued success.

10
 According to Clay Spinuzzi*
◦ Knowledge is now, and will be the basic economic resource
◦ Value is created via productivity and innovation
◦ Leading social groups will be knowledge workers
who know how to allocate knowledge to productive use
*Spinuzzi is a professor at University of Texas at Austin and an authority on rhetoric, technology, research, and where we’re headed next.
http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/search?q=knowledge+workers
C

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 The problem:
 The solution:
“The economic challenge of the post-capitalist
society will therefore be the productivity of
knowledge work and the knowledge worker.”
“Technical Communicators will change their
mindset and evolve methods to broker knowledge
as the most pivotal asset for a company’s success.”
CB

12
 What do I need to understand?
◦ ROI can be shown through spreadsheets and metrics, but you have
to know the concept of revenue first (Revenue is created when a
business sells a solution that answers an individual need)
◦ Part of a revenue mindset is to look and discover value, so ask:
 How valuable is the information you work with?
 Does your information extend beyond process?
 How do you incorporate a business strategy into a work flow?
 How do you execute this?
◦ It’s challenging. You have to move out of your comfort zone to make
it happen. The rewards can be great!
◦ It’s an evolution.
Technical Writers become Knowledge Brokers
C

Updating the way you think about
what you (hopefully) love to do
C

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 This page intentionally
left blank
◦ No. It’s not. Get over it.
 Clients love our content
◦ No, people love fiction.
They (mainly) read it
because they have to.
 It’s my content
◦ No. It’s a company asset.
B

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 On demand, targeted
 The right format is...
 Making it better might
mean breaking stuff
 The biggest successes
have perceived failures
◦ Reggie Jackson (Mr
October) had 2597
strikeouts. In 29 seasons.
And 563 home runs.
C

16
Change your mindset: I am a Knowledge Broker
Sell product or service through documentation
Align procedures with business strategies
Write to create a loyal customer
Measure results: Show me the money!
C

18
 Effects revenue
 Not just productivity, also…
◦ Lost sales
◦ Unrealized opportunities
◦ New business
B

19
 Content factors that
positively impact a
company’s profitability
◦ Integrity of the content
◦ Accessibility of the content
◦ Findability of the content
◦ Usability of the content
 Poor data quality negatively
impacts the bottom line by
an avg of $8.2 million/yr in:
◦ Operational inefficiencies
◦ Lost sales
◦ Unrealized new opportunities
(The Gartner Group)
 12% of companies use
customer intelligence to
drive key business functions
and corporate strategy
 88% are putting up with
waste, inefficiency, and lost
opportunity that dirty data
creates
 Companies that commit to
data quality use their
knowledge of customers and
prospects to maximize top-
line and bottom-line results
(Forrester research)
C

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B

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and therefore the flow through certain areas of our site
may not be as robust as otherwise. To fully utilize all of our
great features, we recommend switching to one of the
following:
◦ Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (download now)
◦ Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher (download now)
 If you prefer not switching to one of our recommended
browsers at this time, you are still more than welcome to
visit our website, although you may not get to utilize all of
our features to their fullest extent,
 If you have any questions, please call our Sales Super
Centre at 1-800-538-5696.
B

22
 Your browser is not one of our
officially supported varieties and
therefore the flow through certain
areas of our site may not be as robust
as otherwise. To fully utilize all of our
great features, we recommend
switching to one of the following:
◦ Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
(download now)
◦ Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher (download
now)
 If you prefer not switching to one of
our recommended browsers at this
time, you are still more than welcome
to visit our website, although you may
not get to utilize all of our features to
their fullest extent,
 If you have any questions, please call
our Sales Super Centre at 1-800-538-
5696.
 Our site does not officially support your
browser. Feel free to explore with it,
but you may not be able to use all our
features.
 You may want to update your browser.
Consider using one of the following:
◦ Microsoft Internet Explorer (download now)
◦ Mozilla Firefox (download now)
 If you have questions or encounter
problems, please call our Sales Super
Centre at 1-800-538-5696.
 From 114 words to 67 ~40% reduction!
 Message is clean, easy to understand
 Translation costs decrease
 Message removes the feeling of blame
B

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B

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B

Understand how documentation and
other output affects the Consumer
Decision-Making process
C

26
 This standard process involves:
1. Problem Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Post-Purchase Evaluation
C

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 78% Researching their
own solutions for their
needs
 11% Use Tech Docs for
their research
◦ Get more product
exposure during the
research process
◦ Documentation can be
written to include theory
or purpose as well as
procedural information
B

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 As potential buyers are evaluating all their options,
proper documentation lists benefits
 Also shows how the benefits can be achieved, making
your solution a reality for the prospect
C

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 90% of the customer’s
experience with the product is
direct use
 Cognitive Dissonance is the
inner tension a customer feels
when expectations are not fully
met
 The best way to relieve this is
through strong communication
 Documentation lives in this
stage and can be the most
effective tool a company has
to:
◦ relieve tension
◦ create product value
◦ promote customer loyalty
C

As you design your information solutions,
ensure that you align documentation
procedures with current business strategy
C

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C

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C

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 This can happen regardless of what strategy a
company decides on!
 Cost leadership
 Differentiation
 Focus/Niche
Porter’s Generic Strategies
C

Develop a workflow to generate
revenue through customer retention
B

35
Your customers Your competitors’
customers
Other businesses50% loss
every 5
years
C

36
customers
Other businesses50% loss
every 5
years
CB

37
customers
Other businesses5% less
defection =
25-125%
more profit
C

38
Cost to
retain
current
customers
Cost to acquire new
customers:
5x more
C

39
 50% of a businesses customers are lost every 5 years
(average according to Harvard Business Review)
 61% of consumers take their business to a competitor
when they end a business relationship
(new revenue you are handing a competitor)
 73% of customers leave because they are dissatisfied
with customer service
◦ The company losing the customer thinks only 21% leave
because of customer service
(according to RightNow Technologies)
C

40
 T2 Systems has a small
team that uses a CMS,
writing tools, and DITA
 Amy and Kelsey are
responsible for all of the
user documentation T2
delivers with all software
and hardware solutions
 Challenges
◦ Large legacy conversion
◦ Migrate to new software
◦ Develop templates
◦ Learn the system
 Solution
◦ Convert content to DITA
◦ Implement a CMS
◦ Learn writing basics
◦ Custom training /support
 Results
◦ Improved docs
◦ Legacy Word to DITA
◦ Well acclimated to the new
writing environment
◦ Structured authors
◦ Perform basic CMS
administration
◦ Publish in multiple formats
B

41
 A few years into the
project they decided to
automate and publish via
stylesheets
 They asked us to build this
for them
 Again, they were happy
with the results
 This year (FIVE years into
working together) they
came back again
 We’d like to use of
conditional content!
When we first went live
back in early 2009, you
helped us set up ditavals
for some of our content. A
new project is a perfect
use case for conditionals,
and we’d like to try and
re-implement them. Could
we re-engage your
services and schedule a
call where you can show
us how the process works.
B

42
 Technical Documentation becomes pivotal to a
company’s success through supporting the overall
business strategy and retaining customers
 You have to have the proper workflow to do this
 The proper workflow allows for
◦ Analysis of information
◦ Continuous improvement
◦ Customer involvement
C

Come on, you KNOW they have to
be in any company presentation

Measured results also include
revenue
C

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 SMART Goals
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria#Developing_SMART_goals
◦ S pecific
◦ M easurable
◦ A ttainable
◦ R elevant
◦ T ime-bound
 Historical data wins it for the long haul, so keep records!
Quantify and Qualify
 Brag, brag, brag and when you are done, brag some more
 Measure yourself through feedback mechanisms
Example: Software Advice
C

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 The Death of SEO: The Rise of Social, PR, and Real
Content
◦ www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2012/07/20/the-death-of-
seo-the-rise-of-social-pr-and-real-content
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Promoted
C

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Change your mindset: I am a Knowledge Broker
Sell product or service through documentation
Align procedures with business strategies
Write to create a loyal customer
Measure results: Show me the money!
C

What we have discussed and how to
follow up with the presenters

51
 Today, Content Creation is
the most pivotal asset for
a company’s success
 Technical Documentation
can increase profitability
no matter what strategy
the company decides on,
with the proper workflow
and the mindset of a
Knowledge Broker
 Measure your success
 It’s your choice…
C

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 Contact Bernard
◦ bernard@publishingsmarter.com
◦ Call 905 833 8448
◦ Twitter: @publishsmarter OR @aschwanden4stc
◦ LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardaschwanden
 Contact Christopher
◦ christopher@webworks.com
◦ Call 512 381 8895
◦ Twitter: @WebWorksChris
◦ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebWorksChris
◦ Company Facebook: www.facebook.com/WebWorksePublisher
◦ My Blog: http://blogs.webworks.com/christopher
BC

Evolution of a Knowledge Broker

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