Communications: One of the Keys to Success
By Kath Blackwell
"There is more than a verbal tie between the words common, community,
and communication.... Try the experiment of communicating, with fullness
and accuracy, some experience to another, especially if it be somewhat
complicated, and you will find your own attitude toward your experience
changing."
- John Dewey, American Philosopher and Educator
 We
are living - and doing business in - the core of the communications
era. The Internet has changed the way people live their lives and
the way they conduct business forever. Communication with business
associates, partners and customers is more important to the ultimate
success of a company than anything else at all. Creating a community
environment with daily, weekly or monthly communications via e-mail,
posted newsletters or other means of conveying what's been happening,
and what changes are coming, can help to make all feel "at ease" and
accept a change in course more easily.
Many Internet companies are developing positions for individuals whose
prime responsibility is communication with everyone involved with,
and using, their business - and they are finding that it is giving
them an edge over the competition. Understanding what a corporate
communications officer is, what he does, how his position is beneficial
to the company and how it affects the business as a whole, can help
you decide whether or not someone of this capacity could help bring
your company to the "next level."
The adult Internet industry used to be a small, tight-knit group of
webmasters where everyone knew everyone or did business with everyone
in one way or another. We are all still inter-linked in many ways,
but because our numbers have increased, that personal touch of knowing
about each of the individuals we work with has changed dramatically.
New faces come into the industry each day, and every month new businesses
are born. Because of these changes taking place - and because we are
growing on a daily basis - communication has become even more essential
than ever before.
Rand Pate is the Director of Corporate Communications for Epoch Transaction
Services. According to the information posted at EpochSystems.com,
he manages a team of client service representatives who "take care
of the ongoing business needs" of thousands of Epoch clients. Before
coming to Epoch, Rand majored in communications at East Tennessee
State University and has over 10 years experience in business management.
Mr. Pate has implemented many innovative customer relations programs,
to go along with technical support services provided to Epoch Transaction
Services' growing client list of Internet merchants.
Klixxx Magazine recently spoke with Rand Pate about his position at
Epoch Systems, to find out more about what a Communications Director
does for his company each and every day. We also wanted to find out
more about how his position helps and supports the webmasters and
clients who use Epoch Systems for their processing needs.
One thing we discovered is that Rand didn't begin his career with
Epoch Systems as Director of Corporate Communications - he says it
just evolved into that as the Internet grew and the processing business
began to become more essential to the growth of the industry. "I was
fortunate to come on board with Epoch when they were very small, at
just the time they began to explode onto the scene," he explains.
"That wasn't an easy time, but was very exciting and I'm glad I got
to go through that. What became more and more apparent, as I worked
with Client Services, was that there were a lot of people out there
asking the same questions."
"Even though there were adult chat boards out there providing a forum
for discussion and information, there were a lot of webmasters who
wanted to hear from their processor, and not from a board thread.
My role in communications originally grew from not wanting to answer
the same questions over and over again," he says. "I proposed my idea
to communicate to our clients on a daily basis at a strategic time
in Epoch's history. We had just dissolved a merger and taken on a
new CEO, Chris Mallick, and my feeling was that if we were to maintain
the confidence of our clients we had to address them- and their concerns,
in a public way with a unified voice."
Well, Epoch customers lucked out, because according to Rand the principals
of the company agreed and shortly afterwards, the "Epoch News" was
born. "Other than the newsletter, I answer about 100 e-mails per day
and speak to those clients who need a friendly voice on the phone.
It is my job to gather as much information as possible from every
source, internal and external, to provide webmasters with information
they can use to help their business reach its full potential."
So, armed with a background in computers, Internet business development
and a degree in communications, Rand Pate was definitely a driving
force in the growing success of Epoch as one of the top processing
providers within the adult industry. Of course communication is essential
to the success of a large corporation such as Epoch Systems, but how
important is it to you - and to your business? No matter how small
or large your company, if you are dealing with clients or merely with
in-house staff - communications should rank very high on your list
of importance if you want to be working as effectively with those
people as possible.
Of course someone who has been educated in the world of communications,
would naturally think the same way. "I am a firm believer in the power
of communication," says Rand, clearly excited about the topic. "Whether
it's your lawyer, your doctor, or your payment service provider, good
communications can make all the difference in success and failure.
When you look at the speed at which online business can change, good
and accurate communications become even more relevant. Probably more
so in the online space than nearly any other field in today's market,
other than stocks."
Part
Two: The More Information, The Better
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