On the Job

FACING A COMMUNICATION DILEMMA AT CAMPBELL SOUP

Keeping Millions of People Happy, One Spoonful at a Time

You might say that Karen Donohue is in the problem business. As supervisor of consumer response at Campbell Soup Company, she's in charge of answering consumer questions and responding to consumer complaints. Without question, she needs strong communication skills, and she must have a special talent for working with people—a lot of people.

In addition to the well-known soup brands, Campbell's also markets Pace picante sauce, Pepperidge Farm cookies, Prego pasta sauces, V8 vegetable juice, Franco-American pasta, and Spaghetti-Os, among others. So every second of every hour, consumers around the world buy 100 packages of Campbell's products—that's more than 8.6 million purchases every day. Walk into just about any kitchen in the country, and you'll find a Campbell's brand on the shelf. Working with customers can be a challenge in any business, but Donohue and her team of specialists are responsible for communicating with a huge customer base. And Campbell wants that base to keep growing.

The company has a history of high-quality products stretching back nearly to the Civil War. Soup sales took off after 1897, when a company chemist figured out how to remove most of the water from soup, making it easier and cheaper to ship long distances. In the 1980s, consumer tastes began to change, and Campbell stumbled a bit. However, the company maximized consumer feedback and began offering new products that were tailored to local markets. The attention to consumer needs, along with new management and a narrower focus on key products, has put Campbell back on track through the late 1990s and into the new millennium.

To maintain its market in the United States and to grow overseas, Campbell relies on its in-house consumer advocates, such as Karen Donohue. She is an important link between the public and the research kitchens. She is the company's eyes and ears, and in her key position she not only relays important information to company managers but also makes sure that consumers are satisfied. If you were Karen Donohue, how would you answer consumer inquiries and complaints? How would you go about writing positive business messages both inside and outside the company?¹