7 Steps to Developing an Effective Communications Plan
An effective communications plan is the key to a successful business. Investing time to develop a communications strategy for your business will pay for itself. I understand that business owners face a variety of challenges and potential issues on a daily basis, and allocating time to develop a communications plan can be difficult. However, having a simple, yet effective communications plan will help keep staff engaged and increase productivity, increase brand awareness among your audiences, and ultimately grow your business.
Telling your story of where you came from and where you are going helps build customer trust and loyalty. Your story and messaging must be true, authentic, and with a purpose. Where there is a purpose driving your story, the audience will engage. Stories that resonate with people inspire them to take action.
Here are 7 steps to developing an effective communications plan:
1 Perform a situation analysis
Look at your current situation. Define the function of your business, your goals, vision, and values. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Look at what political, economic, social, and technological factors could affect your business. Review your internal and external communications. What are you saying? What is your story? How are you communicating? What is working and what is not working? Brainstorm with staff, encourage feedback, listen to your customers, and look at what your competitors are doing.
2. Define your objectives
Identify what you want to achieve by developing a communications plan. What are your objectives and are they SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reliable, and Timely)? Examine the information and ideas gathered from your situation analysis and use this research to set goals and objectives for your communications plan.
3. Identify and define the key messages you want to communicate
What are the main points of information that you want your audience to hear? Be specific on what you want to communicate and to who you want to communicate. Your key messages should resonate with your audiences. Define the tone of voice and keep it clear, concise, and consistent. And remember to tailor key messages according to the audience you are communicating to.
4. Define your audiences
Who are you speaking to and why are you speaking to them?
Clients / customers / consumers
Suppliers / buyers / retailers
Staff / employees / shareholders
Media representatives
Key opinion leaders/influencers
Local government / local community / local businesses
Family/friends
5. Identify channels of communication
Knowing where you can reach your target audiences and using the appropriate channels to reach your audience is important. Decide which channels are the most effective to deliver your message to your key audiences.
Digital media
Traditional media
Direct marketing
Word of mouth, referrals
Meetings, events
Speaking opportunities
6. Develop a timetable
Create an activity schedule for your communications plan. The activity timetable should include the messages you are communicating, the audience you are communicating to and when you are communicating to them, and the communication channels you are using to deliver the information. A communications timetable also helps business owners identify periods when extra resourcing or budgets may be required. Essentially, the communications timetable is a road map for getting your message to your audience at the right time to achieve your objectives.
*Tip – It is important to be realistic when planning timeframes, budgets, and resources.
7. Evaluate the results
When setting communications objectives, it is important that they are measurable. Set key performance indicators (KPIs). Measuring results from communications activity will help you to evaluate and ascertain whether or not your plan is successful, achieving the desired results or if it needs to be refined.
