Which Organizations Should Be Involved in Communications Planning?
Communications planning is an essential part of any organization’s success. It involves creating a plan for reaching out to stakeholders, customers, and the public through various channels. However, figuring out the right organizations to involve in communications planning can be a challenging task. In this article, we’ll explore who needs to be involved in communications planning and why, as well as provide examples of organizations that have successfully implemented communication plans.
Importance of Identifying Stakeholders and Target Audience
One of the essential parts of effective communications planning is identifying stakeholders and determining the target audience. Identifying the right stakeholders and target audience ensures that the communication efforts are more targeted and more focused. The organizational stakeholders can include customers, employees, investors, regulators, and shareholders, among others. The target audience is the group of individuals that the organization wants to reach with the messaging. It’s critical to have clear communication goals in mind when identifying the stakeholders and target audience.
For instance, McDonald’s identified that it’s core business was families with young children. This audience helped drive the fast food giant’s messaging, from Happy Meals to Ronald McDonald himself. Through this messaging, McDonald’s created multiple channels to reach their audience, including television commercials, product placement, and even charity partnerships.
Prioritizing Key Messages
Communicating effectively requires prioritizing key messages. A key message is the primary message that an organization wants to convey about its product, service, or mission. Prioritizing the key messages helps ensure that the most important information is delivered first and foremost. By doing so, organizations can be confident that the target audience hears their most critical points, even if they don’t consume all the messaging.
One of the most famous examples of prioritizing key messages is the “Just Do It” campaign by Nike. Nike’s key message has always been about encouraging individuals to push themselves and go beyond what they thought they were capable of. This messaging helped propel the sports industry giant to the forefront of sports marketing, with consistent branding across all of Nike’s advertisements.
Streamlining Communication Channels
Organizations can use multiple channels to communicate with their audience. However, it’s crucial to streamline the communication channels as the key to effective communication is delivering the right message, to the right audience, at the right time, through the most effective channel. Ineffective communication can result in a missed opportunity or a loss of trust.
For instance, Amazon is a company that’s excellent at streamlining communication channels. The online retailer uses a variety of platforms, such as email, social media, and in-app messaging to communicate with customers. The messages are customized in a way that serves the unique needs of each individual customer based on their purchase history and browsing behavior.
Developing a Crisis Management Plan
Another critical aspect of communications planning is developing a crisis management plan. The key to effective crisis communications is to be prepared. Depending on the industry, organizations may face different kinds of crises, but typically, they fall into three categories: technological, human-made, and natural disasters.
Before a crisis strikes, it’s essential to have a clear plan in place to manage the situation and communicate with stakeholders. When the unthinkable happens, having a structured plan that covers all potential scenarios can help ensure that your communication response is timely, accurate, and acceptable.
For example, after a massive data breach, Target worked with one of the leading crisis management firms, Edelman, to manage its communications response. Target identified key stakeholders and took immediate action with a detailed communication plan outlining how it was dealing with the breach. The company also implemented new security measures, and its response helped restore customer trust in the brand.
Collaborating with Other Organizations
Collaboration with other organizations is another essential aspect of effective communications planning. The collaboration can be achieved through partnerships or supply chains or joint ventures. By collaborating with other organizations with similar goals and values, communication planning can be enhanced. Organizations can combine their knowledge, resources, and expertise to create a more effective communication plan that benefits all involved.
One of the best examples of collaboration in communication planning is the partnership between Adidas and Parley for the Oceans. This collaboration aimed to reduce plastic waste and raise awareness of the environmental impact. Adidas used recycled plastic waste from the ocean to create running shoes, and Parley for the Oceans helped Adidas to communicate this message worldwide.
Obtaining Feedback and Reviews
Finally, feedback and reviews are vital components of effective communication planning. Organizations need to know whether their communication efforts are working and need to be able to iterate and improve their strategies based on feedback. The feedback can be obtained through surveys, social media, customer reviews, and more.
American Airlines is an example of a company that effectively gathered feedback. The airline used customer feedback via surveys and social media to develop new services and communicate better with its customers. By listening to its customers’ feedback, American Airlines was able to improve its communication plans and offer new, innovative services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, effective communication planning is essential to organizational success. To achieve this, organizations need to identify stakeholders and determine the target audience, prioritize key messages, streamline communication channels, develop a crisis management plan, collaborate with other organizations, and obtain feedback and reviews. By implementing these strategies, organizations can communicate effectively and build trust with their stakeholders and customers, ultimately helping them achieve their business goals.
Our article provides recommendations to help you determine the right organizations to involve in communications planning. We hope this will help you achieve a more effective communication plan for your organization.