I think we can all agree that our overarching goal in communications is to influence others. We want to get people do what we would like them to do. What we’ve seen through years of researching how to influence stakeholders is that over time, the game has changed. The old approach of sending perfectly crafted messages to targeted audiences through the specific channels we control doesn’t pack the same punch as it once did. As a result, not only do we need a new approach to influencing stakeholders, we also need to take a fresh look at how we approach communications planning.
Well, it just so happens that the CEC recently hosted a webinar on “Taking your Communications Planning to the Next Level.” I highly recommend watching the replay. Also, look out for our step-by-step, strategic planning toolkit. But for now, here are a couple of key insights from our session to help make your communications plan more robust.
Where we fall short:
More often than not, the biggest reason we fall short in communications is because we simply do not take a fresh approach. Instead, we tweak communication plan we’ve used in the past. These tweaks tend to focus on communications goals rather than actual business objectives. If we don’t take a fresh look at our organizations priorities as a whole and we only focus on what our comms team is trying to accomplish, our value to our business partners falls by the wayside.
Another reason is that we focus on output instead of outcomes. We assume we know our audience well and therefore we jump to tactics and channels we assume will get our message heard. Instead, we should be looking at which channels will help produce a certain outcome. We need a more stakeholder centric approach. Consider what our audience is trying to achieve and THEN the channels and tactics that best support that outcome.
How We Can Succeed:
1. Engineer Goals from Corporate Strategy
Don’t just focus on your goals from a communications perspective. Start with what your organization is trying to achieve, and then determine how communications can support. If your plan is rooted in outcomes the business is trying to achieve, it will be much easier to demonstrate value.
CEC Resources:
2. Focus the Communications Function on Business Value
We’ve found that there are 18 attributes that communications needs to get right in order to truly contribute to the business. Use our Anatomy of a Business Value-Focused Communication Function to prioritize where you can add the most value.
CEC Resource:
Anatomy of a Business Value-Focused Communication Function
3. Maximize our value by reducing low value work
No communications plan will be effective if your team is constantly bogged down by low value tasks. This starts by being more consultative with our business partners. Instead of acquiescing to requests, try to uncover what they are really trying to accomplish. By doing so, our business partners might realize the video they want us to create may not be the best way to accomplish their goals. Use our ROI Workbook to eliminate the tasks both you and your business partners determine to be low value.
CEC resources:
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