In today’s digital age, no one questions the need for companies to communicate. To promote and sell its products and services, to develop its image, to grow its business, and to create and develop relationships with customers, suppliers, service providers and partners. However, in the face of time and budget constraints, the company manager’s first reflex is often to think about the means and tools of communication to be implemented, before defining his or her communication strategy.
Drawing up a communications plan in times of crisis
The final step is to draw up a communications plan, listing and planning the actions recommended in your communications strategy. Taking the form of a schedule, it will enable you to list the actions to be carried out, their frequency, the timing and duration of each action, the resources to be mobilized within your company and/or externally communications agency, freelance service provider, printer, and the budget associated with each action.
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The communication plan will give you a clear overview of the various tools available. The different steps to be taken, the schedule for implementing your communications strategy, the time to devote and the human and financial resources to be allocated. Last but not least, don’t forget to evaluate the effectiveness of your communication and pay close attention to feedback from your sales force, customers and suppliers, as well as from social media, blogs and forums. This feedback will enable you to adjust your strategy and messages for future communication campaigns.
Analyze your company’s human and financial resources
It’s obviously very important not to forget to analyze your company’s possibilities in terms of human and financial resources to mobilize as part of your communications strategy.
Do you have a budget for your communications campaign? Do you have one or more internal resource people available to coordinate your communications and monitor the progress of your actions? Do you have the means to delegate your communication campaign to an external service provider? These are just some of the essential questions that will come into play when defining the tools and actions to be implemented.
Identify your targets
Communication is above all the transmission of a message from a sender your company to one or more receivers your customers, prospects, partners or influencers. For you, communicating means clearly identifying your communication targets. In order to deploy communication resources that are precisely adapted to their expectations. And to address only those people who are potentially interested in your brand, products and services.
Who do you want to reach? Your customers? Your influencers? Your partners? It’s by aiming at the right target that you can optimize your budget and define appropriate actions. But defining your target is not enough. You also need to know them well: their sociological profile age, gender, profession, socio-professional category, geographical area, their needs and habits behavior, values, aspirations, type of consumption, preferred media, etc.