Corporate communication is a sensitive and extremely important area for the strategic planning of any organization. Therefore, a communication plan must cover both internal and external audiences.
A good communication plan is one that successfully promotes a diagnosis of the company’s image, engaging employees and consumers with communication actions and helping them understand its content. The ultimate goal is to achieve a good reputation among employees, society, and the market – which also enables increased competitiveness.
In this article, we will discuss how to build a corporate communication plan to reach the organization’s external audience (who share common interests with it): consumers, business partners, and even competitors. Keep reading and check out our tips!
External corporate communication plan: step by step
Remember that when building your plan, you must adapt these steps to your company’s reality:
1. Define the purposes of the communication plan
The first step in drafting a corporate communication plan is defining short-, medium-, and long-term goals. For this, it is essential to rely on the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), a very common methodology in management and strategic planning. The technique consists of identifying strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats surrounding the organization’s market performance.
This evaluation should serve as the basis for the communication plan. The actions devised must be aligned with what was diagnosed.
2. Plan actions strategically
Action plans must follow the strategic planning outlined for the corporate communication area. At this stage, resources must be defined, as well as those responsible for the activities and the means necessary to carry out the work efficiently. All of this with a planned budget and execution schedule for tasks.
3. Determine messages and content
What should the company broadcast to each target audience? What type of content is capable of generating more interaction or engagement in favor of the outlined objectives? These points must be very well established in the communication plan. Remember that well-aligned strategies are easier to execute.
4. Map out communication channels
To know which medium to use to connect with each external audience, it is essential to map where they are. You might find a portion on social media and another checking emails. This investigation must identify each audience and the channel where they feel most “comfortable” receiving a message.
Corporate TV, for example, is an effective medium at the point of sale (POS) and in franchises, where the consumer has direct contact with products and can see their features and other details on the screen. In addition, the resource helps capture consumer attention.
In this case, the digital showcase helps convey the business concept to customers. Indoor TV, on the other hand, is a channel to entertain and inform people in waiting areas.
What you must understand is that, in most cases, it is necessary to use multiple channels to transmit the institution’s messages to the external public.
5. Establish performance indicators
Performance indicators are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the action plan. Through them, it is possible to know whether activities are being conducted correctly and within the scheduled time.
Some examples of these indicators are: customer satisfaction, brand perception among consumers, error and rework rates, audience, among others. Measuring results is essential to implement changes and improvements even during the process.
Conclusion
The communication plan is one of the most important strategies within an organization. For its effects to be positive and satisfactory, complete involvement of the entire responsible team is necessary. The motivation and engagement of this team are essential for success.
Have you ever had an interesting experience involving a communication plan in your company? Share it with us in the comments!
