Communication Plan

 Problem: How to create a structured communication plan? 

After discussing the problem our group came up with the following learning objectives:

1. How to design a communication plan according to goals?

2. How should resources be allocated? (budget, time, channels, knowledge, target group

3. How to measure and monitor the outcome/effects of the communication plan?

- advantages of a structured communication plan

1. How to design a communication plan according to goals?

The Businessdictionary.com defines a communication plan as "Step by step process to ensure that the intended message is received, understood, and acted upon by the recipient. It involves: (1) determining the objectives, (2) choosing the audience, and (3) selecting appropriate channel(s) to reach them."

According to Mayhall (2016) a communication plan is a written document that describes:

- objectives: what you want to accomplish with your communications

- goals or program of work: ways in which those objectives can be accomplished

- audiences: to whom your communications will be addressed

- tools and timetables: how you will accomplish your objectives

- evaluation: how you will measure the results

Furthermore, communications include all written, spoken and electronic interaction with the target audience through different channels such as print publications, online communication, corporate identity materials, speeches, etc.

According to Ferguson (1999), there are different types of communication plans: 

1. Strategic plan (annual or multi-year at corporate or business level) 

2. Operational plan (annual or multi-year at corporate or business level) 

3. The work plan (annual, at the corporate or business level)  

4. Support plans (at programm level)

5. Crisis communication plans (at corporate level) 

In order to develop a successful communication plan according to corporate objectives that need to be supported, there are different steps that need consideration:

1. Evaluate current communications

2. Define objectives/ purpose of communication

3. Define audiences

4. Define goals/ message: Goals include general programs, products, or services that you will use to achieve stated objectives. For example, if the objective is to improve member service, goals might include improved training for the member-service function

5. Identify tools: what tools/ channels will be used to accomplish stated goals (anything from a simple flyer to a glossy magazine)

6. Establish a timetable

7. Evaluate the results

The following questions need to be answered before implementing the communication plan: 

- Whom do we want to reach? 

- What do we want to do them differently from the current situation? 

- What is the benefit of doing so? 

- What are the obstacles to doing so and how to deal with them? 

- What is the primary key message to be communicated? 

- What types of media will we use to communicate?  

- When will we communicate?

According to Koekemoer & Bird (2004) the communication plan flow is the contrast of the regular communication flow. Communication deals with the 5 Ws that are Who? (source) says what? (message) in which way? (channel) to whom? (audience) with what effect? (feedback). The regular communication starts with the source (who?) and the impact of the communication is monitored in terms of feedback given by the receiver. 

Whereas the planning flow of a communication plan is reverse. Not the source is the starting point but the receiver because everything such as the message, channels... are selected with the focus on the constituencies a company want to reach through the communication. The marketer do not really have control over the actions of their constituencies (uncontrollable variable) but only over messages, media and channels they want to use (controllable variable).

Furthermore,  communication plans need to be revised on a regular basis in order to maintain relationships. The purpose, audience or channels can change over time and new opportunities regarding delivering messages to internal and external parties will arise, therefore it is important to revise the plan at least quarterly. (Institue for Media 2005)

Typical mistakes: 

- unrealistic objectives

- unclear messages

- wrong timing

- wrong target audience

- wrong tools 

2. How should resources be allocated?

  

Budget is the opportunity and the limitation of the successful marketing communications plan and therefore the amount of financial resources defines many boundaries.

Marketing communications expenses should be regarded as investments because the company will benefit from them in the long run.

Elements that should be considered when calculating the budget are:

- Personnel: how many people need to be involved and how much time do they have to spend? Do you need to hire external consultants and experts?

- Material costs: What are the costs to produce and design the communication means?

- Distribution costs: What are the costs to distribute the communication means?

- Media costs: What are the costs to publish in newspaper…

- Organisational costs: What are the costs of office supplies to be used, mailing, telephone…

- Safety budget: How much should be left for unexpected costs?

3.  How to measure and monitor the outcome/effects of the communication plan?

Testing the success of marketing communications is a very important part and should not be forgotten. According to Fill (2013) it provides the company with a lot of important information for future campaigns and the ongoing communications. He mentions to ways of monitoring: Pre-testing, which is about showing unfinished commercials to selected groups of the target audience in order to improve the commercial and Post-testing which is about testing ads that have already been released.

There are different ways to measure and monitor the effects of the communication plan.

One way is to test the success by intense contact with the retailers and customers, as IVANA Helsinki is doing. This way of measuring is a more qualitative approach (exploratory, open-ended). A company can also use quantitative tools (measurable, structured in numeric forms) to measure their communication performance.

- interviews

- focus groups

- observation

- surveys

According to Saurage Research Inc. (2013), online communications are the easiest to measure. You can easily measure how many people have visited which kind of pages for how long, etc. But it is kind of superfical because it does not monitor visitor profiles that include motivation and behaviour.

Advantages of a structured plan:

- Possibility to target your communication accurately: gives you a structure to determine whom you need to reachin which way

- Long-term investment: helps mapping out how to raise your profile and refine your image in the community over time

- more efficient, effective, and lasting communication efforts

- simplification: spending some time planning at the beginning of an effort can lead to saving a great amount of time later on (exact knowledge about what you should be doing at any point in the process)

Sources

BusinessDictionary.com. 2016. communications planning. URL: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/communications-planning.html. Accessed: 08.03.2016

Ferguson. S. D. 1999. Communication Planning: An integrated approach. SAGE Publications

Institute for Media 2005. Strategic Communication Planning Handbook. URL: http://www.orgwise.ca/sites/osi.ocasi.org.stage/files/resources/Strategic%20Communications%20Planning%20-%20COCo.pdf. Accessed: 04.03.2016

Koekemoer. L. & Bird. S. 2004. Marketing communications. Juta and Company Ltd. URL: https://books.google.fi/books?id=T3UUfNBE1DcC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed: 07.03.2016

Mayhall. R. 2016. How to develop a communications plan. URL: http://www.hieran.com/comet/howto.html. Accessed: 08.03.2016 

Saurage Research Inc. 2013. Measurement Tools for Communications and Marketing Success. URL: http://de.slideshare.net/ssaurage/measurement-tools-for-communications-and-marketing-strategy. Accessed: 08.03.2016