For businesses, organization, and brands, delivering essential messages specifically to its essential teams and key players is an important function that requires a lot of assessment and precise packaging. After all, this type of communication does not only convey the current status of the organization or brand, but also reaches out to the people who work for the development of the business. Due to the delicate nature of internal communications, an organization must be able to come up with its own corporate communications strategy that will increase the effectiveness of their messages to people both inside and outside the group.
Here are some key insights in developing an effective strategy.
Assessment
At the beginning of composing a message, the current state and identity of the organization should be agreed upon by its leaders. The team responsible for its internal communications should consistently ask its members about their perception of the organization and its businesses and consolidate it with data regarding the progress of its products and services.
The organization should also study its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, both from inside and outside. These four factors are essential in making both long-term and short-term decisions for the organization which will provide context in the messages that will be composed for internal and external distribution.
Stakeholders
Knowing the identity of the company is one thing, knowing who its stakeholders are is another. First and foremost, the needs and expectations of its clients and partners. All the statements released by the organization should portray a strong and committed partner in the eyes of its clients and customers. Suppliers and investors should always see the organization as a stable business partner. A strong corporate communications strategy helps build confidence in key business partners and clients and customers.
Sales representatives can also give insights regarding the customer behavior and trends. Team members can also monitor presence in social networking sites and new media. These insights should be compared with the goals of the organization.
Aside from this, the team must also be completely aware of the environment and working culture in their organization. By completely understanding the culture of its employees, messages can be composed in the most effective way and medium. Leaders should also take the helm by setting the tone of the working environment by being able to call out behavior that do not align with the organization’s identity and vision, and reward actions that exceed the expectations from its members. This will instill credibility and authority from its leaders who will issue the company statements.
Message
An organization’s corporate communication strategy should always follow the overall business strategy. It should be aware of the goals and objectives of the organization and adhere to the plans of action that the organization has laid out. Furthermore, the wording of the message should strive to be positive, using words and phrases such as “committed to”, and “we are leaders in innovation”. Finally, the message should be concise and straight to the point. A well-worded and direct message is easier to understand and delivers its objective in the best form possible.
Medium
After assessing the situation of the organization, knowing the stakeholders, and crafting the message, the proper medium should be determined to ensure that the audience will be able to receive the message promptly. Being aware of the audience’s medium of preference is a key element of an effective corporate communications strategy. It is not just about the message that will be delivered, it is also about where to deliver the message. Most corporate environments make use of official e-mail systems, but if there exists a more social working culture, the message could also be distributed through social events and activities, and in areas where most employees interact with each other.
