Follow These Eight Steps to Develop Your Corporate Communications Plan

Your company needs a corporate communications plan to help guarantee the success of your overall business plan. And the best time to develop a communications plan is during your annual budgeting or organizational planning process.

"Communications" includes all written, spoken and electronic interactions between you and audiences inside and outside your organization.

A plan will help you to organize and prioritize the communication tools and initiatives you use to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. It will help you to keep your stakeholders informed and maintain their buy-in and support for your communications endeavors. It will solidifyYour choice of communications methods, initiatives and materials What each communication program component must achieve Your choice of key audiences Timetables, tools and budgets How you measure and evaluate program results
From a communications executive's perspective, in addition to the peace of mind it brings, such a plan will help you toEstablish priorities, Determine day-to-day activities Achieve order and control Gain CEO and staff support Protect against last-minute demands
Follow these eight steps to develop an effective corporate communications plan:

Follow These Eight Steps to Develop Your Corporate Communications Plan

1. Define your goals and desired results.What is your strategic purpose with regard to corporate communications? What's the tie-in to your organization's business plan?
2. Conduct an audit to determine and evaluate your current communications materials and initiatives. You must determineWhat communications initiatives each department is using What each initiative is designed to achieve Each initiative's effectiveness
3. Define your overall communications objectives, such as reinforcingCustomer service Customer loyalty Increased sales Employee morale and teamwork Employee retention and recruitment Media relations A positive corporate image and reputation Crisis control
4. Determine which audiences you want to influence, such asCurrent and prospective customers Suppliers Current and prospective employees Federal, state and local legislators Wall Street The media
5. Decide which tools you can use -- and afford -- to achieve your goals and get your points across. Your tools can include: Print publications Online communications Manuals Meeting and conference materials Media and public relations materials Marketing and sales materials Legal and legislative documents Employee and customer newsletters Corporate identity materials -- logos, print and packaging, Quarterly and annual reports Signage Presentations Website content Blogs Internet initiatives
6. Estimate the cost of each initiative, then establish a budget.
7. Establish your timetable.
8. Include methods in your plan that you can use to measure and evaluate results periodically, and to evaluate the program's overall results at year's end.

A written communications plan is as much a defense against chaos, confusion and wasted energy as it is a business priority.
Once in place, your plan will establish priorities, fend off last-minute and inappropriate demands and bring a semblance of order to a hectic job.

Follow These Eight Steps to Develop Your Corporate Communications Plan
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Brian R. Salisbury, a writer and a public relations and communications consultant, combines a wealth of communications know-how with an engaging writing style to help his clients shape the most effective messages and deliver them with the greatest impact where they count most. Visit Brian's website at http://www.BriansQuill.com and subscribe to his free public relations newsletter and receive his free report "Ten Key Components of a Successful Public Relations Program." Or send him an email at BrianSalisbury@BriansQuill.com.

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