Marketing

An 8-Step Process for Creating Effective Internal Communication Plans by Linda Pophal www.stratcommunications.com Communication plans can be prepared for a variety of activities – internal and external. Interestingly, though, many companies overlook the value of creating formal communication plans to outline their overall internal communication objectives – and to provide a framework for activities, with measures to help determine whether the tactics used are really making a difference. While the types of plans may vary, the process steps are very much the same. In fact, developing a marketing plan really requires the same steps as developing a corporate communication plan, or a crisis management plan. Each plan will share certain common elements and the approach will be very similar to that described below: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Situation analysis/background Quantifiable objectives/goals Target audience(s) Key messages Strategies and tactics to meet objectives/goals Responsibility/accountability for completing tactics Budget (as appropriate) Measurement

1) Situation analysis/background
The situation analysis or background section of your communication plan should provide a high level overview of the situation or communication need with sufficient detail that someone not directly involved would understand the issue driving the need for communication and the desired outcome(s). This section should include any pertinent facts or data that would have an impact on the communication process – e.g. areas of particular sensitivity, any anticipated negative responses from specific audiences, details on how similar issues have been handled in the past and the results, etc. This is the area of your communication plan where you would identify any key crossdepartmental impacts or inputs necessary to successful implementation, or point to any areas of concern regarding the need for consistency between internal and external messages or between various target audience