The end of March is approaching – the end of another 1st quarter.

• Hard to believe, isn’t it?
• Is your business communication plan on track?
• Do you have a communication plan?

Check the Schedule

Is your business communication plan chugging along or still stuck at the station?

If you did not establish a plan for the new year, it is not too late to set up a new schedule.

Let’s take the 10-step outline for creating a communication plan and separate it into 3 main categories – Planning, Execution and Results.

Planning

We’ll put the first four steps under Planning.

Create your vision statement – where do you want to end up with your business?

• Check each communication project against your vision statement
• Is the project helping you achieve your vision?

Identify your customer – who will be the target for your communication?

• Have you selected the right target market?
• Do you need to explore other venues for networking?

Define your objectives – do you want to create leads? educate? announce a new product or service?

• Does your communication support your objective?
• Do you need to adjust the message?

Establish your budget – this step is one many small businesses skip – it is essential.

• Are your expenses where they should be?
• Do you need to table a project due to cost?

Execution

The next four steps are placed under Execution.

Select your communication vehicles – what combination is the most effective for objectives and budget? e.g., social media, white papers, case studies, industry articles

• How effective is your combination?
• Should you consider another method?

Assign roles and responsibilities – who does the writing? who manages the process?

• Are the right people assigned?
• Are they managing projects?
• Do you need to outsource?

Develop your message strategy – what problem are you trying to solve for customers? how are you different? what is your call to action?

• Is your message clear?
• How has it been received so far?

Develop a timeline – what is the frequency for communication? any new product/service rollout?

• Have you met deadlines?
• If not, why?
• Are they too aggressive?

Results

The last two steps fall under Results.

Establish benchmarks – what are the specific measurements for success? e.g., Leads, visibility/awareness of your business, sales, customer satisfaction

• Are you tracking results?
• Have you set the right benchmark?
• Are you meeting them?
• If not, how do you adjust?

Create a contingency process – what happens if a communication strategy is not working? How do you troubleshoot?

• Is it time for Plan B?
• Can you adjust your current strategy for results?

Engineering Success

Evaluate each project.

Some projects take time to deliver results so don’t be too hasty in abandoning a project. Start by asking these questions.

• What worked?
• What didn’t?
• Was it the message?
• Was it the execution?
• Was it the method of communication?

If some projects are working better than others, consider putting more resources on that project and perhaps putting others on hold.

It’s never too late to make adjustments.

Enjoy the ride and watch out for detours.

How do you evaluate your business communication strategy?

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