5 common missteps that can doom your communication plan
Lack of upfront research, misalignment with business objectives, and a failure to segment internal audiences are among the fatal flaws that undermine best intentions.
Despite the long hours spent developing communication plans, many fail.
Some plans don’t identify the business goal, some begin and end with a list of activities, and many don’t include meaningful measurement.
So, what does it take for strategic communication planning success to occur?
To build your credibility, avoid these five reasons that communication plans fail to get business results.
1. Research doesn’t serve as an input to the plan. Plans based on assumptions, guestimates or gut feelings are a big gamble. Take time to gather hard data or evidence to serve as an input to your communication plans. If you are thinking, “I don’t have budget or time for original research,” stop and think again. There’s a good chance some of the data you need already exists.
Tap into employee engagement survey data. Several communication questions are typically included in these surveys. Talk to HR to learn more about the demographics of your employee audiences. Interview leaders or subject matter experts to learn what employee sentiment on the topic might be or what’s worked and what hasn’t worked in the past.
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