Communication goals! This is important!
It is often challenging for medium-sized companies to define their communication goals. Focus on “the real work” and lack of specialist know-how prevent this. As a result, companies and organisations become dependent on providers who create island solutions – in other words, they do not take a holistic view of communications work. However, a holistic approach to communications is essential. After all, budgets and resources must be planned for the long term and across the board to achieve their full effect.
The target is in the way!
“We need a website without knowing the content and its task, and we need it now”! At a rapid pace, the realisation overtakes the conception, assassinating the research with insidiousness. As a result, work is repeated over and over again. Messages are constantly reinvented. Target groups are addressed here and there, and the design changes frequently.
Communication works best when you build it up level by level. So first, you clarify what it’s about, check with whom you’re dealing with, and think about how to communicate. Only then do you start with the implementation.
Media planning: Your friend and helper.
Good media planning maps all communication measures on all relevant company channels throughout a given time. It shows when something begins and ends, how one thing relates to another, and to whom to communicate.
The advantage: With an overview, content can be used repeatedly and in a new context. The texts of a book can be processed on a website at the same time, provided that this has been thought through. The design of a brochure can be used in the form of a catalogue. The photographs of the last company celebration can be used on social networks. It’s all a question of planning.
But what do I know about the cost?
Admittedly, many providers have changing quality and very different prices in the communications industry.
Often things in communication can be solved in different ways. However, the type of development and realisation should be based on their use case and the customer’s needs. Therefore, other points of view and cost estimates should always be obtained.
Are budgetary constraints positive?
Resources in communication are always limited. That’s why it helps to prioritise customer groups and thus bundle resources. Customer groups can be worked on longer until the respective communication goal is achieved. Besides that, budgetary constraints are sometimes remarkable for creativity. In the end, spending money is easier and more boring. But getting something exciting and functional off the ground with limited resources is fun and is the hallmark of good communication.
Internal versus external resources.
The goal should always be to achieve targeted projects with the available resources. Whether this happens through internal or external work is not decisive. Just because employees implement projects within the company does not mean that the projects are also cost-effective. Do employees have the necessary competencies? Sometimes yes! External consulting of internal resources can work wonders. But sometimes, employees need help to implement the work successfully. Yet this might be because they were hired for a different job. Therefore, it is crucial to understand when internal and when external resources are helpful.
In conclusion: Ongoing!
In conclusion, resource planning makes sense if it is continuous and honest. Prettified figures and timings could be more worthwhile. It isn’t very responsible to plan resources for the following year at the end of December. Even with small communication budgets, efficient communication work can be done, provided it is designed long-term and goal-oriented.
