Taking Communications to the Next Level September 24, 2007

OR Après Kate, Le Deluge More than you ever wanted to know about a couple things from the tool kit.

Agenda Research for the Rest of Us Communications Audits Brand Stewardship

Research for the Rest of Us Research can be expensive and complicated. But you shouldn’t have to have a PhD to apply some basic tactics to your communications planning.

Know What You Need Objectives (business and research) Hypotheses Action standards Predetermined feedback loop (Source: Brand Aid, Brad VanAuken)

One-on-one Interviews Members and Non-members Ask about needs, desires, fears and concerns in running a business Ask about what the Chamber does well Ask who they think the competitive set includes

Focus Groups Rank information you gather in one-on- one interviews React to communications materials Rank the competitive set Associate with other brands

Qualitative Methods Word association Ranking Mapping

Statistical Surveys Web-based alternatives to phone surveys:

Your Own Website 24/7 opportunity for interaction “Real Time” feedback Online community: –Directories –Bulletin boards, chat, blogs –Guest books, cave drawings –RSS –CRM

The Audit “A brand is…the product of a thousand small gestures.” -- Michael Eisner, Disney

Communications Audits “A strategic communications audit is a systematic assessment, either formal or informal, of an organization’s capacity for, or performance of, essential communications practices.” (SOURCE: Strategic Communications Audits, Julia Coffman, 2004)

Audit Components Organizational Review Materials Review Audience Assessments

Organizational Review One-on-one interviews “Appreciative Inquiry” methodology Roles and responsibilities Looking for gaps Efficiency

Materials Review The brand promise as litmus test Key messages Tone and personality Duplication, overlap, gaps, opportunities Effectiveness

Audience Surveys Time-specific incident surveys Group observation Written surveys Delphi Technique

Communications Audit Matrix Strategy – what we set out to do and why Implementation – delivery mechanisms Integration – messaging and overall “lift” (SOURCE: Strategic Communications Audits, Julia Coffman, 2004)

Brand Stewardship “Effective communication is 20 percent what you know and 80 percent how you feel about what you know.” -- Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker

Brand Stewardship Who is your brand leader? Do you have written standards? How often do you train board and staff? How formal is your assessment and feedback process? How careful/strategic are you with associations?

Final Thought “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” -- George Bernard Shaw

Consensus, LLC is a facilitation and communications consultancy headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, contact Dale Erquiaga at (602) or by at