How do I get management buy-in for my communications planning?
This was one of the questions asked during our seminar yesterday, “Boost your brand with great writing”. At the seminar, we looked at how messaging platforms, tone of voice guides and style guides are essential tools for marketers and communicators. As communications managers, everyone could see the value in these. But afterwards, a few people asked me basically the same question: “How do I convince company management?”
I can see the problem. To someone who doesn’t prioritize communications, it seems like a lot of resources to allocate to preparation and planning. “Can’t we just get this campaign rolling next week?” management may ask.
The point is, of course, that it’s much easier to produce any campaign if you’ve done the planning and set specific, long-lasting guidelines. For each campaign, you’ll greatly increase your chances of success – such as increased response and more sales opportunities. It also ensures your company’s communications remain ‘on message’ and that no rogues appear from different corners of the organization.
With a firm eye on the bottom line, top management wants to see financial benefits. Yes, investment is required upfront, but in the not-so-long term, there should be savings as marketing materials are produced faster and more consistently. A challenge for communications and marketing managers is to document results and, wherever possible, show the numbers.
Another important argument is that the leading brands do it. Why is it that GE’s ads, website and other external communications continue to build a homogenous picture all based on the same story? You can say the same about Apple, Microsoft, LEGO and many others. Look at the effort that goes into communications planning – and look at the value of their brands.
Burning issues
At our seminar yesterday, there were lots of other interesting questions. We always learn a lot hearing about the real issues facing companies today. And with company sizes ranging from over 90,000 employees to less than a hundred, we heard a fascinating mix. Some of the issues that spring to mind are:
- Are a company’s values the same as the company’s tone of voice?
We use our style guide, but no-one else in the company knows it exists
When we have the tools in place, how do we make sure they have the right effect in our local offices around the world?
We’ll be holding more seminars about these and other communications topics, so let us know if you’d like to be kept in the loop. And we’ve also written a WordSpin article on a similar topic. Check out Who’s telling your brand story?
June 12th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Interestingly, all the companies you mention clearly have a single Big Idea behind everything they do. It’s like Volvo, which has a simple one-word concept that everyone thinks of when you mention Volvo. And their communications reflect and reinforce this idea time and time again.
So before you begin to start thinking of rolling out a campaign, whether it’s consumer focused or an internal style guide, it really helps if there’s a Big Idea to hang it on. Without the Big Idea, deciding what campaign to roll out, what that campaign should say and how to say it becomes much harder - as does ’selling’ it to management.
Here’s an airline story from the book Made to Stick to illustrate the point. The longest-serving CEO of Southwest Airlines - the low-fare airline - can give the secret to running the company in 30 seconds. He gives an example. Someone from marketing has done a survey and found out that passengers on the Houston to Las Vegas flight might enjoy a salad during the flight. According to the CEO, the correct response is: “Will serving the salad make us the low-fare airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare airline, we’re not serving a chicken salad.”
June 12th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Another airline story! Yesterday at the seminar, two different airlines figured. We talked about Jan Carlzon (former CEO of SAS) and his thoughts on customer service and quality. Then we looked at how Thai Airways tells its story through advertising.
Looks like airline stories should get their own blog!
July 28th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
[...] From a Communications Management Perspective: With a firm eye on the bottom line, top management wants to see financial benefits. Yes, investment is required upfront, but in the not-so-long term, there should be savings as marketing materials are produced faster and more consistently. A challenge for communications and marketing managers is to document results and, wherever possible, show the numbers… more at Eye for Image [...]