Context is everything in terms of making sure your message lands; how often do you review what you are doing and what I call the ‘operating context’ in which you are doing it? If 2020 has taught us anything, customers have a higher expectation for information exchange and show loyalty to businesses that deliver this to a high level through their customer experience with them.
The days of ‘set it and forget it’ have long gone for communication planning, and as communicators, we need to be responsive and adaptable. Exhausting, though, right? Today I cover why you should review your operating context for a modern approach to communication planning and tips on integrating this into your comms strategy.
Let’s dive in!
Links in this episode:
The One-Page Marketing Plan on Amazon
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Full transcript (unedited)
Context is everything in terms of making sure your message lands, how often do you review what you are doing and what I call the ‘operating context’ in which you are doing it? If 2020 has taught us anything it is that customers have a higher expectation for information exchange and show loyalty to businesses that deliver this to a high level through their customer experience with them.
The days of ‘set it and forget it’ have long gone for communication planning and as communicators we need to be responsive and adaptable. Exhausting though, right? Today I cover why you should review your operating context for a modern approach to communication planning and tips on integrating this into your comms strategy.
Let’s dive in!
*references from global trends in buying behaviour and also how PR practitioners are feeling about what’s important to their work CIPR state of nation report
Intro
Everything from product availability and pricing, to delivery options and store locations – customers want to know as much information as possible to plan ahead in 2021 and beyond.
Covid has taught us that adaptability is critical and I think like all big shifts in human behavior, the businesses who listen to the market, and continually adapt will come out on top.
I would argue that this will become the norm and is actually best practice. The only difference is that this year is things are still a bit fluid in places. For example if your business is international but based in the UK you have Brexit to think about. Or if you have offices or supply chains in different location you have
What is operational context?
This is everything external that can impact or affect your business operation and, therefore, your communication strategy. Obvious examples might include Brexit if you are in Europe, this is something us Brits are divided about. It might be changes in legislation or protocols to do with staff or supply chain, like data protection rules.
But, more commonly, this is things like, how are my customers behaving due to the rise of online shopping? how are my customers making purchase decisions given they have been on Furlough or have budget constraints, or have changed their own product range (if B2B) and need products or services that help them with their changed circumstances. Maybe they have digitised their systems and we need to communicate with them differently now.
It’s also about changing perceptions of how we would will reach an audience that has changed their behaviour. For example, during the height of the global pandemic Burger King famously sponsored Stevenage FC’s team shirt – as hey recognised they would gain more for exposure amongst FIFA 2020 gamers, rather than in-stadium matchday fans – was a great example of how brands are using the gaming community to reach their audiences.
How can you integrate this into your communication planning and what should you think about?
Here are 3 tips;
The one-page plan
This is something that most people dream and having everything condensed into one page. But, this is a really good way fo getting your goals and actions pinned down, and getting them agreed by whoever they need to be agreed by – a really good idea. This would be a one-page plan that captures your short term and long term goals and summarises these in the context of what is happening every 3 months, what’s changed and what you need to do differently. How can you respond and adapt to what is happening. There is a good book on this subject that I will link to in the notes if you haven’t read it called exactly that the one page marketing plan.
Noone is saying we should not have long-term goals and objectives that support longer term strategies, but the operating context is constantly shifting and in this sense we need to have a review and a sense-check more regularly and also understand our progress for our own sense of achievement and wellbeing as well as making sure everything is on track.
Research , research, research
You know, I am a research nerd, but checking in with consumer trends reports and also checking the industry and consumer news on a weekly or regular basis means you can pick up on what’s happening and how this may affect that big event you have planned or media launch for that report or product, for example. Similarly there are opportunities to be had in terms of piggybacking and adapting to the news of the day.
Becoming familiar with where to look for your business, bookmarking key pages and keeping an eye on where to find that crucial information should be part of your ongoing weekly task list.
Take a sense-check around you
How are people feeling around you, what are people talking about and what are the trends you are seeing in real life. Customers are people, so it’s likely that we will pick up one what’s happening around us by having a watchful eye and a keen ear on your immediate surroundings conversations you are already having with people you know..
For example, I know through my own conversations that people are tired, overwhelmed and Covid has created an economic divide between those who have and those who have not. Some people and businesses are financially struggling and dealing with issues much bigger than purchasing that ideal product, so we need to be mindful of that as communicators and show empathy as a business, now and forever ideally.
How are you feeling ,what’s important to you at the moment and how will you bring that into your communication planning sense-check?