What is a communication strategy and how to build one?
One of the most important success factors for any business is effective and timely communication with customers. Companies and brands must be able to attract the attention of their target audience, convince them to buy their product or service, and build mutually beneficial long-term relationships with them.
Content:
1. Communication strategy — what is it and why is it needed?
2. What does a communication strategy consist of?
3. Types of communication models
4. Stages of developing a communication strategy
5. Common mistakes in the preparation of the COP
6. Summary
Communication strategy — what is it and why is it needed?
Communication strategy is a complex of measures, directed at demand creation and brand promotion through communication and interaction with target audience. The effectiveness of marketing policy of the company directly depends on its consistency. The measures of complex strategic planning make it possible to achieve the said consistency.
It means that for effective marketing it is not enough for brands to just launch separate advertising campaigns and prepare separate actions online or offline. Instead, it’s important to take a holistic approach to customer interactions that results in a communications strategy.
As for the goals and objectives of this event, they include the following:
1. Increase brand awareness and inform the target audience about its products.
2. Form a loyal attitude to the brand and neutralize negative attitudes.
3. To help potential customers to solve their problems by providing the best solution in the form of brand products or services.
4. Adjust the brand image, making it more understandable and attractive to different target groups.
In addition, each direction of the strategy contains specific communication objectives, which we will discuss further in the text.
What does a communication strategy consist of?
Modern communications strategy includes three main areas: marketing, creative and media. Below we will describe each of them in detail.
The marketing block
The marketing block is the first step in creating a brand communication strategy. It starts with the study of the target audience (through surveys, interviews, questionnaires, etc.) and ends with the development of the USP. According to the results of the first stage brand representatives study their target audience, learn their preferences and form a list of benefits of the product.
The marketing block of the communication strategy includes the following list of tasks:
Presenting the audience with the specific benefits of the brand and its product.
Development of a unique selling proposition (USP).
Detachment from competitors — identifying ways to stand out from them and attract the attention of CA.
Measures to stimulate customer loyalty to the brand.
Thus, marketing direction helps to create a brand image, increase its recognition among the target audience, show key advantages and differences from competitors, as well as make existing customers more loyal.
Creative Block
Creative block allows to work out the brand image in detail and to lay the foundation for effective communication between the company and its potential/existing customers. The main purpose of the creative block is to create an original idea, which would be understandable to the target audience and would evoke their trust.
As for the main tasks of this stage, they are as follows:
Creating elements of the brand’s visual identity, in particular corporate identity, brandbook, website/mobile app design, etc.
Working through the rational and emotional components of the brand.
Preparation of communication messages for different segments of the target audience, as well as all used channels and stages of promotion.
The creative block closes the tasks of visualizing the brand image created during the previous stage. It is also responsible for the development of message content for all the relevant segments of the CA and different channels/stages of the communication campaign. The whole range of measures for communication and interaction between the brand and its customers.
Media Block
After preparing the concepts for the marketing and creative direction, it is necessary to think through communication strategies for the media block. During this stage, marketers select the most promising promotion channels: contextual advertising, campaigns in social networks, SEO, etc. Also, the media field is responsible for selecting the most effective ways of communication between the company and its customers: email/SMS mailings, instant messengers, online chats, push notifications, etc.
Types of communication models
In brief, a communication model (CM) is a practical tool for implementing a communication strategy (CS). It depicts the processes of transmission and/or exchange of information between all participants in the communication process: in our case, between a brand and its audience.
Among the most common communication models today are the following:
AIDA. Probably the most well-known and widely used in marketing and advertising CM. It provides a step-by-step scenario for attracting the customer and stimulating him to buy a product, which consists of 4 steps: A (attention), I (interest), D (desire), A (action). The AIDA model is the basis of the classic sales funnel. There is also an extended version of this CM called AIDCA with an additional stage C (confidence).
ACCA. Another popular communication model based on AIDA. It has almost a similar sequence of actions, but with slightly modified steps: A (attention), C (understanding), C (conviction), A (action).
AIMDA. Another advanced AIDA model has this structure: A (attention, attention), I (interest), M (motive), D (desire), A (activity).
4A. This format of the communication model consists of 4 stages, each of which denotes the expected reaction of the client to the messages sent to him: A (awareness), A (attitude), A (action), A (action again).
4P. According to the following CM, effective communication between a brand and its target audience should include 4 elements: P (picture), P (promise), P (prove), P (push).
DIBABA. It is also worth to mention a more detailed communication model, which contains as many as six components. However, it, too, is based on the same CM AIDA, but has an extended structure of stages: D (desire), I (identification), B (bamp), A (reAction), B (buy), A (atmosphere).
Stages of communication strategy development
There are several basic stages of CS development: analysis, positioning, choice of communication channels and media planning. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Analysis
The preliminary collection and processing of analytics data is one of the key stages, without which no example of a communication strategy can do. Competent evaluation of the position of the company and its product on the market, along with other criteria (strengths and weaknesses, competitive environment) allows you to select the most effective communication tools and channels of interaction with the audience.
To prepare comprehensive analytics such measures as:
Analysis of the company’s position on the market, made on the basis of data from various sources. This includes both internal documents (sales reports, etc.) and analytics from third-party independent sources (e.g., results of an external audit).
Interviews with management and decision makers (DMs) to obtain information on the company’s achievements and prospects, its current position, etc. Comparison of the information obtained with internal and external analytics.
SWOT-analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company and its product in comparison with competitors, as well as identifying external opportunities and threats.
PESTEL-analysis is a more detailed evaluation of external environment factors described in the SWOT-analysis. All factors presented here are divided into 6 categories: political, economic, social-cultural, technological, ecological, legislative.
Analysis of media presence, which records all mentions of the brand and its products in social media, mass media and other media sources for a certain period of time (e.g., a year). In doing so, such criteria as the number of publications, the level of platforms, coverage, tone, etc. should be taken into account.
The result of processing all the data obtained is a analytical report. It describes a general picture of the company’s situation on the basis of the studies, as well as the objectives of the communication strategy of the brand. We talked about the common goals of the CC in the first section of this article.
Positioning
The next key stage is the development of brand positioning — the image of the company in the eyes of its target audience. Correct positioning will become the basis of communicative strategy, will help to attract new clients and to keep out competitors.
To achieve the desired result at this stage it is necessary to perform the following tasks:
Create a portrait of the ideal customer by identifying their demographic and social characteristics, geographic location, occupation, hobbies, values, problems, pains, motivation (emotional or rational) and other important factors.
Segment the customer base by categorizing all customers into specific categories: e.g., by gender, age, location, income, etc. For faster and more convenient segmentation, you can use criteria from the portrait of the ideal customer.
Select the appropriate channels of interaction with the audience and prepare messages for the target audience based on the chosen communication model or models (AIDA, ACCA, 4A, etc.). If the brand has several target audiences, then for each of them it is necessary to think out separate CM and messages. For example, for the male audience to build them on the basis of a rational approach, and for women — on the basis of an emotional approach. In all cases, it is important that these messages are clear, well remembered and evoke a response.
Build a Customer Journey Map for each segment of your target audience. This document should visualize all the stages of the customer’s interaction with the brand and its product: from acquaintance to repeat purchases.
Build a PESO matrix, detailing and grouping all the promotional channels used into such categories: Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned. As in the case with CJM, the PESO should be built for each segment of the target audience.
Develop a content policy. Another important element of positioning involves the selection of communication message parameters. These include acceptable formats, frequency of messaging, Tone of Voice, etc.
After completing all the communication tasks at this stage, experts move on to the final document called the positioning concept. All further activities for the preparation and implementation of the brand communication strategy should be carried out in accordance with the adopted concept.
Selection of communication channels and media planning
The final stage of CS preparation concerns directly practical tools and technical details, which include:
Selection of optimal customer interaction channels that would ensure maximum audience reach combined with high speed of message delivery and acceptable campaign costs.
Development of a calendar media plan, where you need to prescribe information about all the planned and executed media activities, indicating the basic data for each of them: format, target audience, platform, goals, results, etc.
Development of a content plan, which provides a detailed list of texts, images, videos and other materials that will be used in communication messages.
Development of a system of performance evaluation, which allows you to quickly collect feedback, monitor and control the results of the communication strategy, as well as competently adjust it, if necessary.
Calculation of the budget, which can be carried out by one or more of the popular methods: fixed budget, budget calculation according to the objectives, the balance or percentage of sales.
Common mistakes when preparing a CS
1.Poor or limited data analysis (e.g., due to improperly selected analytics tools or incomplete data collection. The result of this error can be a wrong choice of channels and methods for implementation of the communication strategy.
2. Lack of an accurate description of the goals set and the planned timeline for their implementation. Because of this error, the brand may have difficulty evaluating the effectiveness of the communication strategy.
3. Absence of a clear media plan, because of which it will be difficult to build stable communications with the audience in the long term, as well as to correct the positioning in time with changes in the market.
4. Wrongly defined target audience — a fairly common and serious error, because of which the communication messages sent by the brand do not find a response among customers and, therefore, do not bring results.
5. Wrong channels for promotion — this mistake is a logical continuation of the previous one, because of it companies often waste their advertising budgets.
Summary
A communications strategy is a set of measures designed to streamline all formats and stages of interaction between brands and their customers. With its help, companies can increase recognition, strengthen loyalty and promote their products more effectively among their target audience. CS consists of three main blocks: marketing, creative and media, each of which includes a specific set of tasks.
Developing a communication strategy is done in several stages, first there is analysis, then positioning, and the final stage is the choice of communication channels and media planning. Incorrect data analysis, lack of specific goals, timelines and media plan, as well as incorrectly defined promotion channels and target audience are the main mistakes that can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the communication strategy.
