Communications - How effective are they?

Posted: 28/07/2010

Article by Samantha Davidson, Horizonworks Marketing, Published 28 July 2010

Marketing is increasingly under the spotlight as budgets are cut and spend has to be justified, especially in this economic climate.

Marketing is always on the top of the list for budget and resource cuts which is surprising considering profile and awareness of a company should be increased more over these competitive times.

What businesses should do is reflect on how effective their current marketing activities are and how well they are communicating their key messages to their customers and prospective customers.

One of the ways in which this can be done is by conducting a communications audit. This measures how effective your communications are with your customers, prospects, suppliers, employees and partner companies.

A communications audit gathers information from a sample of the above and feedback is given on what their perceptions are of your business and how you are benchmarked against your competitors.

A measurement can also be made on the success of past and current communications and how effective the ‘really’ are in getting your messages across about your business.

What the results indicate are some of the following:

  • What customers believe your company stands for in terms of value and proposition
  • What customers understand about the products and services your company provides and what they believe your unique selling proposition (USP) is to ‘them’
  • How customers benchmark your company against others they deal with for a similar product or service
  • How well you communicate with them in both marketing and non marketing activities

The type and tone of questions you include in your audit very much depends on your core objective:

  • Are you looking to improve your current communications?
  • Are you looking to rebrand?
  • Are looking at re-positioning your company in the market place?

An audit is essential in the development of any future marketing strategy and should also help companies ‘re-focus’ their marketing activities and budget so it’s spent in a more efficient and targeted way.

In summary, a communications audit ensures your marketing activities are on target with audience, message and focus and more importantly ensures your marketing budget is used efficiently!

Horizonworks Marketing can conduct a communications audit for you. For further information, contact Samantha Davidson.