Strategy is more than just an efficient plan of action, it is a cohesive plan deliberately designed to bring about a desired future.
In communications, the ability to provide an organisation with a strategy means more than just a loose marketing plan or positive PR. The strategy needs to be cohesive, authentic to your business and goal-oriented.
Whether you are a business or a not-for profit, a communications strategy is essential to building up your brand and sustaining it.
While employing the tools of traditional marketing, such as content creation, social media and publicity campaigns are relevant, truly strategic communication takes a more in-depth approach.
A specialist communications company will work with you to identify the future your organisation wants to create. It does this by closely watching and understanding the environment you operate in now as well as identifying the political environment that will shape future opportunities.
Diane Dufour writes that the key is to be strategic about the value of your organisation to your audience: “It’s not about you, but how relevant you are to your stakeholders, shareholders, clients, customers, members etc.”
A successful partnership with a communications strategist will involve:
- working together to understand the pressures your organisation faces in carving out a path in its industry or sector
- researching and exploring the customer or client base that underpins your organisation
- becoming familiar with other stakeholders, such as shareholders or members, who might also define the direction your organisation takes
- learning about the other key industry players and your current and future competition
- assisting in the cultivation of relationships with external parties (people, government or professional associations) that can benefit your organisation
- monitoring the media cycle to keep up with the changing business environment, and,
- analysing the implications of new government policies that can help or harm your core goals.
While many communications and marketing companies focus on their particular fields of expertise, Infodec Communications has experience working across the fields of policy, government, corporate, marketing and public relations ensuring that strategies have greater depth and sophistication. This approach is often used by large corporations, but it can be effectively applied to small and medium sized businesses as well. If you would like to find out more, get in touch with us today.