Social media, content management, blogs, enewsletters. The list of cool and new communications tools goes on and on. Over and over business owners read and hear about these tools and many are ready use them, but often forget the foundation of communications: the message.
As a business owner, if you’re considering undertaking a marketing/communications campaign, consider the following question before undertaking use of any of these tools.
- Can you and your employees share your company’s mission/vision/values?
- Do you know your company’s message or story?
- Can your employees and sale team effectively share the company story?
- Other than revenue growth, what are your company’s short- and long-term goals?
- Do you know your target markets to strategically grow your business?
If you’ve answered no to this list of questions, consider taking a step back and spend time designing a well-organized communications foundation that includes these elements: mission/vision/values; message; and audiences. With these elements in place you and your employees will be able to strategically navigate the use of communications tools consistently and effectively to meet your goals and generate ROI.