Content
What is a communication strategy and what business tasks does it solve?
Who needs a communication strategy and why
Communication strategies: types
Structure of the communication strategy
When to change your communication strategy
Main
Communication between a company and its clients is the basis of any business. Well-built communication helps not only to increase sales, but also to increase brand loyalty, making the client an ambassador. This article tells you how to build a communication strategy that will solve business problems.
What is a communication strategy and what business tasks does it solve?
Communication strategy (CS) is a part of the brand strategy that describes how and where the company will communicate with the audience in order to solve the set business tasks. Any media space will become a platform for communication: a website, social networks, blogs, media, video hosting.
A strategy is considered successful if it helps the company achieve its business goals. These differ for each industry and depend on the market situation, but common goals of a communication strategy can be found for all:
tell customers about a product or service and reach a new audience, We create a communication
convince the customer to make a purchase decision and increase sales,
increase or create brand loyalty, build a brand community,
work through crisis situations that affect the company’s reputation.
Who needs a communication strategy and why
First of all, a strategy is needed by singapore email list large companies with dozens of departments, thousands of employees and many communication channels – from managers’ correspondence in chats with clients to posts on social networks. Such companies “speak” to everyone: with a corporate style, logo, slogan, scripts in the sales department, Tone of Voice in social networks. CS sets the general tone.
Startups and small companies don’t necessarily need to have a KS at the beginning – it’s important for them to focus on creating and improving their product. Until it’s there, there’s no subject for communication with customers.
A communication strategy is necessary in the following situations: We create a communication
Launch of a new brand or rebranding, launch of a new product on the market. The strategy conveys meanings and positioning, differentiates from competitors, creates the necessary connections with the audience.
A striking example of recent years is the predictive analytics in digital marketing rebranding of the Sber company. In its positioning, the bank retained the image of reliability and stability, but at the same time began to convey new values and meanings – a progressive, innovative approach. As part of the new communication strategy, the bank began to offer people to expand the boundaries of the possible, using the brand’s products and services.
Brand character as part of ks
The brand’s visual concept combines the colors We create a communication of the archetypes from the “Structure the World” block: Creator (innovation), Ruler (control), Caring (comfort). These same ideas are reflected in the slogans
Attracting a new target audience or entering new sales markets. As part of the strategy, a company can adapt its messages to different segments of the target audience, thereby increasing brand recognition.
Continuing with the previous example: Sber’s communication strategy is developed for all products of the company’s ecosystem, each of which has a special message for a specific segment of the target audience: universal (for a wide audience), special (for a premium and business audience) and personal (for a VIP and corporate audience). Each We create a communication message has its own colors, gradients, use of fonts in the visual concept and communication messages. Despite this, the brand’s communication with clients is unified and allows it to reach and attract a new audience.
Visual design as part of ks
Each brand in the Sber ecosystem has a different visual design, but common fonts and communication ambassadors unite them, so customers intuitively understand that what they see is the bank’s product.
Changing the pricing policy or terms of interaction. A company can also maintain brand loyalty and not lose it when changing prices for its goods or services through a properly built strategy.
Example of ks in bank message
The period of the merger of Otkritie and VTB was stressful for the clients of the former bank. They were worried about the safety of their funds and the kcrj new terms of their current loans. As part of its communication strategy, Otkritie told its clients in all channels how the transition was taking place, thereby reassuring them and giving them a transparent understanding of the new processes.
Crisis management. A company must stay in touch with its customers, especially during difficult and ambiguous periods in its history. Crisis management helps maintain customer trust and their level of satisfaction with a product or service.
Example of using messages in the brand’s CS
For example, this is what Wildberries did during a major fire at a warehouse in Shushary. 20 minutes after the first mention of the event in the media, the company wrote about it on social networks, and for several days kept customers informed of the events. So the brand’s director of strategic communications contacted users and gave an official comment from the scene
We suggest going through the main problems with which clients come for a communication strategy. If at least one situation is familiar to you, book a meeting room with colleagues to discuss the KS:
1. “Shooting sparrows with a cannon”
The company addresses different audience segments in social networks and instant messengers, broadcasting dissimilar messages: today a post in a Telegram channel is for mothers with children, and tomorrow – for brutal men on bikes.
The lack of a clear communication strategy will lead to the company not being able to define its target audience and effectively convey the information they need.
2. “We have social networks and a website. We constantly post promotions and discounts there.”
Just having social networks and a website is not enough. Strategy and understanding in what key and what topics to raise in communication with the target audience are important. Yes, discounts are important, but a quality product with its own history and a unique message attracts customers no less.
3. Social media managers respond to “you” and “you” in adjacent messages
This is a clear example of how the lack of a KS can lead to inconsistent and unprofessional communications. Using different terms of address in the same context can be not only ugly, but also offensive to customers.
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Communication strategies: types
The way the communication strategy is built is determined by the brand’s purpose . In the examples above, you can see why companies communicate with the audience – the following types of KS follow from this:
Information strategy. Helps to tell about a product or service.
Reputation strategy. Helps to work out an unforeseen situation and maintain reputation.
Social strategy. Helps to consolidate the image of a socially responsible brand).
Communication strategy for change management. Helps maintain customer loyalty during company reorganization or price policy increase.
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Types of CS are also divided by the methods of communication with the audience – how and where the brand speaks.
Verbal strategy includes all spoken and textual methods of communication. For example, oral methods can be divided into the following channels:
Telephone: call center, answering machine.
Video: online meetings with clients, videos on video hosting sites, webinars.
Live performances by brand representatives at conferences, meetups and other events.
Any other live conversations between brand employees and customers.
Written communications are divided into the following areas:
correspondence between managers and clients via instant messengers, email, social networks,
chatbots , pop-ups and Telegram bots ,
mailings via SMS, email , messengers,
outdoor, radio and digital advertising campaigns,
placement in the media,
website and mobile application interfaces,
logo, slogan, corporate identity elements.
A nonverbal strategy describes how communication will be carried out through gestures, facial expressions, intonation, and other nonverbal cues. For example, a strategy might state.