Strategic communications is not just a responsibility for the marketing and PR team. Management, the business growth and strategy teams wherever possible should be involved wherever possible. More heads (and ownership) are necessarily better when it comes to growing an organisation.
To create a strategic communications strategy, we recommended considering the following points that covered insights, environment, offering, value, resource allocation and innovation. These are areas that go beyond introducing, informing or educating a customer about a brand. In most organisations, these topics belong to the business teams responsible for strategy, growth, pricing and other similar functions. In a smaller organisation, these considerations tend to fall under the business owner or management team.
As organisations grow and functions become more specialised, it can be easy to forget the forest for the trees. Some stakeholders want to rush ahead with customer acquisition; others prefer to build a medium to long-term structure.
Strategic communications is usually placed somewhere in the middle of the conversation. In order to create and maintain positioning, the role becomes less about new, shiny tactical campaigns, and more about making sure that the consistency and frequency of messaging are done at the right levels.
The strategic communications function and champion has to be clear about what will move the needle for the organisation. It might be necessary to have a business conversation with co-functions about the organisation’s preferred business direction.
Most successfully businesses tend to do one of these three “disciplines” very well; while many others flit between them hoping to find a magic bullet. These disciplines are product leadership, operational excellence and customer-first. It is difficult for organisations to be equally good across all three disciplines. In fact, from a resource allocation perspective, it is better to be fantastic in one discipline than average across all three.
A diluted approach to the disciplines results in a confused strategic direction of the company, a weak brand and no differentiation. The confusion compromises long-term growth, confuses the customer and results in the company merely surviving to earn revenue instead of establishing a leadership position in their industry.
This is where the strategic communications function needs to step in and help business leads gain clarity. A weak brand threatens all the work done to build a brand and educate customers.
A suggested first step in approaching the business teams is to workshop using a SWOT-Gap analysis-Opportunity/Threat matrix combination of models to set up a common baseline of understanding between functions. Thereafter, a SWOT alignment model can answer “So what?”; and as a team, come up with strategies to capitalise on strengths and opportunities while mitigating weaknesses and threats. It might also be necessary to bring in a third-party to moderate the workshop especially if there is a need to achieve consensus by a group of decision owners.
We are Brand Utility is a business consultancy. We work with brands in the corporate, professional services, retail, travel and technology spaces. Our principal founder is a registered management consultant, certified and recognised by the Institute of Management Consultants Singapore.
We offer strategy and tactics to support growth outcomes - revenue, scale, regional expansion and market entry – for our clients.
Areas of support include:
· Strategic communications: Approach to market, brand concept and map, positioning, messaging, story and narrative, thought leadership
· Marketing: Campaign/programme planning, story-based marketing execution, digital marketing, community amplification, content planning and production, go-to-market execution
· Lead generation: Digital advertising, social media advertising, social commerce, e-commerce
· Integration of marketing with business operations: We plan and execute as a seconded marketing and/or PR lead for your brand
Discover more about our services at our website or book an exploratory consultation through this link.
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