At the heart of a good business plan is an equally good, if not better, communication strategy. After all, every area of an organization and all aspects of business require communication in some way, shape, or form. 

But, more often than not, a communication strategy is often forgotten or not even considered when crafting a business plan. This opens a business or organization to reputational risks, that, if left unchecked, can erode brand equity and even result in financial losses. 

The University of the Philippines Diliman’s Department of Communication Research recently conducted a panel discussion titled “The Future of Strategic Communication,” where public relations experts, including Ikigai Philippines Chief Marketing Officer Abigail Ho-Torres talked about the role of strategic communication and how this can be properly integrated into an organization.

As with any strategy, a good communication plan should be anchored on clear and specific objectives, which should be aligned with the goals of the organization. Once the objectives are in place, a stakeholder analysis should be done: identify your target stakeholders, determine how much influence they wield in the achievement of your communication and management goals, and what kind of relationship you have with them. This exercise will allow you to determine the best way for you to connect with them.

The next step is to craft a core message. This will serve as your anchor in crafting the various supporting messages that you will have to tailor-fit to each of your stakeholder groups, to maximize the chances of your messages resonating with them. Getting their buy-in means getting allies that can help you succeed. 

Then you will have to determine the best way to reach them with your messages: Do you go purely digital? Do you do more on-ground events and face-to-face interactions? Finally, you should establish measures by which you can evaluate your success. Your metrics will depend on the goals you want to achieve, but should cover both outputs and outcomes, to ensure that each communication activity has a positive impact on your organization.

It can be a little intimidating to come up with a communication plan if you are not used to it. Do not go on the journey alone. Let Ikigai Philippines be your partner. Let us help pave your path to success.