People who are reliable and consistent in their statements are also trustworthy . And people who are trustworthy are happy to turn to them. This applies both in private life and in corporate communications .
Marketing, customer service, media appearances, even communication with employees – in short, all business activities – should follow a common thread .
This is the only way your company will be recognized across all channels and perceived as credible and with integrity . However, the more channels you have to present your company publicly and the more employees you employ, the more complicated it becomes to maintain a consistent line.
Communication concept vs. marketing concept: What is the difference?
Just imagine if your website used the formal “Sie” form of address, but emails suddenly changed to “Du”. Or if your company used red in its telegram data corporate design on Instagram but blue on Pinterest. We promise you: Great confusion for everyone involved would be inevitable.
A communications concept establishes clear rules for how your company should present itself – to prevent the above-described scenarios from happening. These range from colors , fonts , and the logo to the desired tone and messages to be conveyed.
In contrast to a communications concept, which focuses on communication, a marketing concept encompasses the planning and implementation of all activities. These include measures such as market analysis, product positioning, pricing, and advertising ideas to specifically boost sales.
You can use a communication concept in many areas. In addition to external communication , which we focus on in this article, there are also internal communication concepts. These regulate the manner of communication there is no mobile application within an organization.
Basically, integrated communication concepts , which apply both internally and externally, pursue the following goals :
- Ensure clarity and consistency in all communication measures and on all channels
- Targeted approach to the various target groups
- Building and maintaining a positive and consistent brand image
- Optimization of communication processes to make optimal use of resources
What are examples of communication goals?
The next step is to clarify the goals of your communication measures .
Examples of questions you could ask yourself: Do you want to increase your reach? Or your sales? Do you want to expand your sphere of influence and become internationally active in the future? Or do you want to spread certain values and concepts?
All this and more is possible. The important thing is that you set as specific, measurable goals as possible using the SMART method so that you can later evaluate the success of your measures.
Creating a communication concept: steps and measures
Now it’s time to actually create the communications concept: First, you need to think about it. This forms the basis for all subsequent measures and is essential to the success of your PR concept .
For some steps, there are also tools for creating the communication concept. Trello or Asana , for example, are suitable for project management . HubSpot , Buffer , or Hootsuite are ideal for creating, managing, and distributing content.
The following describes the essential steps to be taken when creating a communication concept.
Step 1: Situation analysis
Start by analyzing the current situation . How has your company presented itself both internally and externally? Which channels have been successful in reaching and convincing customers, and which have been unsuccessful? Which business sale lead target group has been addressed precisely? What were the goals of your communication measures?
Next, clarify whether any of the framework conditions have changed since the last fundamental strategic decisions . If, for example, your positioning, target audience, or corporate identity no longer seem consistent, now is the perfect time to make adjustments.
A commonly used method in this phase is the SWOT analysis . This allows you to identify your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and use this as a basis for further development of your new PR concept.