THE GREATEST MISTAKE IN SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATIONS
At the risk of this becoming a fairytale. I want you to imagine a cold winter’s morning when a convoy of tradies’ utes arrives at a building site prepared to commence work.
Over the course of the previous week, a succession of trucks carrying building supplies, including timber, bricks, concrete, pipes, wiring and steel, have made deliveries to site with the full suite of requisite materials.
The various trades arrive on site, hop out of their vehicles and immediately get to work. There is some confusion and a few angry words exchanged as the men and women cross paths and begin laying bricks, installing plumbing, wiring electrical circuits and so on.
I am sure you get the picture, and I am certain that you realise this scenario is utterly ridiculous, never likely to occur on a modern building site in Australia and, dare I say it, a complete fabrication. The consequence is obvious. The construction of a completely dysfunctional building with no logical design, significant safety and functional issues, to say nothing of representing a massive waste of the owner’s money.
Ah, “design” – that is the key word here. The one key component lacking in this process is the existence of any form of plan. There are no drawings, there has been no planning, no estimation, no project management – it is just head over heels, straight into the building process. And the result is disastrous.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it. Well, does it? Because, for some reason, this is precisely the scenario that I continuously see applied to so many marketing campaigns and communication activities.
If you think I am exaggerating, I can assure you that I am not. Over the course of decades, I have seen this scenario play out repeatedly and it still staggers me today that even the most sophisticated enterprises leap obliviously into the construction phase of a communication project with absolutely no consideration of the critical need for a plan.
I must say that this is often NOT the fault of the internal communications team who find themselves simply instructed to “build something” without being given the time or resources to research, plan and design. There are a few “giveaway” phrases that stick out when this kind of disaster-riddled approach is in the making. The missive that comes down to the marketing team: “We just need some new brochures! (By Friday).” Or: “The Board says XYZ School’s website looks so much better than ours – can you get onto it!”
Why is it that when it comes to corporate communication, public relations or marketing activities, many highly intelligent Executives don’t appear to even consider the necessity of taking a well-thought-out, strategic approach. And, despite what I said above, I should add that communications teams are not always without sin in this regard. Far too many are solely focused on delivering “outputs” or what may more accurately be termed in the modern vernacular as “stuff”. Producing flyers, building websites, posting social media messages, issuing media releases and so on, without first thinking: “What is the outcome or objective we are seeking and what tools and approach will best achieve the optimal result? Do we even need a brochure? What is the business outcome we are seeking with the website? Will a press release actually result in media coverage?
You may think I speak in jest, but I promise after more than 40 years in the communications business, the lack of attention to strategic thinking remains endemic. Alan Lakein put it best: Failing to plan is planning to fail.
For more insights and ramblings on strategic business communications and marketing from JLCA Director John Le Cras, visit the JLCA Journal page.
