Analyzing Your Corporate Communications System

A Corporate Communications System (CCS) is exactly that – a system. A system (actually, a portfolio) of tools (advertising media, corporate Web site, social networks, etc.) that has but one fundamental objective – to manipulate the behavioral patterns of your corporate stakeholders – individuals and organizations – who are the targets of your CCS.

Therefore, your CCS is essentially an important part of your SRM – your stakeholders’ relationships management system. However, a CCS is large and important enough to deserve to occupy a separate icon on the comprehensive corporate objects map – and a special separate analysis. Although it obviously must be tightly integrated with your SRM system.

To get the most out of your CCS, you need to add the third ‘C’ – for ‘Comprehensive’. Which will make it CCCS – a Comprehensive Corporate Communications System. ‘Comprehensive’ in a sense that it (a) covers both your internal stakeholders (your employees) and your external ones (all other stakeholders) and (b) includes all communication tools. Obviously, your CCCS must be tightly integrated into your overall strategic and operational corporate management system.  

Your CCCS has but one fundamental objective – to make your corporate stakeholders make decisions and take actions that will create the maximum amount of aggregate value – financial, functional and emotional – for your company. And, first and foremost, the maximum amount of financial value for your shareholders.

CCCS contains two separate but significantly interrelated components – permanent (corporate Web site, Intranet, internal social networks, corporate presence in outer social networks such as Facebook or Twitter) and periodic (or even one-time) corporate communications campaigns – direct mail or e-mail; campaigns in mass media (radio, TV, Web sites), in social networks; special events (trade shows, conferences, forums, etc.) and the like.

It must be noted that permanent presence is typically interactive – the audience can instantly communicate its feedback to your company – while communication campaigns usually are not.

I intentionally do not use here common terms ‘advertising’, ‘promotion’, ‘PR’, ‘GR’, etc. because each one of these is conceptually and structurally the same communication campaign. Only is aimed at different audiences and (although not always) has different objectives regarding specific behavior (decisions and actions) that we want from the corresponding audience. Also, there are comprehensive communication campaigns aimed at several – and sometimes even all – target audiences (stakeholders).

These differences, however, are of secondary importance. Of primary importance are similarities. In fact, the fundamental campaign of both permanent corporate presence and communications campaigns is the same – to cause shareholders behavior (decisions and actions) that will create the maximum amount of financial and aggregate value for your company. Hence, these differences are somewhat artificial.

And the fundamental objective of your CCCS is to build an optimal corporate communications tools portfolio. The one where the each tool (permanent presence and periodic or one-time campaign) operates at maximum performance and the synergy between portfolio components is maximized.

Thus, every tool in your CCCS is essentially an investment project with the usual financial KPI –payback period, NPV, IRR (or MIRR), WACC and economic profit (EP). To these, you must add a list of specific decisions and actions that you want from the corresponding stakeholders and how successful was your company in making your targets make these decisions and perform these actions.

Not surprisingly, your CCCS core consists of proper documentation that must be accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date. Obviously, your actual permanent presence and your communication campaigns must match the declared ones (described in your CCCS documentation).

As every CCCS component is essentially an investment project, it must be documented as such. Therefore, each CCCS component and the whole portfolio must have a financial plan (financial valuation model), operational plan, business plan complemented by all necessary supporting corporate documents.

Obviously, to achieve your corporate communications objectives, you must make sure that you have a highly competent CCCS management team on board. The team that is using the optimal methodology, tools and corporate process.

No less obviously, your CCCS must match the corresponding key success factors in your target markets, behavioral patterns of your stakeholders (you can use these to your advantage and slightly modify them, but you can not significantly change them), your KEF, your DCI, your corporate mission statement (if you have one), your corporate vision statement, your marketing strategy, your strategic plans, your UVP, your corporate culture and your corporate code of conduct. It must also be competitive overall and relative to each of your direct and indirect competitors.

In our fast-paced world, to maximize your CCCS performance and to keep it competitive, you must be able to very quickly adapt it to changes in your corporate environment.