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Communications Plans Stretch A Budget

Written By Communication on Monday, December 28, 2009 | 3:31 PM


By Joan Marcus

Effective communication does not happen by chance. It is the result of careful planning and consistent implementation. A communications plan helps you understand where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there. It is your guide to successfully branding your agency. A well-written plan also helps you get the most out of your marketing dollars. It keeps your message focused and allows you to be creative rather than reactive.

While many nonprofit organizations begin the planning process with good intentions, all too often their plans end up on shelves collecting dust. To be effective, a communications plan should be user friendly. It must support your agency goals, contain specific strategies, include a timeline and assign responsibility for each strategy to a specific person. Finally, you should evaluate your efforts at regular intervals so you can make changes if necessary.

Before You Plan

Before you begin the planning process, you need to review your current situation. Consider the following:

* Strategic plan. Your communications plan should flow from your strategic plan, supporting your agency goals.
* Your brand. How do donors and prospects perceive your agency now? Is your agency donor friendly? Is it innovative? Is it results oriented? How do you want your agency to be branded?
* Your community. No one operates in a vacuum. Be aware of the changing needs of your community. Consider trends that may affect how you carry out your mission.
* Promotional tools. Review all your promotional tools including print pieces, website, fundraising letters, presentations, email messages and letterhead. Look at both the message and the visual presentation. Do your current marketing tools support the brand you want for your agency? Determine what is working and what needs to be changed.

Developing Your Plan

Once you have analyzed this information, you can begin developing your communications plan. This is a process, not a one time event. Include the following:

* Mission statement. If you had 20 seconds to persuade a prospect to donate to your organization, what would you say? Does your mission statement work or is it a garbled statement that is out of date? Your mission statement should be a concise way for you to capture what your agency is all about and it should be known and used by staff and volunteers.
* Marketing Goals. Before you begin developing marketing strategies, establish quantifiable goals that support your agency goals. For example, if your agency goal is to increase contributions by 20 percent annually, a marketing goal might be to attract 50 donors to your website monthly.
* Audiences. Every nonprofit has a multitude of audiences with whom it communicates. There are obvious groups such as donors, prospects and volunteers. You also may want to communicate with other people in your community who can help you achieve your goals.
* Targeted messages. Just as you need to reach several audiences, you need to target your message to each one. The messages should focus on the group's particular interests or needs and should be consistent with your mission statement.
* Budget. A well-written communications plan helps you determine what strategies you can realistically undertake. A budget also helps you keep expenses under control.
* Strategies. Now that you know what your budget is, decide what strategies make sense and will help you reach your goals. Don't overlook low cost approaches such as networking and electronic newsletters. Keep your website up to date so it delivers results.
* Timeline. Devise a timeline for the length of your communications plan. Assign responsibility for each strategy with one person retaining overall management of the process.
* Evaluation. You are making a substantial investment of time and money when you promote your organization. To ensure that you are using effective strategies, evaluate your marketing communications on a regular basis. Make mid-course corrections if necessary.For other information visit--> http://arsandy.wordpress.com

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