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Aug. 2002

How a Communications Audit Can Enhance Your Strategic Marketing Planning

There is always time (not enough of it) that could have interfered, as well as budget and staff cuts. Another possibility could be that you did not have the right staff in place, the skills necessary to execute what you planned or the deployment of staff in the right way. And you may not have given complete thought to the messages you wanted to convey and best medium to use to convey them.

That’s where a communications audit can help. An audit helps you identify the key communication subjects and the best communications methods to use so that audiences actually receive information, understand it, believe it and take actions that contribute to meeting your organization’s objectives. Once you have determined these, you can then evaluate staffing levels, skills and deployment to align with the ideal communication mix and media.

One approach to a communications audit is to conduct a “surgical strike” to evaluate specific areas of concern such as the effectiveness of a particular publication or campaign. This approach may be all that is needed.

A comprehensive audit involves a complete review of current practices, staffing, communication campaigns and vehicles. In this case, you are really trying to answer the following:

• How well is the function supporting the system’s objectives?

• How could it be done better?

• Who are the consumers of your communication and what do they need or want to know and how do they want to receive the information?

You cannot begin to audit personnel or campaigns until you have established a complete picture of the health system’s environment. The first part of the audit is a review of all pertinent information that influences marketing and communication strategies. In essence, you are reviewing much of the same information as you would when beginning to write a strategic marketing plan; Vision/Mission, the Strategic Plan, Statistics, Patient Type, Market Share, etc. However, you are now looking at this information from a different perspective. Instead of trying to derive strategy and tactics, you are searching for messages and mediums.

Let’s pick one area, say Patient Type. Let’s say you have identified a market niche where there is an opportunity. I will use myself as an example. I live in the South, a newly transplanted Yankee! And so are many of my neighbors. We’ve moved south for a better quality of life. And because of the lower cost of real estate and of living, transplants tend to have more disposable income. We are an audience that would be very receptive to this notion of “boutique medicine,” in which hospitals and physicians provide a concierge level of healthcare service for a price. Accompany me to see my specialist. I can go for that. E-mail consultation at night. That’s fine too. Your research has revealed the market type and even the receptivity and willingness to pay out of pocket for these services. But now you have to position the service. What are the key messages that will trigger people to action? Convenience, Control, In Charge, and On Demand? You can see how you have moved beyond strategy to very specific implementation considerations. Next you need to determine the best medium to use to reach this audience.

Next, interviewing the executive team as part of the audit is critical. By engaging them, you gain valuable insight into what is and what is not currently working. You help define the current marketing and communications environment as well as what it should be. And you gain understanding of the executives’ role in the communication process.

You now move one step deeper into the organization, assessing marketing and communication roles, responsibilities and deliverables. Individual staff interviews help you gain perspective of each individual member. Shadowing staffers (observing roles and staff interaction) gives you another perspective of how they are spending their time.

All action to this point reflects an internal focus. You must also ask your intended external audiences what it is they want to know about, how well informed they think they are in that area currently and what channels they want used to receive information. Focus Groups can help obtain that information. The consumers of your marketing campaigns have very specific opinions about what they want to know. And, your audiences are many. From local pastors to EMS members to your patients and your competitors’ patients, the audience segmentation can be quite diverse.

Ideally, the completion of the marketing plan and the audit should coincide. Armed now with a complete perspective of what your audience desires in terms of media and messages and armed with the focused tactics you need, you can now thoroughly review each of your current communication vehicles and campaigns. Understand the genesis, purpose, content, design, audience, effectiveness and results of what you currently deliver. A myriad of tools are available to help. Determine what is still viable. Some current communication campaigns and vehicles will most likely be maintained, possibly modified, others discarded and new campaigns initiated.

Now that you know what you need to deliver, size up your staffing situation and the skill sets so they match your deliverables. Retrain employees if you can or bring in the skills you need.

By conducting the audit simultaneous to the strategic marketing planning, you won’t be left scratching your head and saying “now what?” when it comes time for implementation.

Anthony Cirillo, CHE, ABC, is president of Fast Forward Strategic Planning and Marketing Consulting in Huntersville, N.C. He is a board member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development and may be reached at Anthony@4wardfast.com.

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