Anyone who has prepared a proposal for a communication plan for a potential client has started their presentation with the so-called "Situation analysis"This is the section used to describe the company and the products or services it offers to the market. This is completed with information about the sector and its main competitors. It is also common to analyse the business and communication objectives, as well as the target audiences and, above all, its added value, i.e. the elements that differentiate it from other companies with similar products and services.
This work is essential to be able to develop a good strategy. What happens is that, at this stage, although the sector is known in advance, the client is not yet known in depth because a lot of key information is usually missing. The potential client always appreciates this effort of analysis, but until the collaboration is agreed and you start working together, it will not be possible to transmit it.
It is true that in many cases circumstances mean that it is necessary to communicate practically as soon as the contract is signed, but it is worthwhile, even if only in parallel, to devote sufficient time to the transfer of information. In this sense, once the relationship begins, it is advisable to apply a procedure that allows us to get to know the company, the sector and its competitive environment as much as possible.
At PROA we have developed the Bitácora Method, our own methodology of corporate communication consultancy, whose first step is precisely the "Immersion in the client".. It is a fundamental component of the aforementioned Method which takes place after the briefing y counterbriefingand of the research previously carried out.
The greater knowledge that we will acquire by applying our methodology will allow us to adapt the strategic solutions proposed in the proposal to the reality of your needs. To this end, it is advisable to draw up a detailed questionnaire including different sections:
- The companydefinition, birth, activity, structure, team, milestones, future prospects, etc.
- Valuesmission, vision, contribution to society, corporate governance codes, CSR, ESG, etc.
- Business modelThe main business lines, products and services, added value and differentiation from competitors, type of customers, geographic area where it operates, turnover, business objectives and other business figures, success stories, regulatory impacts, etc.
- SectorThe sector's vision, main challenges, trends and opportunities, relations with sectoral associations, forums and events of interest, economic, legal, political and social factors that may affect it, etc.
This questionnaire is sent to the client so that he/she can answer it calmly and in depth. It is often forwarded to people in different positions in the organisational chart so that it can give rise to a internal reflectionand even debate, and be more complete. The resulting document, which is of course confidential, will serve not only to unify the company's main messages, but will also be the basis for the preparation of different informative materials such as the press dossier, arguments, opinion forums or the corporate paragraph. It will also be used to respond in the future to the requirements of the media and institutions or even for the preparation of brochures, announcements or even for the corporate website or the profiles of other digital media.
This task should be completed with conversations and interviews between the team designated by the consultancy firm and those designated by the client. In this way, not only the part related to the activity is known, but also its main objectives when outsourcing the communication department, concerns, sensitive issues or internal problems, which are so common in all corporations, which have so much weight and which are so necessary to know.
In addition, PROA has always considered it a priority to visiting the offices, plants, factories or facilitiesThis provides invaluable information because it helps to make tangible what we have been told about so far. It is a time to get to know other members of the team, to understand the scale of the company's activity, to unpack processes that are difficult to understand on paper, and the opportunity to ask questions and resolve doubts that would not otherwise arise.
The purpose of customer immersion can never be to supplant your role as spokesperson and expert. There is no one better than them to talk about their business and their products. The role of the communication consultant is not to be the interlocutor with the client. stakeholdersBut there is no doubt that the more knowledge you have about the company and the business model, the better content you will create, the better opportunities and threats you will detect, the better you will explain your differentiation or contribution when talking about the company to the media or an institution, and ultimately, the better you will be able to explain it, best advice and strategic contribution it can make to the client.
Valvanuz Serna Ruiz is managing partner of PROA.
*A version of this tribune was published in the media. Dircomfidential.