format of company communication plan

How to Write an Effective Communications Plan [+ Template]

Published: January 05, 2023

Remember the " Tide Pod Challenge ?" That horrendous time at the beginning of 2018 when adolescents filmed themselves ingesting laundry detergent?

While it was a funny (albeit dangerous) start to the new year, this small boost of infamy was a PR mess for the detergent brand in question, Tide , whose crisis communication team had to figure out how to respond to America's teens swallowing their toxic product. Tide's parent company, Procter & Gamble, was swift in their response, thanks in large part to their communication plan .

In this post, you'll learn how to create an effective communication plan that prepares you and your company for any situation.

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What is a communications plan.

A communications plan enables you to effectively deliver information to appropriate stakeholders. The plan will identify the messages you need to promote, to whom you're targeting those messages, and on which channel(s). Communications plans can be used in times of crises, but they are also used when pitching new initiatives or launching new products.

Communication plans can help you clarify the purpose of a product launch or new initiative and officially determine the messages you want to deliver to your intended audience(s).

Additionally, a communication plan can help your business during a time of crisis if a previous marketing message or business decision damages your reputation with internal stakeholders or customers.

If companies don't have a communication plan , they'll be unprepared when disaster strikes. It may be unlikely that your company will find teenagers eating your product for internet fame, but not so unlikely that you'll never find yourself needing a procedure to effectively handle difficult situations.

Need a free, easy-to-use communication plan template? HubSpot has 12. Check out this toolkit for everything you need to build your own.

This is part of a template offered in the toolkit. For this particular template, the organization is separated into phases, a description of that phase, and who needs to complete that action.

Download These Templates for Free

Now that we've gone over how a communication plan can be helpful, let's learn how to write one that will be effective.

How to Write a Communications Plan

• Conduct an audit of your current communications materials.
• Set SMART goals for your communications plan based on the results from your audit.
• Identify the audience to whom you plan to deliver your communications plan.
• Outline and write your plan, keeping your audiences in-mind.
• Determine the channel(s) on which you need to deliver your messages.
• Decide which team members are responsible for delivering the message.
• Estimate a timeline for how long each step should take.
• Measure the results of your plan after presenting to stakeholders, and determine successes and areas for improvement.

1. Conduct an audit of your current communications materials.

Before sitting down to get rollin' on your plan, you need to first decide where it'll fit into your business. So it's important you complete a "state of the union," or an audit of the current climate of communications within your company. This can help you identify any problem areas.

For instance, let's say you need to create a communications plan for a new product launch. To create your plan, you'll first need to perform an audit to identify gaps in your current marketing approach.

After performing the audit, you might find there is a major gap in your marketing materials in which you rarely discuss a topic that aligns well with your new product. You'll want to ensure this topic makes it into your communications plan.

Crisis Communication and Management Kit

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Free Communication Plan Template

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To conduct an audit, you'll need to carefully gather and interpret data on your current marketing plan performance and build a path forward based on those results. Additionally, you might consider hosting focus groups or sending surveys to your audience to find gaps in your current communications materials.

Of course, you'll want to have the goal of your communications plan in-mind when conducting an audit. In the example above, noticing you're lacking material on a certain subject only matters if your goal is to drive leads and conversions to a product that aligns with that subject.

For instance, if you're launching a new email marketing tool and you notice you're lacking content on Google Ads, this might not be relevant information for your communications plan. However, if you're missing content on email marketing best practices, that's important information you can use to tailor your communications plan appropriately.

2. Set SMART goals for your communications plan based on the results from your audit.

After your audit, you'll want to lay out a few goals based on the data from the results. What do you want to achieve with this plan?

When in doubt, remember that your goals should be SMART : Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

For instance, if a small agency is writing a communications plan for its client, they might write a goal along these lines: "We plan to increase employment applications for our client by 25% over the course of one quarter."

Alternatively, perhaps your HR team needs to write a communications plan to pitch designing a new growth matrix for individual contributors who don't want to become managers.

If that's the case, your HR team will need to identify specific goals they hope to achieve as a result of their plan, even if the results are less quantifiable — for instance, their goal might be to "increase employee retention rates by 10% over the next year" or even "increase employee satisfaction, as indicated by their next NPS scores." They'll need to pitch these goals to stakeholders to get leadership on-board.

Download Your Free SMART Goal Template

3. Identify the audience to whom you plan to deliver your communications plan.

Good communication starts with knowing and understanding your listener. In this case, if a crisis communication plan is for stakeholders, which one(s) are you writing for? Stakeholder examples include employees, investors, customers, local government officials, or media outlets.

If you're writing for media outlets, a press release detailing your goals is a good idea for that audience. There should be a process for who will speak to the media outlets, an outline of what they will say, and an action plan put in place moving forward.

Alternatively, if your audience is your employees, you might want to create an up-to-date internal document for employees to refer to, as well as the contact information for the internal DRI if they have follow-up questions.

4. Outline and write your plan, keeping your audiences in-mind.

When you're ready to outline and write your plan, it's likely easiest if you start with a table or chart to identify the messages you need to promote, to whom you're targeting those messages, and on which channel(s).

Once you've created a general outline, here's how you'll want to structure your communications plan (feel free to copy these sections into a Table of Contents for your own plan):

• Purpose (what is this communications plan for)
• Escalation Framework (including 'first line of defense' and 'greater response team')
• Roles and responsibilities of each employee
• Do's and Don'ts
• How to maintain an effective response plan

(If you need help writing a communications plan, download our free, ready-to-use communications plan templates .)

When writing your communication plan, work with groups or representatives from your stakeholders to improve accuracy. Strategies should solve for goals or potential risks.

For instance, if you work for an agency aiming to promote a client's product, a risk might be spending money on paid ads without a guaranteed ROI. To solve for that risk, the agency should detail different steps to ensure the ads are effective before going public.

5. Determine the channel(s) on which you need to deliver your messages.

The channels you choose to communicate with your audience depends on your message, and to whom you want to deliver that message. For instance, if you're creating a communications plan for internal employees, you might send out your communications plan in a company-wide email, use a team communication app , or in-person team meetings to deliver your message.

Alternatively, if you're communicating with customers, you might determine it's best to communicate via an email newsletter, or via a press release.

Of course, the channel(s) you choose will depend on your goals, but it's important as you're writing your communication plan that you keep your distribution methods in-mind.

6. Decide which team members are responsible for delivering the message.

Once you determine your audience and channel(s) on which you'll deliver your communications plan, figure out the DRI for delivering the message.

For instance, if your HR team is pitching a new growth matrix to leadership, you might ask your Director of HR to deliver the initial pitch in the first meeting. Once leadership is on-board, you might ask each HR representative to deliver one training session for each internal team to ensure every employee understands what's changing internally, and why.

7. Estimate a timeline for how long each step should take.

You should have a ballpark estimate of how much time each step in executing your strategy will take. For instance, if your plan needs to go from the higher-ups down to the employees, it's good to take into account how long going through the chain of command will take. It's also smart to infer how long a media cycle will last.

For instance, for a minor slip-up on an ad campaign, the advertising agency might estimate the cycle for controlling the issue will take a month — including meeting with the client, stakeholders, and employees to discuss steps moving forward.

8. Measure the results of your plan after presenting to stakeholders, and determine successes and areas for improvement.

There's always room for improvement. Measure the results of the plan after presenting it to stakeholders, and determine aspects that went well, and areas for improvement next time.

For instance, the ad agency might not have met its goal of increasing prospective applications by 25% within a quarter. They might rework their goals to give themselves more time or pivot their quarterly focus to fit those goals.

Alternatively, if you notice certain language in your communications plan evokes a level of stress or fear with internal stakeholders, consider how you can re-word next time to ensure your communications plan feels helpful, beneficial, and positive.

Some aspects of building a communication plan can be a "choose your own adventure" journey. The key is choosing aspects that best reflect what your business needs in times when effective communication is key. What do your stakeholders need to know, and how are you going to best communicate that?

Communication Plan Examples

• Strategic Communication Plan
• Project Communication Plan
• Marketing Communication Plan
• Corporate Communication Plan
• Crisis Communication Plan

Communication plans can get tricky, but writing an effective one will prove itself with its longevity. The following communication plans include analysis for stakeholders you'd respond to and the procedures for what to include in those communications.

1. Strategic Communication Plan

Bright Hub Project Management's communication plan explains how, when, and why communication happens within its organization.

This example is great because it details how communication managers write crisis plans and acknowledges that sometimes the busy marketer or project manager takes on this responsibility.

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2. Project Communication Plan

Here's an example of a Billing Upgrade Project from Simplicable . This communication plan maps out all the important meetings and documents needed for the project. As you can see, it also includes necessary sections including audience, goals, format, and DRI.

3. Marketing Communication Plan

A marketing communication plan is essential for communicating to your target market, especially when launching new products or initiatives. This example from Smartsheet allows you to plan marketing communications strategies for customers, sales prospects, media partners, internal stakeholders, and events.

4. Corporate Communication Plan

Corporate communication plans outline how organizations communicate internally and externally. This example from Smartsheet is a nine-step roadmap that includes space for a mission statement, executive summary, situation analysis, key messages, and more.

5. Crisis Communication Plan

This communication checklist below, by Prezly , gives a great overview of the details of a crisis plan from beginning to end. It can be used as an effective guide when drafting a crisis management strategy.

Communication Planning Tips

Communication planning can be tricky, so here are some extra tips to keep in mind to help your plan shine: when describing procedures for handling crises, include who the situation involves. This lets stakeholders envision decision-making processes.

Additionally, if you're part of a larger company with a broad stakeholder list, it's okay to split up target audiences for your plan.

For instance, maybe your audience is more than just "consumers." Split stakeholder groups for easier comprehension and more distinct solutions.

Ultimately, your communications plan needs to clearly and succinctly provide necessary information to everyone involved in the business decision, product launch, or PR crises. Use the strategy mentioned above, as well as our communication plan templates , to ensure yours is as effective as possible.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September, 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Why a clear communication plan is more important than you think

More often than not, clear communication can make or break successful projects. Clear communication in project management isn’t just about where you should be communicating—it’s also about which team members should be receiving which types of messages.

The good news is, creating an effective communication plan isn’t difficult. All you need to do is define your communication channels and align on when team members should use each. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to set up a communication plan and show you a template so you can create your own.

What is a communication plan?

Sharing a communication plan can give your team clarity about which tools to use when and who to contact with each of those tools. Without a communication plan, you might have one team member trying to ask questions about work in a tool that another team member rarely checks. Rather than being able to clearly communicate and move forward with work, each team member would end up frustrated, confused, and disconnected from the work that matters. Then, if they don’t have clear insight into who is responsible for each channel, they might end up reaching out to an executive stakeholder with questions that person can’t answer. What started out as a simple miscommunication has spiraled into three frustrated team members—and all the while, work isn’t moving forward.

What should a communication plan include?

Your communication plan is your one-stop-shop for your project communication strategy. Team members should be able to use the communication plan to answer project questions like:

What communication channels are we using? What is each channel used for?

When should we communicate in person vs. asynchronously?

What are the project roles? Who is the project manager ? Who is on the project team? Who are the project stakeholders ?

How are important project details, like project status updates, going to be communicated? How frequently will these be shared?

What shouldn’t be included in a communication plan?

A communication plan will help you clarify how you’re going to communicate with your project team and project stakeholders—whether these are internal team members that work at your company, or external stakeholders like customers or contractors.

A communication plan in project management is not a PR plan. This plan will not help you align on your social media strategy, identify a target audience, or establish key messages for different demographics. If you need to build out those plans, consider creating a  social media content calendar  or a  business strategy plan .

The benefits of a communication plan

Obviously  clear communication in the workplace  is a good thing. But do you really need a written communication plan to do that?

In a word: yes. A good communication plan can help you communicate the right information to the right project stakeholders. Executive stakeholders don’t need to be notified about every project detail—similarly, every project team member might not need to be on a conference call with your external partners. By clarifying where and how you’ll be communicating, you can reduce the guessing game and unblock your team.

Less app switching

We recently interviewed  over 13,000 global knowledge workers  and found that the average knowledge worker switches between 10 apps up to 25 times per day. Instead of focusing on high-impact work or even collaborating effectively with their team members, knowledge workers are sinking hours into simply trying to figure out where they should be communicating.

A communication plan can eliminate this guessing game. For example, if your team knows that you only communicate about work in a  work management tool , they can search for key information there—instead of digging through document folders, Slack messages, and multiple email chains. Similarly, when you know that a team member is only tangentially working on the project—and is only being looped in during high-level status reports—you won’t bother them with a question about when the next  project deliverable  is due.

We have created communication guidelines around what software or what tools are best for what. Asana is for action, Slack is for quick responses or answers to things that are floating around. Email is more official and mostly external facing. By doing that, and creating the proper communications guidance, it really helps reduce the noise.”

Increased collaboration

Team collaboration isn’t an effortless process that happens by itself—it’s a skill that you and your team have to build. One part of creating effective  team collaboration  is clarifying your team’s communication conventions. That’s because a big barrier to effective collaboration is feeling comfortable communicating—especially if you work on a  remote or distributed team . If your team feels unsure because they’re still trying to figure out how or where to communicate, they won’t be fully comfortable talking to one another.

Your communication plan is a chance to clarify where team members should be communicating. Depending on the level of detail, you can also include when team members should be communicating—and clarify team conventions towards setting “Do not disturb” mode or snoozing notifications.

By providing these guidelines, you’re effectively removing one of the biggest barriers to easy communication and collaboration between team members. When team members know where to communicate—and just as importantly, where not to communicate—they can be confident they’re sending the right message at the right time.

Less duplicative work

Currently, knowledge workers spend  60% of their time on work about work  like searching for documents, chasing approvals, switching between apps, following up on the status of work, and generally doing things that take time away from impactful work. Part of this work about work is not knowing where things should be communicated.

If team members don’t have a clear sense of where information is shared—things like your  project plan  or  project timeline —then they’ll have to dig through multiple tools or ask several team members just to find the right information. As a result, team members who are unclear about where they should be communicating about work also have a harder time simply finding existing work.

Work about work leads to more manual, duplicative work and less clarity overall. In fact, according to the  Anatomy of Work Index , we spend 13% of our time—236 hours per year—on work that’s already been completed. By sharing your communication plan, you can give your team clarity into exactly where work lives, so they don’t have to spend all that time finding it themselves.

How to write a communication plan

A communication plan is a powerful tool—but it’s also relatively easy to create. You can create a communication plan in four steps.

1. Establish your communication methods

The first step to creating a communication plan is to decide where your team will communicate—and about what. This includes when to use which tools and when to communicate live vs. asynchronously. Live, synchronous communication is communication that happens in real time. Conversely, asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting someone to reply right away. We all use asynchronous communication every day without realizing it—most notably, every time we send an email.

As you define your communication plan, identify what to use each tool for. For example, you might decide to use:

Email to communicate with any external stakeholders.

Slack for synchronous communication about day-to-day updates and quick questions.

Asana to communicate asynchronously about work, like task details, project status updates , or key project documents.

Zoom or Google Meet for any team meetings, like project brainstorms or your project post mortem.

2. Align on communication cadence

Now that you know where you’ll be communicating, you also have to identify how frequently you’ll be communicating. Your communication cadence is your action plan for updating different stakeholders about different project details.

For example, you might decide to schedule:

Weekly project status updates posted in Asana to all project stakeholders and sponsors.

Monthly project team meetings to unblock any work or brainstorm next steps.

Asynchronous project milestone updates in Asana as needed.

3. Add a plan for stakeholder management

Running a successful project often depends on getting stakeholder support and buy-in. At the beginning of the project, you’ll do this during the  project kickoff meeting —but it’s also critical to maintain stakeholder support throughout your project.

Take some time as you’re drafting your communication plan to detail when to communicate with each project stakeholder, and about what. Some people, like your key project team members, will be communicating about this project regularly—maybe even daily. Other project stakeholders may only need to be looped in during project status updates or maybe just at the final readout.

By listing out how you’ll be managing communication with stakeholders, you can ensure they’re being contacted at the right time about the right things. The communication they recieve should answer questions at their level of detail and with a focus on business results and overall, high-level impact.

4. Share your communication plan and update it as needed

Once you’ve created your communication plan, it’s time to share it with your project team. Make sure your communication plan is accessible in your central source of truth for all project information. We recommend using  Asana  to track all project communication and work, so you can talk about work where you’re working.

If any changes impact your project communication plan, make sure you update it and communicate those changes. That way, team members always have access to the most up to date information.

Example communication plan

Communication plan template

Description of communication.

What type of communication is it?

How often will you be communicating?

Which tool will you be using? Is this synchronous or asynchronous communication?

Who is receiving this communication?

Who is in charge of sending out this communication?

Good communication starts with a communication plan

Clear communication can help you send the right message at the right time. Empower effortless collaboration while also ensuring every team member is being looped in at the right times. That way, your team can spend less time communicating about work and more time on high-impact work.

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How to write a communication plan (with template and examples)

February 17, 2023 5 min read 1445 102

Communication is one of the product manager’s primary responsibilities. After all, a PM can’t do their job without effectively communicating risks, dependencies, and changes.

In small companies, communication is somewhat more intuitive and often easier to manage. The problems begin to appear when the company grows.

A bigger company means more teams, more stakeholders, more initiatives, and more of everything. Beyond scale-ups, communication often becomes either too chaotic or too infrequent.

In cases like that, having a robust communication plan can be a life saver. In this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to write a communication plan in six easy steps. You can also use our free communication plan template , which contains both a blank spreadsheet for you to fill out and a practical example to help you get started.

Tables of contents

What is a communication plan, benefits of a communication plan.

• What type of information do you produce?
• Who should receive that information?
• How often should they receive it?
• What channels are most appropriate for this type of information?
• When is communication “done” for that type of information?
• Who should make sure communication for that information happens?

Communication plan example

Communication plan template.

A communication plan is an inspectable artifact that describes what information must be communicated as well as to whom, by whom, when, where, and via what medium that information is to be communicated. In addition, a communication plan outlines how communications are tracked and analyzed.

A communication plan can take various forms. For example, it might take the form of a(n):

• Weekly checklist
• Spreadsheet
• Automated Trello board

In general, a communication plan should be whatever works for you and your team, as long as it allows you to inspect and adapt your approach to communicating with others.

Investing time in creating and maintaining a communication plan brings many benefits. A communication plan serves as a(n):

Checklist and reminder

Inspectable artifact, alignment with stakeholders.

Who hasn’t forgotten to inform some critical stakeholder about a recent change/discovery?

Product management is such a fast-paced and dynamic profession that it’s very easy to let small details slip. Unfortunately, it’s these small details that often matter the most.

A written communication plan serves as a checklist that ensures minute details don’t slip too often. Whenever something relevant happens, you can easily refer to your communication plan to double-check whether you’ve connected with everyone who needs to be in the loop.

A tangible communication plan allows product managers to slow down, inspect, and adapt their current processes.

Whenever there’s a communication mishap, they can review what led to it and adjust their approach to communication. A concrete plan makes a vague and sometimes intimidating term such as “communication” more tangible.

Over 200k developers and product managers use LogRocket to create better digital experiences

A communication plan, when done well, brings alignment and facilitates input from other stakeholders. It also lays out expectations of how communication is being handled and executed.

If stakeholders feel they aren’t getting all the relevant information, they can quickly check the communication plan to see what they are missing and what is lacking in the communication process that is causing them to miss that information. If they find the communication inadequate, they can share their feedback with the communication plan owner.

It’s easier to facilitate feedback and alignment when something is on paper.

How to create a communication plan in 6 steps

As mentioned above, there are various ways to create a communication plan.

A simple way to write a communication plan is to answer six questions:

• When is communication done for that type of information?
• Who should make sure it happens?

1. What type of information do you produce?

Start by reviewing what information you produce and process.

If you manage roadmaps , you probably produce a lot of information regarding roadmap changes, delays, and anything else that may relate to roadmaps.

If you manage releases, you also produce information regarding the release progress, stage, and anything else that related to releases.

Capture it all.

To make it easier, start with the broader, more general concepts. And if you notice the need for more precision, split them into more detailed communication positions.

2. Who should receive that information?

For a given type of information you produce or process, who should receive it? These are usually people who are:

• Direct stakeholders
• Dependent on the initiative
• Contributing to the initiative

Investing some time in defining the receipts has two main benefits.

First, it ensures you don’t miss a critical person in your communication flow, but it also helps you answer the question of who is not interested in certain information. Over-communication creates noise and should be avoided.

3. How often should they receive it?

You should identify the frequency of updates being sent out depending on the information being shared and which stakeholders are included. Should it be daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly?

You probably won’t nail it at first, but that’s OK. What’s important is to search for a sweet spot between over-communication and under-communication.

Although it might seem excessive at first, finding the right balance will be increasingly important as the amount of and need for communication grows over time.

4. What channels are most appropriate for this type of information?

What medium is most suitable for a given type of information?

For example, it would be silly to inform someone about a mission-critical dependency in a comment under a Jira ticket. At the same time, you shouldn’t spam other people’s Slack with every minor change.

Before sending out an update, ask yourself:

• Where would people seek such information?
• How fast should it reach the audience?
• How critical is it?
• Is it a one-sided update or a potential conversation starter?

The answers to these questions will help you find the best channel for the given information piece.

5. When is communication done for that type of information?

Many people fall into the concept trap that once you send out a message, your communication responsibility is over. This is not always the case.

If you send a company-wide FYI update, then yes, your job is probably completed when you press send, but what if you have roadmap changes that impact multiple teams. Shouldn’t you be making sure everyone on those teams are informed?

In cases like that, you can’t say you are done just because you’ve sent a message. You should chase all key stakeholders and ensure that they have read and understood your message to avoid any misconceptions.

Let’s face it: messages sometimes slip. Your job isn’t to send messages, but to ensure everyone is on the same page. It’s not the same thing.

I’m a fan of having a simple definition of done for communication items. Sometimes, it’ll just mean pushing an update. Other times, it might mean getting a signature of approval from another stakeholder.

6. Who should make it happens?

Last but not least, if it’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure communication happens, then it’s no one’s responsibility.

Although the whole team should be responsible for ensuring effective communication, I believe in having a dedicated owner for a given communication stream. The owner can be permanent or rotate every sprint.

If you have communication owners in place, the chance of communication actually taking place increases dramatically.

Let’s take a look at an example of a communication plan created using the framework I just outlined:

This communication plan can now serve as an artifact for alignment, process improvement, and double-checking if everything is communicated as needed.

Since some of the items in the communication plan happen as needed, it’s imperative to review the artifact on a regular basis. Otherwise, details are bound to slip sooner or later.

To make it easy to get started with creating your own communication plan, we’ve created a communication plan template for you. Click File > Make a copy to customize the template.

When you start, ask yourself:

• What you want to communicate
• By what channel
• When you consider the communication as done
• Who should own the given communication item

Although it may lack in the beginning, use it as an inspectable artifact to improve your communication approach every sprint. I promise you, it’ll make your job as a product manager significantly easier.

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Free Communication Plan Templates

By Kate Eby | February 27, 2023

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Below, you’ll find the best free communication plan templates for your organization. These templates are fully customizable and available in multiple formats. Pick the one that’s right for you.

On this page, you’ll find a communication plan template that allows for full customization and the inclusion of numerous important details; a strategic communication plan template that helps you develop a granular and highly focused communication strategy; and a business communication plan template that enables you to align your business plan and mission statement with your communication plan.

Communication Plan Template

Download a Communication Plan Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | Google Sheets

Use this communication plan template to develop a clear and organized plan for disseminating information throughout your organization. Enter important details, such as stakeholders, deliverables, priority, delivery method, and frequency of communication. You can use this template in its current form, or you can adapt it to suit your specific needs. A good communication plan streamlines your workflow and reduces redundant or unnecessary communication while ensuring the efficient distribution of all vital details to every interested party. 

For additional information on communication plans, including more templates and professional advice, check out this comprehensive guide to project communication plans .

Strategic Communication Plan Template

Download a Strategic Communication Plan Template for  Excel | Adobe PDF | Google Sheets

Use this strategic communication plan template for a complete and detailed look at your organization’s communication needs. This template helps you develop a strategic plan that takes into consideration your mission, executive strategy, situational analysis, stakeholders, key messages, and more. This tool gives you the ability to create a customized plan that encompasses all your needs.

Check out these free communication templates for more options and information about communication plans.

Business Communication Plan Template

Download a Business Communication Plan Template for  Excel | Adobe PDF | Google Sheets

A business communication plan is crucial for setting and meeting organizational goals. Use this template to align your business plan and mission statement with your communication plan. Fill in all the crucial details concerning your business and mission to create a fully formed communication plan that streamlines and strengthens the connection between your business, clients, and stakeholders. 

To learn more about creating your own communication plan, visit this highly informative page of free communication strategy templates, examples, and expert tips .

What Is a Communication Plan Template?

A communication plan template is a tool for organizing and planning a communication strategy for a project or program. The template format can range from a simple chart to a multistep plan. Adapt the template to meet your organization’s needs.

A communication plan is essential for creating and implementing a predictable, reliable, and timely system of communication within your organization. Use a communication plan template to ensure that you’re accounting for all stakeholders and disseminating key information in a timely and constructive manner.

What Should a Communication Plan Include?

A communication plan should include goals and objectives; stakeholders and audiences; key messages; and a timeline for the dissemination of important communication. As your plan evolves, you can add details, such as multistep solutions or changes of task ownership. 

The nature of your plan’s content depends partially on the type and size of your organization. Still, most communication plans share a basic framework. To learn more, check out the key elements of a communication plan .

How to Write a Strategic Communication Plan

When writing a strategic communication plan, first decide on your goals. Next, consider what you need to communicate and to whom. Then write and obtain approval for your message. Finally, create a schedule and share your message with the team.

Your plan will vary, depending on your specific circumstances, but expect to follow these steps:

• Establish Your Communication Needs Figure out what you require in order to communicate important messages within your organization: What types of technology do you need to share information? With whom do you need to share information? What is the appropriate tone for sharing information? By answering these questions, you gain a firm grasp of what you need before you move on to the next step. 
• Decide on Your Communication Goals Determine what you want to say, to whom you want to say it, and how and why you want to say it. Write down the answers to these questions. Stay focused on your communication goals by making sure that you don’t include redundant or unnecessary information. Follow these steps to create the basis of your written plan. 
• Develop a Communication Schedule Establish the time frame of your project. Is it a short- or long-term project? An ongoing project requires consistent, recurring updates; a short-term project requires only a few updates (e.g., at the outset of the project, at the midway point, and at the conclusion). Once you determine the frequency of your communication, then you can pinpoint the timing of your updates based on the nature of your content. Deliver a recap or a low-priority message at or near the end of the week; share an important message early in the week or at a team meeting. Follow these steps to develop a precise communication schedule. 
• Consolidate Information into One Document Adapt one of the templates on this page to meet your needs. Once you’ve done so, make sure the entire team has access to the document. That way, you can ensure that everyone is working in lockstep.

How to Use Communication Plan Templates

As communication plans evolve, you can easily adapt by using a template. Pick an editable template that meets your needs. Complete the relevant fields with your specific information. As clients or stakeholders change, so should your communication plan. 

Use the following step-by-step instructions to get the most out of the templates on this page:

• Download the communication plan template in Microsoft Word.
• Save the template to your drive using a meaningful and unique title (e.g., “Marketing Department Communication Plan”).
• Stakeholders
• Deliverables for each stakeholder
• Frequency of communication
• Preferred delivery method
• Team or owner of each project
• Fill in the corresponding fields in your template.
• Review and adjust your plan as necessary.
• Share your plan with key stakeholders.
• Revisit and adapt your plan as necessary using your downloaded template.

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Grow & Protect Your Brand With This Corporate Communication Plan Template

The world of corporate communications is changing faster than ever. The pandemic, the rise of stakeholder activism, social justice issues and geopolitical conflicts are just a few catalysts reshaping the communications landscape. The current climate has increased the need for communications professionals to grow and protect their brand’s reputation. 

This new environment requires expertise in multiple areas, from social media and risk management to employer branding. Being proactive is not only key to maintaining a positive public image and building trust—it’s an essential part of business success. 

A corporate communications plan is the backbone of how you create and share key information with employees, partners, investors and more. As a guiding light for the best methods to communicate, the plan can also help professionals navigate any situation, from a public relations crisis to product launches and social campaigns.

We’ve crafted a customizable corporate communications plan template to help you build an effective strategy for your team, including:

• Goals/objectives for your company
• Key performance indicators
• Key stakeholders and target audiences
• A distribution strategy 
• A calendar roadmap with quarterly initiatives

Our corporate communication plan template is an excellent starting point for creating a stellar strategy that identifies challenges and provides a set path of action. Download today so your team can deliver communications with intention and ease. 

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How to Write a Strategic Communication Plan Template

• May 1, 2022
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CONTENT WRITER

We know why you are here, and we are prepared with both a communications plan template and a guide that will help you every step of the way.

Communication plans are great strategies that will not only take your branding objectives to the next level ,  but will also help you manage PR crises without damaging your image.

In this material, we will walk you through the benefits of a communication plan template and we will show you what are the steps you need to take in order to build your very own communication strategy. Are you ready?

Free Communications Plan Template!

Download this example of a communication strategy so you can put together a communication plan for your business faster and easier than ever.

Table of Contents

What is a communications plan.

Communications plans are documents that outline the messages a business promotes, the  audience  meant for those messages, and the channels of communication. 

A strategic communications plan is a way to organize all your company’s messages in one place, define your goals , and ensure you maintain a consistent and positive image.

Moreover, it works as a foundation that will help with managing certain crises your company might face, pitching new ideas to your stakeholders, creating an effective communication strategy for a product launch, and more.

The Benefits of a Communication Plan

Before we get into how to write a strategic communication plan, let’s see how such a document can benefit your business.

Here are the advantages of a communications strategy plan:

• It improves client and stakeholder management
• It defines the communication process
• It creates a positive brand image

1. It Improves Client and Stakeholder Management

A well-written communication plan will help you improve the level of communication with both internal stakeholders and external audicences, as you will be able to convey your message through multiple channels.

2. It Defines the Communication Process

By having a communication plan, you will also be able to set communication objectives for your company and assess progress.

Writing a clear communication plan will help you identify:

• What  you need to communicate
• How  you should share your message
• Who  is the recipient
• Which  channels are best for sharing certain messages

Also, this way, you will discover the unique characteristics of your intended audience. Consequently, you will understand their point of view better than ever before, and communicate with them more effectively.

3. It Creates a Positive Brand Image

An effective communication plan has a positive impact on your company’s image because it makes sure that every message you share with the public is correct, on-brand, and consistent on every communication platform.

Additionally, with the help of a communication plan, you can handle crises much more effectively. In fact, big brands have a designated crisis communication team ready to go in case of a social media controversy.

Having a crisis communication plan and planning ahead of time for emergency situations will allow you to manage the public perception better. Also, rushing your response in critical situations without clearly thinking it through will allow other mistakes to slip through and make the situation worse. 

How to Write a Communications Plan

Now that you know what a communication plan is and how it can benefit your business, let’s get into the real reason why you are here — learning how to write an effective communications plan.

These are the steps you need to take to write a marketing communications plan:

• Audit Your Current Communications Strategy
• Set Communication Goals
• Define Your Target Audience
• Develop Your USP and Mission Statement
• Find the Best Communication Channels for Your Marketing Efforts
• Assign Roles to Your Team Members
• Identify Your Key Stakeholders
• Write Down Key Dates for Your Communication Strategies
• Craft Key Messages for Your Audience
• Outline Your Communication Methods and Campaigns
• Put Your Communication Plan in Action
• Monitor and Adjust Your Communication Strategy

1. Audit Your Current Communications Strategy

Before you create your communication plan, you need to run a situational analysis of your current communication strategy.

Here is what you need to evaluate when it comes to your marketing communication strategy:

• Communication channels – List all the different channels you communicate on both online and offline with your audiences (partners, clients, project stakeholders, customers, etc.).
• Communication materials – Make an inventory of all your marketing materials. Include anything from flyers to social media graphics, as well as your permanent branding guidelines (color scheme, fonts, logos, etc.).
• Tone of voice and communication style – How would you describe your communication style? You can use several adjectives to define it. 
• Results and performance – Which messages and communication platforms had the best/worst results. Add screenshots and links to understand the situation better.

To gather all this relevant information, you can go to the analytics you have for each communication channel, send surveys to your customers, partners, and stakeholders, and hold in-person meetings with your project team.

In addition, you can perform a SWOT analysis and discover both internal and external advantages and disadvantages:

👍 Strengths – Define what you do well, your best resources, and the aspects that give you an advantage over your competitors.

👎 Weaknesses – Focus on the critics you receive from others, the resources you lack compared to your competitors, and the areas that need improvement.

📈 Opportunities – Identify the opportunities and market trends that will allow you to transform your strengths into growth opportunities.

❌ Threats – Discover the external factors that can prevent your business from growing.

2. Set Communication Goals

Turn your business goals into specific communication goals. This way, your business needs will guide the way you think and write your communication goals. As a result, your chances of staying on track and enhancing your company’s performance will increase. 

Your communication goals need to provide perspective and direction for you and your team. So, make sure you offer them all the details they might need. 

When in doubt, respect the SMART goals structure:

• S pecific – State what you want to accomplish and how you plan to do it.
• M easurable – Mention how you plan to measure your progress.
• A chievable – Be realistic, and set goals that are achievable based on your company’s resources.
• R elevant – Write communication goals that align with your business needs.
• T ime-bound – Keep your team accountable by setting a clear deadline for your goals.

Here is an example of a SMART communication goal:

“Improve customer satisfaction in the next 6 months by replying to every review, comment, email, and message within 24 hours.” 

To measure success, you will have to check the reviews and feedback you receive as a result of your new initiative.

3. Define Your Target Audience

In order to write effective key messages, you first need to understand your target audiences . This doesn’t only include your customers but also your employees, partners, investors, government officials, media outlets, and more.

As a result of your research, you will be able to craft perfectly tailored messages while also discovering their preferred communication channel. Feel free to ask for feedback and suggestions that will improve their experience as well as your collaboration. Also, keep an eye on the way they communicate and try to match their approach.

When it comes to customers, you can generate multiple demographic details straight from your SocialBee dashboard. Based on the information you gather, you can create detailed buyer personas — fictional characters with the traits of different segments of your target market.

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In this way, you structure all the audience data and make it easier for you and your team to remember. 

Here is what a buyer persona should contain:

• Demographic information
• Behavioral traits
• Pain points
• Buying habits

The goal is to reach the right people with customized messages that will resonate with them.

4. Develop Your USP and Mission Statement

Not all businesses are built the same. And this is a good thing.

Your unique selling proposition is very important for your communication plan, especially when it comes to your promotional content. Why?  Because you have to rely on that unique quality to differentiate your business from the competition and give your customers a reason to purchase from you.

To develop your USP, you first need to answer the following questions:

• What do you provide that your competition doesn’t?
• What customer issue do you solve through your business?
• Why should your customers choose you and not your competitors?

Furthermore, while your USP works as a way to make your brand stand out from the crowd, your mission statement provides meaning and purpose to your company.

A great mission statement reflects your customers’ values and provides an additional reason to invest in your products.

Image source

Let’s say you sell sweets. Your USP is that you don’t use sugar in your products. So, in your mission statement, you could state that through your business, you aim to provide healthy and delicious dessert alternatives and improve your customers’ lifestyles without compromising the taste of your sweets.

5. Find the Best Communication Channels for Your Marketing Efforts

It’s not only essential to know how to communicate with your audience, but also to discover the channel that you should use to reach them. Moreover, for better results, you need to keep your communication separate. 

For instance, with your stakeholders, you can plan online or in-person meetings and provide project reports regularly. Whereas, with media outlets, you can move your communication to email. All you need is to have the contact information of several relevant journalists and nurture your media relationships on this channel.

The same goes for the rest of your audience segments. The more you customize your communication to fit your audience’s needs, the more success you will have.

However, when it comes to your customers, you have more options. You can get creative with your communication when promoting your business. 

These are the main communication channels you can use to connect with your customers:

• Content marketing
• Search enginge optimization
• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Affiliate marketing

A. Content Marketing

Your communication plan wouldn’t be complete without including your content marketing strategy.

In fact, did you know that 70% of customers would rather learn about a business from an article or blog post than from advertisements? So, it’s safe to assume that content marketing is quite a big deal.

This marketing strategy is used to attract, engage, and maintain customers by creating and distributing relevant content (articles, videos, social media posts). 

Apart from this, content marketing helps businesses establish themselves as credible and authoritative sources of information, build brand awareness and stay top-of-mind.

So, make sure you include your social media platforms, your blog, and other content creation platforms (Youtube, Udemy, etc.) and give details about your communication strategy on all of them.

Don’t forget that with SocialBee you can create, edit, schedule, and share content on all your social media platforms from one user-friendly dashboard. 

Connect all your social media profiles with SocialBee to share content faster and easier than ever before.

Besides, SocialBee can generate automatic social media posts whenever you publish a new article, making the most out of your content marketing strategy.

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B. Search Engine Optimization

To optimize your communication plan and make sure your customers see your content, you must perform search engine optimization.  Statistics show that 68% of website traffic is generated by search engines, a great insight for businesses.

A good practice is to make a list of all the keywords your audience may use to search your products and services and add them to your communication plan. As a result, you will have them ready to use whenever you create content for Google.

Make sure to use keywords and key phrases that match your customers’ search intent, and combine both short-tail and long-tail keywords into your strategy.

Moreover, add them to your titles, headings, meta descriptions, image alt text, and body text.

C. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to not only generate new leads, but also nurture your relationship with your existing customers. You should also know that email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every dollar spent.

It’s an essential part of your communication plan, so ensure you create a messaging strategy that will gain you more website traffic and keep your audience in the loop regarding company news, promotions, and newly posted blog articles.

D. Influencer Marketing

Amplify your messaging strategy with influencer marketing .

This marketing practice is used to generate brand awareness, gain trust, and improve sales.

The key is to find relevant influencers from your industry that your audience looks up to. 

Aside from that, you need to pick people that fit your image and share the same values if you want influencer collaborations to work. As a result, you will have a partnership that seems genuine and addresses the right audience.

Make a list of online personalities that you could collaborate with, and add them to your communication plan in the timeframes when you assume you will need a boost in visibility and sales.

E. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is another practice you can use to share your message with a larger audience. It involves paying other bloggers to promote your business on their website through link insertions, product/service reviews, and articles.

Besides, it’s an affordable way to generate traffic, boost sales and brand awareness, and build authority within your industry. 

6. Assign Roles to Your Team Members

You know your audience, and you picked the communication channels you will use, so it’s time to assign some roles to your internal communications team members.

For example, when it comes to communicating with media channels, you will need to assign a team member to prepare press releases and keep in touch with journalists.

Make sure you add your key team members along with their roles in the communication plan. This is useful for everyone on the team because:

• They know what their responsibilities are ahead of time.
• They know who to go to in case they need help or information.

7. Identify Your Key Stakeholders

As a business, you will have to run and manage multiple projects. And for some of them, you need the support of your stakeholders for your communication method to be successful. 

As you can imagine, this means that you need to maintain a fruitful and transparent relationship with your stakeholders. 

This is why you should add them to your communication plan. You should also include all your project deliverables, stakeholder information, and the main ways you plan to keep in contact.

8. Write Down Key Dates for Your Communication Strategies

Every business has peak moments throughout the year when their sales increase and the demand for their product rises, like flower shops during Valentine’s Day.

Some of them are obvious, while others require a little more digging through the data. So, start looking at your sales history from the past year and identify your most profitable intervals.

With this information, you can adjust your communication planning and improve the way you communicate with your customers. Plan some promotions, create new email campaigns, run ads , and basically do anything that can increase the visibility of your business.

Furthermore, you should also research holidays or international celebrations you can use to promote your brand.

9. Craft Key Messages for Your Audience

For this step, you have to keep your audience in mind at all times. It’s essential that you create key messages that fit the needs and desires of your customers.

To customize your messages accordingly, you need to answer the next questions:

• What should your audience know about your company?
• What language and communication style would your audience prefer?
• What are the main benefits you should highlight?
• What values resonate with your customers?

Make separate sections for each segment of your audience and add your key messages into your communication plan.

We advise you to create a messaging matrix in order to define your communication strategy for each. This requires you to separate your audience into segments and create categories of key messages and channels you will use for that group.

For instance, let’s say you sell skincare products and your two main target audiences are young girls between 14 and 20 and women between 30 and 45. The girls encounter problems like acne and dry skin, while the women see signs of aging such as wrinkles and depigmentation.

So you decide to address their issues and promote products that will provide a solution. With the girls, you can communicate on Instagram and TikTok, while with the women you can go for platforms like Facebook. 

10. Outline Your Communication Methods and Campaigns

Your action plan is the meat of your communication strategy.

In order to establish the main activities of your communication plan, you first have to follow these three steps:

• Align your communication plan with your marketing calendar
• Create communication campaigns
• Plan activities to achieve your communication goals

A. Align Your Communication Plan With Your Marketing Calendar 

Take a look at your marketing calendar , and find out what your marketing team has planned to improve your company’s performance. Then create your customer communication strategy to increase the results of those marketing initiatives.

Free Social Media Calendar Template

Get access to our template and create your own social media content calendar the right way in half the time. 

B. Create Communication Campaigns 

To organize all your marketing activities and keep track of your progress, you must plan different communication campaigns throughout the year.

This is what you need to establish when creating communication campaigns: 

• A theme or a goal that provides purpose and direction.
• Strategic activities that will help you achieve your goals.
• Clear dates for the beginning and the end of your campaigns.

C. Plan Activities to Achieve Your Communication Goals 

The activities you include in your communications plan should be aligned with your internal and external communication goals. After all, you want to accomplish them in a certain time frame.

That being said, your communication tactics should deal with the following aspects:

• Where will you share your message
• How will you communicate it
• When/how often will you communicate

11. Put Your Communication Plan in Action

Now that you included all the necessary elements in your communication plan, it’s time for action.

It’s a good idea to share your plan with your team and go over it together to ensure that everybody is on the same page before you implement it.

12. Monitor and Adjust Your Communication Strategy 

Your communication plan is a work in progress, it’s not a finished product. So, establish a few monitoring tactics that will allow you to track your success and identify mistakes that affect your business’ growth.

Gather all your analytics, create reports, and hold meetings with your team to gain feedback and find solutions for potential issues. You should also use the communication goals you previously set to find out if you are on the right track.

Communication Plan Examples

To give you a better idea about how you should structure your strategy, we prepared three examples you can take inspiration from:

• A project management communication plan from VENNGAGE
• A strategic communication plan from Lean Methods Group
• A communication plan example from TemplateLAB

First, we have a project management communication plan from VENNGAGE . You can see that it has a deadline, an assigned project manager, business objectives, tools, audience information, and messaging frequency. Also, the nice colorful design is a plus.

The next communication plan template is from Lean Methods Group , and it provides details about:

• Media or vehicle
• Assigned team member
• Feedback mechanism

This last example is a communications plan template from TemplateLAB that contains information about audience segments, key messages, means of communication, and deadlines for each initiative.

Although these are great documents you can use in your communication plan creation process, we have an alternative that will save you hours of work.

So, make sure you access our free template below, make a copy, and add your magical touch.

Make the Most Out of Your Communication Plans

Now that we went through what a communication plan is, its benefits, and the necessary creation process, we reached the end of this article. However, it’s only the beginning of your work.

But don’t worry, our template is waiting for you, ready to aid in your business strategies and give you a head start on the competition. Just access it below and let us know if you enjoyed our communication plan example!

Download the template so you can put together a communication plan for your business faster and easier than ever.

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How to Write a Communication Plan in 6 Steps with Editable Templates

A communication plan is a key to developing an effective and consistent messaging strategy.

It helps guide the process of setting measurable goals for your strategy, profiling your target audience and creating and successfully delivering your message.

What is a Communication Plan

Components of a communication plan, steps to communication planning, step 1 – perform a situation analysis, swot analysis, pest analysis, perceptual map, step 2 – identify and define objectives / goals, step 3 – understand and profile your key audience, step 4 – decide the media channels and create a strategy, step 5 – create a timetable for publishing, step 6 – monitor and evaluate the results, common mistakes to avoid when creating communications plans, faqs about communication plans, what’s your approach to writing a communication plan.

A communication plan outlines how teams can communicate important information to key stakeholders. It highlights what information should be shared, when, to which audience and via which channels.

Having a solid communication plan in place will help ensure that the communication objectives of your organization are met and that all assets that you send out are aligned with the core communications strategy of the company.

In marketing and public relations, communication plans are used to plan how important information about products and services will be communicated to target audiences, including customers, clients, media and the general public. Companies also use communication plans to maintain consistent and effective internal communications within the organization. These may include internal newsletters, intranet updates and team Wikis. In project management, communication plans are used to highlight how information will be communicated within teams and relevant stakeholders, throughout the lifecycle of the project. Overall, communications plans offer a structured approach to plan, implement and evaluate communication efforts to optimize the effectiveness of communications.

Use this communication plan template to develop your strategy and deploy it.

Your communications plan should include the following key elements.

Target Audience

All strategic communications should be directed at a specific audience. Accordingly, the message you send out should be tailored to their level of knowledge, understanding and trust in your brand or organization.

The next step is to define the context of your message. Identify key events that may be significant to the audience that you are aiming to reach. The context defines what should be included in the message and how your audience will relate and respond to it.

The outcome of your message is the ‘call to action’. Define what people need to know, believe and do after receiving the message. Create a ‘message pyramid’ with an attention grabbing headline, followed by ‘reasons why’ and proof points. This helps the audience understand your core message and then consider the proof points which are relevant to their context, and there by act based on your call-to-action.

Media are the channels through which your message is communicated. These may vary depending on the content, context and audience of the message. For instance, if you want to reach a younger tech-savvy audience, you may choose a social media platform that may be popular among them.

The primary messenger may not always be the most ‘effective’ messenger. The messenger’s ethos should resonate credibility, status and power, expertise and relationship.

Why do most companies get their CEOs or members of the senior management to conduct new product launches or convey important product information? It is because audiences tend to have confidence in people with big titles who have an influence in the organization. They are also experts in their subject area and have a strong relationship with the company.

Measurement

It is important to cultivate strategies to measure the effectiveness of your communications. Include KPIs for your communication activities and document the results. This also helps build a repository of information which will be useful when planning future communications activities.

Whether you are creating a marketing communication plan or a strategic communication plan, the following steps will help guide you.

Situation analysis helps assess the capabilities of and health of things in an organization. It’s the ideal way to understand the current status of your organization’s communication.

You can gather as much information as needed from conducting an audit .

To gather relevant information from situation analysis, you can consult departmental heads, process owners and other internal staff members.

In a situation analysis, you need to examine both the internal and external environments. To do so, you can use the following tools

You can use a SWOT analysis to examine the strengths and weaknesses within your organization, and opportunities and threats that you can find in your external environment.

With a PEST analysis , you can examine political, environmental, social and technological factors, all of which exist in the external environment of your organization, but can have a significant impact on the way things run in your business.

One good competitor analysis technique is the perceptual map. It helps you make sense of how your customers perceive the brands of your competitors in the market compared to yours.

Once you know where you stand, you can find your direction. The next step is to define your goals.

Think of what outcomes/results you want to achieve from your communication plan. These will become your goal/s as you develop your communication plan.

Make sure that the goals you select are SMART :

Who are you creating this communication plan for? Understanding your audience and their requirements, characteristics etc. is key to creating an effective message and delivering it successfully.

Your key audience could be within your organization or your customers. Either way, you should gather information on them and create simple audience personas.

These personas could include a variety of data that ranges from their age and gender to the challenges they face.

As you conduct research on your target audience you would get to know that their requirements and preferences are diverse.

It’s clear that you won’t be able to reach all of them through one media channel or retain their attention with one type of content.

Consider the most effective channels you can think of when creating your media channel strategy. Make sure to select the ideal channel when you are targeting different audience segments.

When do you want your audience to hear your message and how often? Have a content calendar or create a Gantt chart outlining a timeframe for your publishing strategy.

You may also need to take the resources available to you into consideration. If you have one content writer, publishing quality blog posts on a daily basis would be ineffective.

Constantly monitor and track your results in order to understand whether you are any closer to achieving your goals. If you have failed, proceed to mark it down so you can make necessary improvements next time.

Creating a communication plan for your non profit organization? Check out this resource for some great tips.

Overcomplicating the Plan

Trying to include too many channels or too much information may complicate the plan. This can lead to confusion and dilute the effectiveness of your messaging. Stick only to key messaging and channels that are most effective in reaching and engaging the target audience.

Not Considering the Timing

Timing is crucial in communication planning. It is important to consider the timing of the messaging and ensure that they are aligned with key events or milestones. Don’t send out important communications during periods of high volume or noise, such as during holidays or major news events.

Not Adapting to Changes

Communication plans should be adaptable and flexible to changes in environment or audience. It is important to regularly review and update plans to keep up with emerging trends (to make sure that your plan stays relevant and effective). Failing to adapt to changes may cause missed opportunities and ineffective messaging.

How often should a communications plan be updated?

A communications plan should be updated regularly to reflect changes in the organization’s goals, priorities, audiences, or external environment. The frequency of updates will depend on the pace of change in the organization and the industry. A good rule of thumb is to review the communications plan annually and update it as needed. However, if there are major changes in the organization, such as a merger, acquisition, or crisis, the communications plan should be updated immediately to ensure that communication is timely, accurate, and effective.

How can an organization measure the effectiveness of its communications plan?

An organization can measure the effectiveness of its communications plan by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to its communication goals and objectives. These KPIs may include website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates, media coverage, customer satisfaction surveys, or sales figures. By tracking these KPIs over time, the organization can assess whether its communication activities are achieving the desired results and make adjustments as needed. It’s important to set realistic goals and benchmarks for each KPI and to ensure that the data is collected consistently and accurately. Additionally, feedback from stakeholders, such as customers, employees, and investors, can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the organization’s communication activities.

A successful communication plan will get your message delivered across to your audience effectively while ensuring that you are on track to accomplishing your business objectives.

Follow the simple steps above to create a winning communication plan. If you have any other tips, do share them with us in the comment section below.

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

6 Communication Plan Templates With Examples

Effective communication plans are critical to any business. You need to describe your specific business messages and who should say them across business situations. This can help ensure your staff and stakeholders take your desired action. The result is that you reach your communication goals.

The thing is, certain business situations crop up more than once. So, if you write about what should be said every time your firm has a marketing campaign, you might have to write three long reports in a single month or four or five, depending on the campaigns you run during that period.

Writing about the same things all over again is time-consuming. It can take your attention away from other, more important business activities. 

That said, the question is this: Is there a way you can announce communication strategies without wasting that much time in these repetitive situations?

Yes, you can! Let me introduce you to the business communication plan template.

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What is a communication plan template?

A communication plan template is a pre-written document that outlines your business messages across different situations. They say who is responsible for each communication task in the overall communication strategy. 

When you have a template ready, you can disseminate your strategy to your staff or other stakeholders quickly and effectively. After all, all you need to do is fill out the variables and hit send.

You shouldn’t, of course, just get any kind of template. Good business templates for communication plans should help you get your message across. Whether you send your template via team communication tools or offline, after reading it, everyone involved should know exactly what to do to achieve communication goals. 

But where do you get these templates? 

The good news is, there is always a good communication plan template at your disposal. I’ll share some of them with you in the next section.

6 Communication plan templates for businesses

From communicating changes in management to announcing exciting new product launches, here are six message templates you can use for your different business communication goals. 

1. Change in the management communication plan template

You need to announce any management change in a business or a project. After all, if employees don’t know to whom they should report, any existing workflow can be disrupted.

A change in management communication plan should detail the information that you will communicate to stakeholders and employees. The main message, of course, is the change in management. The tone of your message, however, may vary across your different target audiences. 

For instance, you might need to be more reassuring when announcing the development to the rank-and-file employees. When doing the same with upper management, you might have to sound firm.

The purpose of the communication plan is to help everyone involved in the dissemination of the message understand their respective roles. Effective communication of the details of the handover, in turn, will help convince people about the benefits of the change. 

Here’s an excellent template for change management communications. 

The template specifies the different stakeholders, the communication methods, the frequency, and the responsible parties for the communication task. It also has room for notes. The more specific your communication strategy, the more effectively the change in management will be communicated. 

2. Marketing communication plan template

A communication plan is critical when you’re running marketing campaigns. After all, at the core of effective marketing is effective communication . You need to know how to communicate with your different audience segments so you can drive them to action.

But your potential customers aren’t the only people you need to speak to when it comes to your marketing efforts. Your plan (and template) should include how you should address media partners, too, especially if you’re holding events you’d like to have covered.

Check out the marketing communication plan template below. 

The key to creating a good communication plan is to look at your marketing campaign holistically. This way, you can determine the types of audiences that require different communication approaches. 

The platforms used for disseminating your messages should be specified, too. For instance, when talking to event coordinators for a marketing event, your preferred platform could be email or secure messaging app . When talking to your current customers, your preferred platforms could be social media, email, and your website.

If you’re planning to use marketing automation tools for your marketing campaigns, list them in your plan as well.

3. Product launch communication plan template

Launching a new product is exciting. A good product is half of the success equation. The other half requires a team working together to ensure proper communication of the product launch. After all, if you don’t get to communicate your launch, you can’t expect to generate sales, at least not as immediately as you would have wanted. 

This is where you need a product launch communication plan. 

Your template should have fields for the different product launch messages you’ll disseminate. For instance, you might decide to send a product feature kit to your customers. As for the media, you might decide to send them a press release instead. You’d need to specify the content of each of these product launch messages in your template.

You’ll need to include other specifics, too. For instance, will you use a custom sales email template as part of your email series to subscribers? What tone will you use in your product launch messages to each of your stakeholders?

Here is a product launch communication plan template that you can edit:

PRODUCT LAUNCH COMMUNICATION PLAN

TARGET MARKET

MESSAGING MATRIX

TEAM MEMBERS

You can customize the template so that it matches your brand colors, just for branding purposes. Then share the document with your marketing and sales teams through email, if you gave them communication tasks as well. 

You can just reuse the template for your next product launch.

4. Project management communication plan template

If you think about it, the plans and templates we talked about in previous sections (the marketing communication plan and template, for instance) are also project management communication plans. 

There are, however, other projects that aren’t covered by the templates we’ve so far discussed. So, we’ll discuss the project management communication plan in this section separately.

In general, a project manager should be clear about what their team needs to do when working together on a project. It’s their job to make sure everything is taken care of correctly and on time. The thing is, your team members might not be the only people you need to talk to for a successful project implementation.

If you’re designing a website for a client, for instance, you’d have to coordinate with the freelance web designer and that client at different stages of the project. If you plan to set up your own store but don’t know how to start a business , you’d have to talk to even more people. You’d need to ask a lawyer about permits, consult a business coach on the best strategies, and then later on ask a recruiter to help you hire the best talent.

This is where a project management communication plan comes in. The plan can help you organize your communication tasks that are relevant to the overall project’s success. 

If you’re not the only one coordinating with different project stakeholders, the plan can help your team members be on the same page. Just share the plan with them so they’ll know their specific communication tasks.

Here’s a great project management communication plan you can use as a template or get inspiration from:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION PLAN

Job Details

Client and Brand:

Job Name and Number:

Project Summary

Communication Goals

Stakeholders’ Overview

PERSON CONTACT INFO FREQUENCY       FORMAT/CHANNEL

1.  

Just adjust the specifics and the scope of your communication plan depending on the project type. 

As with your other communication plans, you’d need to outline the communication methods and the channels you will be using to contact stakeholders. These could include in-person or video meetings , emails, phone calls, DMs, social media, or any other methods. 

Also, include the hows. Will you be providing weekly or biweekly status reports to the client? Will you be talking to your building material suppliers on Wednesday or Thursday? Again, the more detailed your communication plan, the better for you.

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5. strategic communication plan template.

A strategic communication plan helps you communicate your organization’s vision for the future and its goals. The plan should specify the different ways you can make everyone in the company—from the upper management to the rank-and-file employees—aware of these. The goal of communicating these goals is to motivate everyone to take action so that the company can achieve them.

What are some sample business goals? For instance, you might want to improve your brand’s reputation in X months. Or you might want to enhance partnerships with other organizations.

Because business goals, the order in which these should be achieved, and the employees in a company tasked with communication roles change, you need a communication plan template in this situation, too.  

A good strategic communication plan template leaves room for the specific goals of the business. It also allows you to easily change each person’s communication responsibilities.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN

Initiative/Goal:

Communication Objectives:

Key Messages:

The template should also allow you to specify a timeline for the company-wide dissemination of the business goals. Don’t just give a general timeline. Everyone involved in the dissemination process should have a deadline to meet. For instance, you can say in your plan that X should have spoken to the senior managers by May. Y, meanwhile, should have informed the rank-and-file employees by August.

That’s the only way you can ensure the seamless dissemination of business objectives across the company.   

Above is a strategic communication plan template that you can adjust for your use.

6. Internal communication plan template

An internal communication plan ensures your stakeholders, including your team, are up-to-date on what’s going on in the company.

The change management communication plan we discussed above is, in fact, a type of internal communication plan. There are, however, other internal communication plans worth discussing.

For instance, you’d use an internal communication plan to communicate new onboarding strategies or workplace arrangements (i.e., a new arrangement that sees half of the workforce working remotely and the other half on-site). 

In the first case, a good communication plan template should allow you to specify what tools to use to onboard new employees. It should also allow you to explain the platforms you’ll use to disseminate your corporate values and policies to the new hires. You should be able to specify the messages you’ll give, too.

Meanwhile, a communication plan template for new workplace arrangements should allow you to specify the team collaboration tools to use. An internal communication plan template will help you with everything you need to keep your team on track. 

This template will work great as a starting point for your communication outreach within your organization. It’s free and you can print it for use. 

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION PLAN

OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

MESSAGES PER STAKEHOLDER

The template is quite self-explanatory. First, you’d need to decide what details to share with the stakeholders. Those stakeholders are essentially the people in your company who need to know about those new internal arrangements or policies. 

So, the stakeholders in our new workplace arrangement example would be practically everyone in the company. However, your messages would be different for different stakeholders. You’d tell half the workforce to report on-site and the other half to report online. 

You’d also have to include in your communication plan template the new policies you’ll communicate to the remote workforce (for instance, what time they should be online, how they should respond to co-workers’ messages, etc.).

How can a communication plan help you?

Communication plans can help you disseminate the correct information effectively to appropriate stakeholders. Business templates for communication plans, meanwhile, help you create these plans. So, instead of writing them from scratch every time a situation crops up, you just have to fill in the important variables to ensure effective communication of goals.

You saw examples of business templates for communication plans for different scenarios: a change in management, marketing, product launch, project management, strategic, and other internal changes.

Use the templates to your advantage or take inspiration from them. See how they can help you get the right messages to the right people. The other good news? You didn’t have to spend too much time writing.

Ammara Tariq

Ammara is a Marketing Manager at Chanty - a collaborative team chat, with a plan to take her team to new heights. With an everlasting love for marketing tactics, she’s also very fond of research writing and hopes to spread delight and knowledge to her readers.

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•   Communication Plan

Communication Plan for PDF & Excel & Google Sheets

Be sure your message is delivered to your audience effectively with this comprehensive communication plan.

Template Highlights

• Download this simple communication plan template as a Google sheet, Excel spreadsheet, or PDF.
• On the first tab, include basic information to describe your communication plan and its intended use.
• The Table of Contents provides an overview of the content on the tabs that follow.
• The Communications Schedule on Tab 3 helps you plan and time the steps in the project to ensure you get the best results. Include all of the major milestones, noting who is responsible, the start and end dates, and any recurrences (e.g., weekly, monthly).
• On Tab 4, focus on any in-person or virtual events in your plan. Describe them in more detail and identify the purpose of each.
• Now that you have provided the Communication Schedule and Events Calendar, describe the roles and responsibilities of your communications project team. Include the positions of everyone on your team what they will do on each communications task. Consider designating the roles with abbreviations like L for Lead,R for Review, and M for Monitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a communication plan.

• A communication plan is a document that organizes and schedules the actions you will take to provide your audience with a message. Creating a communication plan can help you reach your goal by setting deadlines and clearly defining stakeholder roles and responsibilities.

Is this template free?

• Abso-free-king-lutely free! Once you’ve entered your contact information, you can instantly download this template (along with all the other templates in this collection!). That’s it.

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Corporate Communications Plan: The Roadmap for Success

Learn how a Fortune 50 hires the best people

Successful companies are strategic with the way they communicate. In fact, developing a corporate communications plan can be one of the most important ways to build a stronger brand.

Trust is created by the ways that businesses share authentically about themselves and how they respond to difficult situations.

Communications teams benefit from putting a lot of effort into the way they craft messaging and tell stories about their brand. And those that are most equipped to handle challenges and adapt to change are the ones that have plans in place.  

A 2019 study showed that 96% of people think the businesses they deal with could improve when it comes to communication and project management. So clearly this is something more businesses need to address!

Let’s explore what successful corporate communications plans include and have in common, and how they can benefit your organization.

What is a Corporate Communications Plan?

A corporate communications plan is the framework for how a business shares messages internally and externally. You can think of it as the roadmap for how a company communicates with their stakeholders, employees, customers, the media, and regulators. 

Part of the plan includes what information to share, who the target audience is, how frequently to provide updates, and what channels are the best to relay these messages.

Having a plan in place shapes how a company will handle communications during times of crisis, change, and launches of campaigns and new products.

What Are the Types of Corporate Communications?

The two main types of corporate communications are:

Internal Communications: How a business shares information with its employees, leadership teams, managers, and board members. 

The interactions can be formal modes of communications such as all-hands meetings to discuss strategic initiatives and performance, updates about organizational changes, company newsletters , and internal memos about policy changes. 

Or they can also include more informal communication like using messaging apps to collaborate, welcoming new hires, celebrating work anniversaries, or sharing details on winning new business.

External Communications: Any information shared outside of the organization. 

Whether it is a formal press release or branded content on social media, these communications build the company’s public image and impact the perception of a brand and its products or services. 

Marketing, content, and advertising created by the company to promote it are included as external communication methods. 

Press releases and financial reporting are another way that companies share messaging about the organization with the outside world.  

Why is Having a Corporate Communications Plan Important?

Corporate communications plans lead to sharing clearer and better messages with your target audience. 

Whether that audience includes your own employees or potential customers, you want to be heard in the right place and at the right time. Setting up a framework to achieve that is essential. 

Sometimes you might be thrown a curveball, and a communications plan will help your business be prepared for any unexpected changes or crises that come your way. 

Surprisingly, a JOTW Communications Survey showed that 59% of communicators say they have a communications strategy drafted, but only 45% admit to having a documented crisis communications plan.

Having a plan in place will also allow for speedier recovery to any public relations issues. For example, responding to negative feedback and being open about mistakes can build trust with your brand and get you back on the right track in the eyes of customers and potential clients.

Communicating effectively and transparently shows that your brand values engagement by taking a proactive approach to be included in conversations about your brand or industry. 

A corporate communications plan for internal communications will also help define and build a transparent company culture. This can improve employee engagement by keeping team members included in conversations about where the company is heading and what it values.

If there are sudden changes on a team, you’ll be better able to communicate the changes in a way that makes employees feel comfortable and cared for if you have a plan for how to share that information first for those immediately affected and then across the company.

What Should A Corporate Communications Plan Include?

It takes time and consideration to develop an effective corporate communications plan. You’ll want to include details for the objectives, approach, and tracking measures for the goals of your messaging.

In simple terms, you’ll want to include the who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Here are the elements your corporate communications plan needs:

• Target Audiences – these are the groups of stakeholders that will be receiving the messages. They could be employees, customers, media members, investors, leadership teams, and managers. Age, location, job level, interests, and lifestyle are all helpful to know about the receivers of your messaging.
• Objectives – most communications are created with a call to action or a desired outcome in mind — these are your ultimate objectives or goals. They should be tied to your overall organizational goals to drive business outcomes.
• Message content – what you want to say and what you are trying to help your readers understand. Tone and personality are important to formulate in your message to get your reader’s attention.
• Distribution strategy – the channels and venues that your communications will be delivered on are an important aspect of the communications plan. Paid, earned, owned, and shared media channels have different benefits for reaching audiences.
• Frequency – how often you will be sharing or updating content to reach your target audience. This will depend on your team’s budget and resources, as well as an understanding of your target audience and being mindful of attention fatigue. 
• Measures of evaluation – how you’ll know if your communications were successful. These should be highly attached to your objectives and goals so that you can track progress and understand areas for improvement.  

How to Create a Corporate Communications Plan

You can follow these steps to design a corporate communications plan that is thorough and takes into account the many facets that go into a successful communications strategy.

1. Establish goals

Pick 3-5 measurable goals for your communication plan. They could be connected to brand awareness like increasing website traffic or generated a certain number of new leads.

Or they could be related to employee engagement, such as increasing the employee satisfaction score on your next survey or increasing the number of shares of branded content.

2. Set a clear process

Knowing the steps involved to launch a communications campaign and having teams on board with the process will ensure that your plan is scalable.

Document the steps involved from content creation to distribution to collecting feedback and share those with any teams that are included in the action.

You should also define clear roles for who will be involved in creating the communications and which stakeholders need to be involved for approving messages and compliance.

3. Identify and segment targets

Take time to think through who your target audience will be and how they may be different. Knowing your audiences can help you tailor your content and tone to appeal to audiences.

Use customer analysis and social listening to determine your audience’s preferred social channels and the best forms of content to encourage visibility of your content.

The way your company shares information with employees will likely be different than how it presents to the board or investors so it’s important to segment your audiences.

4. Develop key messages

Craft the copy and creative materials needed to effectively communicate your messaging. Think about what you are trying to articulate and how it could be conveyed in the clearest and understandable way for your target audience.

The content-type should also be considered — should the message be shared in a meeting or email or video? How can the audience react and ask questions about the announcement? These are all questions to consider when creating the content for both internal and external communications.

5. Choose a channel strategy

You’ll need to determine the channels and frequency of your communications to meet your goals. 

For example, if your communication strategy is for internal communications you’ll evaluate whether an email or meeting is the best way to share the news. 

Do teams prefer shorter, weekly updates or to get more information at the end of the month? Get feedback from your audiences to determine what makes the most sense for your communication cadence.

6. Measure objectives and progress

Before you start implementing your plan, think through how you can measure success for your communications with metrics like reach, open rates, and engagement.

That way you will be set up to continuously improve your content strategy and messaging. 

Collect feedback from employees or customers on how to improve your messaging and enact these changes so that you are don’t run the risk of turning off or disengaging your audience.   

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What are the Main Channels for Corporate Communications?

Companies have many software platforms and tools to choose from that can help streamline communications. You’ll want to use a mix of communication channels to achieve different goals.

For external communications, social networks, media publications, and videoconferencing are some of the most effective ways to reach potential customers and grow brand awareness. 

All of the content that you publish on your website reflects the values and goals of your brand and can be a powerful way to make connections by providing valuable resources to potential buyers.

For internal project communication, email and messaging apps are the easiest ways for people to collaborate at an organization. They make it easy to share files and resources, get input from colleagues, and track project status updates. 

Internal blogs, company newsletters, and intranets are some examples of methods that companies have used to keep employees informed and connected.

For building company culture and employee engagement, internal enterprise social networking platforms provide a more flexible and easy to use way to share company content. 

Employee advocacy for corporate communications

Employee advocacy platforms like EveryoneSocial make it easy to link to external social networks, bridging the gap between internal company conversations and sharing them externally to strengthen brand engagement.

Press releases are important tools for sharing announcements and launching new products. And those efforts can be amplified when you have employees that want to share that content to their own networks, as well.

Beyond externally distributing communication messages, EveryoneSocial has unique features that keep your people engaged, connected, and informed — no matter where they are working. 

For example, some features for communications include: 

• Internal newsletters
• Push notifications
• Mobile apps
• Real-time messaging
• Follow company employees
• Tag employees on important info
• Read-only content

Want to learn more about how Everyone Social can be used to improve your corporate communication plan? Schedule your demo with us and we’ll share how some of our enterprise customers are communicating better by enabling their workforce with EveryoneSocial!

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Article • 8 min read

Communications Planning

Getting the right message across in the right way.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Have you ever received an email and felt the sender really wasn't thinking about what you needed to know or hear? Maybe you've attended a presentation that simply left you cold.

Or perhaps you've delivered communications yourself and realized, in retrospect, that you really hadn't got the measure of your audience and their needs.

Whether you need to communicate general day-to-day information or major news about important changes in your organization, the best communications start with good planning.

In this article – and with our free worksheet, below – we'll explore a five-step strategy for ensuring that your message reaches the right people, on the right channel, and leads to the outcome that you intended.

Download Worksheet

Five Steps for Effective Communications Planning

This strategy will help you to prepare an audience-focused communication plan that's sure to get your message heard.

It will put you in the shoes of your audience, so that you can establish key details, such as: what do they need to know, and what do they know already? What's their preferred way of receiving information? What will stop them listening to what you have to say? And how will you know that they have got the message?

Use these five steps to create a good communication plan for your company or project, and record it on your free worksheet .

Step 1. Understand Your Objectives

Be clear about your overall communication objectives. What do you want to achieve, when and why? Record your overall objectives in your plan.

Figure 1: Communications Planning Template

Step 2. understand your audiences.

Now identify and list your different audiences. This can initially seem quite difficult. So, for all but the simplest communications plan, it's good to use Stakeholder Analysis to identify who to communicate with and why.

Think of "audiences" as groups that you need to communicate with. Any one person may be a member of several audiences. For example, consider a project communications plan that has four audiences:

• All people working in New Jersey Office.
• All people working in Sydney Office.
• Customer Services Teams.
• HR Managers.

Joe is an HR manager working in Sydney and is, therefore, a member of two audiences, as is Sue who is a customer services team manager in New Jersey. Whereas Lee, an IT consultant in New Jersey, is a member of just one audience – "All people working in New Jersey Office."

Step 3. Choose the Right Channels

Once you have clarified your objectives and got a full understanding of the different audiences that you need to communicate with, it's time to choose the most appropriate channels for delivering your message.

Jot down all the possible communications channels you could use. Think broadly and creatively! You probably already use lots of great communications channels in your company, but some new ones may help you to get your message across. Here's a list to get you started:

• Instant Messaging .
• Virtual meetings .
• Notice boards.
• CEO briefing.
• Lunchtime meeting.
• Intranet article.
• Launch event.

Big corporate news often gets announced at big corporate events. But don't forget to use existing channels, such as staff newsletters, team meetings, and the intranet as well.

Using existing channels with the right message at the right time is an effective and familiar way to reach your audience.

Step 4. Planning Your Message

Now you've decided which channels to use, drill down into your communication objectives and clarify specific objectives for each audience. Start by thinking about the broadest audience groups first. In our example, the broadest audience might be "All people working in New Jersey Office" and "All people working in Sydney Office".

As you consider each audience in turn, ask the following questions:

• What does the audience need and want to know?
• When do we need to communicate?
• What is the regular or preferred channel for reaching this audience?
• For this specific audience and message, what is the most effective way to get your message across?

Several messages over time may be required to meet the objectives of each audience. Make sure the messages that you plan "add up" to meet the audience's objectives.

As you plan for each audience, remember that members of one audience may also be part of another audience, and so may receive several messages. Plan your communications so that individuals receive the right information and are not inundated, or worse, confused by the different messages that they receive.

Step 5. Monitor Effectiveness

It's good to get feedback on the communications that you have planned and implemented. Ask people from different audiences how you are doing. Check that they understand the messages you need them to hear.

By getting timely feedback, you can tune any future communications that you have planned to better meet people's needs or fill any gaps that you've missed.

Example Communications Plan

Let's consider planning the communications for the implementation of new security passes in your office. The overall objective is to, "Ensure a smooth transition from the current security pass system to the new one."

Who are the audiences and what do they need? First, consider the universal audience "All Office-Based Staff." Everyone will need to know that the change is scheduled, what to expect and when.

If people at each site need to receive different instructions about how to get a new pass and so on, each site needs to be listed as a separate audience ("Staff at site A" and so on) And what about the people who manage security? They are a further audience group as they have specific needs including more detailed information (possibly training) on how to manage the new system.

Now consider the specific messages for each audience. As well as receiving all-staff announcements about the new system, "Staff at site A" must know when and where at Site A to get their new pass photos taken. This information must be communicated several days ahead of time. The day before the changeover, people may need to be reminded to have their new passes at the ready, perhaps by leafleting everyone's desk throughout the office.

For more tools that can help you to plan and manage change, look at the articles on Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Planning (if you haven't already done so.)

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5 Ways to Make an Exciting Business Communication Plan

By Daleska Pedriquez , Sep 28, 2021

Good communication is a very important aspect of our lives.

A business with struggling internal and external communications often lags behind in growth and suffers from poor employee retention.

That is why most organizations learn how to create a  business communication  plan.

This ensures that the company won’t fall prey to any of the pitfalls above and ensures seamless communication.

Don’t know how to start creating a communications plan? No problem. With Venngage’s plan templates, you can design effective plans without design experience.

START CREATING FOR FREE

Click to jump ahead:

• What is a communication plan in business ?

What are the benefits of having a good business plan communication?

Examples of business communication strategies, business communication plan templates, what is a communication plan in business.

Business communication can be divided into two categories: internal and external.

Internal communications deal with how effectively anybody within the company communicates with each other.

It deals with issues regarding the flow of information, processes, and ideas in more specific terms.

On the other hand, the external part deals more with communication with the shareholders and the customers.

However, an internal communication plan, like this project plan template , is effective if the target audience in the organization understands and embraces it.

CREATE THIS PLAN TEMPLATE

It is not as simple as putting all those strategies in a manual, handing them out to your employees, and telling them to go nuts with it. Obviously, that won’t work.

A good communication plan needs to be able to seep itself slowly but effectively into your company’s culture and values.

Employees need to eat, sleep, and breathe good communication.

This is the reason why you need to have solid communication strategies in business . Be strategic about it, like with this crisis communication plan, and include some out-of-the-box ideas.

A business communication plan needs to have consistency, variety, informativeness, and entertainment.

That is what we want to help you with today. We want to give exciting business plan strategies that you can implement to boost your organization’s communication exponentially.

But before we go into that, let us dive into the importance of a communication plan.

Once your branding has been imported, you can add your  brand colors  to all templates with one click.

Related: 8 Steps to Create an Actionable Employee Development Plan [with Templates & Examples]

Return to Table of Contents

Let us get to know first what great things will happen if communication is seamless within the company.

Things get done faster.

You can also use this template to convince investors and partners about the benefits of working with your company.

Design infographics like the above example using Venngage’s extensive icon library. We offer 40,000 icons as well as diverse people icons .

With a good business communication plan, the target audience within the organization knows the proper flow of information and absorbs the key messages.

Employees will also know whom they can talk to about certain things and whom they can’t talk to. The result? The communication strategy will help tasks around the company get done faster.

Solving issues and problems is quicker.

Problems and issues will always arise if you have a thriving business. Whether it’s logistics, sales, marketing, operations, etc., challenges abound almost daily.

For example, this sales action plan outlines how the business works, as well as performance indicators. This will help team members understand the budget and their goals.

With good communication channels, any issues with workflow get solved faster, and the company keeps moving forward and growing.

Design plans effectively with Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature, available with every Venngage Business account.

Employees feel more valued.

A company that fosters great internal communications with its people will always gain the latter’s loyalty. That loyalty can kick-start a lot of things like better efficiency and output.

Teams will also grow closer and form bonds. That is when the company can maximize even a small workforce.

Related:  How to Improve Employee Engagement with Visuals

Customer service improves.

Good communication plans also extend to one’s target audience. Customers always love swift, timely, and helpful responses.

A customer service mind map, like this example below, will make it easier for businesses to keep customers happy.

CREATE THIS MIND MAP TEMPLATE

If your company knows how to communicate its key messages with customers properly, you will react quicker than if you do not.

Employee retention rate increases.

What happens when employees feel more valued and have an easier time communicating with each other?

You get a lot of people willing to stay for a long time.

Bad employee retention rates cost companies a lot of money and task stagnation. Create an internal communication plan to manage this strategy, like this performance review process mind map.

Pair the communications strategy with effective communication channels to boost employee retention.

Create personalized documents with the  Venngage for Business  account. You can upload your own images to the editor. Or use one of the images from Venngage’s stock photo library.

Now that we have learned the benefits of a great business communication plan, let’s find out some of the most effective and exciting strategies out there.

Integrate fun videos into your communications strategy

If you want a good business communication plan example, then think of a video.

It’s no secret that videos can help people be more engaged, learn effectively compared to reading and writing, and understand key messages faster.

This one is really a no-brainer for external and internal communications.

An example of video communication is this video series about racial healing.

Other good examples of using videos in your business plan communication are monthly messages from the CEO.

Challenges and appreciative messages from the head of the company can easily be relayed to the employees. This is something that your people will surely love.

What is a communications strategy that works? Scheduled open meetings.

Scheduled open meetings are helpful for the company’s growth and can be something employees really look forward to.

How are they impactful for internal communications? And why should they be included in a communications strategy mind map, like this one? There are several great benefits that we should talk about.

First, open meetings encourage employees to share their thoughts and ideas.

This allows people to help grow into leadership roles while helping the company flourish by getting lots of fresh ideas.

Secondly, it can also be a place for employees to give their feedback. This helps the company continuously learn how their people feel so they can adjust accordingly.

Lastly, open meetings help empower employees and make them feel that they have a voice within the company. Issues also get resolved faster through these meetings.

For these reasons, every internal communication plan should include room for open meetings.

How to create a communication plan? Employee newsletters.

Another asset that should be added to an internal communication plan is employee newsletters , like this example.

CREATE THIS NEWSLETTER TEMPLATE

These help teams easily assimilate information in an entertaining and informative way.

Employee newsletters should be equal parts informative, professional, and sometimes silly.

If you look at an internal communication plan example from a company, it should include newsletters.

They are a great way to learn about new protocols, new products, and emergency news around the company, like in this reopening guide email.

With a  Venngage for Business  account, you can access the export as HTML feature. This makes it easier to import your design into Mailchimp or Outlook for a clickable email campaign.

Don’t forget to put stuff like fun and inspirational news about your people, whether it’s a bit personal (as long as it is still within respectable boundaries) or professional.

Related:  65+ Engaging Email Newsletter Templates and Design Tips

Good business plan communication strategies make training interesting.

During internal communications planning, the first thing that you need to think about is training or, more specifically, how you continuously and effectively train the workforce.

Jazz up your seminars by using entertaining tools like  infographics  and short videos. Infographics like a  project timeline template are also a great way to improve internal communications.

CREATE THIS INFOGRAPHIC TEMPLATE

Infographics are a fun and effective way to summarize data and information through the use of charts and eye-popping graphics.

Fire up the Venngage app and start making an infographic using hundreds of ready-made templates.

Use the large database of images, icons, and charts to give your training that much-needed punch.

Next, try to implement fun video slideshows in their training to keep their visual minds stimulated.

Videos are by far more effective than oral learning, so use those to your advantage.

Keep things consistent. Training shouldn’t be done just once and never again. Have a monthly training session if you can. And use visuals like this microlearning infographic.

Just make sure that you keep them entertained while you are at it.

Remember, when it comes to training, if they snooze, you lose.

Related:  How to Make Engaging Training Materials with Visuals (+ 20 Template Examples)

Another good business communication plan example? Use digital workspaces.

Digital workspaces allow teams to work and complete projects in a more efficient and timely manner.

That is why it is always a great idea to use those apps as part of your business plan communication strategy. You can adapt the communication plan below to accommodate digital workspaces.

With digital workspaces, everything is done online, so people can work faster even if they are at home.

This also allows them to communicate and post updates wherever they are.

Best of all, every step of the project is recorded with timestamps, so everyone can easily backtrack tasks and conversations.

Related:  18+ Project Management Infographics for Pain-Free Project Planning

You now know the importance of a communications plan. Here are some templates that will help you build better plans for your company.

Nonprofit campaign communications plan template

Using colors and lines, the template divides each section so the team is completely aligned. And you can adapt the visual for other types of companies, as well.

Marketing plan template

There are so many processes in a business. Keeping managers and team members on the same page can be a challenge.

This template can be customized for a variety of purposes, including creating a communications plan for a company.

Business update newsletter

We’ve already mentioned how useful newsletters are for boosting internal and external communications.

This customizable newsletter template is perfect for sharing updates with customers. It can easily be adapted to share news within a company, as well.

 Informational infographic template

Sharing information with employees doesn’t have to be boring. With this template, you can educate your target audience effortlessly.

The template has plenty of room to share information via text. But you can also add a diagram to illustrate your point.

Did you know you could create Smart Diagrams  with Venngage? Look for the Smart Templates tag in the Venngage library and start creating for free.

Customer onboarding plan

What’s one of the most important facets of a customer-facing business? Onboarding the customers efficiently.

Boost your communications plan by adding the following customer onboarding process infographic .

This template uses text, icons, and colors to make it more readable. These elements also make the steps in the infographic easy to follow and implement.

Good communication goes a long way.

Learning how to create a communication plan means that you need to understand how to make things fun for people.

That is why you need to implement some out-of-the-box ideas and refine the more traditional ones.

Get successful at this, and your company will reap the big benefits.

Communication plan template

The importance of having a communication plan, how to title a communication plan.

The title of this document should reflect its purpose, which usually (but not always) means including “communication plan” and some specific details. This way, everyone who comes into contact with the document will know what it is for and can easily reference it when needed.

Communication plan subject line examples

How to write a communication plan, what to include in a communication plan, communication plan examples and templates, new product launch communication plan, [title]: marketing campaign communication plan, [company name] internal communication plan, strategic communication plan: [company name], [project name] management communication plan, new [change in company] communication plan, plan for communication with stakeholders: [company name], [start date] – [end date]: communication plan, communication plan good practices.

How to handle your customers' issues? Use our customer complaint handling procedure checklist to ensure everything is taken care of.

As a cost effective solution for AVMarket, LiveAgent helped them to organize their sales and customer support department.

LiveAgent is a help desk solution that connects multiple channels in one interface. Find out more about LiveAgent and its business/industry benefits.

Podcasts are a popular trend that is growing year by year. Learn how to support your customers like a successful podcaster.

Try all communication channels while your LiveAgent is ready.

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Top 50 Communication Plan Templates To Deliver Powerful Messages

In business, good things start with effective communication! But, one should know with whom to interact and how to communicate. It is because, being professionals, we all know how complex it is to deal with customers, stakeholders, & other investors and to put our message across. This can be only done with the help of a systematic communication plan. A full-fledged plan gives business enthusiasts a real sense of ownership for their future endeavors. Also, it helps professionals to interact and share the information with their viewers without any trouble. Be it brand promotion, achievement stories, discussion of business agendas, or any other important task, a communication plan is a must. 

A communication plan is not a critical approach to understand. Instead, it is an easy-to-go business tool that every other professional can use. A proper communication plan will help you in managing day to day activities such as illustrated below:

• Make a timeline of your upcoming events: Creating a schedule will help you keep your proposed information segregated that further, you can discuss with your employees. This will assist you in maintaining efficient communication with your employees. 
• Discuss business strategies with your team members: Before making any final decision, indulge your team and ask them for their valuable inputs. This will not only improve your relationships with them but also make your organization a successful one. 
• Engage your audience: Talk about your business achievements profoundly and hold the interest of your viewers in less than no time. The more you interact with your viewers, the more your business value will increase. 

SlideTeam has even designed some creative and engaging communication plan templates that help you make your business connections or relationships more strong. Let’s check out the template designs and informational content that are described below:

Top 50 Communication Plan Templates To Download and Use

Template 1:.

Here is a guide for educating your company family in the art of business communication. Access our Comprehensive Training Curriculum On Business Communication and train your employees to create a professional work environment! There is no training module like this available today. Don't wait! Download it now.

Download PPT Training Curriculum on Business Communication

If you wish to conduct a comprehensive training for your team and colleagues on conflict management, access our training module here that will provide all the hands-on material you need to make for an effective experience.

Download Compressive Training Curriculum PPT on Conflict Management

Template 2:

This multicolored template is here to attract your customers in one go! You can quickly jot down your content in this slide and make changes according to your business needs. Also, you can download this slide in just a few steps and without any hassle.         

Download Communication Plan Template 2 PPT Background

Template 3:

Take advantage of this easily accessible slide which portrays the future vision for business stability. With the help of this beautifully designed template, you can share the business ideas and upcoming goals with your employees. This will help in maintaining a good communication with your employees. 

Download Future Vision For Business Communication And Financial Matters Flat PowerPoint Design

Template 4:

This is such a stunning slide containing some engaging objects and content inside it. It contains a total of 28 slides which explains about the topic of the project communication plan briefly. The colors and graphics used in this template are so attractive that nourishes the look of your presentation. 

Download Project Communication Plan PowerPoint Presentation Slides

Template 5:

Communication is a key component in taking your business to the heights. You can easily interact with your stakeholders and showcase your business agendas to them with the help of this outstanding communication plan template. 

Download Communications Strategy And Planning For Organizations PowerPoint Presentation Slide

Template 6:

This template will assist you in sharing your business thoughts and ideas with other staff members. The description given in these 23 decks of a slide is so informative that everyone will get engaged. 

Download New Product Communication Plans PowerPoint Presentation Slides

Template 7:

In this template, you can talk about the marketing plans with your fellow marketers. Also, you can discuss with them the strategies your organization needs to promote the brands or products that are newly launched. 

Download Marketing Communication Plan PPT Icon

Template 8:

Communicate your key messages and success stories with your audience and interact with them even closely by utilizing this readily available template. You can use amazing features and highlights present in this slide to make your information look interesting.

Download Communication Plan Key Messages Good PPT Example

Template 9:

Create a stand out presentation to discuss with your employees the types of communication that helps in interacting with their customers and stakeholders even more. Download the template and start personalizing it right away!

Download Communication Plan Checklist PowerPoint Slide Backgrounds

Template 10:

Take advantage of this slide and highlight your brand vision with your senior management. In this slide, you can keep all the content synchronized that will be helpful for your readers to understand.

Download Brand Vision Process With Communication Planning

Template 11:

Train your employees to work collaboratively that brings more success and value to the organization. Use lucrative designs and icons to make your presentation an interactive one!

Download Communication Plan Training PPT Samples

Template 12:

The experts of SlideTeam have designed this template to fulfill all your business requirements easily. Take a look at this slide and start using it for delivering an impactful business presentation. The colors, fonts, and pictures used in this template are so magnificent and attractive.

Download Key Steps For Communication Plan Process

Template 13:

Utilize this creatively designed communication plan template to specify your business goals more conveniently with your management team. The slide will also assist you in identifying key performance indicators for your business. 

Download Communication Plan Goals And Kpis PowerPoint Show

Template 14:

Introduce your key corporate communication plan with your viewers using this visually-appealing template. The slide comes up with ample space where you can display your company logo easily. 

Download Corporate Communication Plans PowerPoint Ideas

Template 15:

Talk about your project status, business agendas, company’s vision more clearly by using our ready-to-use communication plan template. The slide contains tables and sections in which you can tweak the content as per your needs.

Download Communication Plan PPT Slide Template

Template 16:

If you are a marketer, then this template is appropriate for you. This will help you in sharing the marketing plans and strategies with your team members proficiently. You can fill the content in this readymade template and modify your presentation accordingly.

Download Marketing Communication Plan Making Planning Reports

Template 17:

Create an astounding presentation on the communication plan framework and share with your readers. Use this template to enhance the look and feel of your presentation instantly. 

Download Executive Creating Framework For Effective Communication Plan

Template 18:

Communicate with your stakeholders your upcoming business plans and objectives with the aid of this slide. Make your presentation interesting and knowledgeable that everyone can strike a chord with you.

Download Strategist Preparing Communication Plan For Presentation

Template 19:

Compile the information of your upcoming project related activities and share them with your team members. The image present in the template is so engaging that it will hold the audience's attention right away!

Download Effective Communication Plan In Human Head Puzzle

Template 20:

The template is here to make your presentation look professional and stand out from the rest. The creativity and effort used by our experts in making this template is outstanding. The plus point of all our communication plan templates is they are completely editable. 

Download Sales Funnel Conversion Crisis Communications Plan Content Marketing 

Template 21:

Talk with your stakeholders and discuss your future business plans with the aid of this professionally designed communication plan template. The sections and tables present in this slide will make your proposed information even more clear. Modify the template and personalize it with ease. 

Download Stakeholder Communication Plan With Audience Message Channel And Schedule

Template 22:

Make your communication plan perfect and impress your senior management authorities by utilizing this amazing template in your presentation. Determine the stages of the communication plan in your business presentation more conveniently that it is easy for the viewers to understand the information you want to convey to them.

Download Communication Plan Program Management Office

Template 23:

Click on the template given below and download it in less than a minute. Save your time and create a presentation effortlessly by using this visually-appealing communication template. The colors used in this slide are so vibrant that it will grab the audience’s attention in one go!

Download Internal Business Communication Plan Of Organization

Template 24:

This blue-colored template will assist you in showcasing your marketing strategies proficiently. With the help of this slide, you can change the font style of your text that makes your content look stand out. 

Template 25:

Introduce the customer communication plan with your employees and senior management by incorporating this slide. There are various types of icons and graphics present in this slide which make your presentation visually strong.

Download Customer Communication Plan PowerPoint Presentation

Template 26:

Make an effective communication plan and reach your target audience more proficiently using this slide. The diagram present in this template is attention-grabbing and makes your presentation look more engaging.

Download Communication Plan Example PowerPoint Guide

Template 27:

Employ this template and talk about maintaining an effective team to finish the upcoming projects or business tasks. You can highlight the description of leadership aspects below the icons present in this slide and strike a chord with your team members.

Download Communications Plan Template PowerPoint Ideas

Template 28:

This template is most suitable to pinpoint the relevant information you need to convey to your audience. The icons and lucrative designs shown in this template will make your content even more concise and recognizable.

Download Communications Plan Template PowerPoint Guide

Template 29:

The template below clearly describes the topic you want to share with your readers. The design of this slide will add beauty to your presentation and will help your viewers to get in-depth information about your marketing plan. 

Download Key Messages In Communication Plan PowerPoint Slide Designs

Template 30:

This communication plan template is in the form of a roadmap and covers all the goals and objectives of your business you want to communicate with others. You can adjust the diagram and tweak the content as per your needs and convenience.

Download Communication Plan Covering Objectives Goals Message Implement

Template 31:

Take advantage of this slide to discuss the financial forecast or economic status with your investors. The tables and icons present in this slide will help to segregate your information and make it more interesting for others to read.

Download Communication Plan For Maintaining Financial Transparency

Template 32:

In this slide, you can explain your innovative business ideas and strategies with your employees concisely. The template comes up with enormous colors and creative fonts with which you can create an astounding presentation.

Download Communication Plan Advertising Schedule PowerPoint Slide

Template 33:

Determine each step of the communication plan in this multicolored and beautifully crafted template. In this, you can separate the topic and content of every plan effectively. 

Download Communication Plan Goals Example Of PPT Presentation

Template 34:

This template helps you easily interpret your social media marketing plan. The worksheet present in this template is here to divide your each proposed information in a simple manner. You can use more colors and make your presentation more stylish than ever.

Download Communication Plan Social Media Worksheet PPT Slide

Template 35:

This deck comprises a total of twelve slides that explain the topic of the communication plan entirely. There are various high-grade icons and graphics present in this template that make your presentation even more informative.

Download Communication Plan Maintaining Financial Management Transparency Essential

Template 36:

Create a compelling presentation and let your employees know the importance of communication and teamwork. With this, you can easily show how to achieve business goals collaboratively.

Download Teamwork Communication Planning PPT Slides Designs 

Template 37:

With this communication plan template, you can make a strategy on how to launch a new product in the market. The template is fully editable and easily accessible which fulfills your business requirements to the fullest.

Download Phases Process Development Opportunity Communication Planning

Template 38:

Use this template and let your employees know about the basic tactics of the business communication plan. Embellish your presentation with advanced features and highlights present in this slide.

Download Business Communication Planning And Strategy PowerPoint Layout

Template 39:

Grab this readymade communication plan template to determine your communication strategies and business plan with your team members. The sections highlighted in this slide will let you know how interactions with your customers and staff members will lead you to a successful path.

Download Employee Communication Plan Internal Communications PPT PowerPoint Presentation

Template 40:

Create an amazing presentation to highlight your company’s value net model. With this slide, you can reach out to more audiences and convey your message clearly.

Download Value Net Model Template Communications Plan Benefits Communication Business

Template 41:

Use this template to explain to your readers the link between the business objectives and communication plan. Tell your viewers how communication strategy can build your business more powerful.

Template 42:

Highlight the financial statistics of your business and communicate it with your stakeholders using this amazing communication plan slide. Develop business strategies and achieve all your upcoming targets with the aid of this template.

Download Development Plans Marketing Communication Plan PPT Presentation Topics

Template 43:

Incorporate this template into your presentation to show the marketing skills and product advertising strategies to your stakeholders. Download this slide instantly to grab the readers’ interest easily.

Download Marketing Communication Plan With Highlighting And Noting On Papers

Template 44:

Communicate your upcoming project activities with your team members by employing this ready-to-use template. With this slide, you can interact with your employees more closely and make a huge success in your business.

Download Project Management Communication Plan PowerPoint Templates

Template 45:

In this readymade template, you can depict the risks involved in projects and how to resolve them collaboratively. The lucrative design present in this template will enhance the look of your presentation entirely.

Download Project Risk And Communication Plan PPT Slides Graphics Design

Template 46:

Communicate with your employees and bring change to your organization by utilizing our readily available communication plan template. The images and icons present in this template are aesthetically pleasing and make the presentation even more unique.

Download Steps For Creating Change Management And Communication Plan

Template 47:

Leave your viewers awestruck with your content and this professionally designed communication plan template. Talk about the statistics management of your business more precisely and make your presentation interactive.

Download Strategic Communication Plan Statistics Management Business Process Utility 

Template 48:

Make your business decisions more firm by downloading this amazing communication plan template. The slide gives you brief information related to portfolio management which helps to make your communication more effective.

Download Portfolio Management Business Analysis Communication Plan Shareholder Analysis

Template 49:

Make your venture even more successful by including communication practices in your organization. With the attractive design present in the template, you can make your business presentation stunning and win over your viewers.

Download Marketing Communication Plans PPT PowerPoint Presentation Model Format Ideas

Template 50:

Communicate with your senior management authorities and develop new plans to achieve business goals. With the aid of this slide, you can edit your content and make your presentation more unique.

  Download Business Plan Strategies Corporate Communications Plan Organizational Efficiency

The lack of communication within the organization makes it difficult to accomplish goals and targets. Therefore, it is necessary to fill the communication gap between the employees and motivate them to work collaboratively. Our set of templates will make it easier for you to make a connection with your spectators a bit more strong. Check out these above-mentioned pre-designed communication plan templates and download them instantly!

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Communication plan: approach, examples and best practices

Mar 17th, 2021

What is a communication plan?

How to write a communication plan, communication plan examples and templates, best practices for successful communication plan implementation.

• Share this article

People usually follow brands on social media for various reasons. Some companies share valuable information that meets the needs of the target audience. The other brands provide discounts, coupons and organize giveaways. Besides these characteristics, the customers appreciate humorous and funny posts. This content type is one of the most shareable on social media platforms - it gets likes and reposts and expands the brand’s reach. Funny posts create the feeling that your brand is not an emotionless robot but a caring personality. That is why humor, as an engaging tactic within the communication strategy, effectively builds trust and increases brand recognition. 

Arena Flowers, the UK-based flower delivery company, used funny posts on Twitter to attract more than 38 000 followers. The comical tweets have been bringing a loyal following since 2011, when the brand implemented this strategy instead of the traditional approach to social marketing. The tweets by Arena Flowers give the impression like you are talking with a friend. Moreover, the posts are written in the first person, which creates a feeling of emotional connection with the readers.

Funny tweets have been a part of Arena Flower’s communication plan for a while, helping the company build a better connection with the customers. So, let’s see how your business can create a similar outstanding communication plan to connect with your unique target audience.

Communication plan is a strategy used by a company to reach the target audience and inform people about the brand’s product, service, goals, or future actions. It defines the main message to be communicated, the target audience it needs to reach, and a strategy of how your message would be delivered to the selected audience. So, a communication plan includes three components: the message, the medium, and the target. 

The traditional communication plan typically covers the company’s current situation, business goals, audience, core messages, preferred channels, calendar, and the criteria to assess progress. There are two major types of communication plans: external and internal. External communication plan is addressed to the clients, the general public, governmental agencies, or company investors. Internal communication plan is targeted towards all organization’s employees, or groups of them, like employees within one location or department.

External communication plan 

External communication aims to connect with the audience outside of your business and share your brand purpose, personality, and developments. While marketing plans are focused on conveying value to customers, an external communication plan speaks to a broader audience with the help of various methods like presentations and investor campaigns. Brands use different platforms to communicate with the public, customers, and partners, including websites and blogs, conferences and live events, email, social media, and press releases. The other ways to connect with the audience are advertising and networking with PR agencies and influencers.

Internal communication plan

An internal communication plan is a blueprint that defines your business objectives in communication with employees and determines the activities needed to achieve the goals. An excellent internal communication plan usually contains updates on progress towards business goals, team accomplishments, and information about the company’s changes. The employees can also share their thoughts and suggestions regarding improvement. The company can communicate with employees through meetings, social media posts, intranet messages, videos, or emails. 

Step 1. Perform a situation analysis

The first and one of the essential steps is to assess the company’s current state of communication. To perform a situation analysis for an internal communication plan, you need to consult staff members and head departments. The research for an external communication plan requires sending surveys to your target audience or organizing focus groups. The situation analysis should contain your organization’s focus and goals, strengths and weaknesses, culture, and your target market’s assessment . 

To conduct an audit of the gaps in your overall communication, you can use several techniques. These methods allow for the analysis of both external and internal environments. 

• SWOT analysis helps determine your business’s strengths and weaknesses, threats, and opportunities in the external environment. 
• PEST-analysis is useful for analyzing political, economic, social, and technological factors that exist outside of your company but impact your business.
• A perceptual map allows for an understanding of how your customers evaluate your competitors in the market. 

Step 2. Define the objectives 

After you analyze the current state of your communication activities, you can proceed to the next step and identify the objectives. You need to think of the outcomes you want to achieve with a communication plan. Each goal set by your team should align with these objectives. The most effective approach to setting objectives is SMART-method . It implies that the objective should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. 

For instance, some of your company’s objectives might be motivating people to improve results, generating interest in the product, and creating a dialogue between employees and stakeholders. An example of a SMART goal might be “to increase brand awareness by 10% over the next year”.

Step 3. Develop/review a brand statement and USP

To communicate your value to the audience, you need to understand who you are and what benefits you can provide to the customers. This will be your brand statement . The template of your brand statement may be as follows: Our company provides [benefits] to [the audience] through [product or service].

Also, effective communication requires a thorough understanding of your unique selling proposition or USP. In other words, you need to find out what makes your brand different from your competitors. What brings particular and unique value to your customers, which they will not receive from any competitor on the market? To identify a unique selling proposition, you should answer the questions: 

• What makes your brand unique?
• What do you have that your competitors don’t?
• What is difficult to copy in your products?

Step 4. Identify the key audience

The next step is to develop customer personas and understand the target audience you are trying to reach. The key audience of your communication plan could be your customers, employees, or stakeholders. 

You need to gather data about customers’ values, interests, opinions, lifestyles, ages, gender, nationalities, income, and education. Then you will be able to create three simple customer personas you want to attract, taking into account these characteristics. 

To perform the customer analysis, you can use Google Analytics to understand the behavior tendencies and interests of your website visitors; conduct surveys using Google Forms or Survey Monkey (or do it in person); hold research interviews with existing or potential clients, which constitute your target audience. Additionally, you can conduct research into competitors and their clients, which might provide additional information for insights. For example, you can compare your competitors’ social media followers to your own to see what they are looking for in a company.

Step 5. Determine the channels to deliver your messages  

The following step in your communication plan is to choose the channels to share your message on. The choice will depend on your message and target audience. Often, you may need to use distinct approaches to deliver your message to different audience segments.

The channels might include your company blog, social media, emails, SMS marketing, and traditional advertising. For example, it is better to use email newsletters or press releases for external communication with stakeholders and investors. At the same time, social media and traditional advertising may be better channels to communicate with your customers.

Step 6. Connect your business with the audience

Once you collect the information on who you are, what makes your brand unique, and who your target audience is, you are ready to move on to the next step. Now it is time to figure out the message and the story you will tell the world. Think about the answers to the following questions:

• What are the essential facts people need to know about your brand?
• What are the common misconceptions about your brand that you need to dispel?

Step 7. Create the messaging matrix

This step is a sum of the results of the previously listed actions. The messaging matrix is a document that contains your brand statement, target audience, core problem you solve for the customers, and critical messages. This chart summarizes your values, what makes you different from competitors, and your unique value proposition. It is essential to create the messaging matrix because it will keep your team on the same page, make copywriting easier, and keep the content focused on the customer journey.

Step 8. Determine the essential events and estimate the amount of time for each stage

You need to consider the amount of time required for executing each step of the communication strategy. Pay attention to important events throughout the year to align them with campaign plans. These might be holidays, conferences in your industry, seasonal sales cycles, etc. Create a content calendar that helps you to determine how often your audience will hear your message.

Step 9. Establish a budget

Building a budget will help calculate the costs of investing in expensive communication methods such as mass media or paid advertising. It is essential to calculate the overall costs for the communication plan and leave room for an emergency.

Step 10. Measure the results and identify areas for improvement

Review the communication plan and identify the areas for improvement during and after its implementation. Consider whether people received your message and analyze how they responded. Before implementing the project, you should determine the date of the review and the criteria to decide whether each communication method was effective.

Communication plan for stakeholder engagement

This is an example of an internal communication plan directed at the company’s stakeholders. It includes the type of communication, target audience, channels, timetable, and people responsible for delivering the message. The main aim of this communication plan is to raise people’s awareness of the project.

The delivery methods of this communication plan are chosen, taking into account that the target audience is the steering committee, sponsor, managers, local and remote user communities. Accordingly, delivery methods include live presentations, online events, emails, and papers. The responsible persons who will deliver the message are a project manager and lead analyst.

External communication plan with multiple target audiences

This communication plan template includes various types of target audiences, both internal and external. It contains important events and a timeline for each situation.

The delivery methods include mainly online ways of communication, such as blogs, emails, websites, and social media. The communication with the employees includes print-based media like postcards and office signage and an applicant tracking system. The company will communicate with PR agencies via phone and press releases. Besides the regular events like product improvements announcement, the creators of the plan scheduled holiday party, roadshow, and tradeshow.

External communication plan with customers and partners

The external communication plan by IndTex is focused on improving the company’s image and promoting collaboration with other organizations. The communication channels for these goals include print media, newsletters, and participation in conferences.

The target audience of the external plan is customers, purchasers, local government, and stakeholders, including business associations. The means of communication with the external audience are print media, newsletters, conferences, and the company’s homepage. The company did not establish any fixed schedule for communication. The criterion is the achievement of the goals. The responsible person is the marketing manager and PR department.

The communication plan is important to clarify your company’s objectives, to make sure your message reaches your target audience, and to discover the most effective ways to communicate with them. Here are a few more things you need to consider to make sure you succeed.

Consistent and frequent communication . When creating your internal or external communication plan, ensure that there is an open dialogue between your team members. It is needed to build trust within your team and improve motivation.

Metrics and progress analysis. Measure the results and use metrics to track the progress of the team’s work. To maximize the productivity of the organization, provide rewards for staff members for an excellent performance.

Communication transparency. Transparency is one of the most crucial practices in the organization. Share industry news and trends and motivate the employees to provide honest feedback and ideas regarding the products, methods, and working procedures. Encourage collaboration across departments.

A successful communication plan will translate your brand into the right message for the target audience. If you improve the internal communication within the organization, your employees will be more productive, which leads to the higher profitability of the company. Follow these ten steps, and you will improve the collaboration within your organization and the performance of your business.

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8 Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills

Your guide to establishing better communication habits for success in the workplace.

Mary Sharp Emerson

A leader’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively with employees, within teams, and across the organization is one of the foundations of a successful business.

And in today’s complex and quickly evolving business environment, with hundreds of different communication tools, fully or partially remote teams, and even multicultural teams spanning multiple time zones, effective communication has never been more important—or more challenging.

Thus, the ability to communicate might be a manager’s most critical skill. 

The good news is that these skills can be learned and even mastered. 

These eight tips can help you maximize your communication skills for the success of your organization and your career.

1. Be clear and concise

Communication is primarily about word choice. And when it comes to word choice, less is more.

The key to powerful and persuasive communication—whether written or spoken—is clarity and, when possible, brevity. 

Before engaging in any form of communication, define your goals and your audience. 

Outlining carefully and explicitly what you want to convey and why will help ensure that you include all necessary information. It will also help you eliminate irrelevant details. 

Avoid unnecessary words and overly flowery language, which can distract from your message.

And while repetition may be necessary in some cases, be sure to use it carefully and sparingly. Repeating your message can ensure that your audience receives it, but too much repetition can cause them to tune you out entirely. 

2. Prepare ahead of time

Know what you are going to say and how you are going to say before you begin any type of communication.

However, being prepared means more than just practicing a presentation. 

Preparation also involves thinking about the entirety of the communication, from start to finish. Research the information you may need to support your message. Consider how you will respond to questions and criticisms. Try to anticipate the unexpected.

Before a performance review, for instance, prepare a list of concrete examples of your employee’s behavior to support your evaluation.

Before engaging in a salary or promotion negotiation, know exactly what you want. Be ready to discuss ranges and potential compromises; know what you are willing to accept and what you aren’t. And have on hand specific details to support your case, such as relevant salaries for your position and your location (but be sure that your research is based on publicly available information, not company gossip or anecdotal evidence). 

Before entering into any conversation, brainstorm potential questions, requests for additional information or clarification, and disagreements so you are ready to address them calmly and clearly.

3. Be mindful of nonverbal communication

Our facial expressions, gestures, and body language can, and often do, say more than our words. 

Nonverbal cues can have between 65 and 93 percent more impact than the spoken word. And we are more likely to believe the nonverbal signals over spoken words if the two are in disagreement. 

Leaders must be especially adept at reading nonverbal cues. 

Employees who may be unwilling to voice disagreements or concerns, for instance, may show their discomfort through crossed arms or an unwillingness to make eye contact. If you are aware of others’ body language, you may be able to adjust your communication tactics appropriately.

At the same time, leaders must also be able to control their own nonverbal communications. 

Your nonverbal cues must, at all times, support your message. At best, conflicting verbal and nonverbal communication can cause confusion. At worst, it can undermine your message and your team’s confidence in you, your organization, and even in themselves. 

4. Watch your tone

How you say something can be just as important as what you say. As with other nonverbal cues, your tone can add power and emphasis to your message, or it can undermine it entirely.

Tone can be an especially important factor in workplace disagreements and conflict. A well-chosen word with a positive connotation creates good will and trust. A poorly chosen word with unclear or negative connotations can quickly lead to misunderstanding. 

When speaking, tone includes volume, projection, and intonation as well as word choice. In real time, it can be challenging to control tone to ensure that it matches your intent. But being mindful of your tone will enable you to alter it appropriately if a communication seems to be going in the wrong direction.

Tone can be easier to control when writing. Be sure to read your communication once, even twice, while thinking about tone as well as message. You may even want to read it out loud or ask a trusted colleague to read it over, if doing so does not breach confidentiality. 

And when engaging in a heated dialogue over email or other written medium, don’t be too hasty in your replies. 

If at all possible, write out your response but then wait for a day or two to send it. In many cases, re-reading your message after your emotions have cooled allows you to moderate your tone in a way that is less likely to escalate the conflict.

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5. Practice active listening

Communication nearly always involves two or more individuals.

Therefore, listening is just as important as speaking when it comes to communicating successfully. But listening can be more challenging than we realize. 

In her blog post Mastering the Basics of Communication , communication expert Marjorie North notes that we only hear about half of what the other person says during any given conversation. 

The goal of active listening is to ensure that you hear not just the words the person is saying, but the entire message. Some tips for active listening include:

• Giving the speaker your full and undivided attention
• Clearing your mind of distractions, judgements, and counter-arguments. 
• Avoiding the temptation to interrupt with your own thoughts.
• Showing open, positive body language to keep your mind focused and to show the speaker that you are really listening
• Rephrase or paraphrase what you’ve heard when making your reply
• Ask open ended questions designed to elicit additional information

6. Build your emotional intelligence

Communication is built upon a foundation of emotional intelligence. Simply put, you cannot communicate effectively with others until you can assess and understand your own feelings. 

“If you’re aware of your own emotions and the behaviors they trigger, you can begin to manage these emotions and behaviors,” says Margaret Andrews in her post, How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence .

Leaders with a high level of emotional intelligence will naturally find it easier to engage in active listening, maintain appropriate tone, and use positive body language, for example.  

Understanding and managing your own emotions is only part of emotional intelligence. The other part—equally important for effective communication—is empathy for others.

Empathizing with an employee can, for example, make a difficult conversation easier. 

You may still have to deliver bad news, but (actively) listening to their perspective and showing that you understand their feelings can go a long way toward smoothing hurt feelings or avoiding misunderstandings.

7. Develop a workplace communication strategy

Today’s workplace is a constant flow of information across a wide variety of formats. Every single communication must be understood in the context of that larger flow of information.

Even the most effective communicator may find it difficult to get their message across without a workplace communication strategy.

A communication strategy is the framework within which your business conveys and receives information. It can—and should—outline how and what you communicate to customers and clients, stakeholders, and managers and employees. 

Starting most broadly, your strategy should incorporate who gets what message and when. This ensures that everyone receives the correct information at the right time. 

It can be as detailed as how you communicate, including defining the type of tools you use for which information. For example, you may define when it’s appropriate to use a group chat for the entire team or organization or when a meeting should have been summarized in an email instead. 

Creating basic guidelines like this can streamline the flow of information. It will help ensure that everyone gets the details they need and that important knowledge isn’t overwhelmed by extraneous minutia. 

8. Create a positive organizational culture

The corporate culture in which you are communicating also plays a vital role in effective communication. 

In a positive work environment—one founded on transparency, trust, empathy, and open dialogue—communication in general will be easier and more effective. 

Employees will be more receptive to hearing their manager’s message if they trust that manager. And managers will find it easier to create buy-in and even offer constructive criticism if they encourage their employees to speak up, offer suggestions, and even offer constructive criticisms of their own. 

“The most dangerous organization is a silent one,” says Lorne Rubis in a blog post, Six Tips for Building a Better Workplace Culture . Communication, in both directions, can only be effective in a culture that is built on trust and a foundation of psychological safety.

Authoritative managers who refuse to share information, aren’t open to suggestions, and refuse to admit mistakes and accept criticism are likely to find their suggestions and criticisms met with defensiveness or even ignored altogether. 

Without that foundation of trust and transparency, even the smallest communication can be misconstrued and lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.

Communicating with co-workers and employees is always going to present challenges. There will always be misunderstandings and miscommunications that must be resolved and unfortunately, corporate messages aren’t always what we want to hear, especially during difficult times.

But building and mastering effective communication skills will make your job easier as a leader, even during difficult conversations. Taking the time to build these skills will certainly be time well-spent. 

Want to build your skills? Find the program that’s right for you.

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About the Author

Digital Content Producer

Emerson is a Digital Content Producer at Harvard DCE. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale University and started her career as an international affairs analyst. She is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons, as well as the Boston Marathon.

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Woolworths plans to convert more stores to Metro format

Woolworths is making some big changes to many of its established supermarkets and it’s concerning customers who say they may go elsewhere.

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There could be big changes at your local Woolworths as the supermarket giant embarks on an aggressive expansion plan converting scores of existing stores to the smaller format Metro brand.

It’s worrying some shoppers, who are concerned pantry staples will be pared back, self-serve check-outs increased and prices hiked.

One local in Sydney complained it was a “bad move”.

But Woolworths has insisted that stores that change to Metro would “still have everything (locals) need for a full shop” and would offer “value”.

“In our big full service supermarkets we can offer more of everything because we have the space,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.

“In some smaller supermarkets where we cannot easily expand the store Metro conversions allow us to tailor the local range by introducing new product lines that are based on what the local community wants.

“It allows us to be more thoughtful in what we stock, so for example, in Alexandria we have reduced the number of products in what’s called general merchandise, things like batteries, light globes and stationary where sales are lower. We’ll still stock them, just not as many varieties.

“We’ve been then able to reuse this shelf space to put in more products that meet our customer needs, generally increasing the range in food. An example in Alexandria is a significant increase in our Asian food range which has been requested by the local customer base.”

Australia’s biggest grocer has just announced that two existing Woolies in Sydney’s inner west would be changed to Metro as well as another on the Sunshine Coast.

Woolworths’ Metro format isn’t new – but it has changed since it debuted in 2013.

Initially, the stores were smaller than other Woolies outlets and were mainly located in CBDs and near major railway stations. Some were housed in historic buildings leading to interiors far removed from a regular Woolies.

Focused on grab and go items, Woolworths’ bosses told news.com.au at the time that they expected some customers to visit as many as three times a day; perhaps to grab a coffee, then a sandwich at lunch and later to pick up essentials for dinner and the home.

But the concept has now evolved with a slew of existing, and larger, Woolworths supermarkets also brought under the banner. Branches in Sydney – in Surry Hills, Chippendale and Coogee among others as well as St Kilda and Hawksburn in Melbourne – have changed to Metro.

While takeaway food is still a feature; newer Metros have a wider range of other products. But they generally lack in store bakeries and manned deli counters.

“A big part of the Metro model is getting local input or effectively crowdsourcing our local range decisions - in this way our neighbourhood stores are partly ranged by the customers themselves,” the Woolworths spokesperson said. “Customers can stock the shelves with the items they want by using a QR code in store as part of our ‘Picked by You’ program.

“So far we’ve added more than 4000 products into Metro stores based on customer feedback through Picked by You and it’s an always on program so we’re constantly stocking products shoppers would like to see.

“Our neighbourhood stores will still have the same number of products, what is changing is the mix based on what is popular and also what the local community wants.”

As of mid-2022, 90 of Woolworths almost 1000 stores traded as Metros and that number has since increased.

According to its 2023 annual results, sales at Metro stores were up almost 22 per cent, compared to around 5 per cent at regular Woolies, partly due to more store openings.

Coles is also rolling out it similar Coles Local format while Aldi has seven of its Corner Store smaller stores now operating in Sydney and Melbourne.

Three store conversions announced

Woolworths has confirmed it plans to convert its longstanding store in Balmain, in Sydney’s inner west, to a Metro.

Additionally changing to Metro is a Woolworths store in Alexandria, also in the inner west, and one at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast.

The change has Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne concerned given Woolworths Balmain is the only full-sized supermarket in the area and a similar Metro store is already located in nearby Rozelle.

“Any further reduction in a product range at a Woolworths Metro will have a further negative impact on the local Balmain/Rozelle local economy and local businesses,” he said on social media.

According to local newspaper City Hub , one local said it was a “bad move for Balmain”.

“Seems management at Coles and Woolworths thinks everyone wants ready-to-go meals, packaged food etc.”

The local council has asked Woolworths to front up to a meeting to explain the changes.

A store in Avalon, on Sydney’s northern beaches, has recently changed to Metro.

One caller to Sydney radio station 2GB said the conversion, which took several months, saw more self-serve check-outs installed that had led elderly shoppers to become “overwhelmed”.

In Buderim, Woolworths admitted that it had already removed some products as it prepared to move to Metro as they “weren’t popular”.

One shopper told the Courier Mail they would “definitely go elsewhere” if the new style Woolies didn’t stock what he needed when it reopened.

But there’s also no doubt Woolworths Metro stores have proved popular. Many customers have welcomed being able to pop in for kitchen staples while also picking up a few things for lunch.

Even with the expansion, Metro stores will likely be in the minority with larger and more modern supermarkets with ample parking continuing to provide the standard Woolworths offer.

Woolworths has sought to reassure shoppers about the Metro change insisting the spruced up stores will have a “range tailored to meet the needs of the community”.

“Your Metro will offer some new and exciting products with more fresh ingredients and specialty ranges.”

Concern about prices

In a statement, a Woolworths spokesman said the converted stores would continue to have the “same great Woolworths value” with specials and the Everyday Rewards program.

“We know customers are looking to balance their budgets more than ever before,” the spokesperson said. “Metro Neighbourhood stores continue to have our seasonal Prices Dropped, Low prices program, all the catalogue specials and the same proportion of own brand products as well as a range of specials that are only available in Metros.”

However, prices can differ on some products between traditional and Metro Woolworths stores.

In March, a shopper noticed that an identical size and brand of coconut water was on sale for $3 at a standard Woolworths store in the inner west while the price had been hiked to $4.50 at a Metro store just three minutes’ drive away.

Woolworths told Channel 9 the difference was due to one store being a “convenience” branch – in other words, a Metro.

However, the Metro format hasn’t been successful in all locations.

A store that opened on busy strip The Corso, in the Sydney tourist hotspot of Manly, lasted barely more than a year when it closed in 2021.

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Covid and a lack of tourists saw foot traffic plummet. But it was also a less attractive option given two full sized Coles supermarkets were within easy walking distance.

The pandemic also saw Woolworths close a number of Metros in the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs as the commuters who would be its shoppers worked from home.

“These conversions take time to work through and we’ll continue to update our customers via our team in stores and through community consultation sessions,” the spokesperson said.

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