Communications Audits: Your Customers Speak

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By Just Pen, Creative Commons

Ever ask the question — what’s wrong with this picture? A communications audit is the way to find out.

For alumni associations, fundraising organizations and advancement offices striving to cultivate more effective engagement and support, a communications audit will help you assess your staff structures and the effectiveness of your communications programs. What’s more, you can act on the answers immediately, recalibrating to enhance branding and relationship-building.

Audits let you know how your customers — internal and external — see you, in no uncertain terms. Is your staff organized appropriately for the need? Are you leading them effectively? Are your messages and materials truly advancing your relationships with your customers, or are you wasting your time, energy and dwindling budget dollars?

The data produced by a communications audit also tends to be quite persuasive — and justifies making important adjustments in the way your team conducts its activities. A thorough audit places a laser-like lens on an organization’s marketing strategies, activities, processes and, importantly, behaviors. And then it sets a new course for the future.

Keep these criteria in mind as you consider a communications audit:

• Audits that ask the tough questions provide a big picture assessment of strategic communications operations.
• Audits challenge assumptions that may have been driven your activities for a long time and provide hard data that can be measured, managed and foster alternatives.
• Audits are creative. They surface new ideas and innovative approaches because your staff and internal external colleagues help define what will work better for them.
• Audits are more than SWOTs. Through interviews, questionnaires, surveys and materials review, they yield information and connect the dots, leading to strategic communications structures and plans based on analysis, evaluation and goals.

To launch an audit, know what you want to accomplish and measure even if you don’t know how to get there. Keep the end in mind. What is the outcome you seek? And how open is your organization to implementing the findings and willing to make some tough decisions? How can you move the dial to make an audit successful and gain leadership support for necessary changes?

Moving forward toward the outcomes you seek, yet working with less, means applying new and streamlined ways of advancing your staff’s mission to engage the market. A communications audit can put you in position for new connectivity and engagement with your constituents and customers, stronger internal communications partnerships and measurable ROI.