Think of corporate communications and what’s the first thing that springs to mind? No doubt many of you will naturally gravitate to sales or marketing propaganda – encouraging you, the consumer, to take action around a certain offer or proposition.
Ok, so the Cambridge dictionary definition of the word communication is ‘the various methods of sending information between people and places.’ This is technically what organisations are doing, however in the society don’t we associate communication with being a two-way thing?
When asking copilot what the measures of success for corporate comms these were its best answers.
1. Social Media Engagement
This includes likes, shares, comments, and overall interaction on social media platforms. High engagement indicates that the content resonates with the audience.
2. Website Traffic
Monitoring the number of visitors to the company’s website can show how well communication efforts are driving interest and engagement.
3. Media Mentions
The frequency and sentiment of mentions in the media can reflect the visibility and public perception of the company.
4. Share of Voice (SOV)
This measures how much of the market conversation is about your brand compared to competitors. A higher SOV indicates stronger market presence.
5. Brand Uplift
This involves measuring changes in brand awareness and perception over time, often through surveys and market research.
6. Employee Engagement
For internal communications, metrics like employee feedback, participation in company events, and internal survey results can indicate how well the communications are being received2.
7. Conversion Rates
Tracking how many people take a desired action (e.g., signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase) after being exposed to corporate communications can show the effectiveness of the messaging3.
8. Customer Feedback
Collecting and analysing feedback from customers can provide insights into how well the communications are meeting their needs and expectations.
Interesting, only two of these answers were directly attributing success to actual feedback from the recipient!
Does this raise the question that are we as marketers still focused on one way correspondence rather than initiating two-way conversation?
Inherently the answer seems to be yes, what with shrinking marketing budgets, increased pressure to hit quarterly sales targets and an increase in short-termism – marketers often default to creating communications that drive action and not conversation. But is this wrong?
Really that question can only be answered by the brand. What is it we want to achieve? How do we want our audience to react? How do we measure success? Is this going to impact our marketing goals? In some instances, striking up dialogue is the correct course of action, other times its to drive direct response.
Different objectives require expertly crafted communications to drive the desired course of action. This deep understanding of buyer behavior, market maturity and industry perceptions can be a daunting task for many marketing leaders to apply to their comms, but The Rubicon Agency can help.
We create corporate communications that really hit home, whether your audience is internal, a partner or ultimately your end customer. With over 25 years of B2B agency experience working within the tech sector we know what it takes to inspire action, create cut through and drive preference
