An in-depth Marketing Communications Audit of your customer communications plan can help you to ensure that your messages are being received in the way you intended. Therefore, a marketing communications audit is a great way to get it right.
Carry out a Communications Review
To do this, you can take a look at the campaigns you have created over the past 12 months and compare them with your goals. Is there consistency and do they help to build a relationship with your audience?
Consider your paid ads as well as press releases, blog posts and all other content. Was the frequency right and did it reach the intended audience? Also were the messages clear and concise?
You could even ask your audience how you are doing and what you could be doing better. This can be achieved through surveys, interviews or focus groups.
Make Use of Your Data
To refine future communications, you could use your review result and add data analysis to it. You will more than likely have a lot of information about your clients already, so use the data you have and act on it. Begin with looking at the customers who spend the most with you.
Identify what motivates your customers and why they use your service. Take this information and use it to support the marketing and loyalty programs that assist you in retaining customers. Focusing on who is likely to become your best customers is all part of the process. Using analytics, it makes it possible to identify who is likely to become a valuable customer. This then enables you to spend time focusing on intervention strategies to ensure that they return and continue to use your services.
Using the data that you have analysed, you can then use that information and inject it into your communication strategy.
An communications Audit is Not a one-time Thing
A Marketing Communications audit is crucial to your business but they should not be seen as something you complete once a year. Often, carrying out mini-audits can help you to keep on top of your communications strategy. You can take samples of recent communications and data instead of having to sift through a whole year’s worth. Then you should plan to carry out the complete audit around the same time each year. This whole process is designed to help you eliminate those tactics that are no longer working and enhance those that are getting results.
