CommunicationPlanningQuestionnaire

To develop a plan for communications of any sort, consider some basic questions. The answers to these questions constitute your action plan. The answers identify what you need to do to communicate successfully with your audience. Below are questions to consider as you plan for your communications.

Communication Tasks / Questions to Answer
Determine desired outcomes and develop key messages. /
  1. What are the measurable, desired business results you want to achieve?
  2. What behavior, attitudes or understanding must change in your audience in order to achieve the desired business results?
  3. What are the key messages that will achieve the change in audience behavior, attitude or understanding?
  4. Are there other communications in the agency directed at the same audience, audience behavior or problem?
  5. What are the risks or costs to Revenue if you do not deploy a communication?

Analyze the audience. /
  1. Who is your audience?
  2. What different segments of your audience do you need to reach?
  3. Are there any important characteristics about the audience?
  4. What do the various segments of your audience know about the topic you want to communicate?
  5. What needs and concerns do your target audience segments have about the issue you wish to communicate? How do you know this?

Select the appropriate media/ communication channels. /
  1. What communication products and channels will communicate these messages to the target audiences in the most cost effective manner?
  2. How can you best distribute messages to your audience?
  3. What are the costs of these?
  4. What are the benefits to Revenue in using these channels?

Develop the communication materials. /
  1. What communication products will you produce?
  2. Who will develop these products?

Pre-test and evaluate the draft communication(s). /
  1. How will you test or pilot the communication(s)?
  2. Who will participate in the test or pilot?
  3. Who will conduct or coordinate the pilot test?
  4. Who will make changes to the message, delivery, audience, channels or materials based on feedback from the test or pilot?

Deliver the message. /
  1. Whose approval (if any) is required to deliver the communication(s)?
  2. What are the most appropriate methods of delivery?
  3. What are time and cost factors that may affect the delivery of the message?
  4. How will you ensure the message gets to who or where it needs to go?

Post-test and evaluate the communication(s). /
  1. How will you know if the desired behavior or attitude change occurred?
  2. How will you know if your message motivated the targeted audience(s) to make the desired behavioral change?
  3. How will you obtain feedback about your communication(s)?
  4. What methods will you use to conduct your evaluation?
  5. What data will you gather?
  6. What tools or resources will you need to do this?
  7. If there is documented success on your communication(s), how and to whom will you communicate your results to within Revenue or outside Revenue?

December 2015 Page 1 of 2