Battling Communication Schizophrenia
In the rush to capitalize on purchasers’ alleged desire for green products and services, companies are ‘shoe-horning’ environmental themes in to all of their communications. Companies are quick to add a “Sustainability” section to their website thinking that changes to a site’s main navigation must demonstrate true commitment to the environment. A newsletter article about the company’s desire to purchase ‘green’ office products sits against the backdrop of 4 million tons of office paper thrown away each year. And, perhaps with each new product brochure that includes an image of a wind turbine, a raptor [loses] its wings.
As environmental messages are inserted, other messages become diluted and obscured. Do the true benefits of the product or service still resonate? Have customer service and support elements fallen lower on the list, displaced by carbon offsets? Do printed brochures reflect the same messages as (more easily updated) web pages?
Communication audits are a great way to systematically examine all channels of communication and identify conflicts, exaggerated claims, and off-topic messages. Communication schizophrenia is easy to diagnose. Are you telling vendors and distributors one thing while employees another. Are clients receiving a consistent message about your true value proposition? Has your messaging stayed current with you’re your business strategy?
These evaluations can also be more narrowly focused on how the company is portrayed in the media (i.e., media audit) or how the company stacks up against its competitors (i.e., competitive evaluation).
It’s easy to understand how messages stray from their intended purpose. The solution is to objectively evaluate communication channels and develop a plan for realigning messages with business strategy.
