What language are you speaking?
Consider the following questions:
How well do you know your internal audience?
How long have they been employed at the organisation?
Who do they trust?
What are their frustrations and concerns?
Do they use social media outside work?
What’s their motivation for coming to work?
If you don’t know the answers, it’s unlikely that you’re speaking the same language as your audience.
Far too often, and for many and varied reasons, the importance of really knowing our audience is overlooked, and a one-size-fits-all approach is wheeled out yet again.
And while the increase in comms channels now available to us can create the illusion that we’re successfully reaching out to and communicating with all of our employees, the reality is that it’s just more likely that our messages will be lost in the fierce competition to gain an audience’s attention.
The simple fact is that our communications should be tailored, targeted and relevant in order to resonate with our audience. And yes, while it does require an investment to establish an understanding of the different segments and preferences within your audience, the alternative has a far greater cost.
Psychoanalysis(!)
One possible approach to segmentation is to focus on attitude and motivation, and leverage them to create an understanding of what drives employees in your organisation, how they feel about the company and in turn, how best to communicate with them to achieve your desired outcome(s).
Brainwaves Consultancy takes just such a psychological approach through Personal Construct Psychology, working on two key assumptions: 1) that we are a product of our experiences, and 2) that our perception of the world is revealed in what we say.
The research methodology involves asking employees a series of questions around a specific topic. Based on their responses, employees are categorised into segments, each of which has a distinct preferred method of communication that can then be utilised.
Sound interesting?
In our Mastering Audience Segmentation report, we published a case study with Sainsbury’s and Royal & Sun Alliance around the use of this methodology. If you’d like to read more you can download a copy of the full case study here: http://bit.ly/wko0RX
The concept of audience segmentation is also covered in The Internal Communication Black Belt 1 Programme.
Under the guidance of our expert trainers, attendees discuss a range of influential theories of segmentation, learn how to effectively build an audience profile and identify the most appropriate method of segmentation for their organisation.
Black Belt 1 covers a host of other core IC areas too - visit the website to view the full course overview and learn more about the programme.
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