Would Your Company Pass the Brand Communication Test?

By Anita Eglīte @BlueCatEdit

My standard working process with companies starts with their communication diagnostics. I have my own process of testing a company’s communication, which goes beyond posts on social media platforms. However, when it comes to a basic health-check – you can do this yourself.

I mostly work with companies with a strongly established position in the market, so most of them agree to this test being sure they will pass it in flying colours. It is rarely the case.

Keep reading for guidance and a checklist if you are serious about your company’s communication and if you are ready to face the truth.

Why should you test your communication?
I always assume people are doing the best they can. So, if something is not as exceptionally good as it could be, I’m assuming it is due to lack in perspective, insight, or knowledge; never – an intentional wrongdoing. In most cases, people are just not aware there is something wrong and they should change a course.

If company’s money is on it, it is always a good idea to follow up, look back and adjust. Besides, I always encourage changing for better, especially if every day of staying put costs your company dearly.

For whom is it relevant?
✔ For a good communication specialist who is sincerely devoted to brining excellence in communication for the company.

✔ For owner and CEO of the company who is close enough to the everyday dealings of the company and who knows the power of words and its effect on their paycheck.

✔ For customers, yet they don’t need to take this test to have a clear picture. They are far enough from your company, so they have their intuition and sub-consciousness doing the work for them. For your current or potential customers this analysis is automatic, which may be risky for your company, because the report their sub-consciousness is submitting to their brain about your brand responsible for making the purchasing decisions is out of your control.

You are here, so I assume you’re on the right path and have every intention of making this right.

What do you need for this test?
Here is the list of items I most commonly use for diagnostics.

✔ 5 random examples Facebook posts published by your company within the past year.

✔ The main block of the company’s websites text.

✔ 3 lastnewsletters sent out within the past year.

✔ The last edition of the brochure outlining the essence of your company or your products/services.

✔ The last 2 internal company’s newsletters, if you have any.

✔ 10 random e-mails sent out by the Sales co-workers within the past year.

✔ Internal rules of procedure of your company.

✔ The last 4 [greeting or thank you] cards (printed or digital) your company sent as an official greeting to clients, partners and/or employees.

Get to work
Now you read all of those.
Preferably, without interruptions, to get the whole picture. Or even better, if you have that opportunity, ask someone neutral outside your company to read it for you. Or even several people to get a more comprehensive insight.

When the reading is done, here is the checklist for the person who was actually reading all that. Note down the number of “yeses” you get from these
6 questions.

What does it all mean?
Plain and clear – this test reveals:

✔ Whether your company’s communication has a focus.

✔ Whether your company has a specific brand’s tone of voice.

✔ Whether your company’s communication is working towards building the image you were supposed to build for your company.

✔ Whether your company’s communication isn’t sending mixed signals to the audience.

✔ Whether your company’s communication is consistent.

✔ Whether you are using the full potential of your company’s communication.

This is a good time to pause and reflect on the foundations of your corporate communication.

How to use the results?
If you got the maximum number of “yeses”, which is 6 – good for you! You are a rare animal in this prairie. If you got 3 or more – the above (and even
more – the below) questions could be useful to guide you back on track.

If you got one “yes” or none – pick up the phone and call me for an immediate assistance because it means your communication budget is draining.

Either way, you got it right – now it’s time to go from words to action.
The next step is to go deeper by asking yourself additional questions to get to the bottom of the issue. Focus specifically on the pain points.

Where all texts written by your own people or were any of those outsourced? Could the issues be avoided if all the texts had been written by a single person? Which one is the faulty one – internal communication, external, or both? Is there a quick remedy on top of your mind to improve your communication? Can this be solved on a department level or does it require an overall strategic approach?

Leaving all writing to a single person seems an exaggeration if not even an inefficient solution in these modern times. The new technologies can come in handy for a big chunk of this. For example, my favourite latest discovery – Writesonic. I’ve seen so many companies saving their time with this AI tool! The future of copywriting is now! In the latest version it even offers choosing the tone of voice for your texts. The results are quite impressive. Yet it can do just as much as it can if the one giving the task does not have a framework and a clear focus.

We have all the remedy for that at BLUE CAT EDIT. Besides a priceless consultation, my team gives companies an extensive brand language guidebook. Basically, we give your brand a personality. And we give it an individual, authentic voice and a set of everyday tools for building a consistent image (essential for your in-house team and for outsourced agents) and for speaking in one voice, whatever the size of the company. Yes, it really works. And it may even be easier than you imagine.

My ultimate goal is to ensure the highest quality of communication for companies, and I hope this article along with my future posts on this subject will help us all get there.

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Are you managing a company; are you the owner, strategic manager, HR manager, or a communication specialist?
Then you are my audience. I need your hand for raising the overall level of quality of communication in companies. Together we can accomplish so much more.

Come back here for more, follow @Anita_Brand_Communication on Instagram (sorry, Latvian only) or follow BLUE CAT EDIT in the top social media platforms.

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