Audiences & tactics to remember when communicating a major company change
Having just went through our office move here at Clearpoint, we became very cognizant of something we always remind our clients – the importance of communicating your message to key audiences. When a company goes through a major change such as an office move, rebranding effort, merger, acquisition, or anything that affects the company “image” or message, its executives need to consider all of the different audiences that need to get the message and all the various ways to communicate it.
Clear and straightforward communication with your audiences eliminates confusion and fear, and gets everyone on board with your message. When you (or your PR firm) craft the message, you have more control over what people think, say and do. Of course, the risk of not doing so is that someone else could create your message and run with it – in an undesirable direction. Don’t leave your key audiences in the dark. How would a team function if only the coach knew the score?
Lucky for you, the Clearpoint team has provided a list of important audiences to consider and some example messaging methods to use for an office relocation:
- Internal staff – Your team is numero uno! Once the decision is made for your move (or other major change), your internal staff should be the first audience to get the message. Consider a formal internal letter with the good news, reasoning and what they should expect. Give them answers to questions they may get from clients or the media. Then, consider a less formal meeting where you unveil details (pictures!) and have an open discussion with employees. As your brand ambassadors, it’s important that your team is especially clear on your message.
- Existing and previous clients – Use your move as an opportunity to give good news about your company to clients, in a fun and exciting way. Consider celebrating with your clients by throwing an “unveiling party” to show the new location. Send emails and newsletter updates announcing the change and reminding clients of new capabilities and what’s in it for them. For Clearpoint, we now have more room and better tech tools to host our popular messaging workshops. So we’re highlighting that – and encouraging clients take advantage of it.
- Potential clients – This audience is similar to your existing clients, but once removed, so there is less familiarity and more formality with this group. You want to position your move similarly, as a sign of good news, but you want to include a little more about who you are and what you do. Consider the PR work horse: the press release. Announce the move, your new capabilities and a general background on the company. On the less formal side, consider blog posts and social media updates, including video. This adds personality and a greater understanding about who your company is.
With so much going on around your company change, it’s important to craft your message and your plan for communicating it to your key audiences. As we say at Clearpoint, the conversation happens with or without you, so make sure YOU are directing the conversation about your company.
Questions? Comments? Post them here or hit us up on Twitter and Facebook!
This post was contributed by Alexia Haynes, Clearpoint Agency Senior Account Executive