Communication is the Common Thread
I’m a sucker for birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones in general. So, I could not let the occasion of my twelfth monthly blog post pass without it being marked. And since one year of blog posts roughly aligns with one year of running my consulting practice, it seems appropriate to use this space to highlight some observations from that time.
In the past year, I have worked on a range of projects for different types of arts organizations. Their sizes, circumstances, and business models varied, as did my approach to each project. But one thing was common across the board.
Communication is key.
Though that meant a little something different for each project, ultimately, the need for strong communication was a key component in every instance. Here are some of the critical ways communication led to success.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
Having a strong marketing strategy is terrific, but without buy-in and understanding from everyone on the team, it won’t have the impact it could. This means everything from getting approval from leadership to make sure that your plan aligns with organizational goals and budget targets to making sure that everyone on the marketing team fully understands the objective so that they can execute their part of the plan. It also means looping in other departments – particularly those who have contact with patrons and may receive questions from them. Everyone needs to know not just the what, but the why – particularly if your strategy involves changing the way things have been done in the past. Your boat is going to get where it needs to go much faster when everyone is rowing in the same direction with conviction and purpose.
EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION
This part may seem obvious. You’ve got an upcoming event that you want people to attend, so you tell them about it and hope that they come. But there is so much more to it than that. Why should people attend – what need of theirs is being met? What exactly do you want them to do – which package or ticket type are you trying to encourage and when do you want them to take action? First, do the work to make sure that you understand your objective and then make sure that is clear to your target audiences.
LISTENING
Remember that communication goes both ways – be sure that you are listening as well as sharing information. Hear what your staff, your patrons, and even your data is telling you. For example, your brilliant strategy might actually take four times as long for the box office staff to execute compared to the current process. Perhaps the benefit of the new approach outweighs that additional time and cost. Maybe not. You won’t be able to make that assessment if you don’t first listen to what the box office staff is telling you about their challenges. (And it won’t help staff retention efforts either.) Listen to your patrons and what they want. Whether that’s through audience research, standing in the lobby talking to patrons, or looking at the data to see what their behavior tells you. Once you have this information, you may need to adapt your plans, or your communication strategy.
The importance of communication isn’t something I learned for the first time in the past 12 months. But as I mark this anniversary and reflect on the past year, I realize that not only did this key element keep popping up in these projects, but it has been a critical part of all my work over the past 25 years. As marketers our toolbox is continuously evolving. We are constantly working to keep up with the latest technology like AI, social media algorithms, and updates to Google Analytics. We stay on top of best practices around SEO, pricing strategies, and budgeting. But it is important not to forget the basics. Active collaboration and intentional communication are absolutely essential, no matter what the project is.
I’m looking forward to another year of working with clients who are impacting their communities in exciting ways. And I will continue to communicate with you here every month.
If you need an extra set of eyes on your communication strategies, data analysis, or audience research, contact me. I’d be excited to work with you.