Media interested in your business may be reached through a press conference.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a stakeholder as someone "with an interest or concern in something, especially a business." You can easily see how you need to cast a wide net to communicate with all stakeholders, as that definition can encompass customers, vendors, analysts, media, investors, antagonists and even employees. Not all communication channels are appropriate for all stakeholders. If you already have external and internal communications plans in place, follow your communications tactics as detailed for each audience. If not, and you need to set communication in motion right now, record your steps, missteps and outcomes so you can use it to create a working plan.
Instructions
Communicate with Stakeholders in a Business
1. Your business suppliers are stakeholders in your business.
Segment your stakeholder audiences. List the stakeholders by categories, being as specific as possible. Examples may include: customers, politicians, investors, media, analysts, employees, partners, suppliers, distribution outlets, financial institutions and adversaries. The reason you create these segments is so you can target your communications appropriately, using the best available method for each audience segment. You will also want to prioritize your communications; depending on the circumstances, it may be more important to get information to your investors than to suppliers. You may also have to follow specific legal requirements if you are a publicly traded company.
2. Develop key messages. You will want to include any corporate key messages already created, and develop additional messages specific to the current situation, if warranted. For example, if one of your warehouses burned, your situational key messages will contain the basic information of what happened, where it occurred, when it took place, how it happened and who was involved. Linking these key messages together should give you a basic news release. Then, reinforce a standard company key message, such as "Acme Industries proudly puts its employees first" and support it with a new message specific to the circumstances, such as "all warehouse employees will continue to receive regular pay with no interruptions."
3. A web-based conference can be an important communications tool for businesses.
Select your communication apertures. These are your communications openings for each audience segment. Depending on the circumstances, you may not want your communications to be broad, at least not right away. Some examples of apertures would be telephone calls, video or web conferencing, press conferences, press releases or personal visits. Ongoing communication apertures or tactics might include annual reports, customer and employee newsletters, blog, corporate intranet communications or employee, customer or media retreats.
4. You may have more than one spokesperson communicating to stakeholders.
Select your spokesperson. Your CEO or company president is a natural choice, but depending on the circumstances and the communications tactic or aperture, may not be the best choice for all stakeholders. You may decide to select a sales manager, human resources director, chief financial officer or your media relations manager. Take into consideration his training with the media and with public speaking, and ensure he is proficient in the key messages of the business and current situation being communicated.
5. Feedback and follow-up is an important part of the communication process.
Execute your communications. Again, keep in mind your priority stakeholders. You likely do not want the media to get news before the investors or politicians do, for example. The execution needs to be centrally organized with key designated individuals for follow-up. Part of the execution is collecting feedback from your spokespeople so you can determine if the communication was successful; remember that communication is a two-way process, requiring the receiver to receive and process the information accurately.
