STRATEGIC GO-TO-MARKET

COMMUNICATIONS PLAN TEMPLATE

Communications plans are similar to business plans: the difference lies in the disciplines applied

to a plan's execution. You can build a classic communications strategy plan based on this 9-point roadmap. Using Smartsheet templates, you will vary the amount of detail you apply to the plan depending on the scope and time frame of the project.

PROJECT NAME
CONTACT INFO
NAME	PHONE	EMAIL
MAILING ADDRESS
AUTHOR	DATE

1 MISSION
Whether you are working on an overall communications plan for your organization or have a project, campaign, or crisis communications planning situation to execute, begin with your mission in mind.

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A concise summary of the full plan, highlighting the key strengths and weaknesses, major goals, and primary techniques to be employed

3 SITUATION ANALYSIS
RESEARCH
PEST Analysis (political, economic, social, and technological factors)
SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threat factors)
Competitor Analysis

3 SITUATION ANALYSIS continued
IDENTIFY SMART (Specific, Measurable, Realistic, and Timely) OBJECTIVES & METRICS

4 STAKEHOLDER & TARGET AUDIENCES
This is a prioritized list of target groups and their subgroups of key influencers, as well as those you want to influence with your plan.

5 KEY MESSAGES
A group of three-to-five statements which sum up how you want your organization to be perceived
If you are targeting multiple audiences that require differentiated messages, you will need to create a list of three-to-five statements based on each audience.

6 TOOLS & TACTICS
What do we have to do to achieve objectives, and what tools are appropriate to reach your target audience?
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS
Each audience will likely have several appropriate communications channels that will require a plan and budget: web/online media presence, press/PR, direct marketing, and paid advertising on print or broadcast media.

7 BUDGETS
Each tactical project that supports the plan should be budgeted separately.

8 PROJECT PLAN & SCHEDULES
Create a milestone chart that will show all tactics and what needs to be done by whom and by when. Include this so that you can measure progress toward ultimate goals.
TASK OWNER	DATE DUE	TASK DESCRIPTION

9 EVALUATE
Based on your mission and incremental metrics, evaluate how successful you were in meeting objectives.

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