This topic introduces students to the steps necessary for writing up the Communications section of a Business Plan. Students learn about different aspects of communication planning, both for strategic and for tactical purposes. They are introduced to the different sections any Communications Plan should contain and work on developing each one in small groups. While students are guided step-by-step in this process, they also have degree of freedom to come up with an original Communications Plan.

1. HP Life:
Communications Plan
Presented By:
Kristin Slice, MA, Business Analyst

2. Agenda
V.E. Story: Board Context – 5 mins.
Business Scenario: Specific Problem- 20 mins.
Demonstration: Intro. to the software- 5 mins.
Hands on Activity: Software Demo- 1 hour
Debrief: Business application discussion – 20 mins

4. Parts of a Communication Plan
Strategy- General summary in paragraph form
Goals and objectives- Here you get into specifics. What do you want to achieve with the
Communications Plan? Is the Plan relatively narrow (promoting a grand opening), or more
general (increasing brand awareness)? In this section, you elaborate on a few broad goals
and some more specific objectives that explain how each of the goals is to be achieved.
Using SMART principles can help with defining objectives (especially making sure objectives
are measurable and timebound).
Audiences- Who are you going to address? A specific target group? Or as broad an audience
as you can reach? Besides potential customers, certain types of communication may target:
· Employees
· Opinion leaders
· Media
·Stakeholders
· Industry analysts

5. Parts of a Communication Plan
Key messages- Are you telling the right thing to the right people? Key messages should
communicate to all selected audiences why what you do is different – but your key messages
should be tweaked for your different audiences.
Tactics- How are the objectives to be achieved? Tactics are tightly connected to
communication channels – the methods for conveying your key messages.
Timing- You need to have a detailed schedule for when different activities need to occur. A
consistent schedule is particularly important when it comes to traditional media (TV, radio).
Budget - How much does the plan cost Highlighting all costs, including hidden ones, will later
help you assess the return on investment.
Evaluation- Has the plan been successful? How many hits did you get on your website? How
much press coverage did you get?

6. Hands on Activity
 Break into groups of 2-3
 Open the activity folder on the desktop
 Follow the instruction in your student handout
- Discuss the section as a group
- Insert your answers into the plan
 Create the tools for Song to execute at least one communication tactic for his grand
opening.
 Share with the group your communication plan for Song.

7. Where do we go from here…
 Complete your communication plan
Attend next week’s financial plan workshop
 Sign up for one-on-one counseling