The usual answer to a question such as the one in the title of this post is a resounding ‘yes’: every business needs a communications plan. The reality, however, calls for a slightly more nuanced view.
A small business with few customers, an established reputation and a business model based on personal relationships may not need a lengthy document, a comprehensive editorial calendar or a presence on five social media platforms. It can operate for years with simple, direct and relatively informal communication. That does not mean it lacks a strategy, but it does mean that the strategy may be centred on the expertise of one or two people within the company.
The problem arises when that knowledge is no longer sufficient.
The organisation grows, takes on new staff, enters new markets, loses a key member of staff or faces a situation that can no longer be resolved through one-to-one discussions. At that point, the lack of shared guidelines begins to become apparent: conflicting messages, missed opportunities, delayed responses and decisions that depend too heavily on who happens to be available. The focus ends up being on reacting rather than making decisions.
The key question, therefore, is not whether the company has a document entitled ‘Communication Plan’. It is worth asking whether it knows what it hopes to achieve through its communications, who it needs to engage with, what it needs to explain, and how it will assess whether its efforts are yielding any results.
The importance of company size
The size of a company does not determine the complexity of its communication
Two companies, each with ten employees, may face completely different needs.
A specialist consultancy firm working for a number of major clients may need to focus, above all, on business communications, the reputation of its experts and relationship management. A food brand selling directly to consumers, on the other hand, may rely on social media, reviews and customer service. Finally, an industrial company may have little public visibility yet still need a clear policy for communicating with distributors, public authorities, suppliers and job applicants.
The number of employees provides little information. Other factors are more useful:
- Reliance on a small number of customers.
- Public disclosure of the activity.
- The existence of regulatory or operational risks.
- The difficulty in recruiting certain types of candidates.
- The rate of growth.
- Entry into new markets.
- The need to differentiate a product that is difficult to explain.
This distinction is important because it prevents us from recommending the same solution to all SMEs.
Improvisation can work too
It would be inaccurate to portray all improvisation as a flaw. SMEs tend to react quickly, know their customers well and can amend a message without having to go through several layers of approval. The problem arises when improvisation ceases to be an occasional capability and becomes the standard way of working, prioritising the tactical without a strategic framework.
A lack of planning rarely leads to an immediate disaster. Its costs are usually more subtle:
- content that is produced but hardly ever used;
- meetings held to decide on matters that have already been discussed;
- campaigns that do not address a business priority;
- different messages for customers, staff and job applicants;
- excessive reliance on external suppliers.
A mechanism for opting out
Many plans fail because they are conceived as lists of tasks.
We need to revamp the website, set up a video channel, send out a newsletter, get media coverage, attract followers… The list keeps growing, but our resources remain the same.
Strategic planning requires setting priorities and accepting trade-offs.
A company looking to recruit technical staff may focus its communications on explaining its projects more clearly, raising the profile of its professionals and improving the candidate experience. Another company that relies on a small number of clients may need to devote more attention to managing relationships with existing accounts than to increasing its overall profile. A company preparing for a round of investment will have different needs: a corporate narrative, consistent data, well-prepared spokespersons and the ability to explain its business model.
A useful strategy should be able to be summarised in just a few decisions:
- What business problem should communication help to solve?
- Which groups actually have an influence on this issue?
- What each audience needs to understand, believe or do.
- Which channels make sense for reaching him?
- Who is responsible for each action?
- Which indicators will enable decisions to be reviewed?
If a company cannot answer these questions, it probably engages in communication, but it can hardly claim to manage it.
The importance of evidence
In the field of communications, there is no shortage of figures relating to trust, reputation, brand consistency and consumer behaviour. Some are drawn from reliable research. Others are based on commercial surveys, unrepresentative samples or interpretations that are repeated year after year without checking the original source. A figure only lends credibility when it meets at least three conditions:
- The source can be identified and consulted.
- The data measures something directly related to the argument.
- The context helps us to understand who it represents and what limitations it has.
For an SME, the most useful data is often right under their nose: where customers come from; what questions they keep asking; why sales opportunities are being missed; what content teams actually use; how much it costs to maintain each channel; which messages cause confusion; which incidents keep recurring;
How long does it take for the organisation to reply?
The risk of the plan becoming bogged down in red tape
Planning also has its costs and can be done badly. A document that is too ambitious takes up time, creates unrealistic expectations and quickly becomes out of date.
An SME should be wary of any plan that is not linked to a business priority, that requires more time to maintain than to implement, that includes all available channels, and that primarily measures the volume of activity. A concise, practical plan is more valuable than a flawless document that nobody remembers.
In many organisations, a quarterly roadmap may be sufficient: two or three objectives, priority audiences, messages, actions, people responsible, budget and indicators. The level of detail should increase as complexity rises, not simply because there is a template to be filled in.
Planning to make better decisions
An SME can survive without a formal communication plan. Many do. Some even communicate effectively thanks to the experience, approachability and sound judgement of their managers. The situation changes when the company grows, takes on new stakeholders, is exposed to new risks or needs to demonstrate the benefits of its efforts. In such a scenario, relying solely on informal knowledge begins to prove insufficient.
Exploring the role of communication within organisations in greater depth will help you gain a broader perspective on this topic. Ultimately, remember that a communication plan for an SME should help with making difficult decisions: which audiences deserve attention, which messages should be retained, which channels can be dropped, which risks need to be prepared for, and which results will justify the investment. It is this – rather than size – that is the key consideration for any small business when it comes to communication.