MARKETING THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION FUNCTION

Executive Summary

1.   Although communicators appear keen to raise their profile and take on greater strategic responsibility, few have devised formal strategies to achieve this.

2.   There are a number of obstacles preventing internal communication departments from taking on higher levels of strategic responsibility. One is a classic Catch 22: they cannot prove that they are capable of strategic-level work until they are given a chance to do it.

3.   Other factors keeping internal communication from involvement in strategic decisions include isolation from the business mainstream, the fear of 'raising their heads above the parapet', and a perception that marketing their own activities is not an acceptable use of company time.

4.   To promote its services, an internal communication department should first look to standard marketing techniques: segmenting its audiences and ensuring that the department's services meet the needs of each, formulating service level agreements with customers and accepting – and acting on – customer feedback.

5.   Internal communication teams are much more likely to segment audiences to determine the needs of each than they were five years ago.

6.   Internal communication teams are most likely to research the needs of and create specialized media for middle and senior managers, although front-line employees are increasingly treated as a distinct audience.

7.   Despite their organizational importance, junior managers and supervisors receive relatively little specialized research or media from internal communication.

8.   Although relatively few internal communication teams have formal service level agreements with internal clients, such agreements can help in focusing service level improvements in the areas most important to clients.

9.   Many communicators promote their services to other departments informally, through personal contacts and word of mouth.

10.   Both formal research and informal feedback are important in helping internal communication meet the needs of its clients.

11.   To gain the credibility necessary to act at a strategic level, internal communication professionals need to excel at tactical work, to align their priorities with the business's goals and to develop the personal characteristics – including confidence and presentation skills – to integrate at board level.

12.   Word of mouth, networking and reputation are important internal marketing tools for the communications team at American United Life Insurance.

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