THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLISTA powerful tool for assessing your story from the inside out.

70% of brand perception is driven by conversations with your employees.

For your company’s message to become a difference maker in the customer experience,

it must be woven into the fabric of your organization. That means employees must not only

understand your messaging, but also embrace it and bring it to life in their everyday

work life.

A recent McKinsey Study indicates the #1 trait of companies that succeed in delivering

a superior customer experience is: the ability to develop and deliver a clear, consistent

message. In today’s marketplace it is more critical than ever that your company has a

process in place that ensures messaging continuity across all channels and touch points.

This “Communications Audit” will help you identify the challenges and opportunities your

organization faces with respect to delivering a clear, compelling and consistent message

throughout the customer experience. You’ll be able to quickly inventory and audit the

messaging used in daily conversations and communication vehicles across:

> Marketing

> Public Relations / Investor Relations

> Sales

> Customer Service/Support

> Human Resources

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST 3

This document is meant to serve as a guide for you and your team to assess and audit communication vehicles

used throughout your customer experience. We’ve included several “customer-facing” functions found within most

organizations along with a list of communication vehicles that should be inspected. While you are going through the

list, place a checkmark next to each item that you know is actively used in customer/prospect communication. Then

audit each communication vehicle by answering the following questions:

> Are the messages used in this communication vehicle aligned with

our current go-to-market strategy and product/service offerings?

Does it reflect the current vision and state of the business?

> What messages do we use to describe who we are?

> What messages do we use to describe what we do?

> What messages do we use to articulate the “value” our company

delivers to the target audience?

> Do we clearly articulate “what makes us better/different” than

the competition? If so, what messages are used to do so?

> Do we identify who we are “speaking to” (our target audience)

and specifically how they can benefit from our company, product

or service?

> Is the tone/voice of the messaging within this piece consistent

with our brand personality?

> What messaging within this piece is consistent with the broader

collection of communication vehicles I am auditing?

> What messages within this piece are inconsistent/incongruent

with the messaging used within the broader collection of

communication vehicles?

HOW TO CONDUCT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT

DID YOU KNOW?

70% of brand perception is driven by your employees. (Enterprise IG)

90% of business leaders say that improving customer experience is one of their top 3 priorities. (Forrester)

Companies that score high in both customer and employee engagement grow at 3.4 times the rate of those that don’t. (Cicero)

Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95% (Bain & Company)

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST 4

WHAT IS A MESSAGING PLATFORM

A Messaging Platform drives clear, compelling and consistent messaging inside and outside of your organization.

It starts with a Messaging Foundation that clearly defines who you are, what you do, the value you deliver and

key reasons to believe. The Platform builds on your foundational message to provide a broad range of actionable

tools including long-form messaging (100, 250 and 500+ word versions of your story), elevator pitch, boilerplate

copy, FAQs and answers, social media profile messaging and more. With a strategic Messaging Platform in place,

organizations can deliver messaging continuity throughout the customer experience. Ultimately, achieving a higher

return on every connection they make.

If your company does not have a Messaging Platform in place, you can learn how to develop a clear, compelling and

consistent story here.

IMPORTANTThis audit will be more effective if you have a Corporate Messaging Platform in place and use it as the foundation for measuring the clarity and consistency of your story across each communication vehicle.

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST 5

MARKETING___ Blog Posts

___ Brochures

___ Case Studies

___ Catalog/Directory Listings

___ Customer Forms

___ Customer Newsletters/Magazines

___ Digital Advertising (banners, mobile ads, etc.)

___ Direct Mail Pieces

___ Elevator Pitch

___ Email Campaigns

___ Email Signatures

___ End-User Manuals

___ Event Program Guides/Sponsorship Guides

___ Executive Briefs

___ FAQ Sheets

___ Flyers/Sell Sheets

___ Infographics

___ Interactive Signage

___ Intranet (internal)

___ Landing Pages

___ Mandatory Messages

___ Mobile Apps

___ Mobile Sites/Microsites

___ Newsletters (emails)

___ Newsletters (printed)

___ Online Advertising

___ Online Sponsorships

___ Out-of-Home Advertising

___ Podcasts/Webcasts/Webinars

___ Postcards

___ Posters

___ Presentations

___ Print Advertising

___ Product Spec Sheets

___ Questionnaires/Surveys/Polls

___ Radio Advertising

___ Self-Running Demos

___ Social: Facebook

___ Social: LinkedIn

___ Social: Twitter

___ Sponsorship Advertising

___ Television

___ Tradeshow Booth Signage

___ Video Testimonials

___ Website Content

___ White Papers

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMUNICATION AUDIT — FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Below is a list of commonly used communication vehicles that contain elements of your story. It is imperative that

you audit and align the messaging used in these and other “customer-facing” communication vehicles to deliver a

clear and consistent customer experience:

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST 6

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMUNICATION AUDIT — FROM THE INSIDE OUT (continued)

PUBLIC RELATIONS / INVESTOR RELATIONS___ Annual Report

___ By-Line Articles

___ Corporate Overview Piece

___ Customer Success Stories

___ Executive Bios

___ Interview FAQs

___ Investor Presentations

___ Media Kit Materials (Digital/Printed)

___ Press Release Boiler Plates

___ Speaking Engagement Profiles/Listings

___ Storylines/Pitch Decks

HUMAN RESOURCES___ Employee Benefits Program Content

___ Employee Onboarding Materials

___ Employee Orientation Presentations (Listen In)

___ Employee Portal/Intranet

___ Employee Rewards/Recognition Materials

___ Employer Branding Materials

___ Job Posting Content

___ Learning/Organizational Development Materials

___ New Employee Handbook

___ New Employee Orientation Presentation

___ Recruiting Call Scripts

___ Recruiting Emails

___ Recruiting Event Signage/Booth

___ Recruiting Marketing Materials

___ Recruiting Phone Calls (Listen In)

___ Vision, Mission and Values

SALES___ Agreements/Contracts

___ Customer Presentations

___ Customer Reports/Business Reviews

___ Customer/Prospect Phone Calls (Listen In)

___ Estimates/Quotes

___ Online Presentations/Demos (Listen In)

___ Product Demo Scripts

___ Proposals

___ Prospect Emails

___ RFP Content

___ Sales Enablement Tools

___ Sales Meetings (Ride-Alongs)

___ Sales Training Materials

___ Sell Sheets

CUSTOMER SERVICE / SUPPORT___ Call Script Messaging

___ Customer Calls (Listen In)

___ Customer Satisfaction Emails

___ Customer Surveys

___ Post-Call Email Correspondence

___ Special Offers/Promotions

___ Upsell/Cross Sell Messages

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST 7

NEXT STEPS

This audit is just the first step in improving your customer experience through a clear, compelling and consistent

message. If you do not have the time or resources to complete this audit, OnMessage experts can conduct a

comprehensive audit as part of our Corporate Messaging Engagement. You can learn more about our Messaging

Development process here.

© Copyright OnMessage, Inc. 2014 | All rights reserved.

About OnMessage

It’s more than our name.

It embodies our singular purpose and mission …

To grow our client’s business by helping them deliver a clear, compelling

and consistent corporate message throughout the customer experience.

OnMessage is a messaging infusion company with a proven model

for helping you develop a clear, compelling and consistent message.

Our methodology aligns your company’s strengths and true point of

difference with customer needs to create a messaging platform that

elicits optimal engagement throughout the customer experience.

This methodology, when combined with our employee training, sales

enablement, content development and brand integration services,

enables you to achieve a higher return on every connection you make.

For more information

For more valuable and informative resources that can help you improve

your customer experience go to: www.itsonmessage.com/resource.

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