Fitz N4. Audiences & segmentation

августа 03, 2018

Audience knowledge is key to having a voice in strategic discussions.

We should be able to list out:
- how many people work here;
- where they are and in what numbers;
- what they do;
- what languages they speak;
- what channels reach them;
- what their recent history is.

There are a number of different approaches which we will explain in more detail but they generally fall under these headings:

organization;
demographics;
access;
attitude;
outcome.

Using archetypes to shape your plans

In large organizations with sizable communication teams it can be useful to create some stereotypical profiles of employees. Creating the profiles can be as subjective or as scientific as you need. A team workshop identifying the main characters with whom you will need to communicate can be as effective as a statistically-derived model based on the annual employee survey. The aim is to come up with a profile of a fictional but typical employee who personifies a particular segment.

Bill Quirke talks about classifying people according to their exposure to change. His model1 divides people on two axes: ‘impact’and ‘interest/ concern’and he suggests generic strategies for communicating with them. People who have a low interest but could be highly impacted should receive communications designed to deliver a ‘wake up’.

Staff who are highly concerned and probably likely to be greatly affected should be exposed to communications that are about engagement. Colleagues who have high concern but are likely to be largely unaffected need reassurance and people with little concern or impact should be educated.

Quirke and also D’Aprix talk about classifying people according to their knowledge and enthusiasm. Essentially, Quirke’s approach identifies four general attitudes: ‘unguided missiles’ (excited but uninformed), ‘hot shots’ (excited and knowledgeable ), ‘slow burners’ (uninformed and unexcited) and ‘refuseniks’ (well informed but disinterested).