Communications for Small Business Owners

Duration: Offered as a 90 minute webinar or 2 days in class

Course Overview

Communication between individuals is a two-way street, but communication between a small business and its customers is a multi-lane highway. Navigate this highway successfully and you increase customer numbers and profits. Set out on this highway unaware, ill-prepared, or unconvinced of its importance, and you will lose ground to your competitors.
This course will introduce and reinforce the essential components of written communication that will connect you with existing and potential customers. If you are new to the communications highway, this course will provide the foundation for future development. If your company has some communications expertise, this course will help you strengthen and polish your essential components.

Learning Objectives

  • Define the essential pieces of communication
  • Customize these essential pieces for your company
  • Identify the processes and plans needed for clear communications
  • Develop, maintain, and evolve effective content for your communications

Course Outline

1. Course Overview

2. Key Communication Components

  • What Communication Is All About
  • Pre-Assignment Review

3. The Building Blocks

  • Business and Marketing Strategy
  • Public Relations Plan
  • Working on the Plan
  • Elevator Pitch and Executive Summary
  • Developing Your Pitch
  • Practice Makes Perfect

4. Your Communications Plan

  • Introduction
  • Selecting Your Communications Destination
  • Choosing a Communications Route
  • Making Connections
  • Establishing a Communications Vehicle
  • Developing an Approval Process
  • Inbound vs. Outbound: How Can We Help You?

5. The Five C’s of a Successful Message

  • Be Clear
  • Be Concise
  • Be Complete
  • Be Correct
  • Be Compelling

6. Communication Strategies

  • Setting a Goal for Each Communications Piece
  • Strengthening Your Core Message

7. Sharing Information Through Media Releases

  • Key Pieces of the Media Release
  • Drafting Your Message
  • Getting Into It

8. Communicating Online

  • Blogging Tips and Tricks
  • Making Connections
  • Connecting Through Social Media
  • Social Media Plan Worksheet

9. Using Stories to Communicate

  • The Importance of Story
  • Tell Me A Story

10. Polishers and Time Savers

  • Communication Fact Sheets
  • Getting It Together
  • Reduce, Re-Use, and Recycle

11. Enhancing Your Results

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Optimizing Our Results
  • Taking Your Communication Pulse
  • Focusing on the Research
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Making Connections

12. Maintaining Your Message in Crisis

13. Personal Action Plan