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Here & there, now & then

3 ways to measure how your message changed behavior

By Angela Sinickas, ABC, Diva of Diagnostics

You send out a brochure, and widgets start flying off the shelves. But who owns that success? You and your brochure? The sales team and its efforts? The in-store marketing folks and their signage?

Here & there, now & then
Location, location, location One simple way to create a control group: Send your message to one location, but not to the other, and compare the difference in results. Image (left) by William Cho; image (right) by Boris Panov

Answer that question — and make sure communicators get credit for their share of sales — with these three measurement models:

1. Before and after

First conduct some baseline measurements to identify the current levels before you begin communicating. Next, establish your target levels and track objective reality over time.

Example: A privately held client wanted to increase its profitability. They established a profit-sharing plan that would reward employees as profits rose. We conducted a random telephone survey of 100 employees asking two questions:

  • What percentage of profit do you believe the company is making (knowledge)?
  • What percentage should it make (attitude)?

Read full article >

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The right stuff

The right stuff

Are you measuring the wrong things?

“In God we trust, all others bring data.”
— W. Edwards Deming, the father of the Japanese postwar industrial revival and the leading U.S. quality guru

Choose the right tool

Survey or focus group? Inventory or interview?

When International Association of Business Communicators Gold Quill judges gather for a drink or three after a day of being deciders, we joke that we should put on a seminar about how to win a Gold Quill award. We’d call it:

“You may already have lost.”
Choose the right tool
What’s the right tool for the job? Let Angela Sinickas help you decide. Image by royalty free

The reason: Too many communicators submit award entries without the winning component — measurement. In fact, to save time in the judging process, I often start by looking at the evaluation section. No measurement? No statue.

There’s nothing like measurement to transform a Gold Quill aspirant from a loser into a winner. Or a communicator from an order-taker — “Would you like fries with that brochure, Sir?” — into a consultant.

That transformation extends to the approval process. Because once you start documenting the benefits your communications are delivering to your organization’s bottom line, it’s amazing how your reviewers will stop worrying about whether you’re running the headlines in blue or black.

At Become an ROI Rock Star With the Diva of Diagnostics — a two-day Master Class with Angela Sinickas on Oct. 12-13 in Washington, D.C. — you’ll learn how to:

  • Select the best measurement tools for your communications
  • Draft a focus group guide to apply to your own campaign
  • Turn lame-ass questions into effective survey queries
  • Interpret raw data from surveys, then present results so they say what you mean and make a meaningful impact
  • Measure on a dime — or less: Learn about free measurement tools you can use

We expect tickets to this event to sell out fast. If you’d like to be one of 50 lucky communicators to learn to measure your communications like Angela Sinickas does, please register now.

Register now

“The thought of measurement always intimidated me until I participated in one of Angela’s workshops. Now I see it as more of an opportunity. Measuring your success doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task.”
— Thom Sueta, former senior communications manager, U.S. Operations, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Polish your skills at our upcoming Master Classes

Learn to Master the Art of the Storyteller, Catch Your Readers, Get Clicked, Cut Through the Clutter and more

Register for Online writing workshop in New York on Sept. 28-29
Register for communication measurement workshop in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 12-13
Register for writing workshop in Houston on Nov. 2-3
Register for Creative writing workshop in Los Angeles on Feb. 23-24, 2017
Register for persuasive writing workshop in Las Vegas on March 22-23, 2017
Register for Tight writing workshop in Washington, D.C. on April 6-7, 2017
Register for PR writing workshop in San Francisco on July 26-27, 2017

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Ask about piggybacking on my upcoming engagements in:

  • Geneva: Nov. 29
  • Houston: Nov. 2-3
  • Indianapolis: Oct. 24
  • Jackson, Mississippi: Nov. 9
  • Las Vegas: March 22-23, 2017
  • Los Angeles: Feb. 23-24, 2017
  • New Orleans: Nov. 7
  • New York: Sept. 28-29
  • Norfolk, VA: Oct. 10
  • San Francisco: Oct. 16 & July 26-27, 2017
  • Washington, D.C.: Oct. 12-13 & April 6-7, 2017
  • White Plains, New York: Dec. 13

Keep up with my calendar.

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