Improve Project Results Using The Techniques Of E-mail Marketing
by Todd Brehe, Gallatin Technologies, Inc.

While e-mail marketing has a variety of selling and communications applications in business, one unique and underutilized application is for project communications. Many of the same ideas and strategies you use in your e-mail marketing campaigns can be applied to project communications to improve the chance of a positive outcome for a project.

Well-executed project communications foster positive anticipation and excitement about the benefits of a project. They encourage higher levels of project satisfaction and ease resistance to change. Your team's ability to contribute ideas and collaborate effectively is enhanced when players have a broad view of the issues and understand different factors associated with a project. Market researchers estimate that only 40% of IT projects are considered successful. Purposeful communications will help your company stay out of the 60% group of project underachievers and generate real business benefits.

"Communication is one of the most critical variables in the overall success of any (Information Technology or IT) project," says Rick Freedman in The IT Consultant.

What are the inherent difficulties in projects?
Projects are exceptionally challenging. Many constituencies are involved in and affected by a given project: those actively working on the project, end-users who will be affected, and executives who continually need to know what's going on. With a diverse audience comes differing expectations and perceptions, and a need to manage those.

Some associates might feel their jobs are threatened by a new project or they may be skeptical about the underlying reasons for it. Business unit managers will want to know how the performance of the groups they are responsible for will be impacted and they may form their own ideas of the future project results. Consistent communications can proactively address these issues, foster trust, and encourage group buy-in. Also, the better you are at managing expectations, the more likely the completed project will match peoples' desires and needs.

Projects require open communication and continual collaboration; many people have to contribute for the project to succeed. Throughout the lifecycle of a project, there is a recurring need to deliver information and updates to team members, many of whom may not be in the same office nor in the same country. Even under the best circumstances, communications can be tough and demand significant time and effort. By implementing simple, efficient communications processes at the outset of a project, stakeholders will be encouraged to communicate. E-mail and the Internet are tools well-suited for project communications.

Project Communications That Could Have Been Better
Here is an example where simple communications would have saved a company time and money. A CPA firm wants to add a high speed T-1 Internet connection to its office, so the office manager calls a local Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP quickly (if only!) creates a work order and distributes it to its work crews in the field. The first crew on the scene digs a trench from the street box to the CPA's building, lays the cable, and connects the switch. The next step is to notify the home office that the T-1 is ready to be activated. The crew fails to communicate with the home office and heads for its next job.

The second crew to arrive is amazed at how easily their trencher turns the soft ground as they too dig a trench to the office building, drop the cable, and connect it to the outside switch. The foreman comments how impressed he is that this little 6 person company needs two T-1 lines, but continues nonetheless. The second crew notifies the home office and the T-1 line is activated. The line comes up and the company is excited about its new broadband connection. Excited they remain until they get the invoice for the installation and setup of 2 T-1s, one of which they didn't order!

It is an oversimplified example, but hopefully it highlights how simple communications can have a big impact on project success, whether the project is large or small.

First-Rate Project Communications Lead To Project Success
The upside of effective project communications is that your stakeholders understand the strategic reasons for implementing a change. You can encourage an interactive dialogue by delivering information, gathering feedback, distributing it, and gathering more input. Informed team members are more likely to provide valuable ideas and actively participate in defining the workflows, processes, procedures, and support systems to be used. Participation leads to feelings of ownership in the project and concern for its ultimate success. Clear communications help a project progress smoothly and result in fewer costly interruptions and delays.

E-mail Marketing...The Perfect Project Communications Tool
The instantaneous nature of the Web and e-mail means that you can communicate quickly with different groups who might be down the hall or across the globe. These tools are conducive to interaction and collaboration. The Holy Grail of e-mail marketing is to be able to establish a personal, one-to-one dialogue with an audience. Projects are strongly influenced by the ability of project leaders to communicate in this manner.

The project communications team will need to deliver different messages to different constituencies, providing adequate know-how and information that will enable these groups to make better decisions. Moreover, a critical part of any project is marketing and selling the benefits of that project to constituents. E-mail marketing is an efficient, cost-effective way to accomplish this goal. And many of the same objectives and metrics you use during an e-mail marketing campaign, can be applied successfully to a comprehensive project communications plan.

"Communications should be planned as a project, with specific goals, objectives, deliverables, roles and responsibilities, and schedules," states Rick Freedman in The IT Consultant.

The Right Message To The Right Person
A good first step in your project communications plan is to segment your target audience. Who will be directly affected by the project (end-users and managers)? Who is working on the project (implementers)? Who is making decisions concerning the project (executives & project leaders)? Each of these groups will have different information requirements and interests.

For example, end-users will want to know how their daily jobs will be impacted. They will need reassurance that the project supports their future productivity and does not threaten their jobs. They will want to know training requirements, support initiatives in place, and they'll want to monitor the project's progress. Executive management will want to be apprised of project status, problems, issues, budgets, and how the project is achieving the business objectives that initiated it. Implementers will need ready access to documentation, status reports, plans, policies, procedures, schedules, and feedback.

How frequently will you communicate with your different constituencies? How will you deliver the information-an e-newsletter or e-mail bulletin? Where will you maintain a record of events? Will you use surveys or discussion databases to gather and encourage feedback? Will you use a portal or intranet website to collect and display project information? How can you best incorporate off-line meetings and presentations into your online communications?

Consistent communications are necessary to keep your audience in tune with the project purpose, build momentum, and foster company-wide support. Also, if your communications are relevant, anticipated, and personal, your stakeholders will be more likely to take an active role in the project.

Project Communications Checklist

1. Who are the stakeholders?

-- Project manager and project leaders
-- End users
-- Business unit managers
-- Executive management
-- Contractors and subcontractors

2. What information do the stakeholders need?

-- Status/progress reports
-- Project plans
-- Documentation
-- Schedules
-- Meeting minutes
-- Contact Information
-- Financials
-- Design reviews
-- Change requests

3. What is the delivery mechanism and format?

-- E-newsletter or bulletin
-- Plain text or HTML e-mail
-- Portal or Intranet
-- Templates to be used

4. Communications frequency & Schedule

-- Daily
-- Weekly
-- As needed

5. How will you gather feedback?

-- Meetings
-- Focus groups
-- Surveys
-- Suggestion boxes
-- Discussion databases

6. Budget

-- Cost of assembling communications
-- Delivery costs
-- Communications Team time

7. Project Communications Team

-- Who will oversee project communications?
-- Who will create and deliver the various communications?

8. Final Evaluation

-- How well did you accomplish your communications objectives?

E-Mail Marketing 101 = Project Communications 101
Every profitable e-mail marketing campaign starts with a plan, an execution strategy, and defined metrics for measuring success. Your project communications plan should include the same elements. Assemble a project communications team and earmark a budget. At the outset, define some criteria for gauging how you will keep people informed and engaged in the project process. Strive to build consensus and understanding with your communications. Deliver sufficient information, to the appropriate people, at the right times. Actively solicit and reward feedback.

By incorporating the tactics and strategies of e-mail marketing into your project communications efforts, you can generate enthusiasm and positively influence the success of any project undertaking.

About the author
Todd A. Brehe is the Director of Communication Products for Gallatin Technologies, Inc. We help complex product and service companies use e-mail and the Web to communicate more effectively with their stakeholders. Our flagship application, kNEWS Professional, is a permission-based e-mail marketing application for the Notes/Domino platform. I am located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and can be reached at: tbrehe@gallatin.com.

	CRMindustry.com 336 E. Padre Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105 ph. 805.687.8829