The success of communication can be evaluated at various levels:

0. Input (initiation of communication)

To put communication into practice as a two-sided process of conveying meaning, construing reality and influencing people, the organization must first carry out information transmission and reception actions. Analysis at the input level can explore whether these processes are effective in terms of time, content, form and resources. Possible methods for doing so are checklists (e.g. compliance of press releases and online texts with standards, etc.) and content analysis methods (e.g. to explore the extent to which all press releases contained the defined corporate messages). This is the basis for evaluating the performance of the communications department and agencies involved.

1. Output (accessability and range of messages/offerings)

In order to be able to achieve further effects, communication offerings must be accessible to the targeted stakeholders and must be user-friendly. Contact options and usability are basic criteria for all downstream effect levels. Therefore, it is necessary to establish whether press releases culminate in publications in the mass media, whether printed material (e.g. customer and employee magazines) is actually read, internet services are used by the targeted addresses, events are attended, etc.

Apart from technical analysis (range measurement) and counts (traffic), media evaluation methods are used for the purpose. They review the success of press and media relations by analyzing published opinion in print, online, radio and TV media. This is usually done by collecting clippings first of all, which are then compared with the communicative input of the organization or economic reference data (e.g. advertising equivalent analysis), followed by qualitative evaluations (content analysis, media response analysis). This produces a variety of indicators to be used as evidence of success and for identifying areas in need of improvement.

2. Outcome (impact on stakeholders)

The next step is for specific messages to be perceived and understood by stakeholder groups, so as to initiate communicative interaction and conveyance of meaning. This direct impact is called outgrowth or outtake. Only then will it be possible to influence knowledge, opinions, attitudes and actions as an indirect effect.

This investigation can be done using various empirical social research methods. Alongside observations (e.g. at events, trade fairs), these may be quantitative and qualitative surveys in the form of online questionnaires, telephone interviews, hard-copy questionnaires, personal guided interviews, standardized employee surveys, and reputation analyses. These methods can be used to determine whether particular corporate messages (in employee magazines, open days, lobbying events) or published opinion in identified newspaper reports are perceived at all, understood in terms of content, considered credible, and recalled by the stakeholders deemed relevant. Changes in knowledge of certain of a company's products and services, attitudes to communicated issues (e.g. for/against a particular technology) or in attributes attributed to a company (image profile and reputation) are indicators that interpretations of situations, construal of reality, and predispositions are amenable to influence.

3. Outflow (microeconomic impact)

The contribution of communication to higher-order corporate strategy must – in contrast to the standardized, evaluable effect levels mentioned thus far – be evaluated on a company-specific basis, as every company has its own unique positioning on the market and in society. Nevertheless, it is possible to make certain generalizations. Analysis can draw on the company's generic Strategy Map, which identifies typical influencing factors for individual areas of action, enhanced by the use of communicative value drivers, value links and indicators. Flexible control systems such as Scorecards enable company-specific implementations. In addition, standardized methods for analysis of brands and image / reputation are employed as a basis for determining the intangible assets accruing primarily as a result of communication.

Additions and modifications

The framework thus outlined requires further refinement in practice. In particular, it is important to distinguish between direct and indirect communication measures. While a company's messages (input) immediately create contact opportunites (output) in direct communication, e.g. at company-run events or in corporate publishing / company websites, indirect communication – examples being press relations, oral communication and viral communication on the web – is directed in the first instance at gatekeepers, opinion makers and multipliers. Accessibility and effects (output / outcome on the mediators' end) need to be achieved and measured at this intermediate level before the message even reaches the actual targeted stakeholder (e.g. in a trade journal report or blog).

References

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