You've worked hard on your project's brand development, crafting a clear and compelling message, designing a memorable logo, and creating a consistent visual identity. But somehow, you're still not getting the attention and support you need from your stakeholders. What's going wrong? And what can you do to improve your stakeholder engagement?
The first step is to know who your stakeholders are and what they care about. Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest or influence in your project, such as customers, employees, partners, investors, regulators, or competitors. You need to understand their needs, expectations, motivations, and challenges, as well as how they perceive your project and its value proposition. You can use tools like stakeholder maps, surveys, interviews, or focus groups to gather this information.
Identifying and understanding stakeholders is foundational for any project's success. Appreciate the practical advice on using tools to dive deep into their world—knowing what drives them helps in crafting strategies that resonate.
Mapear a todos los stakeholders es esencial para el éxito de cualquier estrategia porque proporciona una visión clara de quiénes son las partes interesadas en tu proyecto y cuál es su grado de influencia e interés. Este conocimiento permite desarrollar comunicaciones dirigidas y estrategias específicas. Además, ayuda a anticipar posibles resistencias o apoyos, permitiendo ajustar tu estrategia proactivamente para alinear mejor tus objetivos con los de tus stakeholders.
1. Consider whether you need to invest in dedicated project management communications resource to oversee major/priority projects. 2. Develop a set of project communications systems and templates that can be used across your organisation to up-skill others 3. Ensure that stakeholder engagement is built in to the project plan from the start, not an add-on.
Not all stakeholders are equally important or relevant for your project. You need to segment them into groups based on their level of interest and power, and prioritize them accordingly. You can use tools like the power-interest matrix, the salience model, or the influence-impact grid to do this. By segmenting and prioritizing your stakeholders, you can focus your efforts on the ones that matter most, and tailor your communication and engagement strategies to each group.
Al entender las dinámicas de poder e interés, puedes identificar líderes de opinión y colaboradores potenciales que, aunque quizás no sean los más obvios, pueden impulsar significativamente tu proyecto. Esta metodología te permite personalizar tus esfuerzos de manera inteligente, asignando recursos donde más impacto generen. Además, te prepara para manejar de manera proactiva cualquier resistencia, transformando posibles obstáculos en aliados.
Communication is key for stakeholder engagement. You need to communicate your project's vision, goals, progress, and outcomes in a clear, concise, and compelling way. You also need to communicate frequently and consistently, using the channels and formats that suit your stakeholders' preferences and needs. You can use tools like newsletters, reports, presentations, webinars, social media, or blogs to do this. By communicating effectively and frequently, you can build trust, credibility, and awareness for your project.
Utiliza una mezcla inteligente de canales digitales y tradicionales, personalizando el mensaje para resonar con las necesidades específicas de cada segmento. La inclusión de feedback en tiempo real en tu estrategia de comunicación no solo demuestra apertura y transparencia, sino que también te proporciona valiosos insights para ajustar y mejorar continuamente.
Communication is not enough. You also need to involve and empower your stakeholders in your project. You need to solicit their feedback, input, and ideas, and incorporate them into your project planning and decision making. You also need to provide them with opportunities and incentives to participate, collaborate, and co-create with you and other stakeholders. You can use tools like workshops, brainstorming sessions, polls, contests, or gamification to do this. By involving and empowering your stakeholders, you can increase their ownership, commitment, and advocacy for your project.
Este es el punto que más me gusta. La creación de una comunidad no solo se nutre del esfuerzo por involucrar y empoderar a los stakeholders, sino que también se fortalece mediante el reconocimiento de sus contribuciones. Una estrategia clave es celebrar los logros y avances que se han conseguido gracias a la participación activa de la comunidad. Organizar eventos, ya sean virtuales o presenciales, donde se destaquen estas contribuciones, puede aumentar el sentido de pertenencia y la motivación entre los miembros.
Finally, you need to measure and improve your stakeholder engagement. You need to track and evaluate how well you are engaging your stakeholders, and how they are responding to your project. You also need to identify and address any gaps, issues, or risks that may affect your stakeholder engagement. You can use tools like metrics, indicators, feedback forms, or satisfaction surveys to do this. By measuring and improving your stakeholder engagement, you can ensure that your project's brand development efforts are paying off.
In my experience, you cannot build an authentic, soulful, resonant brand without the engagement of those who own it. If a project is stalling because the stakeholders are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a brand to be delivered to them, stop the work until the dynamics change.