You may wonder why I've included "employee communication plan" as a topic on a marketing web site. After so many years of marketing, I've learned one important thing. You can market to your heart's content. When the customer calls or comes in, you've wasted marketing time and dollars if your employees aren't prepared to answer questions and provide top-notch service.

An employee's inability to provide such service isn't always the employee's fault. I've seen marketers carefully build a campaign and begin to run it, before their employees have ever seen it. Your employees should always, always see any marketing pieces before they go out. In fact, they should be given a copy to keep, or a central location to find a copy. (Keep copies of your competitors' latest ads nearby for them to refer to as well.)

When you're rolling out a new product or marketing effort, it should always be communicated with employees in one or more of the following ways:

• Face-to-face meeting (individual or group)
• Company memo
• Company email
• Company intranet
• Employee newsletter

I prefer a meeting. It enables everyone to rally behind the marketing effort. It provides a setting where everyone hears the same information. It also gives the opportunity for questions to be asked. Sometimes a meeting isn't possible because of time or distance constraints. If that's the case, you'll have to rely on one of the other options. Make your decision based on what form of communication your employees will pay the most attention to and what will reach them before your marketing starts.

I suggest your employee communication plan include the following:

• A summary page or what I refer to as "talking points." This is a single page with bulleted points of information the employee can quickly refer to.
• Copies of any related ads, brochures, etc.
• A Question and Answer or Frequently Asked Questions sheet. Think of the most common questions you expect and provide the answers to your employees before customers start asking.

These materials can be used for many forms of employee communication, not just for new products or sales activities. The more informed your employees are, the better all-around service you provide. Make sure you communicate with them every opportunity that you have. I've used Q & A's to help employees explain reasons for a new company name or expected changes following a data processing conversion.

Determine all methods you'll use when communicating with employees. Use more than one if possible, because different people pay attention to different forms of communication. One may read an email, while another may look at the employee newsletter. Determine what information you'll provide. Will a Frequently Asked Questions page be a standard part of your employee communication plan? When you've answered these questions, you have a basic employee communication plan. Put it on paper. Refer to it when communicating with employees to make sure you've covered all areas. In time, it will become second nature.

When you communicate with employees, and give them the knowledge to better serve your customers, it's a win-win situation for everyone. You create a cycle of communication that keeps your employees, you and your customers more content.

Samples of Employee Communication