In this second podcast of “Are Client Experiences Matching Your Message?” we examine the importance of translating your organization’s unique culture and philosophy of service through how Experienced Messaging® was assessed at a nonprofit organization providing valuable support to families.
In Part 1 of this podcast, we talked about how an essential component of successful messaging is connecting your organization’s beliefs and purpose to what the clients you serve actually experience. Let me introduce Linsay Vladimirov. Linsay is a Communications Strategist with Newman & Newman who has helped develop the assessment tools we use to evaluate what an organization is communicating through how its services are delivered, and opportunities for translating messages we have formulated for them into impactful experiences.
I’ve asked Linsay to describe a recent client study we completed to help illustrate the significance of Experienced Messaging®
Thanks, Kelli. Our case study is with a nonprofit that provides counseling and life-skill services to help strengthen families facing financial, health, relationship and other critical challenges. Its leadership understands that experience is marketing, and appreciates the effect an authentic, impactful client experience can have on its bottom line.
We began by conducting an assessment of what potential clients experience when contacting the organization for help – whether in person or over the phone. We also surveyed existing clients, and evaluated the organization’s physical environment; identifying in-person delivery points for key messaging we had formulated.
While our results confirmed that the care clients receive from counselors, case workers and other professionals most definitely reflects the organization’s messaging, significant discrepancies were identified in the in-take process, which received several negative responses from existing clients, and at least one loss was observed of a potential client. Additionally, although the organization cares for its facility, our assessment revealed several areas of improvement for environmental messaging to communicate the identity, confidentiality and quality-of-staff goals of the organization.
Newman & Newman’s Experienced Messaging® service line provided both empirical and qualitative data that affirmed areas of strength, confirmed suspicions of experience inconsistencies, evidence for changes to critical processes and, most importantly, recommendations to ensure that what the organization says it does is consistent with what its clients experience.
I’m happy to report that the nonprofit is busy implementing the Experienced Messaging® recommendations we formulated, and I look forward to sharing the outcomes of that work in a future podcast.
Evaluating your organization’s Experienced Messaging® has the potential to influence outcomes, credibility and, ultimately, your bottom line. I’m Linsay Vladimirov and this has been a “Minute with Messaging.” For information on how your organization can benefit from Newman & Newman strategies, call us at 281-589-0750.
