The stakeholder journey as the basis for successful communication

Antonia Benz is Digital Analytics Manager at Schaeffler and is responsible for processing and analyzing social media data. In her work, she examines digital campaigns and derives measures for optimization.

Julian Pinnig is press spokesman and senior team coordinator at DIN. Prior to this, he worked for seven years at Deutsche Wohnen AG, where he was head of service. Previous positions include GDF SUEZ Energie Deutschland and Hill & Knowlton Communications. At the CommTech Academy Summer School at the beginning of July, Antonia Benz and Julian Pinnig spoke about the stakeholder journey in communication in a highly popular breakout session.

AG CommTech: Antonia, for many people the term Stakeholder Journey is still unfamiliar. What is meant by this?

Antonia: The stakeholder journey describes the systematic process of interaction between organizations and their various interest groups, e.g. journalists, potential employees or politicians. The CommTech working group defines four phases for the stakeholder journey that stakeholders go through. The journey begins with the awareness phase, in which the stakeholders’ interest should be aroused, e.g. via social media or press work. In the “interest” phase, the aroused interest must then be satisfied – this often happens on the website. In the “Effect” phase, a desired action should then be brought about – this could be participation in an event, for example. And the connectedness phase is about continuing the dialog with stakeholders, i.e. building a bond. The funnel system is similar to the customer journey from marketing – but the goals and target groups are different.

AG CommTech: Julian, what are the practical benefits of using this funnel system in communication?

Julian: The concept of the stakeholder journey helps to plan and manage communication – e.g. communication campaigns – in a targeted and target group-specific way. With the funnel system, we can clearly map our customer’s journey and use our communication tools and channels according to the needs of our target group. And because we continuously collect data along the journey – and thus get to know our target groups better and better – we can continuously optimize our communication. The stakeholder journey is therefore an important basis for truly successful communication.

AG CommTech: Antonia, what conditions need to be created in a communications department in order to implement the Stakeholder Journey?

Antonia: In order to work practically with the Stakeholder Journey, you need a strategic view of communication and a clear idea of communication goals and target groups. Tools (e.g. campaign dashboards) that make the success of each phase measurable are particularly helpful here. After all, data is the fuel for the journey and sets the direction of communication planning.

AG CommTech: Julian, Antonia, you shared your practical experience at the summer school. What advice do you give to colleagues who want to deal with this?

Julian: Just try it out – e.g. for the next communication campaign. In our work in the CommTech working group, we have tested the model using various practical examples. This helped us to put theory into practice and get a better idea of the possible applications. The journey “forces” you to take an even better look at both the target groups and your own touchpoints and to plan in a more targeted manner. Concrete practical tips can be found in our white paper, which we developed as part of the CommTech working group in a team of communications practitioners.

Antonia: In my day-to-day work, I have noticed that the campaign is often considered “completed” when the last phase (commitment) is reached. However, this is very negligent. It is particularly important here to develop measures such as newsletters, which sustainably bind the stakeholder over a longer period of time and support the development of a community.