Center for Distance and Independent Study
Technical Communications 260: Practicum in Technical Communication

Commentary

Needs Analyses

A needs analysis is a tool used by communication professionals to define goals and set benchmarks for communication. Anytime we set a goal, especially when communication is involved, we must have clearly defined benchmarks (definitions of success) that allow us to track our progress.

Because communication is always dependent upon individuals, it can be very difficult to gauge our success in communication with others. This is especially true when those "others" may be thousands of people scattered across the country or even the globe!  Communication is difficult to gauge because the results are often hard to measure. For example, if we are conducting a simple controlled experiment, we can usually see immediate results. We have a controlled situation, a variable that is introduced, and a dependent variable that can be directly observed. Communication is more complex, especially when it involves technical information and a marketing situation. There are specific steps, however, that can be taken to minimize confusion. The first of these is to clarify our goals and objectives. Let’s review the questions put forth by the Harner and Zimmerman textbook, Technical Marketing Communication, and expand upon what the textbook has to say.

What are we trying to accomplish?

The answer to this question is a good starting point but one that is often too vague to be of much value. In most business settings, our overall goal will be apparent. We will want to successfully market a product or service that adheres to a specific schedule, is profitable, and keeps everyone employed!

Why is this work important to the organization?

Again, although it is important to understand this, our communication (at least external communication) will probably not be based upon this information. It is important, however, to note that in larger organizations this information can be critical to success. Let’s say, for example, that we have been assigned to a product development team. Our company may have several similar teams working at the same time, but the company may only have the resources to market one product. In that case, the ability to successfully communicate the advantages of our product to the rest of our company may be very important. Often, in the business world, convincing our colleagues can be as important to the success of our product as convincing our potential customers.

What known barriers are there to resolve?

Barriers to success are often the primary purpose for communication. This is especially true if we are developing a new or innovative product. Many of the items we take for granted today were once considered radical departures from the norm. For example, the microwave oven is used in most homes today. But when the microwave oven was originally developed, it was considered quite radical, even strange and dangerous to some. When we develop a new product, we will need to be able to communicate its advantages to our customer base. We will also need to alleviate any fears they may have about its use, describe why this product is better than others, and convince consumers that the product’s features are worth their time and money. Remember, for many individuals and businesses, money is not the central concern. The time involved in adapting to new technology may be much more precious to them.

There will also be barriers to resolve in simply getting the product to consumers in a time frame that coincides with the information we want them to have. We will return to this line of thought in later chapters.

What other projects must succeed first or in parallel?

Let’s say that our product is new software or an upgraded version of existing software.  How do we plan to educate our potential business partners and customers about the benefits of our software? Will we develop a user manual? Will we develop a web site? Will we mount an e-mail campaign to provide details about the product? Or more simply, how will we create awareness of the product to begin with?

These questions are more easily answered when our product is simple or something the general public is already familiar with. Many high-tech products, however, are innovations that need accompanying information and enough time to allow consumers and business partners to feel comfortable.

Furthermore, even if we can answer the questions above, we need to decide when to develop that information and when to provide that information. For example, many software companies make the mistake of neglecting product information and support until the very end of the development cycle. This can create a difficult situation unless we are willing to delay the release of our product (very costly) or tell our customers that we will educate them about product features and use at a later time (very embarrassing). Communication timing is just as critical to product success as product development.

Identifying Communication Objectives

Communication objectives can be difficult to identify. They often depend largely on the particular audience with whom we are communicating. We will discuss audience concerns in Lesson 3, but for now we will focus on objectives as they relate to needs analysis and the sales communication cycle.

Most communication objectives are difficult to formulate because, as we have discussed, communication is abstract in ways that direct observation is not. There are, however, ways to quantify our efforts for analysis. The main concerns of technical marketing communication in this context are identifying the information that needs to be communicated, determining who needs to receive that information, and identifying methods for determining if those people have both received and understood that information. Let’s return to the example of a new software product.

What needs to be communicated?

Some of our first questions about what needs to be communicated will probably center on the product itself. These questions include the following:

• What features of the product do we need to focus on for consumers?
• What features of the product will need to be explained in some detail?
• What is different about the product compared to existing products or previous versions of the same product?
• What do our business partners and coworkers need to understand about the product?

Who needs to receive the information?

Deciding who needs to receive specific types of information can be a time-consuming task, depending on the complexity and size of our project. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what information is right for our different audiences. Also, there is the issue of deciding what form will best deliver that information to our different audiences.

Our customers will need certain information; our coworkers will probably need different information; and our suppliers and distributors may need still different sets of information. We can, however, eliminate some of the confusion in the process by asking ourselves some of the following questions:

• Who are the different sets of people that will need information about our product?
• Which differences between the current product and other products, or previous products, do each of those groups need to understand?
• What is the best way to communicate with each group of people?
• What could keep each group of people from receiving our communications?

Usually, we will need to communicate with different audiences in different ways. For example, if our software is new to the public, we may want to advertise its features. But the method of advertising that we choose will probably depend on our customer base. If we believe our primary customers to be high school students, as opposed to working adults, we will probably want to advertise on different television stations, or in different magazines. If our product is entirely new, we will probably need to go into more detail about its features than we would if the product were simply an upgrade of an existing product.

Our method of delivery will be different for each group as well. When we are corresponding with coworkers, we can probably use emails or memos. But those methods would not be as effective when dealing with distributors, customers, or when providing support for our product.

What methods will we use to determine success or failure?

Determining what information needs to be communicated and how best to communicate that information is critical to our success, but we still need to design methods for measuring our success. We need to collect some sort of feedback from the different groups of people with whom we are communicating. How we collect that information will likely depend upon the ways in which we chose to communicate with those groups in the first place. For example, we may design an email survey or short email quiz for coworkers and distributors. Likewise, we might develop a survey or quiz for customers that could be housed on a Web site.

Whatever instruments we decide to use, we will need to set some sort of standard for success. We may decide that those who take our survey should be able to answer ninety percent of our questions correctly. Or we may decide to ask more open-ended questions that give the respondents greater leeway in their answers. In that case, we would need to use qualitative methods of analysis to determine whether our message is being understood. In any case, we should never assume that just because we have sent information in one form or another that it is being received and understood.

Collecting Information

Let’s return once again to our new software product. Assuming that we have identified the groups that we need to communicate with and the best methods of communicating with them, how do we know what they need to know? The answer to that question depends largely upon our audience analysis, which will be discussed in Lesson 3. Our audience will always be multifaceted, however, and it will consist of anyone who has a stake in the success and understanding of the product. That includes employees, consumers, corporate partners, and others who may be involved in the distribution and use of our product. Regardless of our differing audiences, however, we can begin to design methods for collecting necessary information.

And that gathering of information should begin as soon as product development begins. Most development on a software product is done by programmers. In the case of another type of product, that role might fall to engineers or other types of product designers. Regardless, we will need to consult with our product developers before we attempt to communicate with others. Having said that, we should also be aware that the kinds of information developers may provide will not always be helpful. Programmers have their own language and customs that are not always designed for the benefit of our customers. Therefore, we will need to ask the right questions to ensure that we get the information we need to pass on to others. The same is true for engineers and product designers. They are often more concerned with making the product correctly than they are with explaining that product to customers. Consider some of the following questions when we begin to collect information from developers:

• What about the product will fail to be naturally understood by customers?
• What functions of the product are designed for the product rather than for the customer?
• What functions of the product will need to be explained?
• What are the primary features of the product and how do they work?
• How does the product differ from the view of the user compared to the view of the developer?

When we are preparing to market a product through technical information, we must always consider the point of view of those who need the information. It isn't enough to simply transfer information that exists already. We will need to collect information by acting as the advocate for those who need it. That includes customers, potential distributors, other employees within our company, and members of our own team who will need to distribute information.

Sales Communications

Planning for communication is a beginning, but at some point that communication must be put into action. Selling a product is more than setting up a stand on the roadside! Selling products in a hi-tech marketplace is a continual process of communication and refining that communication for success. Our message to the groups we have identified will change over time and will need to be refined as the development process and sales process proceed. Copywriting that Sells High Tech defines the sales communication cycle in the following series of steps:

1. Creating awareness.
2. Supporting exploration.
3. Motivating a decision.
4. Affirming the selection.
5. Maintaining customer loyalty.

Let’s explore those steps a little further. When we are creating awareness of a product, it is important to highlight certain features of the product that will be eye-catching for our audiences. If our software product is innovative or expands upon existing products, we will need to highlight the differences first to create an awareness of those features. Next, let’s assume that we have attracted the interest of potential customers. They will most likely want to discover more about our product. In that case, we will need to support their exploration of our product. One reason that Web sites are so powerful is that they allow information to be accessed at the time of the customer’s choosing. New products always require communication so that customers can gain knowledge abut the product’s features. We will need to be able to communicate the advantages of our product to potential customers in a manner that they can understand.

The fact that potential customers are aware of our product and understand its features, however, may not motivate a decision to purchase the product. If, for example, our new software product has features that are attractive to a potential customer but not necessary, customers may not be motivated to buy or may decide to wait for something newer or cheaper. At that point, it often helps to use communication to paint a mental picture for potential customers. If they can see themselves performing specific tasks or accomplishing specific goals through the technical features of our new product, they may find it easier to take the plunge. We can all relate to the power of self-image when we buy products. Think about it. When we buy something, don’t we usually have an idea about how that product will impact our life? Hi-tech products are no different, and customers want to have a clear image of our product’s benefits.