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Show Me the Money: Build a Powerful Business Case to Get Your Content Projects the Support They Deserve

Contributed to LavaCon 2020 by Matt Reiner of K15t

Overview

In this presentation, Matt Reiner explains how to use common content creation skills to build a business case to secure funding for content projects.

He recommends you know your audience and try to connect with them on things they care about. A common audience for business cases are business leaders, and some things they often care about are:

  • Business Impact: How will the project impact the business in a positive way?

  • Duplicate Efforts: How will the project help to avoid a duplication of efforts?

  • You: How will the project support employees and prevent turnover?

He also suggests you learn the business. You can do this by familiarizing yourself with the organization’s business plan/goals and then framing your business case by how it can aid in their achievement. You can also create an elevator pitch that explains the what and the why of your project, in case you have the opportunity to briefly connect with an organizational leader.

Additionally, Reiner recommends you strategically connect with teams. You can connect with the marketing team to discover ideal moments of receptivity in which to pitch your project, and also to relate your work to the brand and the brand’s messaging at large. You can connect with the sales team in order to relate your project to the sales process and you can connect with the support team to align your project with user requests and feedback.

In order to bring these steps together, collect relevant metrics, be helpful and practical, and finally, assemble your plan. Reiner’s suggested format for a business case can be broken down into eight parts:

  • Executive Summary

Summarize what you’re asking for and why.

  • SWOT Analysis

List the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

  • Business Description

Talk about where the company has been and how it can grow through this effort.

  • Marketing Strategy

Lay out how you’re going to share the results of this effort internally and externally once it’s finished.

  • Competitors Analysis

Explore the offerings of other organizations and push your unique selling proposition.

  • Operations Overview

Share the plan for who will be involved in the effort, what tools they’ll need, and the time commitment needed from each.

  • Product Plan

Dive into the nitty gritty of the effort, what it involves, what will change, and lay out the final result.

  • Financial Plan

Share costs as far as you understand them and justify them if possible.

Key takeaways

What are the key takeaways for technical communicators?

  1. Technical communicators may need to make a case for funding their content projects, even when it’s not the most fun conversation to have. Luckily, the business case creation process can be broken down into manageable steps.

  2. A comprehensive business case can be broken down into eight parts: executive summary, SWOT analysis, business description, marketing strategy, competitors analysis, operations overview, product plan, and financial plan.

  3. Collaboration is key when it comes to illustrating the value a project has to an organization. The marketing, sales, and support teams can offer important insights into how a project might benefit the organization at large.

Reflection

How does the presentation connect with or extend your work in this class?

The technical communications skills learned in this class will likely require funding, if done in a professional capacity. Whether we like it or not, we may be called upon to justify this funding by creating and presenting a business case. This presentation simplified the business case creation process, and also provided tips for collaborations outside of the communications team.