Marketing is all about communication and there is no better tool to map out communication plans than a Stakeholder Map. You have done a personal stakeholder map, now let’s do one for your project. 

Watch the video at the top of the path where we will discuss external and internal stakeholders of an organization. The exercise is similar to your personal stakeholder map, but now you are thinking of it from a project point of view. 

Play this Blooket to reinforce your understanding of the content. 

Revisit Stakeholder mapping 

• Remember when we first talked about Stakeholder Mapping? If you need a quick refresher, check out this path again. We are now going to do the same thing, just for your project! 
• Now utilize that SMART goal you just set for your project. You’re going to need it for what comes next. You will create a stakeholder map that will help support you in achieving this goal.

• Who are the stakeholders that are important for helping you achieve this goal for your project? Think about the stakeholders (AKA people) in your life who can really help the project succeed? Jot down their names or the organizations on a sheet of paper.
• Draw a stakeholder map in your notebook or use this template.
• Plot each of the stakeholders in the quadrant that best fits their position of influence (power) and interest (involvement).
• Want some feedback? Share your map with your mentor, cohort leader or with those closest to you. What are their thoughts?

Communication Plan

• Now that you’ve got your stakeholder map all set up, it’s time to plan how you’ll keep in touch with each one. Look at where you placed them on your map—each quadrant has different needs, right? Based on that, create a communication plan for each stakeholder group.
  • Have you been neglecting anyone that needs more time and attention?
  • Did you have the order of priority a bit off?
  • Who is the most important and how can you manage your time to give them that attention?
• Time to buddy up! Share your communication plan with a partner and get their thoughts.

Reflect

• Reflect on how frequently and in what format you communicate with each stakeholder. Why do some stakeholders need more frequent updates or different formats?
• Explain how the communication plan will get more buy-in from your stakeholders.
• What hurdles do you anticipate with your communication plan?
• Does this communication plan seem doable? Why or why not?

 Post your map and reflection on the path.

To continue, return to Module 5 Opportunity Card.