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Determining Audience Needs

This document discusses determining the information needs of various internal and external audiences regarding an upcoming product launch by International Gadgets. It identifies key internal audiences such as R&D, sales and marketing, manufacturing, finance, and HR. It states each division's role and the type of product information they need. External audiences that need to understand the new product, like vendors and customers, are also discussed. The document emphasizes the importance of audience analysis to provide each stakeholder with relevant information tailored to their needs.

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Orago Ajaa
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53 views

Determining Audience Needs

This document discusses determining the information needs of various internal and external audiences regarding an upcoming product launch by International Gadgets. It identifies key internal audiences such as R&D, sales and marketing, manufacturing, finance, and HR. It states each division's role and the type of product information they need. External audiences that need to understand the new product, like vendors and customers, are also discussed. The document emphasizes the importance of audience analysis to provide each stakeholder with relevant information tailored to their needs.

Uploaded by

Orago Ajaa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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IT 520 Module Five Short Paper: Determining Audience Needs

Student's Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor

Date
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IT 520 Module Five Short Paper: Determining Audience Needs

Introduction

International Gadgets (IG) is a transnational corporation with major operations in the

United States China and Europe. In addition, the company collects over 4 billion in revenue and

employs more than 1300 staff. IG’s head office is in Manchester, New Hampshire and the

company specializes in the manufacture of both low-tech and high-tech products. The company

consists of various departments including Research & Development (R&D), Technical Support,

Manufacturing, Human Resources, Sales and Marketing, and Finance/Accounting. However,

IG’s employees also interface with customers, component suppliers, distribution partners, and

subcontractors. All these entities need to collaborate effectively to facilitate the development and

release of the new product. Therefore, as the corporate communications manager, I am supposed

to guide my team in developing communications for all stakeholders regarding an upcoming

product launch. Each stakeholder represents an audience with specific needs. As a result, it is

essential to conduct audience analysis to avoid giving unnecessary information (McMurrey,

2022).

Internal Audiences

IG’s internal audiences include Research & Development (R&D), Technical Support,

Manufacturing, Human Resources, Sales and Marketing, and Finance/Accounting department.

The R&D department’s main role is to develop new products to meet consumers’ needs. This

division is heterogeneous consisting of people of different ages with varied attitudes, values, and

characteristics. In addition, the people working in this division are experts, they have an in-depth

understanding of the product. However, they may want to know more about the planned product

release, including the specific date and the measures put in place to ensure it is a success. On the
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other hand, the sales and marketing department works with external audiences such as customers

to understand their needs. IG operates in multiple locations, and therefore, the department is

divided into U.S. Sales & Marketing, European Sales & Marketing, Online Sales, and Partner

Management. For this division to gain a clear understanding of the product and confidently

market it, the corporate communications team must provide it with product analysis information.

This department must be able to communicate the features and benefits of the new product to the

market for it to gain sales and attraction.

The Manufacturing Department is responsible for the assembly and production of the

new product. However, it also has to determine if the product can be mass-produced within the

required timelines. The production process must also meet certain requirements to avoid

contravening company regulations and state laws. Thus, the communications team must ensure

the manufacturing division has all the necessary information about the product and facilitate

collaboration between the manufacturing department and the R&D division. The technical

support team will work to answer the customer’s questions and solve their problems regarding

the new product. As a result, the department employees will interact with customers regularly

once the product has hit the market. Therefore, the corporate communications team must provide

it with a technical support manual. This is a document that contains all the information required

to diagnose and repair faults in the new product. It is expected that customers will have questions

regarding the use of the new product and therefore this information should be provided to the

technical support team. The manual will contain instructions and graphic illustrations on how to

set up and use the product to make it easy for the technical support team to deal with customers.

The finance/accounting division takes care of IG’s financial records. This department will

allocate funds for the marketing, manufacturing, and launching of the new product. As a result,
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they play a significant role in the success of the new product. For instance, they are the ones who

will determine the prices of the new product in different markets. Therefore, the corporate

communications team should work with them to ensure they have all the information regarding

the budget of the planned release. On the other hand, the human resource department manages all

company employees and runs the payroll. It also creates workplace policies to ensure the

organization reaches its goals. So, the department will be provided with information on what the

product launch involves so that they can assign duties to different employees. It is also possible

that they will have to onboard new employees to help the company release new products to the

market.

External Audiences

Being aware of the needs of external audiences is also as important as understanding the

expectations of internal audiences. The external audiences must also be provided with the

appropriate information regarding the upcoming product launch. Vendors and customers need to

understand the new product including its features and benefits. As a result, the sales and

marketing team and the technical support department will work closely with these stakeholders

to help them understand the product better. Suppliers, distribution partners, and subcontractors

work closely with the manufacturing department. Therefore, they need to understand what is

required at a particular time or what needs to be at a particular place at a certain time. In essence,

these stakeholders need specific information to facilitate collaboration with the manufacturing

division.

References
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McMurrey, D. (2022). Audience Analysis: Just Who Are These Guys. Retrieved from

Mcmassociates: https://mcmassociates.io/textbook/aud.html

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