Begin with the basic planning questions. Then address the expanded planning items to the extent they help. Skip any items that don't address your planning needs.
2.1 Internal Environment
2.2 Public Perception
2.3 External Environment
What is the quality of your organization's performance?
What communication resources, including budget, are available?
How supportive is the organization of public relations activity?
Performance
What service/product do you provide related to the issue identified in Step1?
What are the criteria for determining its quality?
What is its quality?
Within the last three years, has the quality improved, remained unchanged, or deteriorated?
How satisfied is organizational leadership with this quality?
What benefit or advantage does the product/service offer?
What problems or disadvantages as associated with this product/service? (Consider environmental, health/safety/ financial, social, political and other problems)
What is the niche or specialty that sets you apart from competitors?
How has the service/product changed within the last 3 years?
How is the service/product likely to change within the next 2 years?
Should changes be introduced to improve the service/product?
Are organizational leaders willing to make such changes?
Structure
What is the purpose/mission of your organization related to this issue?
How does this issue fit into the organizational vision?
Is this expressed in a strategic business plan for your organization?
What communication resources are available for potential public relations/marketing communication activity: Personnel, equipment, time, budget
Within the next three years, are these resources likely to increase, remain unchanged or decrease?
How strong is the public relations/communication staff's role in the organization's decision-making process?
Internal Impediments
How supportive is the internal environment for public relations activities?
Are there any impediments or obstacles to success that come from within your organization among top management, or among public relations/marketing staff, or among other internal publics? Are these impediments caused by policy/procedure? Are these impediments deliberate? If you have identified impediments, how can you overcome them?
How well known if your organization?
What is the reputation of your organization?
How do you want to affect this reputation?
Reputation
How visible is your service/product?
How widely used is your service/product?
How is the product/service generally perceived?
How is your organization generally perceived?
Is the public perception about your organization correct?
What communication already has been done about this situation?
Within the last three years, has your organization's reputation improved, remained unchanged or deteriorated?
How satisfied is organizational leadership with this reputation?
What is the major competition for your organization?
What significant opposition exists?
Is anything happening in the environment that can limit the effectiveness of the public relations program?
Competition
How competitive is the external environment of your organization?
What other organizations compete on this issue?
What are their performance levels?
What are their reputations?
What are their resources?
What does the competition offer that you don't?
How has the competition changed within the last three years?
Within the next three years, is the competition likely to increase, remain unchanged or deteriorate?
Opposition
What groups exist with a mission to resist or hinder your organization?
How effective have these groups been in the past?
What is their reputation?
What are their resources?
How have these groups changed within the last three years?
How have their tactics changed?
Within the next three years, is the opposition likely to increase, remain unchanged or deteriorate?
External Impediments
Is the environment in which you are operating currently growing, stable, declining, or unstable/unpredictable.
What changes, if any, are projected for this environment?
What impediments deal with customers?
What impediments deal with regulators?
What impediments have financial or economic origins?
What impediments have political origins?
What impediments originate in society at large?
Reputation
How visible is your service/product?
How widely used is your service/product?
How is the product/service generally perceived?
How is your organization generally perceived?
Is the public perception about your organization correct?
What communication already has been done about this situation?
Within the last three years, has your organization's reputation improved, remained unchanged or deteriorated?
How satisfied is organizational leadership with this reputation?