As a board or organization that manages certification, licensing, or accreditation, the messages you send to your candidates matter. You want to engage them to take action on their applications, drive submission completions, and support their self-service.
Some of those messages are transactional. They include expected confirmations that something happened. Others are strategic, like the nudges, countdowns, and reminders designed to keep candidates moving and your completion and renewal rates healthy. A real communications strategy accounts for both.
A strong communications strategy for credential management sounds straightforward: Send the right messages to the right people at the right times. But building that strategy — deciding who gets what, when, and why across an entire credentialing lifecycle — is its own project. And then actually executing it, consistently, at scale, without the regular manual effort, is another one entirely.
Join Us Tuesday, June 9th at 1:00 PM for our new Webinar
What’s the Difference Between a Communications System and a Communications Strategy?
A successful communications strategy ensures the right person receives the right message at every stage of the credentialing lifecycle, from application through renewal (and beyond).
Every part of the credential lifecycle and candidate journey has its own unique communication needs. When they apply, candidates need confirmation. Some will also need reminders as deadlines approach and status updates as their application moves through review. Everyone needs to know when there’s a program change, such as a new eligibility pathway, an updated cycle length, or different requirements. As a candidate enters the renewal phase, your communications (including their schedule and frequency) may need to change.
The gap between strategy and execution usually comes down to tools. When your communications are managed in a standalone scheduler or a separate platform, you’re maintaining two systems instead of one, and your strategy is only as strong as your team’s ability to keep them synchronized.
What if your communications were built directly into your program workflow? Your messages would be triggered by real program events. They would be governed by your actual rules. And, they would be tied to program logic rather than just a calendar. The result:
- Candidates take action on time.
- You drive completions and renewals without needing to chase anyone down.
- You reduce “where do I go, what do I do” calls to your office.
- You understand exactly how your communications plan fits into your credential management processes.
- You’re not maintaining two systems or struggling to create multiple discrete workflows. You’re just running your program.
The Anatomy of an Effective Automated Communications Strategy
There’s a difference between sending reminders and building a communications strategy. One reminder is a start. A real strategy layers the right touchpoints across the full lifecycle: triggered automations, time-based reminders, conditional messages that target the right group, with visibility into what’s working and the flexibility to adjust.
You and your team will have to make some intentional decisions about how many touchpoints to create before a deadline, which messages warrant a text as well as an email, and how to personalize at scale without manually customizing every send. And it means having the reporting in place to know your messages are actually being delivered.
Join Us Tuesday, June 9th at 1:00 PM for our new Webinar
Plan, Test, Track, and Tweak Your Automated Communications — All in One System
In this webinar, we’ll follow our fictional credential board, the American Society of Office Dogs (ASOD), as they build out their communications strategy in LearningBuilder. With help from ASOD staff member Arlene Administrator (and an appearance by our old friend Dumpling Doggo), we’ll explore:
- Mapping your communications lifecycle to your credential management workflow.
- Configuring triggered, time-based, and conditional automations based on your credential management processes.
- Building personalized templates for all of your communications.
- Layering touchpoints and experimenting with messaging frequency and volume.
- Tracking delivery to prove your messages are being received.
- Extending your strategy with SMS for the messages that can’t wait.
Engagement drives completion. Completion drives renewal. And it all starts with the right message. Whether you’re a current LearningBuilder user who wants to level up your communications strategy or you’re evaluating what the right platform looks like, you won’t want to miss it!
