To put it another way, effectiveness of communication can be measured by responses it gets. It's not measured by how well we wrote or how eloquently we spoke, although those can help us get responses we want.

Good writing and speaking help us get a response because they help get message across. As I've argued in my book, A Manager's Guide to Newsletters, a newsletter that doesn't get read cannot get a response from readers.

So, writing, designing, speaking, and all those other creative activities matter. But, in end, responses are what count, and effectiveness means getting responses we want.

That's true for all types of communication, and not just marketing campaigns. Managers who send messages to employees, for example, want employees to respond in a particular way. Maybe they want employees to do something differently, or maybe they want to reinforce existing behaviors.

For a couple of employee newsletters I published, effectiveness meant greater awareness of health and safety issues. If newsletter worked, then they should have helped reduce number of plant accidents and helped employees lead healthier lifestyles.

One more point: Effectiveness cannot be achieved without articulated objectives. As old adage goes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road with do." Or, as inimitable Yogi Berra put it, "If you don't know where you are going... You might end up someplace else."

Are you losing business because of your website? More and more customers are logging on to Web to decide where to spend their money because it is quick and convenient, and they can jump from site to site instead of walking from store to store. Web savvy customers don't need to be patient, studies have shown that you need to engage a potential customer very quickly by giving them easy, fast access to information they need. Otherwise they will simply move on to next site.

Appealing design and speedy functionality are important but they don't ensure that your site is well structured (intuitive) or well written (clear).

Write First The real message on most websites is in writing, and so it makes sense that writing should determine structure. Unfortunately, this is not usual case. Most businesses choose structure and design of their site first and then try and fit writing around that structure. This flies in face of commonsense. When you speak to someone, you structure your speech around your message, you don't decide on a structure then change message to suit. So you need to plan what you want to say before you create site. Maybe even write whole thing first and then use message to determine structure.

When deciding what to write, think about what your customer wants to know rather than what you want to say. It's a subtle difference, but it is key to engaging a potential customer.