Business communication is a method of sharing information between staff, customers, outside companies, and investors. In fact, effective business communication is crucial for maintaining a successful business. There’s no way a business can function effectively without it. Incorporating steady and reliable communication methods with your workforce, suppliers, shareholders, and of course, your customers is essential.
Productive communication skills is one of the primary attributes required to increase your company’s revenue and to make certain that your business continues to thrive.
Business communication also includes:
- Introducing alternatives and fresh concepts creates a productive climate that will help your business outperform your competitors.
- Devising strategies assures that the most up-to-date, concise data is consistently available and communicated to your internal and external attendees.
- Carrying through decisions and explaining your resolutions clearly in order to increase the probability of your company’s goals materializing
- Organizing and achieving effective commerce and customer correspondence helps to solve problems more quickly and foster trust.
- Productive meetings dissolve obstructions to company productivity and growth.
Fostering effective communication allows you to draw and retain customers, build trust between your company and suppliers, and increase your company’s bottom line which generally results in continued company growth. Remember, business communication is invariably goal oriented and dissimilar to commonplace communications.
Internal and external business communication
Both internal and external communication is important for your business.
Internal communication usually consists of feedback, surveys, data, and forms that staff members present to HR departments, administrators, and team leaders.
External communication involves interactions with outside contacts such as suppliers, consumers, business associates/partners, and prospects.
So, let’s break down the key factors of the two.
Importance of internal communication
Internal communication positions the ambitions and outlook of the internal structure of your company like with HR departments and employees. Internal communication is important for business because it will:
Enhance relationships: productive internal communication enhances the interaction between parties as they grasp the prospects and goals of the other party.
Establishes regulations: your company will not be able to establish rules without effective communication – as internal company members will not comprehend company needs and expectations nor how to implement them.
Inspires innovation: good communication is a motivator and will inspire in-house workers to communicate constructive opinions, feedback, and new ideas.
Deters disputes: when communication is healthy, everyone communicates issues and concerns which makes it easier to prevent clashes in the workplace.
Improved employee morale: team spirit is important and communication is the vessel that helps to create a productive work environment while also motivating staff to perform more efficiently.
Collective harmony: effective internal communication puts everyone on the same page with your company’s goals and aspirations.
Importance of external communication
External communication is the networking of business between your company and another person or business. This type of business communication may include a variety of exchanges between suppliers, investors, and consumers. It’s important that your team knows how to write cold emails and promotional emails alike. External communication is important for businesses because it helps with:
- Acquiring investments: successful communication is crucial for your business, especially if you’re a startup, for acquiring funds to get things moving and for your business’s subsistence.
- Establishing a trade name: Strength of the brand in terms of building a team depends on the way they approach others through proper communication, in turn helping in executing towards a concrete establishment in the market. This will help you establish your trade name in order to distinguish your business from others selling the same product or service, and build up a loyal following.
- Halting misunderstandings: external communication, when carried out effectively, should tactfully convey the terms and conditions of your company to avoid any misunderstandings later on.
- Building loyalty: the association you have with your customers depends on good communication which includes listening to feedback, followups, and offering services they need during and after a successful transaction.
- Promotional benefits: the ideal external communication will clearly promote your company brand with the intent that the target market has no qualms about its availability and reputability.
- Improving communication with remote workers: according to strategy analytics, remote workers will account for over 42 percent of the global workforce by 2022. As your business steadily becomes part of a worldwide remote working trend, collaboration tools will be more important and will establish solid communication points.
- Keep in mind that remote work has created a new strand of communication requirements. Synchronizing various time-zones, information tools, and surmounting language and cultural barriers are several of the trials you and your telecommuting staff will face.
- Provides transparency: with adequate communication, your business will become more transparent creating more trust in your brand and better business solutions across-the-board.
- Insufficient internal or external communication can destroy any business. The proper communication will help your business thrive and avoid unnecessary setbacks.
Tips for improving your business communication skills
Be all ears
Managing or owning a business requires the ability to genuinely listen to employees, business associates, and customers, whether you agree or not. This gives those speaking to you the feeling that you care about what they have to say. You can show that you’re being attentive by asking questions or taking notes.
Create a congenial workplace
As a business owner or manager, it’s imperative that your place of business is as congenial as possible. This way, those working with and around you will have no qualms about asking questions, making suggestions, or voicing displeasure. Fortunately, it’s a two-way street. If you create a harmonious atmosphere and make yourself approachable, you can also ask questions, make suggestions, or voice displeasure without appearing suspect or self-important.
Maintain direct communication
Though technology has made it easier to communicate via email, text, social media, or telecommunication applications. However, nothing beats actual face-to-face communication. During the physical presence of another person or persons, you can observe body language, voice tone, and more easily pick up the vibe, true feelings, and intentions of the person/persons sitting across from you. Set up face-to-face meetings with your business associates on a regular basis to maintain a sense of humaneness.
Utilize the proper communication tools
Besides having direct communication with your business associates, it’s important to take advantage of various communication tools associated with your business. These various tools allow you to maintain contact with staff members with chat tools for example, who are not able to participate in face-to-face communication. What’s more, chat tools will permit staff members or your other business associates to have contact with you simultaneously for quick meetings and urgent business. These tools can also save time and increase productivity within your company.
Takeaways on business communication
Obviously, there are more than enough reasons why effective communication is important to your company’s success. Regardless of its size, having consistent effective communication will impact your business’s productivity, staff, investors, and your bottom line.
Keep in mind, that most business communication involves being a good listener and being able to understand the current trends incorporated into today’s business climate. Additionally, adapting solid communication skills gives your business brand respectability which enables you to foster enduring associations with current and future customers.
By applying the proper business communication tools and techniques, your business will thrive and be better prepared to weather difficult times in today’s highly competitive business world.
