Communication is the lifeblood of a business, and the communication channels are the veins, moving the important messages from customers to the business, and vice versa. Communication channels keep customers interacting with your business, they keep colleagues talking to each other, and they keep investors, owners, and managers working together. Without communication, every business would fail. With too much communication, every business can be complicated and confused. You, and your business should choose the right communication channels and the right number of communications channels to make your business a success.
There are numerous communication channels that businesses can use to interact with customers, clients, and employees. Some common ones include:
- In-person meetings
- Phone calls
- Social media
- Website chat
- Video conferencing
- Instant messaging
- Text messaging (SMS)
- Fax
- Postal mail
- Voicemail
- Collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams)
- Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
- Helpdesk and ticketing systems
- Live chat on websites
- Public relations (PR)
- Webinars
- Online forums and communities
- Surveys and feedback forms
- Networking events and Conferences.
The choice of communication channels depends on the specific needs and preferences of your business and your audience. As you can see from the list above, there are several types of communication channels, and some are more appropriate than others for different types of business. How you conduct your business will define the best type of communication channels for you, your customers, and your business.
What’s your business?
When you know what your business is, and you know your customers, you know what they want and how to talk to them. Knowing the best communication channels for you and your customers will drive your business forwards and bring customers to you. If your business is a retail shop, you need to have good customer service and face-to-face communication channels. If your business is online, you must improve your social media, email, and web-based communication channels. If your business is office-based, the communication channels are the CRM, phone calls, and emails. Knowing your business will help you to know your communication channels.
What if you don’t know?
There are many different types of business that can evolve. You might not know exactly what your business is until you are running it. You might not know how your customers like to communicate with you, until you have customers, and you are trying different marketing strategies. When people start up a new company, they don’t know the best communication channels until they are used and tried. When a new business is trying different marketing channels, they see what works and what doesn’t work. What works means that they have found their communication channels.
When a new business is advertising on social media, they might have customers contact them on the phone, through social media chat, through posts on the website, or social pages, or through the non-voice channels available. Ensuring that all the communication channels are available to customers helps to clearly define what communication channels the customers want to use.
What are communication channels?
As you can see from the list above communication channels are the different ways that people can communicate with you and your business. Communication channels are the various ways in which people can communicate with each other, or with an entity. There are several examples that we have listed above. Just like a river carrying water to the sea, if there is a blockage in the communication channels or they are broken in anyway, the flow of communication will stop, or get diverted from the course that it is intended.
If there is a breakdown in any of your communication channels, you will not be able to communicate with customers, or people involved in your business. If your phone lines are broken, your internet not working, your website down, or other online channels not working as they should, your online communication channels are broken, so customers can not contact you properly.
If your preferred means of communication is through face-to-face communication, you can still break your communication channels by making it hard for people to find you, or by misleading people. If you present to people that you are not to be trusted, or that you are not easy to approach, this breaks the physical communication channels.
On the other hand, if your communication channels are clear, and communication is flowing well, your VIP Customers can contact you first, your staff are informed, and everyone knows where they are and who they are speaking to. Good communication leads to a good business and business growth. Good communication channels boost business and support customers with excellent customer service.
With good communication channels comes boosted productivity, a happier workforce, and engaged customers. Decisions are made quickly, and effectively, people are informed of new products and services, difficulties are overcome faster, and change is quickly managed. In this fast-paced world, ensuring that you have excellent communication channels helps you to stay ahead of the rest.
Sending and receiving messages is an important part of business operations, and with effective and positive communication channels this is simple to do. Answering teams’ questions is as simple as writing a message or picking up the phone. With communication channels, you have an internal and an external customer service department to support all people affected by your business. Where there is any confusion, or an explanation needs to be given, with good communication channels, the confusion does not last long.
Communication channels support the flow of information from one source to the next, and support business operations, customer care, and compliance and legal offices to protect your company. With that in mind, it is timely to say that communication channels can be informal or formal, official, or unofficial, and friendly or rude. It is always best to be nice to people and to have open and clear communication channels.
Communication channels can be oral, written, or pre-recorded, and to be read. In the past communication channels were smoke signals, noises, and painted on walls. Communication channels have guided people for years to stay away from certain areas and to go to better places. Communication channels help to keep people safe and healthy, initially guiding people away from dangerous dinosaurs, and instructing them towards the nice berries and good food groups. Having good communication channels might seem part of everyday life, and the techniques involves have been used for centuries, but are you any good at using them, and could you be better?
Are you Good at Communicating?
It is a simple task, but are you any good at it? People say that they are good communicators, but they ignore messages, they talk over people, they do not listen, or they hear the wrong thing. It is common in business to hear what you want to hear and have closed communication channels for feedback and criticism. You need to remember that communication channels have 2 ends, and both ends must be open.
Can you listen effectively, and can you talk, or give out messages, effectively? Receiving communication, and giving communication are the 2 ends of the communication channels that must be open and clear. Some are good at one end, but struggle to make the other end work. If you are good at communication, both ends of your communication channels are open to receive and give data.
If you are speaking to people from other countries, you might need to employ overseas calling, which means enhancing your communication channels to include foreign language and time zone differences. This also involves having more patience with people and understanding that sometimes communication channels can be blocked or can break down.
What breaks communication channels?
When you are communicating with someone but say the wrong thing, or use the wrong tone of voice, it can change the tone of the conversation, or it can change the outcome of the relationship. This is one of the breaks of communication channels that can affect clear communication.
If you cannot speak the same language, and struggle to communicate clearly, there is an obvious block in the communication channels between the people. Interpreters and translators can bridge the gap and fix the communication channels. This is also common when communicating with people with communication difficulties, like being hard of hearing, or sight impaired.
If you are not in the same geographical location, that can be a blockage to communication channels. It can be hard to speak to someone who is far away. They might not understand local dialect, or local tones of voice. They might not be able to relate to local concerns, and the lack of understanding, might lead to misinterpreted communication channels. Without the ability to see and react to body language and tone of voice communication channels can be blocked.
Do you convey sarcasm, tone, sympathy, or empathy through a text message? It is much easier to do that through voice communication than written. Choosing the wrong communication channels leads to a break down in communication and affects the outcome that you need. Make sure that you choose the best communication channels for the situation, and you are congruent with people, surroundings, and content.
How to find the best communication channels?
Finding the best efficient communication channels for the purpose is important. If you need to say something, but you write it down instead, communication will fail. If you need to have a formal letter, but you text it, you lose impact and effectiveness. You must assess the situation and choose which communication channels are best suited to the situation, then use them in the best way possible.
Firstly, understand.
Understand which communication channels work, and which are suitable for the type of communication that you want to use. If the situation demands a written word, is a letter better than an email, will a text message suffice? What kind of writing is necessary to achieve the desired outcome of your communication?
Understanding also involves knowing the types of communication that your receiver likes to use. If you are talking to customers, using the means of communication that they initiated will lead to a stronger relationship. If they text, and you call, there is an immediate disconnect which can lead to a breakdown in communication channels. Using the best communication channels means knowing what is best for the situation, the people involved, and the message that you want to give. Understanding all elements of the communication is important to choosing the best communication channels for the job. Having the best tools doesn’t always guarantee the best outcome, but it helps to get a step closer.
What is your message?
Make sur that your chosen communication channels convey the message in the way that you want to. If you want to be professional a text message or a post on social media is not the way to go. If you want to be interactive, an email, or a link to the FAQ Page will not cut it.
If your communication should be formal and assertive or informal and casual, you need to find the best communication channels for your purpose. Your message should be delivered in the way that makes the best and most appropriate impact.
Can you afford it?
If you are looking at business communication, it is best to find the most appropriate solution and the best communication channels for your needs and within budget. There is no need to buy expensive CRM Solutions and invest in website design if your business is small with only a few staff and does very little online.
There is no need for a complex and confusing phone system if you have limited staff and limited customer service options. If you have only one language, there is no need for options to offer other solutions.
Ensuring that your communication channels match your budgets, and your requirements will help you to optimize your communications and allow customers to reach you in ways that they require, when they need to.
Always remember to avoid long term contracts for communication channels contracts. There is no need to commit to a long-term phone solution, especially if your customers are trying to contact you through email, SMS, social media, or non-voice options.
It is the best option to have omnichannel communication channels open, so customers can choose how to contact you, and they will always receive the best support.
Get the basic communication channels right.
Which type of communication is the most common? If you have a target market, or a product that you are offering, you might be able to recognize the most common type of communication for your goals, but you might not know at first. The most popular form of communication is voice communication.
Getting your communication channels focus on voice communication first will help to mitigate any concerns that customers have. If they prefer to write, they can still talk, or send a text message. If they prefer face-to-face, having a phone number is a good option. Getting the basics right will allow you to reach customers and for them to reach you, and getting voice communication channels working well is a great foundation for all the other types of communication that your customers might need.
There are specialists in voice communication, like conXhub. We offer crystal clear communication through mobile phones to people around the world, all at local rates, through the mobile network. Working through the mobile network means that we are not limited to areas with internet, and we are not controlled by the latency issues that can come with VoIP or internet communication. Having mobile communication channels puts all communication in the palm of your hand, making communication accessible to anyone and everyone associated with your company. Customers can be spoken to when it is convenient for them, and you never miss a call, since it is recorded on your mobile and added back into your call queue, or transferred to someone else who is readily available to take your calls and manage your customer service.
Getting the basic communication channels working well gives you the growth options to move into more complex communication solutions, but as the saying goes, don’t run before you can walk. And walking with a mobile phone in your hand, that controls all your communication channels in one place, means that your business is mobile, flexible, accessible, and available to your most valued audience. Your customers will thank you for having excellent and open communication channels.
