Without good communication, businesses fail. Communication is at the heart of business. All companies need communication tools to speak to their customers, their staff, organize their work, speak to the public, their investors, every element of business is affected by good communication. Where there is bad communication, errors occur, and businesses fail.
When you are operating a business, you need to decide which communication channels are good for each of the different purposes for the business. You might need face to face communication for some transactions, and a simple SMS text message or email might suffice for others. If you have a lot of staff, email will not work as well as meetings and conference calls. You need to define your message and ensure that the communication channel used to convey that message is fit for purpose.
When you decide who you are talking to and what you are talking about, finding the best communication channel to fit the situation is a simple process. We will look at the different communication channels here so you can decide for yourself which is best for you.
The Difference in Communication Channels
Communication channels are the several different ways of communicating with people, or even with machines. For example, sending an email is an effective communication channel when you want a clear and uninterrupted message to get through to the receiver. A phone call helps to convey messages and discuss important matters. A coded message sent from a computer to another computer to verify data is a form of communication. Data packets sent through Facsimile are a non-voice form of communication. There are lots of different channels for communication, so which ones should you focus on?
Where there is good, clear communication, things get done, instructions are followed, customers concerns are resolved, and sales improve. Where there is bad communication, the opposite it true and businesses miss opportunities, instructions are ignored, and businesses fail.
For the want of a nail
There is a famous proverb that has the message that even small things are important and can have grave consequences if they go unchecked. This is true in communications. If a customer contacts your business and that message is not received properly, or it is lost in the thousands of messages that you receive every day, the customer feels unappreciated. If the customer feels that you are not listening to them, they complain. That complaint reaches the social media universe and causes other customers to complain, or to not avail of your product and services. The consequences of lost business could be detrimental to your business.
What would have happened if the initial communication was not lost?
Customers like to feel that they are respected and even a part of your business. They can offer feedback and input to your products and services that can improve your business. They are the reason your business exists and the source of your income, so their opinions and comments should be listened to carefully and reviewed as meaningful insights into the quality of service you provide.
What are the communication channels that help information flow?
In your company, communication channels help information get from one source to the receiver and keep information flowing freely and effectively. The source could be a customer, it could be a vendor, it could be other staff, or could be a mass audience. Whatever the source of the communication, it needs to get to someone who can listen, respond, and action the content. Any breakdown in communication can cause other services to fail which can have other negative effects on the company.
If the phone lines are down, customers can not reach you, and sales will drop, complaints will increase, and customers and employees will not know what is going on. If the internet is down, the website could fail, payments are not processed, customers go elsewhere, and you lose business. If face to face meetings are not possible (for example, throughout the Pandemic), businesses that need face to face communication will lose a lot of business. This is evident in the service and hospitality industry.
Effective communication, however, will lead to growth in the business and improved productivity. You and your team will make better decisions, your customers will feel respected and valued and your business will grow from strength to strength, far out-performing businesses with poor communication channels.
How do you use effective communication channels in day-to-day operations?
You use communication throughout your day, every day. It is a part of your daily operations, so much so that you probably communicate without realizing, and without assessing the impact of each communication channel.
Each time that you send and receive important information in a message, you are using your communication channels. These could be emails, SMS messages, Live Chat, Social media messages or other non-voice messages sent between devices.
Whenever you are answering your teams’ questions and giving performance reviews you are communicating effectively with your employees. These could be in real-time or could be over email or text message. This is one of the most effective communication purposes in business.
Collaborative working involves detailed, open, and fluid communication. Where teams must work together, they must communicate with each other well. Communication here could be through CRM solutions, through conference calls and video conferencing, or could be face to face in meeting rooms. When teams have mutual goals and collaborative projects, they must communicate within the team and with all stakeholders impacted by the project.
During collaborative working files must be shared, screens often displayed to others, documents discussed and edited, and other forms of shared work means that communication must be between all parties concerned.
Communication channels are often thought of as being just verbal or written, but clearly you can see that communication channels are more multi-faceted than that. Communication channels can involve shared information through various mediums and can be formal, informal, official, and unofficial. They can be open or confidential, secretive, or public. There are many different forms of communication, and the appropriate channel must always be used to optimize that communication.
Formal Communication.
This could be letters from HR to staff, it could be an invitation to an event, or could be information from different teams regarding their work. Formal communication should be recorded as sent, and received, so an email or letters sent and signed for are good forms of communication for formal channels.
Informal Communication.
Sending text messages, social media chats, quick phone calls and group chats are examples of informal communication. Catching up with people, checking in to the team or gossiping about recent events are all useful informal communications within teams.
Official.
Letters from your lawyer, from the government, from vendors, contracts and insurance details are all official letters. Notices regarding compliance and regulations are all official documents that must be addressed and responded to. These are best to be emails with delivery reports or signed letters.
Unofficial.
Gossip and private updates are unofficial. This could be a pre-launch of a product used for marketing purposes or could be newsworthy but not yet official news. This could be estimates of statistics or could be someone offering information but does not want to go “on the record”. For unofficial communication, face to face is good, or anonymous text or emails or phone calls.
What constitutes the right communication channel?
When you are choosing between the different communication channels you should choose what is the most appropriate for the situation. If you use every single communication channel for all communication, messages get lost or missed or ignored. Choosing the right communication channel also tells the receivers how important the message is and says if they need to reply or not. The level of importance for the communication is implied through the different communication channels available. Things to consider in this process are:
What does your team prefer?
When talking to your team, some people prefer face to face, whereas others prefer a quick text message. Get familiar with your team and chat about what is the preferred method of communication, especially for informal updates. Using what people prefer will keep them engaged in the process and keep them using the channel.
What is the message you are sending?
The type of message dictates the type of communication channel to be used.
If the message is formal, or informal, there are specific communication channels best to use. If the message contains visual aids or documentary support, or requires screen sharing, there are different mediums better than others. Will the message be read by one person or by several? There are several elements to consider when looking at the type of message, and then choosing the most appropriate communication channel.
It all comes down to money
Can you afford the perfect communication channel or are you looking for a more cost-effective means of communication? If you are investing in a communications medium, will the cost spread out over the year, and will it be worth the initial investment in getting set up and giving the users the training that they need?
The 6 Best Communication Channels for Business
If we can give you the top 6, maybe that will help you to decide which to prioritize for your business.
- Emails
Perhaps the most popular channel of communication for business. Research shows that over 330 billion emails are sent every day. That is a lot of emails! This number continues to rise and the trend in Hybrid working or working from home has only increased the number of sent emails further. With so many emails getting sent and received, some messages can be missed through the busy in-boxes of professionals, so you always need to make your subject line stand out and you need to use the best email providers to make sure that the email gets delivered.
Emails can be personal, professional, short, long, but they are always direct and always get the message across. They are super simple to use and take minimal training to incorporate into business operations. Emails have attachments, so you can use them to store documents, send information and to support marketing campaigns. They are a way of discussing or sharing information in one uninterrupted flow.
Emails are sent internally to share updates and externally to customers, clients, and prospects. They are versatile and can even be free to use. Having a good email system will not break the bank and will provide you with a great way to boost your communication channels for your business.
- Telephone calls
On average, every person who owns a cell phone makes and receives 5 voice phone calls a day. With the increase in SMS and Instant messaging, the number of phone calls is on the decline worldwide, but it is still a very important way to conduct business.
A phone call can be used for sales or for customer service, they can be used to resolve complaints and to update clients and customers on products and services. The Mobile phone means that phone calls can be made from anywhere, great for people who work remotely and who drive to and from meetings.
The mobile phone makes the phone call the most convenient way to communicate. The phone call boosts the relationship between you and your clients, it reassures customers and the message within the phone call is conveyed personally, with emotion and with the ability to clearly explain the issues.
A voice message can allow the receiver to listen to the message when they are less busy, or it is more convenient.
Phone calls can be very cost effective, especially if you are using Wifi Calling, or free calls, and international calls through ConxHub can be as little as £4 a month. Getting phone numbers for other countries allows you to make phone calls and always seem local.
The channel is better than SMS since it is clear when the message has been received, discussed and understood.
- Video Conferencing
One of the many technologies that has successfully transitioned from science fiction to mainstream consumerism and is now an integral part of business communication. During the pandemic there was a boom in technologies like Zoom, Teams, Google Hangouts, with more people working from home and still needing to have Video Conferencing facilities.
The technology allowed for businesses to stay open, schools to continue teaching, online training courses to flourish and even court cases to go ahead. It is highly versatile and can be adapted to most situations, even TV Shows used video conferencing in place of live audiences.
Some solutions are free, some are free for a limit, and some are quite expensive per user, so it is worth taking your time on deciding which is best for you and your business.
- SMS
The quickest form of messaging supports professional and personal communication. A text message can be formal or informal and conveys a quick message to the receiver which can build relationships or can instruct them to do a job. Very versatile and helpful within business and personal communications, however, you often do not know when the message has been opened and if it has been ignored. People receive hundreds of text messages a day, so your text message could get lost in the pack.
SMStoemail is a tool that can combine communication channels and can move the SMS into the in-box of the receiver to emphasise the importance of the message and to increase the chance of it being read and actioned.
SMSs can not be read whilst driving, and can sometimes be accidentally deleted, which provides some limitation to the communication channel.
It is commonly quoted that the younger generation prefers texts to voice calls, they are quicker and easier and take a lot less effort, they are more direct and can be a simple and fast way to connect with people.
- Instant Messaging
Communication channels like Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Slack are all examples of good instant messaging. The message gets sent (one tick), the message is received (two ticks) and the message is read (Blue tick) so you know exactly where the message is within the communication channel workflow.
Instant messaging is great for building team communication and ensuring that everyone is updated with what is going on and what they need to do.
Documents can be attached, just like an email, so teams often use these channels to ping messages to each other. Talking of the ping, it can be noisy and distracting so it is sometimes best to turn your mobile to silent mode!
- Conference Calling
An extension from the telephone is the conference call. It is a combination of the group instant messaging service and the phone call, allowing multiple people to talk to each other at the same time, and without the need to get dressed up, do your hair, and make up so that you are comfortable on camera for the video conferencing service.
Having good conferencing services for your business is an added advantage, since it is cheaper than video, does not need internet connection, so there are no frozen screens and is more convenient since it can be done on your mobile phone.
This is a great business communication channel that is easy to use and to build into your operations.
- BONUS ROUND: Face to Face networking
Discussions of communications channels would not be complete without showing respect to the old-fashioned face to face meeting. This channel obviously had problems during the pandemic, but it is coming back strong. With more networking events, conferences, award ceremonies and opportunities to meet people face to face, more business can be conducted.
Looking into the whites of the eyes of the client or customer can boost the relationship, increase the chances of conversions, and help to better understand the situation of the client, so that additional products can be sold, and the foundations for a longer relationship can be cemented.
Business Tool for Mobile Technology
Our simple, but effective and very cost-efficient platform covers many of the above communication channels, all in the mobile phone in your hand (or pocket) right now. Moving telecoms to mobile means that if you are working in the office, on the road or at home, you have all your communication channels in one place.
There is no need to invest in additional hardware, no training required and set up can be in a matter of minutes. Talking to ConxHub today could be the best call you make this week and could define your communication channels for years to come.
