Successfully utilising the right communication channels for your business makes effective communication both with your internal stakeholders such as your employees and your external stakeholders like your customers and suppliers, a doddle.
These communication channels differ from team to team so, as a leading business communications provider, we’ve explored the top 3 channels that we recommend for SMEs like yours.
What are communication channels?
You may well be asking yourself ‘what is a communication channel?’ and ‘why do I need one?’. Well, communication channels are essential for businesses of all sizes, in all industries.
Channels of communication are the tools and methods you and your teams use to send vital information to your internal and external stakeholders to ensure clear, concise messaging.
Communication channels can take many forms, including email, instant messaging, phone calls, video conferencing, social media and many more. Choosing the right ones for your business is important, so check out our recommendations below.
By having a variety of communication channels in place, you can provide your employees with the flexibility they need to communicate effectively, whether they’re in the office, working remotely, or on the go. These channels can have a significant impact on your business’s success. For example, they can help improve productivity by streamlining communication and reducing the time it takes to exchange information. Effective communication channels can also help reduce misunderstandings, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and that important details aren’t missed. This can help you avoid costly mistakes and missed opportunities as well as less than ideal customer service. Additionally, communication channels can help build strong relationships between employees, improving teamwork and collaboration.
Furthermore, communication channels can drastically improve the way you communicate with your customers and prospects, and how they communicate with you. Offering a potential customer an easy line of communication to ask you a question about your product, get a quote for your service or to make a sale, is essential.
Why are communication channels so important?
Effective communication channels are incredibly important for SMEs for several reasons. By having clear and effective communication channels in place, SMEs can ensure that employees are informed and up-to-date on important information, which can help prevent errors and misunderstandings that can be costly to the business.
In addition to improving productivity, communication channels can also help create a cohesive team culture within your business. By fostering open lines of communication, employees are encouraged to share ideas and feedback, which can lead to more innovative solutions and improved collaboration. Clear communication channels can also help create a sense of transparency and trust within the company, which is essential for building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and customers.
Choosing the right communication channels is not only important for improving internal communication within your business, but they also play a critical role in communicating with external stakeholders such as customers, potential customers, vendors, suppliers and partners. By having clear and relevant communication channels in place, you can ensure that they are delivering timely and accurate information to external stakeholders, which is essential for building and maintaining strong relationships.
For example, the right communication channels can help SMEs to better understand their clients’ needs and preferences. By gaining feedback and engaging in regular communication with clients, SMEs can tailor their products and services to better meet their clients’ needs. Similarly, effective communication channels can help SMEs to build strong relationships with vendors and partners, which can lead to more favorable terms and better pricing on products and services.
Moreover, effective communication channels can help SMEs like yours to maintain a positive reputation in the marketplace. For example, by promptly responding to customer enquiries and complaints, SMEs can demonstrate their commitment to customer service, which can help build trust and loyalty among their customer base. Similarly, by using social media and other communication channels to proactively communicate with the public, SMEs can establish themselves as leaders in their industry and create a positive brand image.
The top 3 communication channels that are crucial for your business
Phone calling
Having been around since 1876, phone calls still take the top spot when it comes to effective business communication channels.
Using phone calling as a communication channel can offer many advantages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The most notable and obvious benefit of phone calling lies in its ability to have real-time conversations with customers, clients, prospects, suppliers and partners. This level of personal interaction can help build stronger relationships and improve customer satisfaction by providing timely and accurate responses to enquiries and concerns.
Another benefit of using phone calling is the ability to convey tone and nuance, which can be difficult to do in written communication channels such as email or chat. This can help prevent misunderstandings and improve the overall quality of communication. Additionally, phone calling can be a more efficient way to communicate certain types of information, such as complex instructions or detailed feedback.
Moreover, phone calling can provide SMEs with a competitive advantage by allowing them to stand out from businesses that rely solely on digital communication channels. By using phone calling as a communication channel, SMEs can demonstrate their commitment to providing personalized and attentive customer service, which can help build trust and loyalty among their customer base.
With typical cloud phone system features such as call recording, click to dial, auto attendant and marketing on hold, phone calls make the ideal communication channel for internal and external stakeholders.
Video conferencing
Utilising video calling as a communication channel can yield numerous advantages for SMEs. One significant aspect of video calling is the ability to have face-to-face interactions with customers, prospects and colleagues alike, even if they are not physically present. This can help build stronger relationships and improve collaboration by providing a more personal touch to the communication experience.
Additionally, video calling can be a more efficient way to communicate certain types of information, such as product demonstrations or training sessions something that, as a business communications provider, we do ourselves through our video conferencing platform, Enreach Meetings. By using video calling, you can provide visual aids and demonstrations to help convey complex information, which can improve understanding and reduce the need for follow-up communication.
Another benefit of using video calling is the ability to save time and money on travel. You can use video calling to conduct virtual meetings with customers, clients, and partners in different locations, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming travel. This can be especially helpful for SMEs with limited resources or for businesses operating in multiple locations.
Overall, using video calling as a communication channel can help SMEs like yours to improve collaboration and relationships with external stakeholders, provide visual aids and demonstrations to convey complex information, save time and money on travel, and offer a more personalised and convenient communication experience.
Incorporating email as a primary communication channel provides various benefits for small and medium enterprises. A key advantage of email lies in accessibility and convenience. With email, SMEs can communicate with customers, clients, vendors, and partners quickly and easily, regardless of their location or time zone. This can help SMEs save time and streamline communication processes, especially when dealing with large volumes of correspondence.
Another benefit of using email is the ability to keep a written record of communication exchanges. This can be helpful for SMEs that need to reference past conversations or agreements with external stakeholders. Moreover, email can be an effective way to send and receive documents, such as contracts, invoices, or project proposals, without the need for physical delivery.
Using email can also be a cost-effective way for SMEs to communicate with external stakeholders. Compared to other communication channels, such as phone calling or video conferencing, email is relatively inexpensive, and SMEs can save money on communication costs by relying on email as a primary communication channel.
Finally, email can provide SMEs with a way to communicate in a professional and consistent manner. By using email, SMEs can ensure that their communication is free from errors and that their branding and messaging are consistent across all communication exchanges.
We recommend four tips when choosing the best communication channels for your business;
Have a clear understanding on who your stakeholders are
It’s crucial to fully understand who you’re communicating with before you can decide how and when you want to communicate with them. For example, if your team is all remotely based they will need different communication channels to an office based team. Likewise, if your prospective customers are based in mutli-site organisations, they will require different channels of communicate to those who are one man bands.
Consider the message
It’s important to be clear on the message that you want to convey when deciding on your communication channels. For example the context of the message whether it be formal, informal, sales driven or fact driven will determine the appropriate communication channels.
Be clear on your budget
The correct communication channels will require a budget. While there are many cost effective options, it’s important to consider your budget when deciding which lines of communication to choose.
Determine your goals
Just like any business decision, your goals should be a clear indicator when choosing which communication channels your business requires.
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