How Bad Communication Can Be The Fatal Flaw Of Your Business
Communication is always going to play a key role in the way that you run your business. It’s something you will use every single day, so it should be no surprise that miscommunication, poor messaging, and other errors in how you communicate with others can cause real problems within your business. Here, we’re going to look at some of the communication errors you want your business to avoid and why they’re so important.
Know what can be automated
When it comes to helping and supporting your customers, having real humans ready and available to help is always a good thing, but it’s not always strictly necessary. This is especially true for websites, where they might just be wondering where to find a certain page or piece of information.
Making use of AI-driven chatbots can help lessen the load on the shoulders of your customer support team, freeing them up to spend that energy on questions that really do demand more of their time and thought. Of course, you don’t want to rely too much on automated solutions to the point that trying to reach a real person frustrates your customers, either.
Avoid unnecessary and costly meetings
While every employee knows the dangers of being caught in unproductive and long meetings that don’t make good use of their time, team leaders and managers want to ensure that they’re able to check in with the team. The single best way to do this is to plan them out properly, to think about who you’re going to invite and what purpose they’re going to play in that meeting.
If you need to deliver a one-sided message or request feedback in the future, then an email to those people might be better. What’s more, remote meeting software can make it a lot easier to include people in meetings, regardless of where they are. Know when to make it a meeting, when to make it a one-on-one call, and when it can be an email.
Always follow up meetings in writing
Whether it’s a big team meeting, a one-to-one chat, or you’re trying to convince a client, it’s a good idea to take notes of the meetings you attend. If you’re able to have someone take them then and there, use tools like note-taking software.
If not, then take the time to recap what you can remember of the meeting soon after. Then, you should send your notes and, most importantly, any actionable points to the other attendees. Don’t be surprised if some people forget every highlight in a meeting, especially if they’re getting straight back to work after the fact.
Don’t send mixed messages through social media
If you’re looking to grow your social media accounts, and to both stay engaged with existing customers while bringing in new leads through these online platforms, then you need to have an organized and thoughtful approach to how you message on these platforms. A lot of business social media accounts make the mistake of switching from formal and serious to playful and chatty or humorous at the drop of a hat. This can create a bizarre feeling of disconnect with your audience, as they get mixed messages about how the brand operates in this space. You should think about creating a set of social media guidelines that you or anyone managing your accounts should follow to keep them consistent and effective.
Get your phones organized
The more people that you have using the phone systems in your office, the more you need to ensure that anyone calling can quickly and easily be routed to the person that they need. Thankfully, we don’t need a room full of switchboard operators for that anymore, nor even a traditional phone system, with the help of a hosted phone system. You can make your phones entirely digitally operated, which can make it much easier to redirect incoming and internal calls. This cuts down the time that your customers and clients have to wait on the other side of the phone before they reach who they’re trying to reach.
Create a place for internal communications
When members of your team need to chat to each other, to send messages, or to share resources, how do they do it? If your answer is “however they want,” then you could be missing the opportunity to have them become a lot more efficient and better at cooperating with each other. Workplace communication software is playing a big role in streamlining teams these days, creating a space where everyone knows to check in whenever they want to get caught up with whatever projects or teams they are in. It also helps them avoid wasting time since they’re not bouncing between four different apps just to get on top of the day’s communications.
Don’t underestimate the power of a direct conversation
One of the things that a lot of managers and business owners are lamenting about remote working is that it does make it difficult to check in for a quick chat. While this helps to avoid micro-managing, it also undermines the power of a direct conversation to quickly relay information and to make sure that everyone is working from the same set of priorities.
Take the time to make a phone call with individual team members or to get them on a remote meeting software, even if you don’t have to make it a formal meeting. Having a catch-up with a different team member each day can help them feel like their work is actually being noticed, too.
The bigger your company grows, the more importance that organized and efficient communication is going to have in how you operate. Hopefully, the tips above help you with that, but you need to ensure that you choose methods and tools that work best for your business setup above all else.
