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What Is Customer Communication?
Brands exchange information with their customers through various channels, making customer communication skills an integral component of support, sales and marketing teams.
Every employee within an organization plays an important role. Modern leaders recognize that company-wide accountability is crucial to creating exceptional customer experiences.
Why Is A Customer Communications Strategy Important?
How could clients learn about your product if you had not communicated with them? Many support leaders recognize the necessity of communicating with customers; however, only some plan this interaction in advance.
Agents are told to assist customers as much as possible while simultaneously dealing with fires within their team and putting out fires where needed.
If you still need to do so, now is the time to create a customer communication strategy. This outline details how your team will exchange information with clients.
Moving away from reactive to proactive communication will help align team activities and decrease resolution times.
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Communication Strategies: Types
There are three primary communication strategies: verbal, visual and nonverbal. When combined, all three will improve your chances of success.
Here is more information about each form of design:
Verbal Communication Strategies
Companies can select either oral or written forms of communication for their verbal communication strategy. Oral methods include phone calls, face-to-face discussions and video chats.
In contrast, written channels might consist of emails, faxes or webchat.
Non-verbal communication strategies
Nonverbal strategies to enhance communication include facial expressions and body language that don't usually signal what you are saying consciously yet are just as influential.
Knowing precisely what you are communicating is vital. Otherwise, miscommunication may arise.
Visual Communication Strategies
Visual communication strategies use web pages, illustrations and graphical representations to convey messages to clients and stakeholders.
They are frequently employed in the workplace when presenting documentation; human resources departments may even require certain graphics and instructions for workplace safety compliance initiatives.
Also Read: How is Communication Strategy for Customers Important for Businesses
Five Steps for Business Branding Communication Strategy
Awareness
Pre-launch activities encompass branding, teasers and launches; awareness phase activities include trailers, music videos and press releases; more excellent reach results in greater awareness, and thus ticket sales increase.
Spreading this awareness through media planning or buying advertising space on popular sites is the most cost-effective digital marketing method.
Communications should emphasize your product or service's unique selling points (USPs) and use all major media outlets as leverage for PR purposes.
Contacting multiple audiences directly is often the most effective strategy to engage potential prospects and boost business.
Familiarization (a couple of days after launch)
Leads can be generated through raising awareness. People interested in your product, believing it will meet a need, constitute leads.
When providing more information to these leads, they will pay more attention if it's tailored specifically for them; lead nurturing techniques should then come into play and continue giving more details until their responses become favorable to what you offer them.
Ex: Imagine watching a trailer and clicking through to a link, taking surveys and downloading music; this indicates interest in the film (product).
Companies need this data to map customer behavior - using touchpoints and ways to engage customers will increase the chances that they make purchases. Follow-up and reminders can help ensure leads enter the consideration stage.
Consideration
Sales communications can be more successful when interested leads are considered first. At this stage, the contact should focus more on selling points that compare and contrast similar products or services, cost savings, investment return period, service efficiency, etc.
Additionally, leads consume fresh content while engaging with your brand. To maintain interest, marketing messages that target higher-level authorities must also be created as necessary - sales staff with ample experience are typically in charge of keeping in contact with leads to ensure they become warm or even hot tips.
Purchase (Hot Leads)
Customers entering this stage are at a critical juncture; one bad experience could make or break their opinion of your products or services.
When dealing with leads' inquiries and questions from authorities, sales staff must demonstrate sensitivity; booking dynamics, financial concerns or any unique or unusual requests made by principals are all areas where communication should occur. Sales staff must also adapt to meet customers' needs quickly while being aware of areas where leads have lost interest due to previous product/service experiences; communication with confidence will lead to closing deals, with faith in customer experience being fundamental in closing deals if any deals go ahead at all.
Loyalty
This loyalty period educates customers on upcoming events and promotions. Customers might be drawn in by offers to earn rewards through social networks for engaging with the brand.
Community building can define this phase; customers may feel more loyal through exclusive buyer's clubs, preferential treatment from existing customers and other activities that create an emotional bond with them.
Communication With Customers: 8 Ways To Improve It
Customer Experience encompasses any action that affects buyer attitudes or perceptions about a business. Hence, ensuring customer communication runs smoothly is critical for creating an exceptional customer experience.
Here are some guidelines for developing your customer communication plan.
Invest In Omnichannel Communication
Customer experience can be enhanced by communicating with customers across multiple channels and permitting them to contact you through those of their choosing.
Omnisend research found that marketers using three or more media for campaigns had a 494% higher order rate. Though this number may seem impressive, that only 42% offer support via two or more channels - meaning most businesses fail to harness technology's full potential.
Customers where they are
Customers quickly become dissatisfied if you force them to switch between different communication channels, waiting for an answer before purchasing.
However, offering live chat support on their struggling page will increase user adoption. 64 percent of customers are more likely to spend when their issues are resolved using the channel they prefer; you could save the sale while simultaneously encouraging future ones.
Regularly Collect Feedback
Customer responses can help evaluate the success of customer communication strategies. Feedback can help identify weaknesses in your product or service and how it communicates.
Sending surveys, requesting reviews and monitoring social media are ways businesses can engage customers to build lasting relationships and form trusting bonds with them.
Personalize Communications With Customers
59 per cent of respondents believe companies should utilize customer data collected to provide tailored customer experiences.
Personalizing communication can go a long way toward building familiarity between you and your audience members - using customer names or sending personalized emails can go far toward creating that bond between the parties involved.
Attaining sophisticated personalization requires customer segmentation. By segmenting customers according to demographics and other characteristics, tailored communications can be created based on these demographics and other features of their lives.
When mapping buyer experience and behavior analysis for creating personas based on communication preferences.
Improve Internal Communication
Effective internal communication is the foundation of providing customers with a positive customer experience. Employees from different departments should work cohesively and rely on each other as support systems.
A solid internal communications strategy will ensure your customer communication strategy is implemented consistently across all touchpoints and teams for an exceptional customer experience.
Install tools and systems that facilitate internal communication. Employ widely used chat applications like Slack for internal chats and video conferencing; an automated ticketing system could enhance collaboration and transparency when responding to customer inquiries.
They are promoting proactive communication. Instead of waiting until a customer initiates contact, be aggressive yourself.
Reaching out to customers proactively, whether it's to ask for their feedback or inform them of a shipment delay, shows your company cares about its customers and can make all the difference between returning customers or having them leave altogether, according to our Trends Report, 73 per cent of consumers stated they would switch from one company to its competitor after experiencing multiple negative experiences with it.
Our report highlights how, while people have become increasingly comfortable with artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots, finding an equilibrium remains critical.
While you can rely on AI/chatbots to answer simple queries quickly and reduce waiting times, having human agents available should complex matters arise.
Self-Service Options
Communication doesn't need to be one-on-one; self-service options should be created based on information gained from interactions with customers.
Our shows that 37% of customers become frustrated when they need help completing simple tasks. Self-service tools and education can help improve communication and reduce confusion. Knowledge Base Software/FAQ software and Tutorial/How-to guides utilize customer interaction to address common customer inquiries and concerns, offering answers and solutions through customer interaction.
Measuring The Right Metrics
Measure metrics that are key to your business and take steps to evaluate them on an ongoing basis.
Customer Communication Metrics May Include
First Response Time (FRT) takes your team to respond to an initial customer inquiry. At the same time, Average Resolution Time (ART) measures how quickly your team resolves an issue for a customer.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) measures whether your group meets customer expectations. Utilize Customer Experience Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to gauge team performance and enhance customer communication.
Top 10 Business Communications Trends: Improve Communication In The Workplace
Over the past decade, communication technology in business has undergone massive change. Once dominated by emails and mass email distributions, these methods of reaching employees offer more personal forms of employee engagement.
Companies must thrive by adapting quickly to evolving communication trends that emerge over time.
Modern Intranet Software
Successful organizations rely on intranet software or digital workplace solutions as the cornerstone of business communication.
A study revealed that 8 out of 10 companies use an employee hub, or intranet, as their primary communication channel. Social media, mobile devices, and remote working have all contributed to this trend; with modern intranets, all documents, communications and people can be found in one central place!
Intranets provide users with familiar features like activity streams, notifications and likes/remarks, and blogs/wikis/collaboration tools.
Collaborative Digital Workspaces
Successful organizations understand that collaboration among team members is integral to productivity. Interactive digital workspaces have become a popular trend in business communication.
Modern digital workspaces enable employees to collaborate as though they were all within one office, using knowledge management tools that allow for co-editing documents, sharing ideas, delegating tasks, and finding information all from one place. Many businesses rely on this feature to track progress while centralizing people and content and eliminating emails that slow down workflows.
Unified communications
Be on the lookout for unified communications as another trend in business communication. Today's employees prefer having one source of truth that helps them better understand their goals and complete their jobs efficiently.
Employees often work across multiple platforms with overflowing inboxes. Internal communications software helps employees avoid missed messages by centralizing announcements, conversations and content in one central place - chat services, video conferencing services and messaging and feedback systems are included, as well as relevant information that reduces confusion for all concerned.
Unified communications systems allow businesses to centralize and reduce costs by providing three-way communication among employees, leaders and management.
This creates an enhanced employee experience while decreasing infrastructure. They simplify all lives and enable management to see quickly when employees are available.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing has long been used as a form of team collaboration, yet its capabilities have evolved significantly.
Now, smartphones, tablets, apps, and other video-enabled devices allow employees and managers to easily share screens, present live, and communicate from anywhere. Web video conference services have made collaboration easier for teams and individuals through virtual rooms, with tools such as text chat, document sharing and screen sharing available to facilitate meetings virtually.
Robust Mobile Devices
Mobile is undisputedly the king of business communication technologies. Mobile apps bring your office directly to employees - whether they're on the road, commuting to work or conference-goers alike.
Mobile intranet software enables employees to ping other team members, receive notifications, and seamlessly gain access to company data - helping your employees stay in constant communication within your organization.
In addition, by creating a Bring Your Device Program (BYOD), employees can use personal devices while remaining efficient - something your staff will surely enjoy and your company will undoubtedly benefit from!
Cloud-Based Apps
Your organization can always access everything it needs by storing its data in the cloud. Cloud-based apps and services can be easily accessed through mobile devices, making them an efficient way to collaborate on projects with team members while communicating.
Cloud intranet software has become popular due to its flexibility, real-time editing features and advanced sharing options.
Integrating Technology Seamlessly Is The Goal
Now, this technology is so prevalent we no longer give it much thought; all devices should sync notes, tasks and conversations seamlessly between themselves.
This trend in business communication is also evidenced in some bring-your-own-device initiatives. Some companies allow employees to simultaneously utilize personal devices for both work and personal reasons, thus reducing workplace friction and ultimately improving communication within its walls.
Chat Services
Chat services allow for direct and immediate communication among team members without going through lengthy email chains.
Not only can information arrive faster, but you can use various media, including video conferencing as well. When integrated with the right intranet platform, chat can become part of your digital workspace;eliminating another platform.
Intranet Chat facilitates real-time communication while being unobtrusive.
Video Communication Is A New Way To Communicate
Multimedia communication is an increasingly popular trend. By adding images, videos, and infographics to your content delivery method, multimedia allows your message to become more digestible and engaging for employees.
Companies increasingly use video as internal communication, providing important company info, training staff members and explaining processes. Because video can engage viewers more than traditional forms, many companies have adopted it.
Images And Infographics
Content with images and infographics tends to receive higher engagement than plain texts, which is why business communication tools like WYSIWYG make your content beautiful and captivating for employees.
Use these tools to design infographics and vibrant images that help convey your message, such as explaining processes to employees. Various tools and apps are available to create these incredibly cheaply.
Communication Strategies Are Essential For Any Organization
Communication strategies in an organization:
Effective Information Distribution
Communication strategies ensure that crucial information reaches its intended targets through internal and external channels.
Employees should be informed of essential details to maximize work efficiency; uniformly providing this info across your entire company can help ensure everyone receives it equally. With adequate information to perform their jobs effectively, employees may be able to function correctly; similarly, if your company changes policies, clients and employees must be informed about it simultaneously.
Standardized Communication
Employees can adopt a uniform communication style when speaking with supervisors, colleagues and clients by creating a communication strategy.
A plan will ensure all parties involved possess the knowledge required for effective dialogue, which helps maintain consistency within the workplace and reduce ambiguity.
Brand Image Enhancement
A robust communication plan can be integral in shaping a company's image and reputation. When communicating with external individuals and organizations, communication should always be professional and consistent - this helps foster positive associations.
When different individuals provide contradictory information to external contacts, this may signal that your company is either disorganized or dishonest.
Employee Motivation
Employees may feel alienated if there is inadequate communication and unequal distribution of critical information from management.
An effective communication strategy entails creating a fair distribution of data throughout a company to build employee trust and foster an environment of transparency.
Also Read: Establishing An Effective Communication System Between Teams
How To Develop A Communications Strategy
Establish A Purpose Statement.
Statements of purpose provide businesses with an easy way to articulate the end goal they hope to reach for customers or clients.
Your team can format a purpose statement using a template as follows: '[organization] seeks to provide [benefit], and [benefit] by [product or service].'
Your Business Goals Should Be Clearly Defined
Business objectives are the goals that any organization or company must reach to be successful. All aspects of your communication plan should focus on these objectives.
You can set project goals using team-based approaches such as meetings with leaders from within your organization, stakeholders or marketing team members.
Find Your Target Audience
Target Audience (TA) refers to the people an organization seeks to reach.
To do this effectively, organizations must first identify those most likely to purchase their product or service through surveys, analytics, website traffic data or even your competitors' followers on various social media channels - using these followers' followership data as an advantage by analyzing who their audience consists of and who targets are targeting as an indicator for reaching new TA targets.
After reviewing your data, you can develop personas for your audience. Create one or two sentences outlining who these people are; for instance, Our target audience includes females between the ages of 20-40 who actively engage in local communities, social media channels and among their colleagues.
Write A Call To Action
Once you've established your target audience, the next step should be defining the steps they need to take upon receiving your message.
In this step, you must word your call-to-action appropriately, which could convince people to purchase your product or service.
Decide On The Best Way To Spread Your Message
The team will determine the most effective channels for spreading its message: blog posts, email newsletters, and press releases are standard modes.
Social media may also prove effective; use demographic data to determine where your target audience spends most of its time online.
Decide The Frequency Of Publication
After selecting relevant channels, determine the ideal frequency of posting and publishing your content. Do your research to identify when to reach as many people as possible - making a publishing schedule on social media would be helpful!
Create The Message You Wish To Send
Your product or service could provide the solution to an issue they're experiencing, so when communicating this message, you can describe the problem and suggest possible solutions in detail - then direct them towards a call-to-action, for example, by saying, "Are you experiencing [the issue]?" and offering help via [name of company/product/service].
Finally, add in a call to action.
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Conclusion
Customer service communication plans have never been more essential, particularly with digital interaction. Because your customers might only sometimes be there in person, having such a plan would allow your business to thrive and expand without negatively affecting customer experience.
