3 Common Myths About the Importance of Business Communication

There's a lot of advice floating around about effective business communication strategies, but some of it is really terrible.

It can be challenging to separate the facts from the fiction, so we've done the work for you. Here are the top 3 worst pieces of advice we’ve heard on the importance of business communication that you should avoid at all costs.

Here are the top 3 worst pieces of advice we’ve heard on the importance of business communication.

1. It doesn’t matter.
2. Cookie-cutter communication is best.
3. There’s no way to know if it’s working.

Fiction: It Doesn’t Matter

Fact: Effective communication in business matters! In fact, it’s a very important aspect of success in any business. Both externally and internally, communication should take a top priority in your daily focus. Internally, effective communication can boost workplace productivity and increase employee engagement. In an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their ideas with the team, innovation is more likely to flourish than in an environment in which employees are not comfortable communicating.

Externally, positive communication drives business growth and helps to maintain positive customer relationships. The key to successful customer communication is engaging your audience throughout every interaction with your company. In today’s digital age, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook facilitate customer interaction in real time. Interact with your audience through live streaming videos, company culture posts, and industry articles.

Giving your audience a glimpse inside your company’s day-to-day magic, you have the ability to develop a personal connection with customers. Here at Ving, we have a live streaming broadcast segment called “Coffee with Karen” where we invite regional thought leaders to chat with our Ving Success Manager in a Facebook live session. This type of content allows us to engage in real time with our follower base as we provide them with valuable insights on topics that interest them.

Fiction: Cookie-cutter communication is the way to be successful.

Fact: You shouldn’t be using the same cookie-cutter communication for every audience. Communicate in a way that your audience is familiar with to maximize engagement. Understanding the importance of business communication in the success of your business can help you develop more effective dialogue. Face to face communication isn’t always possible, but sharing a personalized video or audio message with someone when you are unable to meet up in person is the second best way to engage.

Knowing your audience is important for maximum engagement, as well. The language and platform you use to communicate with them may vary, depending on a person’s industry or area of focus. In general, it is usually best to break up content into digestible sections, as to not overwhelm your contacts with information.

Fiction: There’s no way to know if communication is effective.

Fact: It’s easy for people to fall through the cracks, but there are ways to track if your communications are making an impact. Sometimes messages get lost in a cluttered inbox, and you inadvertently get overlooked. Unfortunately, with email there’s no way to know when this happens to your information and you are stuck wondering. Ving digital packets are trackable — so you know who’s engaging with your information and if what you’re sharing is effective.

It only takes seconds to gain valuable insights on who is most and least engaged with the information you share with them. Quickly identify where to step in and take proactive action. Over time you will learn the best combination of information to drive maximum engagement and see the importance of business communication in your business.