Effective communication between employees and between businesses and clients can do wonders, uniting people to change this world for the better.
Thus, using digital solutions to enhance and streamline business communications is becoming a common practice among successful entrepreneurs. Yalantis is a trusted provider of custom digital communication solutions, helping clients like KPMG reach new business heights.
In this article, we discuss five communication industry trends that can help you improve the quality of your business communications. You can choose to use only some of the trends or decide on adopting all of them to achieve the best results.
Also read: 7 Ways A Digital Marketing Agency Can Help You Grow Your Business
Types of business communications
There are two general types of business communication: internal and external. Internal communication can be split into the following subtypes:
- From top management to employees (downward)
- From employees to top management (upward)
- Between employees
External communication, in turn, includes interactions with customers, external stakeholders, the community, potential employees, and society as a whole. In other words, it’s the company’s positioning in the market and all the messages it sends in the outer world.
Internal and external communications are equally important for businesses that consider their employees just as valuable as their clients. In the next sections, we discuss digital trends in business communication and show their practical implementation for internal and external communications.
Also read: GetResponse vs. MailChimp – What’s The Smart Communicator’s Choice?
Trend 1: Unified workspaces and intranet
This trend is referring to internal business communication, streamlining understanding between top management and employees. Implementing digital unified workspaces and intranet allows organizations to keep all of their corporate data in a single storage, share important messages within the company, and in general serve as a single point of truth for all employees.
Unified workspaces and an intranet enable easy and coordinated communication that keeps everyone on the team on the same page. The intranet also displays the work results of different departments so that employees could form an up-to-date picture of the company’s successes and areas for improvement.
Such business communication technology is especially beneficial with remote work becoming an unwavering option for many companies. According to the State of Remote Work 2022 report, 42 percent of 2,300 surveyed full-time US employees preferred remote work in 2022 as compared to 34 percent in 2021. In 2023, these numbers are only projected to increase.
Trend 2: Video conferencing and virtual reality
And again as a consequence of remote work, video conferencing is getting more widespread among different industries for internal and external communications. Web-based video conferencing tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet give a great opportunity to quickly discuss important matters or simply share critical information. In the first quarter of 2022, almost 5.1 billion people visited Zoom worldwide.
Video conferencing also opens new business opportunities and eliminates borders as to work with clients abroad you only need a stable internet connection. Using diverse collaboration tools along with video conferencing also adds up to effective digital communication.
Virtual reality (VR) is an advanced communication technology, which provides an immersive experience for all communication parties. With the help of VR, it’s possible to show clients how to interact with your products and services. Video conferencing and VR can take business interaction to a completely new level.
Trend 3: Customer portal and chatbots
Providing your clients with an interactive customer portal is also one of the ways to build productive communication with them. Via the customer portal, they can monitor their interactions with your business, ask questions, and get up-to-date information on the collaboration progress. Customer portals can also be a great opportunity to gather customer feedback to take timely actions based on it. Such close interaction with clients can convince them that you care about the quality of your services and are ready to tackle their issues immediately.
Chatbots are another way to elevate your external communications. You can use chatbots at a helpdesk on your corporate website to help clients navigate through your company services or provide them with an immediate response in case your potential customers have any questions. Just like a customer portal, chatbots help to minimize boundaries between your business and clients, laying the foundation for effective communication and close relationships from the start.
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Trend 4: Custom HR and CRM systems
The fourth trend among communication trends in 2023 is building HR and CRM systems. To minimize the use of external solutions and build your corporate culture just the way you want, you can decide on developing custom HR and CRM systems. These solutions can serve as a part of your intranet network and represent your brand and its values in every feature.
You may ask: how can such systems improve business communications at your company? An HR system can serve as a source of relevant company information, and notify the company staff in case of any critical announcements or company changes. A custom CRM system can automatically send emails with important updates or cooperation proposals to some of your customers on a scheduled basis. These are only a few use cases but with custom software solutions, such use cases can be numerous to perfectly fit your business model.
Also read: 5 Best Ways To Attract And Retain Your Customers
Trend 5: Infographics and distributed materials
The last business communication trend may seem the simplest, but not many corporate cultures actually use it. Compiling content into catchy and brief infographics to share with employees or clients is a powerful communication tool. Infographics have been long present in the business world and don’t seem to lose their influence in the near future. It’s much easier to grasp any information when it’s presented in a visually appealing way.
Another type of distributed material to share internal or external information can be handbooks, whitepapers, notes from webinars or live events, and presentations. These marketing materials can be attached to client emails, published for open access, used in lead magnets, or simply shared via instant messengers. You shouldn’t underestimate the power of infographics and distributed materials, as they show that you put lots of copywriting and design effort into shaping your company messages, proving that you’ll put as much effort into helping your clients reach their goals.
Also read: Mobile Searches are Growing – 4 Infographics To Keep You Updated
Powerful communication is a key differentiator in the modern business world. Diverse digital means can only double its force, unleashing your creativity and providing you with an additional playground to interact with people. With the professional help of digital consultants, you can build your own communication style and develop and use only those solutions that cover your specific business needs and differentiate you from competitors.
