“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success,” – Paul J. Meyer
Effective customer communication solutions represent an important aspect of conducting modern business. An enterprise needs to communicate with its customers regularly in order to do business. Modern commerce can use a wide range of technologies to communicate with customers and other stakeholders. Communications, both internal and external, are vital to modern commerce because they reduce the chances of damage that can be wrought by miscommunication. We have to bear in mind that the modern customer is an informed animal that is being flooded with both physical and digital messages all the time. This alone makes communication a critical venture for the modern enterprise.
When we consider public spaces, customer communication solutions start with the basic building blocks of advertising and marketing. For instance, a company can use advertising billboards to communicate with its customers – this is a mode of high visibility communication wherein a company can send messages regarding its products and services to all customers. Billboards can be mounted in strategic locations in a predominantly urban landscape. These messages have to be succinct, clear, and brief in order to transmit their import. Similarly, marketing messages about new product launches can be communicated to consumers.
A company can commence a conversation with customers and prospective customers through a website. Among all the customer communication solutions, the use of an Internet address can be considered an electronic billboard that communicates the essence of what the company represents. This means of communications is important in an increasingly inter-connected world; an Internet address is also useful because it overcomes geography. A customer sitting in any point in the globe can visit the company’s website and seek the information he / she seeks. In addition, a website scores over a billboard because it can be updated easily at any time. Additional functionality can be built into the website so that the customer can get in touch with the company and its representatives. Virtual real estate is free and therefore, the website can be loaded with all manner of relevant information. Space is not a constraint in cyber space.
The age of electronic mobility technologies has opened up new customer communication solutions. The mobile Internet is now everywhere and we could say that it confers upon the business enterprise the power to reach every individual customer at his / her convenience. Websites tailored for mobile consumption and mobile apps are the current flavour, wherein the customer can use his connected mobile device to communicate with business enterprises. The sheer convenience of such communications has endowed corporate enterprises with the ability to seek the consumer at any point in the globe.
Customer communication solutions can take the form of paper documents, such as a corporate prospectus, an annual letter from the chairman, a monthly newsletter, and other documents that can be sent to every customer’s home address or can be sent via email. The use of traditional paper-based communication can instil a sense of heritage in the operations of an otherwise modern corporate behemoth. The company can use such documents to convey its annual performance report, its shareholder payout (if any), its future plans of action and expansion, significant changes in corporate strategy, changes in leadership, etc. to all stakeholders. This type of communications carries the weight of tradition behind it and may be prized by old school stakeholders.
Email communications can be crafted to offer the customer a multi-media experience of corporate communications. In addition to the message and its gist, the email may contain an embedded video, a web-link, contact names, and telephone numbers. Almost every investor and customer has a personal email address in the present day and therefore the corporate world can send an email bearing the above information to each customer’s mailbox. We could say that email represents the most convenient form of customer communication solutions.
An annual shareholder meeting represents an opportunity for a company to face its customers and other stakeholders. The corporate chief and his various lieutenants, heads of departments, and other top office holders can leverage this platform to communicate with customers. This is essentially a two-way communication process wherein, the customers can ask questions, seek clarifications, and voice concerns directly to the top echelons of the organization. Amongst all customer communication solutions, the annual general meeting represents the most direct and immediate form of communication. The proceedings of such meetings can be reported in the press and new media, thereby conferring wide publicity to the corporate house.
Short text messages are a modern mode of personal communication. This technology can be used by corporate houses to briefly apprise customers on new developments. As an instance of customer communication solutions, the text message excels itself because most members of the civilized world carry a mobile device. The company that leverages the use of the brief text message can create a niche image (and a stellar reputation) as far as communicating with customers is concerned. The brief text message can also be used to broadcast the launch of new products and services at any time of the day. This breaks the conventional media cycle wherein, customers have to wait till morning to receive the daily newspaper. We could well say that compared to the text message, even television falls short in terms of immediacy and brevity of communication.
High quality customer communications can also be routed through call centres and company hotlines. This type of voice-powered communication is still predominant in many parts of the world wherein, customer service officers are placed to answer inquiries, book customer orders, handle complaints, and address customers’ needs. Toll free numbers provided in most corporate websites and print advertisements are the starting point of such communications; these remain a critical leg in the pursuit of perfect customer communications.
Customer communication solutions can be engineered into product packaging as well. This form of communications operates every time a customer buys a certain product at a showroom or a shop. The packaging can be made using industrial materials or attractive art paper and should be viewed as a product in itself. This conveys a positive message to the consumer because the visual of the product should be used to craft a positive image of the company. Any marketing communication that is imprinted on the product packaging is guaranteed to attract public attention, thereby fulfilling the role of communication. Further, the space on the showroom floor or the retail space in the shopping centre can be utilized to showcase marketing messages intended for the customer or consumer. We could note that such communication melds marketing and advertising into a single message, thereby enhancing corporate return on investment.
We have discussed the various means to deploy and leverage customer communication solutions in the preceding paragraphs. The modern corporate enterprise must be clear in its intent and purpose when it is fashioning communications for customers. A corporate regime of persistent, clear, and unambiguous messages should engage the customer at every level. Messages can be visual, thoughtful, or provocative, but the communication must be clear. High levels of engagement with the customer can help a business to rise above the competition, while achieving excellence in all areas of business activity.
