As the saying goes, for every business challenge, there is a communication opportunity. As illustrated in our “Communications Drive ... Life?” blog, communication is the foundation from which most things in life and in business are built. Without a solid strategy that comes from the top down, bottom up and across your organization, you could be wasting valuable time, money and resources.
 
We scoured various reputable sources to find what pains are ailing businesses the most and were able to boil them down to just two primary challenges:

1. Growing revenue
2. Attracting and maintaining talent

If these are not challenges your business is facing—congratulations. You are among a very small and elite class. For the rest of you, listen up. Effective communication might be the missing link in your business strategy. Let’s dig a little deeper.
 
#1 – Revenue
How do you grow money? Hint: it’s not on trees.
 
Revenue growth can be attributed to several factors (pricing strategy, new product introductions, sales strategy, etc.), but for the sake of today we’ll keep it simple: Revenue is driven by getting new customers and getting existing customers to buy more.
 
Without effective communication, achieving either of these things would be an uphill battle. Today’s customers—consumers or businesses—demand that you help them reach their own goals. If you don’t make deep, personal connections when and where they are seeking help, you will miss out on revenue opportunities.
 
By understanding your audiences, their pains, how you can address them, where they consume information and anticipating what they’ll need next, your sales, marketing, product managers, engineers and buyers can all be more effective in their jobs. This will then translate to better experiences for customers and prospects, which should also mean revenue growth for your business.
 
#2 – Talent
The talent pool is shallow these days in most industries and geographies. That’s why more businesses are putting concerted efforts toward both their talent acquisition and employee engagement strategies. They are focused on culture as a differentiator and are implementing perks ranging from work from home and flex schedules to increased wages and continuing education programs.
 
Indeed, attracting and retaining talent has become a competitive sport requiring commitment, consistency and communication.
 
To avoid the high cost of employee turnover, internal communications programs today act much like external communications strategies. You must understand your various audiences and speak to them on a personal level that not only gets their attention but influences their behavior and perception of your organization.
 
Communications Drive Business
Today, tearing down silos and building a business foundation based on effective communication are essential for businesses to thrive. When communication is strong across the board, all functions in your organization will operate more efficiently, your customers will have better experiences and you’ll be better equipped to grow and evolve your business.
 
Contact me to continue the discussion.

Related: Communications Drive Business, Part 3 - Challenge: Employee Turnover