The Edge: How Effective Communication Equates to Good Customer Service

Effective communication is a must in any company. If an organization’s communication methods are ineffective, it’s about time they change it—if they want to save their name. For a company to thrive, they must always keep their customers in mind. If they fail to do so, they might eventually lose their customers

Maintaining a good company-customer relationship begins with clarity of communication. Having a clear idea of what the client wants and needs will give the company an understanding of which actions to take to provide a remedy to a situation.

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Communication also serves as a reinforcement to solidify or to improve a purchase. A salesperson who keeps in touch with a customer immediately after the sale can reinforce the benefits of the service or product. Communication can also address problems the customers may have. Salespeople can also build a solid foundation for a possibly long-term relationship with a client that may lead to repeat sales.

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A customer’s taste will change over time, and being able to communicate with them will give the company an idea of how to adapt to their needs. Maintaining regular communication with customers will prepare the company to provide quick and efficient delivery of services, and will provide helpful suggestions as well. 

Marc Slavin is a corporate communications strategist. Read more articles on how businesses can benefit from good communication by following this Twitter account.

Crafting Effective Real-time Responses During Crisis

When faced with a crisis, whether due to a sudden event or bad publicity, companies are behooved to respond. In the age of social media, staying mum could further damage credibility.

The key is preparedness. An organization, no matter the size, is vulnerable to crises. The following are tips for crafting effective responses during crisis:  

Be open and honest. Honesty and openness are indispensable, and are still the most important virtues in crisis management. People’s reaction to say, a disaster or an accident, is all human nature. Allison Canty, a social media and community manager, in a blog post, explains, “Give your customers the information you have. If you don't have any updates, tell them that too. Your customers will appreciate the honesty –even if they don't seem like they do.”  

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Act fast. Today, with social media, it takes a matter of seconds for customers to share and respond to a bad review or news about a company. Hence, it is critical to respond in a timely manner. Address issues as soon as possible.

As stated, it’s all about preparedness. Anticipate potential crises and establish methods on how to deal with them any time they could occur in an organization.

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Marc Slavin is a California-based communications consultant, specializing in organizational development, internal communications, and public outreach. Follow this Twitter page for more about communications and crisis management.

Communications Strategies: Leveraging the power of traditional media

With the strength of social media and other digital channels, people often forget the power of traditional media within an effective communications strategy.

For those who value it, traditional media is a critical component in creating a multi-platform mix of both offline and online channels.  And while newspaper circulation and TV viewership are dropping, traditional media is still often used to drive large audiences to digital platforms such as websites or to create ‘buzz’ in social media sites.

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In her blog, Elena Verlee, a public relations practitioner, cites the following reasons we still need traditional media:

• It is instantly recognizable.  Traditional media has long been used as a platform for people who want to gather reliable news and information.  Until today, most people are still aware of the name of the most credible newspapers than the most popular blogs.
• It has more status and authority.  Traditional media coverage of a company’s event, for instance, can help the organization gain more credibility than by just merely posting the event on their company website or social media account.
• Most social media feeds are gathered on traditional media.  Bloggers, for example, often cite news channels on their blog entries as reference for their stories.

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Although there is no doubt that digital media is becoming more prominent, integrating your communication strategy into both new and old media can help you achieve your desired level of exposure.

Marc Slavin is a communications strategist who employs philosophical and psychological approaches  to  creating  communication  plans.  Visit this blog for more articles on effective communication.