In today’s ever-changing digital landscape, communication is more important than ever. Corporate communication involves any of the ways companies communicate with their customers, employees and stakeholders. For any company looking to build trust and get positive results from communication efforts, there are ten commandments by which you should abide.
- 1. Honesty is Key: Always be honest about who you are and what your company does. Don’t oversell or exaggerate your products or services; instead, focus on providing accurate information that reflects positively on your brand. Honesty is especially vital when managing crises in your organization.
- 2. Timeliness Matters: In the digital age, people expect businesses to respond quickly to them. In order to maintain credibility, have a process in place for communicating with customers, responding to reviews and questions, or interacting on social media.
- 3. Be Consistent: Have a consistent tone across all of your communications so people know who they’re dealing with every time they interact with you online. Define and maintain the same visual identity, tone, and message throughout all of your channels for maximum impact. The voice you use internally for your team can differ slightly from the voice you use externally, but these should not be vastly different (read more about authenticity below).
- 4. Accuracy is Paramount: Never make exaggerated claims or provide inaccurate information in any of your communication efforts; this could damage your reputation and lead to mistrust from potential customers or business partners. Always double-check facts and cite your sources before sharing content with the world!
- 5. Know Your Audience: Understand who you’re targeting, what their needs and interests may be, how best to speak to them and what channels they prefer. Consider multicultural audiences and be sure to translate communications to reach them. Similarly, simplify the language you use to make translation easier.
- 6. Authenticity is Essential: Use channels of communication that are authentic to your brand. You don’t have to start an account for every social media channel or cold-call prospects if it’s not who you are or where your audience is. Your communications shouldn’t feel forced.
- 7. Strike a Balance Between Professionalism & Personality: While it’s important to maintain a professional tone in most external communication endeavors, it’s equally important not to come off as robotic or overly formal either. Strike a balance between both so that people feel like they can relate to you while still being reassured by the level of professionalism displayed in all messaging.
- 8. Be Proactive: As soon as something happens (good or bad) that affects your company directly or indirectly, be proactive about responding – whether through blog posts, press releases, social media updates, etc. Not only does this help people know exactly where you stand on different issues, but it also builds brand trust and lets customers know that you are dialed into your industry, and they can rely on you as the expert.
- 9. Encourage Engagement & Interaction: Whenever possible, try encouraging engagement with potential customers/business partners by asking questions directly related to whatever topic or issue is at hand. This helps make conversations more personal, which is always appreciated.
- 10. Monitor Your Performance: Monitor all campaigns closely (including website traffic, social media engagement, online reviews, etc.) so that you can stay on top of how well each one performs. This allows for better analysis/insight into what works versus what doesn’t work for future initiatives.
Successful corporate communications require careful planning, research, execution, and monitoring. By following these 10 commandments of communication, companies can create trust amongst existing customers and also attract new ones along the way! It’s an investment worth making for anyone.
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