Corporate Communication: How to Boost Results and Sales

Efficient corporate communication is one that integrates employees and adds value to the brand, but not only that.

With the popularization of the internet and social media, companies began to seek new ways to relate to their audiences — motivating their employees and maintaining a good dialogue with their customers.

Companies that manage to find the best ways to communicate usually achieve great results, both in terms of public image and financial performance, boosting sales.

The tools used in this work can be many: corporate TVs, newsletters, among others. The use of each one will depend on the strategy and the objectives outlined in the planning.

We have put together an overview of everything important to know about this subject. Go ahead and discover it!

1. What is corporate communication
2. What are the challenges for corporate communication?
3. How to make corporate communication effective
4. How to put corporate communication into practice
5. Corporate communication channels and tools
6. Opportunities in corporate communication

What is corporate communication

Corporate communication is one of the most essential topics in an institution’s tactical plan — it is how an organization promotes its image and engages with its audiences (internal and external).

This activity is complex because it requires the various communication channels (which we will mention later) to be interconnected to interact. When this happens, messages become understandable and effective for each audience.

Corporate communication is related to the mission, vision, and values of the business. These traits will give rise to the corporate communication policy. Without it, it is impossible to maintain a good relationship with any audience whatsoever.

It is precisely for this reason that following a strategic plan is so important: because it ensures that communication functions correctly during all stages, enabling the improvement of results and sales.

The importance of integrated communication

Integrated communication is nothing more than transforming corporate communication into a unified approach: directed at employees, customers, and the press, for example.

If the people working inside the company share the same vision of the organization as those on the outside, then integrated communication is being effective.

One of the advantages of centralizing communication is having greater decision-making power. This is because the practice facilitates the work of internal team members by offering full access to the means necessary to structure information, which is also important for the external public.

What are the challenges for corporate communication?

Digital transformation is changing the way people communicate, both inside and outside an organization. The methods that guided offline processes often no longer apply or work effectively when it comes to performance, reach, and better results.

By sending a message via cell phone (through apps), a manager can integrate an entire working group in a matter of seconds, for example. Likewise, a social media post can reach billions of users in a short time.

However, with all the advancement and popularization of the internet since the 2000s, can we not already observe side effects? Yes, absolutely! And that is precisely what the challenges of corporate communication currently refer to.

Let’s look at some examples of these challenges:

Mobile

In practice, many people prefer to text rather than talk on the phone. What does this tell us? That good customer service is related to making information available in the “palm of the hand,” using images and texts rather than just voice.

In this case, the challenge is knowing how to use smartphones and mobile platforms (such as tablets) to establish direct, objective, and effective contact with consumers.

A survey pointed out that 51% of Brazilians receive SMS every day or almost every day, while only 24% of respondents send SMS every day or almost every day. This data shows that SMS has become a channel for receiving notifications, much more unidirectional than bidirectional.

Is your company prepared for this? Planning corporate communication strategies with a focus on mobile and the use of messaging applications is essential.

Specialized software

Many companies are still resistant to adopting software to streamline work processes. From customer service to production and sales control, everything can be managed through programs specialized in each area.

The efficiency gained with these digital tools improves business results and increases productivity. The platforms allow the monitoring of diverse teams and also provide indicators through which it is possible to measure whether targeted results are being achieved.

Technology is out there, ready to be used. But knowing how to do it correctly is still a major challenge.

How to make corporate communication effective

Currently, one of the biggest problems faced by companies is the management of all communication. And we are not just talking about the communication that deals directly with employees and service providers.

Unfortunately, companies often fail to find strategic business tools to dialogue with their own team. Thus, they miss the chance to improve productivity and avoid a series of errors when passing on information, affecting sales.

For communication to be truly effective, the institution must go beyond routine and traditional practices.

Forget the simple idea of just announcing a new goal or celebrating a special date. That is important, yes, but remember that the way we communicate has changed. Now, it is necessary to direct efforts toward actions that truly make sense.

Internal audience

Effective communication with the internal audience involves actions with clear objectives, such as:

Clear dissemination of short, medium, and long-term goals;
Explanation of internal processes;
Information about the corporate culture;
Recognition of successful teams and professionals;
Celebration of positive outcomes;
Exposure of ethical values.

Regarding this last topic, discussions surrounding ethical issues involving corporate behavior are currently in the spotlight in the market due to the repercussions of corruption cases in the country. Compliance programs — which aim to establish rules to enforce legal and regulatory standards, as well as detect and handle deviations — are increasingly requested from area professionals by large corporations.

Data from a study by the Brazilian Association of Corporate Communication (Aberje) show that 39% of managers in the evaluated organizations believe that the compliance program brought good financial results to the business after implementation. Another 23% state that the measure brought improvements to their image and reputation.

External audience

The benefits mentioned in the previous topic directly relate to external corporate communication efforts. If there is an ethical concern regarding the company’s performance in the market, why not publicize and clarify it through the various tools currently available?

Of course, this external communication only makes sense when the object to be highlighted is a concrete fact. In other words, if the ethical concern and the actions linked to it truly exist.

Choose the ideal channel for your company! It can be traditional — such as newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio — or digital — such as blogs, social media, and even a corporate TV.

Remember the specialized software we mentioned? They are excellent for analyzing and managing information in real-time. They are smart channels that dialogue from the inside out, reaching all audiences.

It is from these choices that a company can keep up with technological advancements and improve its results.

How to put corporate communication into practice

There needs to be a good relationship between managers and employees, as well as between the business and consumers. If something goes wrong, results tend to fall below expectations. Now, the question is: how to put corporate communication into practice?

It is no use knowing the problem if we are not in a position to find solutions. There are many ways to apply incentives to communication to optimize it. Everything always starts with good planning, without forgetting the great assistance that technology can provide in this regard.

Technology is important for generating results. To prove this, we have divided the topic into two sections:

Management systems: today, they can be fully adapted to the company’s reality and work with useful information to generate a good user experience;
Automation: here, we talk about professional excellence, since automation can reduce losses and unnecessary expenses by enabling efficient, real-time control of resources, teams, and work steps.

Choosing the right channels for your type of business and, above all, for the audience you want to reach is also of utmost importance. Most importantly, it is to understand that for each audience there is an ideal tool, which can generate great financial results — especially in sales.

Corporate communication channels and tools

In general, communication means are instruments used to support all information transmission. Over the years, they have evolved: from the telegraph to the instant messages we exchange over the internet. Currently, the alternatives are diverse.

So, how to choose the best channel or tool to use in corporate communication? What to consider when making a decision?

There are many factors: formality, relevance, agility, frequency, among others. But above all, the audience you want to reach.

Experience and practice have shown that it is important to analyze the type of communication and the business context. We give some examples below:

Channels for internal corporate communication

To reach this audience, periodic face-to-face team meetings, reports, emails, phone calls, and the use of TVs functioning as digital bulletin boards and notice boards are recommended.

Note that these channels need to be used as management instruments to transmit information to those responsible for the processes happening inside the company.

Good choices are those that improve the organizational climate, motivate those involved, and avoid communication noise.

Channels for external corporate communication

One of the new developments in this case lies in digital displays (we discuss them further below). The production of content of interest to the target audience and its distribution via blogs, websites, and social media, as well as magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV, can also be utilized.

Opportunities in corporate communication

Corporate communication is indispensable for all institutions that want to relate well with their employees and consumers, as well as suppliers, service providers, and society in general.

It is indeed possible to boost sales when you have cleaner communication, free of noise. The trust built through the transmission of important and engaging messages is fundamental in customers’ purchase decisions.

When well-publicized and communicated (remember that corporate communication is not just advertising, it also involves offering relevant content to the consumer), the brand establishes itself in the minds of buyers and in the market universe of its segment. The result is winning the public’s preference.

Segmentation

To achieve these good figures, however, organizations need the presence and work of qualified professionals.

Note that everything revolves around a corporate strategy and, within that, communication goes far beyond producing a simple internal newsletter or investing in television commercials.

Remember that it must be organized and directed at distinct audiences (internal and external). For this very reason, there is such a wide variety of available tools.

A manager should not, for example, invest in an indoor TV if the goal is to reach a customer far away from the company headquarters. On the other hand, this medium tends to generate positive effects when used with the internal audience or at points of sale.

It is known that about 70% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale (POS). In other words, when using a TV to compose a window display, success is highly likely. And why does this enable better results? Because it enhances the customer experience by making campaigns and product presentation more attractive.

Choosing the right channel for the right audience makes all the difference. And how to ensure the results of this? There are several ways, but the ideal is to start by analyzing the return on investment (ROI), measuring whatever is necessary.

We hope this content has helped you better understand how corporate communication can help achieve better results in your business.

If you still have any questions, be sure to contact us! An institution’s success is largely due to the efficient use of communication

Written by: Aloisio Arbegaus — Commercial Director at Teclógica

Corporate Communication: How to Boost Company Results and Sales