Communication as a vector of prosperity: really?

Direction effectiveness, employee retention, innovation, social acceptability, outreach, increasing sales... An unattainable dream? Oh, no. Here's how to significantly improve your quality of life and that of your business.

I just came back from a major tour of entrepreneurs in the country. Innovative entrepreneurs whose companies are growing. They unanimously said that most of their problems found solutions through communication. Their employees always asked for more communication. More so that it was a source of peace and profitability.

At the same time, they added that good communication is a constant, daily business. Consequently, it's worth reflecting on your business challenges from this perspective; starting from your strategic plan, then making every event an opportunity to relay.

Oh, there, hold on. How so?

Let's imagine that your company—thus you—are currently facing these three issues:

Persistent problem in finding new employees
Decrease in your profits
Changing buying behaviors of your customers

Here are three challenges that alone drain your energy, time, and are a tremendous source of stress. It can't be any other way, you are in charge, the winds are strong, and your boat is taking on water.

Let's imagine your goal is to reverse these three issues and achieve:

The arrival of qualified new employees in sufficient numbers to replace those leaving while maintaining your ability to grow and innovate.
An increase in your profits, either through increased number of customers, their orders, or the price they are willing to pay for your product or service.
A renewed contact with your customers so they choose to do business with you, appreciate your intrinsic qualities, values, and offerings.

You go from an abhorrent, exhausting situation to a recognition of your talents, those of your team, and your organization. Too good to be true? Quickly, the recipe!

The winning elements of your recipe

Source: Véronique Dumas, from Nature humaine, Jocelyn Pinet, Isabelle Quentin éditeur

Your ingredients are not the neighbor's.

A dish depends on the quality of its components and the skills of the one who prepares it.

The same goes for establishing your strategic plan and all your communication elements. Preceding questions:

You know your ingredients, but do you value them? Do you know how to showcase them, highlight them? Do you do it?
Do you know how to engage with your customers? Do you truly know them?
Have you established habits or processes that allow your employees to share their knowledge of your products, services, and your customers' needs?

Why these questions? Because they are part of the solution to the three typical problems mentioned earlier.

Your ingredients are your values (to revisit if they are no longer grounded), your company culture (your DNA), your direction (the world is changing, so are you), your mission (the meaning behind your actions). Exposing them, highlighting them, embodying them is a great attraction for personnel, employee retention, and even innovation in your teams.
Do you know your customers' problems? What are their needs to be met? Do you offer them ways to convey how to improve your products and services?
The vast amount of know-how of your employees, their in-depth knowledge of your challenges (management, communications), your products (design, marketing), your production means (technicians, engineers), your costs (accounting, finance), your customers' needs (sales team, customer service), is it being utilized?

You are lucky, like a chef in the kitchen, you are not alone.

The boss and managers, the breath of your solution

The boss and managers have a significant role in the flow of information, a key to success. In fact, such a big role that without their active participation, the company withers. Suffocates.

As the boss, as a manager, you are the one to follow, to look up to.
You need to reassure your employees and teams who do not have your risk tolerance.
You guide them so they can unleash their talent, produce, innovate, and collectively solve the problems they encounter.

This requires quality communication: true, authentic, effective.

But as your company grows, the fluidity and quality of communication need to be shared.

Despite your many knowledge, great qualities, and skills, you probably do not have... all talents.

Knowing how to surround yourself well

As a boss, as a member of the management team, you already rely on each other, including (ideally) the communication manager, the marketing manager, and the HR manager. Together, you will create much better strategic plans than if you exclude them from the discussion. Your communication colleague will then find the communication strategies, means, and tactics to deploy the right messages internally (employees, subsidiaries), and externally (suppliers, customers, partners, governments).

If your company, given its size, has not yet integrated a VP or a communications director, turn to an external expert. In the era of social acceptability, talent hunting, and the search for meaning, you cannot afford to do without.

Don't wait for a media crisis to act!

Verbally, you are the main agent of meaningful communication in your company. If you are not eager to write and give a lecture, get help from someone who understands your nature and prepares you based on your strengths.

As a manager or team leader, every day you must make yourself understood, make the company's direction known, and encourage team members to communicate with each other, which includes you. Without this, like solitary dancers with different rhythms, there's no choreography, missteps, tensions, and no innovation. Here too, learning to act based on your qualities is crucial. Getting help from a specialist to achieve your best individual and team performance can be very useful. Do it like you would tune up your vehicle.

Your three-step action plan

Involve your communication specialist from the beginning of your strategic plan. Let them develop communications tailored to different internal and external audiences.
Seek feedback on your presentation skills in front of shareholders, public speaking engagements, or with your team and get help to improve.
Don't underestimate the need for internal communication. It's h-u-g-e. Engaging your employees will bring you ideas, solutions.

Unless you want to play with fire and flirt with an impending crisis, take action, communicate more and better, and thrive!

Author: Isabelle Quentin is currently working on a practical book on communication as a factor of prosperity in companies and organizations. To be released in January 2020.

Strategy direction, content, and communication product.

Custom communications in response to your business challenges!

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