The Crucial Role of Corporate Comms Today

Corporate communications plays an essential role in how investors, employees and the general public perceive a company. Accordingly, people in these roles are advisers who help manage a company’s reputation.

Like anyone in public relations, corporate communicators prepare company leaders for media interviews, develop messages and ensure the best channel distribution to deliver those messages. They also suggest initiatives to keep companies top-of-mind with stakeholders.

However, the environment in which corporate communicators operate has changed. PR pros now outnumber journalists 6 to 1, according to Muck Rack. And with the rise of digital communication platforms and misleading news stories, it’s imperative that corporate communicators establish authenticity and transparency for their companies.

Effective communication helps create the openness that builds trust — with employees, clients and the public. Employees and customers want to know a company’s values and what it stands for, not just the product or service it provides. 

To ensure that your stakeholders remain loyal to your company, communicate openly and transparently. Open communication will help you:

Improve customer service

Customer service is an important part of external corporate communications. Communication skills are essential for anyone in this role, especially to make sure customers feel they’re receiving the best service possible. 

Without it, misunderstandings ensue. If the sales team is not familiar with the company’s refund policy because it hasn’t been properly communicated to them, then they may give customers incorrect details about what can be refunded. Clear, complete and frequent communication helps reduce confusion.

Promote and protect your brand

Corporate communications involves more than just how employees communicate with one another. It’s also about how a company communicates with its clients or customers. Public relations is an integral part of a communications strategy and can profoundly affect a company’s success. One bad review from a customer or distasteful post on social media can have a negative impact on business.

To establish positive external communications, we have to start internally. A company that communicates its mission, vision, values and goals allows employees to reflect the qualities in its work and better represent the organization. 

Companies must also clearly, and regularly, share the expectations and policies related to communications with its stakeholders. Doing so helps guide how messages are disseminated to the public.

Decrease miscommunications

The likelihood of miscommunication increases when there’s an inconsistency in your brand’s voice or a lack of strategy in your overall communications. If a manager regularly makes changes to project requirements, for example, or fails to inform the team about deadlines, employees will grow frustrated. And if the team assumes that everyone has the same information, a project may move in the wrong direction. These scenarios of miscommunication can lead to big mistakes, reduced productivity and lost revenue.

To work efficiently, employees need accurate, complete information. Proper protocols and communication channels help ensure that information reaches everyone who needs it. Members of the sales team can then share the same pricing and policy information with customers, for example, and employees will have the details they need to make informed decisions.

Create collaborative cultures

Communication keeps everyone on the same page. When people who work together understand how to communicate openly and considerately with one another, they are much more productive. They work together as a team, rather than as individuals who each have different information. 

When everyone knows they can count on one another to share crucial information and to communicate properly, they reduce the chance of miscommunication and conflict.

Any company’s success is closely linked to how well the business communicates both internally and externally. Transparency is key. Corporate communications is about much more than protecting the face of the company with its stakeholders, although that is part of it. Corporate communications is fundamental to the alignment of the organization, as well as the realization of business goals and the overall corporate strategy.