Marketing Communication Can Take Away Sales Barriers
Introduction
Communication is the one of the important elements in a business, especial it's marketing communication. Miscommunication can cause frustration, conflicts, and poor results. If your workers or customers do not understand the language of your business or marketing then they can not understand what you are offering and there will be chaos.
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Each person has their own language. Each Business has its own language. Each Industry has its own language. And then there is universal language. You, your workers and your customers all need to have an understanding between each other within the language you are using.
Business Marketing Communication
Each Business has its own language and marketing communication. Business owners will sometimes make-up their own words for objects, techniques, products, etc. within their business. For instance, McDonald's calls their kid's meal a "happy meal", while Burger King uses the universal language of calling it a kid's meal. But McDonald's can't assume that the word "happy meal" is universally known by everyone. McDonald's would have to educate their workers and customers to learn their marketing communication through employee training and advertising respectively.
Industry Marketing Communication
Each Industry has its own language and marketing communication. An industry may have names for items and techniques, that unless taught would not be known to an average individual. Here is an example of a conversation between two friends of mine, who were both figure skating students, and I.
Example of Communication
Friend 1: You could make a lot of money as a figure skating instructor, couldn't you?
Friend 2: Well, you would have to pay the rank first.
At this point of the conversation, I am thinking a "rank" is a figure skating association.
How did I come to this conclusion?
Well, remember those standardized tests you took in school where you were given a story or sentence and with a question asking "What does the word ___ mean in the context of this story?" and you had to figure the meaning of the word based on the story and your universal understanding of the language surrounding it. That is how I came to the conclusion of what "rank" in their language meant.
First, I associated "rank" with the military term, where a person's rank meant their level in the military. For example, a person's rank can be General, Lieutenant, etc. Then within that definition, if a person pays tribute to another in the military it is usually to someone with a higher rank.
Also, using my language and understanding in the business world, if a business has to answer to someone above them it is usually an association or organization.
Therefore, my conclusion of "rank" was a figure skating association.
To make sure my understanding of their conversation was correct:
I asked them, "Is a rank some kind of figure skating association?"
Friend 2: No, it is the building where the skating ring is. We call it a "rank".
To make sure I understood correctly, I asked another question: "So a skating ring, is called a rank?"
As you can see from the conversation above, there can be confusion between people who use industry terms, because not everyone is experienced or educated in that industry.
In marketing, if you are providing a product or service from an industry that is not widely known, you may have to education your customers and workers. Especially, if you made-up the terms as McDonald's did.
Educate Your Employees
How to educate your workers on your marketing communication and terms?
When you hire new workers or outsource to others, you should educate them about your terms. This is very important in marketing because if your employees or freelancers don't understand your product they will not be able to effectively help you sell it.
Here are some tips to use in teaching your marketing communication:
- The first training session with them should be teaching them the industry and your business languages so that they will be able to understand the next training sessions.
- Use simple universal language that is understood by everyone to define your terms.
- Don't forget to include any terms that you invented.
- Use "if, then" sentence formulas to group all possible situations.
Also, you need to be honest and open with the people you communicate with. If you don't have everything set up, let them know it is a work in progress. There is no shame in not having everything perfect, because nothing ever is. But you need to be open with the people you communicate with in order to gain and grow trust. Your employees may even contribute to your endeavors creating a stronger organization that you can be proud of.
How to communicate with your customers using marketing communication?
Communication with customers can happen before or after they meet you. You can communicate your terms to them through advertising. But remember to associate your terms with universal terms that they can understand. You can also communicate your terms with them during a one-on-one meeting, with a glossary in your website, catalog or literature, or with a video or audio tutorial.
Communication is very important. Miscommunication is the reason for frustration and conflicts and can be avoided with understanding, using universal language and terms, and asking questions. If you don't know something ask! And always to honest and open, learning things you may not otherwise have learned.
Additional Tip:
Being honest and humble is not only characteristics that can help in communication but they will also help you to be more successful in every aspect of your life.
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