The Communication Issue!

Today, it's imperative businesses communicate regularly with their customers and prospects. Whether to emphasise value, illustrate new services, or reinforce brand recognition – timely updates reassure, build loyalty and help guide purchasing decisions.

To consistently deliver the best communications, businesses face some potentially off-putting challenges. What to write about, how much to write and where to source suitable talent. As you’d expect, when it becomes too much, decisions can be delayed and valuable customer communication is often shelved.

Erosion of time

It's a problem exaggerated by today's market discontent whereby key personnel suddenly find themselves stretched in all directions. Many of those once tasked solely with creative output are now doing everything besides, ensuring dilution of key messages and erosion of precious concept time.

Outsourcing

If outsourcing wasn't already the buzz word, then surely now the necessity to 'buy in' talent is more important than ever. For clients, the basic need to ‘drip feed’ the market with information doesn't go away – in fact, a pause in regular communications, whether deliberate, unintentional or unavoidable can cause clients to doubt their supply chain and may open the door to competitive forces.

Don't replace Face to Face

Solid, upbeat business communication doesn't replace face-to-face, but compliments it by reinforcing the sales messages. However, with the absence of a sales team or a diminished resource, written communications will always prove more cost effective – and if produced with care, can certainly impact the bottom line.

Take for example email marketing. Working with a talented copywriter and a good designer it's easier than ever for businesses to access their target audience with electronic newsletters (eZines) – and all more cost effectively.

Emphasise Added Value

Of course, companies shouldn’t hide behind a veil of emails and newsletters. There's never been a better time to network with potential prospects and simply get out there. ButterSideUp would advocate business communications which supplement face-to-face contact, provide reassurance on business stability and plainly emphasise added value.

Division 10

Today of course, people say a website is mandatory. Do you believe them? We do, but not before the content has been researched, planned, positioned, written, edited, proofed, re-edited and finally released. We talked about the challenges facing business in moving forward with a professional presentation and the stumbling blocks in the way. Is the website not another specific marketing opportunity that could go by the wayside to forever languish in the 'Under Construction' league division 10.

Agency Intervention

Such websites are sometimes resurrected, perhaps in a hurry, only to fail in their ability to communicate the simple messages – Who, What, Where, How, When & Why. Being immersed in the business, those responsible will often find time for other things, and may even feel apprehensive about their capability to deliver a useful web presence.

In cases like this, there's no doubt agency intervention gets the ball moving faster. Plus, sheltered from internal distraction, the designer and copywriter can cherry pick points of excellence, uncover hidden benefits and really discover how customer problems are solved on a daily basis.

Listen and Facilitate

Information like this doesn't just fall into the lap of the commercial writer. The best 'raw data' is the stuff that comes out when clients talk freely about their company whilst avoiding prescriptive business chat.

This can be encouraged by an experienced copywriter who knows when to drop in the perfect prompt - but can also be ruined by the inability or unwillingness to listen. That's why the best copywriting companies emphasise listening and facilitating over asking and prescribing.

Find out More

Learn more about how ButterSideUp can help your business save time, get your message across better and build the loyalty of your customers. Call 07747 898 738 and ask for Tim or contact us through this site directly.