Communication withcustomersCommunication framesa critical piece of each association.

It forms the foundation of numerous actionsthat occur in the association. For any business to run proficiently it is essentialthat they can speak with their clients in a straightforward way (Kodish 2015).Customers are the last costumers of the business’ items or administrations.

Therefore it becomes very important to ensure that the organization isfrequently touching base with its customers. This also helps the organizationstay aware about the changing needs and demands of customers. The importance ofeffective communication is as below:Understandingof customer needsCommunicating withcustomers allows various organizations to gauge the changing needs and demandsof their consumers. This helps the firm to mold their offerings as per therequirements of their customers. This in turn will lead to increased customersatisfaction and number of repeat purchases. CustomerserviceOnce the product orservice has been delivered to the customer, it is extremely important toprovide for an after sale service. This after sale service helps theorganizations in building a long term relationship with their consumers andthis is only possible through effective communication.

Communication withcustomers also helps the firm is addressing grievances of customers as and whenthey arise.FeedbackFeedback is highlyimportant for any business to ensure that there is consistent improvement.Feedback is only possible through transparent communication between thecustomers and the organization. Communication with customers enables them toprovide a genuine and transparent feedback.

This is turn makes sure that thebrand’s offerings are consistently improvised and molded leading to increasedcustomer satisfaction.Introductionof new productsEvery time a brandwishes to launch a new product, the product must be effectively marketed and communicatedto customers to initiate purchase. The role of effective communication is veryvital in ensuring that people are aware of the new product and are interestedin buying it.BrandpositioningBrand positioningrefers to the image of the organization that holds in the minds of theconsumers (Nalca, Boyaci & Ray 2017).

Effective communication with customers helps the companies in setting the rightbrand positioning for themselves. Brand positioning plays a vital role in thesuccess of any business. An effective brand positioning will attract the rightcustomer segment and help the firm in enhancing their customer base. Channels of communication with customersThere are variouschannels through which an organization can communicate with its consumers. Thepresence of a larger number of communication channels leads to effectivecommunication and helps in building a strong connection between theorganization and its customers. These channels of communication are as below:Productor service marketingThe basic style ofcommunicating with customers is through acts of marketing. This is a one waycommunication and allows the organization to inform the customers about any newor existing offering by the brand. These advertisements also build an image inthe minds of the consumers which is known as brand positioning.

SocialmediaEvery organizationhas marked its presence on social media. Social listening skills are veryimportant while communicating with customers. Social listening refers to theorganization being widely aware of what is being talked about the brand onsocial media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc. Socialmedia is not a tool to communicate with a large group of customers through asingle platform (Tuten & Solomon 2017). For effective communication,organizations must respond to customers on social media and address theirgrievances as well. ServicecenterMost organizationshave physical service centers spread across different areas.

These servicecenters are an effective way to communicate with the existing customers of thebrand and address their issues in real time. Effectiveness of the servicecenter leads to increased customer satisfaction (Wilson,Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler 2016).CallcenterEvery company has a callcenter or a help line where the customers can call the organization and reachout to their customer service team. The idea is to help the customers andaddress their issue by speaking to them on the phone.

Communication in thesecall centers largely determines the efficiency of the brand and its service.Issues with communicating to customersUnfortunately, if thecommunication with customers is either missing or is ineffective then it isexpected adversely impact the company’s performance as well as its brandpositioning in the industry. Customers are approached by organization and viceversa through various channels like social media, customer service centers,telephonic customer care and face to face communication with customers (Lemon & Verhoef 2016). All these channelscater to customers in a different manner. Social media allows the company tocommunicate with a large number of customers under a single platform (Hollensen& Raman 2014). However, it makes it difficult for the company to respond toall the customers individually. Face to face communication with customersthrough service centers are highly effective but very few customers take thepain of approaching the customer center. There are various issues that acompany may face while communicating with their customers.

These issues are asbelow: Cultural clashesThere are variousmultinational firms who have spread their business across different geographiesof the world. Therefore it is difficult for them to gauge completeunderstanding of the local culture. This culture includes local ethics,language or religious sentiments of people. Lack of information about the samemay create a cultural clash and the organization may then find it difficult tocommunicate with customers.Lack oftransparency Often, communicationwith customers is not transparent. The number of customers is large and not allof them directly communicate with the organization. Therefore, this leads tospreading of numerous rumors which may or may not be true.

A lot ofmisinformation travels through customers which adversely impacts the brand’sreputation in the minds of its consumers (Coombs 2014). Therefore it isrecommended that companies must remain transparent to their customers by makingnecessary announcements on public platforms and addressing customer grievancesas and when they arise.Unavailability Organization being asingle entity can be reached out by customers through various differentchannels of communication. On the other hand, it is impossible for a largeorganization to touch base with all their customers individually.

Unavailability of customers makes it difficult to communicate with customers.Many organization float surveys to gain a deeper insight about consumer needsand demands. However, if the customers are not available for such researchesthen it is difficult for the organization to understand consumer needs anddemands.Lack ofinformation or misinformationA major issueregarding an organization’s communications with its customers is the inabilityof the organization to communicate effectively leading to consumers beinguninformed or misinformed. This breeds into consumer’s perception and makes itdifficult for organizations to ensure effective positioning. Misinformation orwrong information about the company is also a major issue faced whilecommunicating with customers (Austin & Pinkleton 2015). Too muchinformationAnother issue thatmay arise while communicating with customers is disclosing too much informationor unnecessary information that the customer does not require.

This willadversely impact customer relationships and may make the organizationvulnerable due to excessive sharing of information (Sharma & Crossler 2014).Therefore, it is recommended that organizations must not give away too muchinformation about the internal details of the business like their costing orany internal politics.ConclusionIt has beenestablished that communication with customers plays a vital role in the successof any business (Nave 2014). Organizations must ensure that they communicatewith their customers in a transparent manner and the chains of customercommunication might be well established in the business process.

Whilecommunicating with customers, organizations must be aware, active and highlyresponsive to make the communication process effective.There are variouschannels to communication and organizations must leverage on all of them toensure a better connect with their customers. Business organizations must becareful while communicating with their customers so as to ensure that theirlocal culture is respected and correct information is revealed to them. Transparencyin communication leads to enhanced trust within the organization and its customers.

This is why it forms a very important part of customer satisfaction.Communication problems must be immediately addressed to ensure a smooth flow ofcommunication with customers throughout the business lifecycle. ReferencesAustin,E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015, ‘Strategic public relations management:Planning and managing effective communication campaigns,’ Vol. 10,Routledge,                                             

google.com.au/books/about/Strategic_Public_Relations_Management.html?id=UXXABgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y>.Coombs,W.T.

, 2014, ‘Ongoing crisiscommunication: Planning, managing, and responding’, Sage Publications,< https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CkkXBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Coombs,+W.T.,+2014,+%E2%80%98Ongoing+crisis+communication:+Planning,+managing,+and+responding%E2%80%99,+Sage+Publications.&ots=NHvd_mfhdb&sig=bbVqhFZ7QQeu0Wc2AJLfIKYzSnI#v=onepage&q&f=false>.Hollensen,S.

& Raman, A., 2014. Social Media Marketing. MarketingCanada-Journal, < http://www.academia.

edu/7863438/Hollensen_S._and_Raman_A._2014_Social_Media_Marketing_-_From_Bowling_to_Pinball_Marketing_Canada_-_Journal_of_the_Canadian_Institute_of_Marketing_Vol._10_Iss._2_pp._8-12>.Kodish,S.

, 2015. Cultivating Relationships with Customers: The Social MediaChallenge. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, vol.12,issue 2, p.

81, < http://www.na-businesspress.com/JLAE/KodishS_Web12_2_.pdf>. Lemon,K.N. and Verhoef, P.C.

, 2016. Understanding customer experience throughout thecustomer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6),pp.69-96, < https://www.ama.org/publications/JournalOfMarketing/Pages/understanding-customer-experience-customer-journey.

aspx>.Nalca,A., Boyaci, T. & Ray, S., 2017. Brand positioning and consumertaste information (No. ESMT-17-01_R1).

ESMT European School ofManagement and Technology, < Nalca, A., Boyaci, T. and Ray, S., 2017. Brandpositioning and consumer taste information (No.

ESMT-17-01_R1). ESMTEuropean School of Management and Technology>.Nave,S.

, 2014. Communication in the Workplace, < https://www.realstreet.com/2014/10/28/your-company-success-depends-on-effective-employee-communication/>.Sharma,S. and Crossler, R.

E., 2014. Disclosing too much? Situational factors affectinginformation disclosure in social commerce environment. ‘ElectronicCommerce Research and Applications,’ vol.

13 issue 5, pp.305-319, < http://www.jatit.org/volumes/Vol95No22/31Vol95No22.pdf>.Tuten,T.

L. & Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing.

Sage, < https://books.google.com.

au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XQg_DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT15&dq=Tuten,+T.L.+and+Solomon,+M.R.,+2017.

+Social+media+marketing.+Sage&ots=tP92yTZnrG&sig=nQPgfqnPHBNT6uYFlRWKQN-0e2A#v=onepage&q&f=false>.Wilson,A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M.J. & Gremler, D.

, 2016. ‘Servicesmarketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm.’ McGraw Hill< https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8339556>.