Month: November 2020

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is the action or practice of selling an additional product or service to an existing customer. In practice, businesses define cross-selling in many different ways. Elements that might influence the definition might include the size of the business, the industry sector it operates within and the financial motivations of those required to define the term.

The objective of cross-selling can be either to increase the income derived from the client or to protect the relationship with the client or clients. The approach to the process of cross-selling can be varied.

Cross-selling products and services to existing clients is one of the primary methods of generating new revenue for many businesses, including financial advisors. This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to grow their business, as they have already established a relationship with the client and are familiar with their needs and objectives.

However, advisors need to be careful when they use this strategy a money manager who cross-sells a mutual fund that invests in a different sector can be a good way for the client to diversify their portfolio. But an advisor who tries to sell a client a mortgage or other product that is outside the advisor’s scope of knowledge can lead to problems in many cases.

Unlike the acquiring of new business, cross-selling involves an element of risk that existing relationships with the client could be disrupted. For that reason, it is important to ensure that the additional product or service being sold to the client or clients enhances the value the client or clients get from the organization.

In practice, large businesses usually combine cross-selling and up-selling techniques to increase revenue.

Though there are some ethical issues with most cross-selling, in some cases they can be huge. Arthur Andersen’s dealings with Enron provide a highly visible example. It is commonly felt that the firm’s objectivity, being an auditor, was compromised by selling internal audit services and massive amounts of consulting work to the account.

Though most companies want more cross-selling, there can be substantial barriers:

• A customer policy requiring the use of multiple vendors.
• Different purchasing points within an account, which reduce the ability to treat the customer like a single account.
• The fear of the incumbent business unit that its colleagues would botch their work at the client, resulting with the loss of the account for all units of the firm.

Examples

• A Life Insurance company suggesting its customer sign up for car or health insurance.
• A wholesale mobile retailer suggesting a customer choose a network or carrier after one purchase a mobile.
• A television brand suggesting its customers go for a home theater of its brand.
• A laptop seller offering a customer a mouse, pen-drive, and/or accessories.
• A hospitality brand offering tours and experiences to guests after booking the accommodation

Up–Selling

Upselling is the practice of encouraging customers to purchase a comparable higher-end product than the one in question, while cross-selling invites customers to buy related or complementary items. Though often used interchangeably, both offer distinct benefits and can be effective in tandem. Upselling and cross-selling are mutually beneficial when done properly, providing maximum value to customers and increasing revenue without the recurring cost of many marketing channels.

Upselling often employs comparison charts to market higher-end products to customers. Showing visitors that other versions or models may better fulfill their needs can increase AOV and help users walk away more satisfied with their purchase. Companies that excel at upselling are effective at helping customers visualize the value they will get by ordering a higher-priced item.

Upselling is a sales technique where a seller invites the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons to generate more revenue. While it usually involves marketing more profitable services or products,[1] it can be simply exposing the customer to other options that were perhaps not considered (A different technique is cross-selling in which a seller tries to sell something else). In practice, large businesses usually combine upselling and cross-selling to maximize revenue.

Examples

• Selling an extended service contract for an appliance
• Suggesting that a customer opt for higher specifications in a new computer
• Selling luxury options on a vehicle, such as leather upholstery
• Suggesting that a customer purchase a more extensive car wash package
• Asking the customer to choose a larger meal size at a fast-food restaurant

Cross-selling and upselling are similar in that they both focus on providing additional value to customers, instead of limiting them to already-encountered products. In both cases, the business objective is to increase order value inform customers about additional product options they may not already know about. The key to success in both is to truly understand what your customers value and then responding with products and corresponding features that truly meet those needs.

Techniques

Many companies teach their employees to upsell products and services and offer incentives and bonuses to the most successful personnel.

A common technique for successful upsellers is becoming aware of a customer’s background, budget and other budgets, allowing the upsellers to understand better what that particular purchaser values, or may come to value.

Another way of upselling is by creating fear over the durability of the purchase, particularly effective on expensive items such as electronics, where an extended warranty can offer peace of mind.

Customer Profitability

Customer profitability refers to the net profit a company earns from an individual customer after deducting all costs associated with serving that customer. These costs include marketing expenses, order processing, customer service, delivery, and after-sales support. Not all customers generate equal profits. Some customers buy frequently and require less service, while others demand more attention but contribute little revenue. By identifying profitable and unprofitable customers, organizations can develop different strategies for each group and improve overall financial performance.

Purpose of Customer Profitability

• Identify Valuable Customers

The main purpose of customer profitability analysis is to identify which customers generate the highest profit for the organization. Not all customers contribute equally; some purchase regularly and require minimal service, while others demand high support but produce low revenue. By evaluating profitability, companies can recognize high-value customers and give them priority service, personalized attention, and loyalty benefits, thereby strengthening long-term relationships and ensuring consistent income.

• Improve Resource Allocation

Organizations have limited resources such as time, manpower, and money. Customer profitability helps businesses allocate these resources effectively. High-profit customers receive more attention, better service, and customized communication, while routine services are used for less profitable customers. This ensures efficient utilization of company resources and prevents unnecessary expenditure on customers who provide low returns.

• Support Marketing Strategy

Customer profitability guides marketing planning and promotional decisions. Companies can focus marketing campaigns on profitable segments rather than the entire market. Targeted promotions, loyalty programs, and special offers are designed for customers who provide maximum revenue. This improves marketing effectiveness and increases return on investment.

• Enhance Customer Retention

By knowing profitable customers, businesses can develop special retention strategies for them. Personalized services, priority support, and rewards encourage customers to remain loyal. Retaining profitable customers ensures stable revenue and reduces acquisition costs. Therefore, profitability analysis directly supports long-term relationship building.

• Control Service and Operational Costs

Some customers generate high service costs due to frequent complaints, returns, or support requests. Customer profitability analysis helps identify such cases. Companies can streamline service processes, introduce self-service options, or modify service levels to control expenses. Managing service costs improves overall organizational efficiency.

• Pricing and Product Decisions

Customer profitability helps firms set appropriate pricing policies. Businesses may introduce premium services for profitable customers or adjust prices for costly customer segments. It also helps in deciding which products to promote, improve, or discontinue based on customer contribution. This ensures better product planning and financial performance.

• Increase Customer Lifetime Value

The analysis helps companies develop strategies to increase long-term value from customers. Businesses encourage repeat purchases, cross-selling, and up-selling to profitable customers. Over time, customers generate more revenue and become long-term assets for the company. This increases the overall customer lifetime value and strengthens profitability.

• Improve Decision Making

Managers use profitability data to make informed decisions regarding marketing, service, and investment. Instead of relying on assumptions, they depend on actual customer contribution. Data-based decisions reduce risk and improve operational planning. Thus, customer profitability analysis supports effective managerial decision-making.

• Strengthen Competitive Advantage

Focusing on profitable customers helps organizations maintain strong relationships and high service standards. Satisfied customers remain loyal and resist competitors’ offers. This creates a competitive advantage and improves brand reputation in the market.

• Ensure Long-Term Business Sustainability

The ultimate purpose of customer profitability analysis is to ensure sustainable business growth. By concentrating on valuable customers, controlling costs, and improving service, organizations maintain steady revenue and financial stability. Profit-oriented customer management helps businesses survive in competitive markets and achieve long-term success.

Measuring Customer Profitability

Customer profitability measurement refers to the process of determining how much profit a business earns from an individual customer or customer group. It compares the revenue generated by customers with the total cost incurred in serving them. These costs include marketing, order processing, delivery, service support, and complaint handling. The objective is to understand which customers contribute positively to company earnings and which customers create more expense than value.

• Identifying Customer Revenue

The first step in measuring profitability is calculating the revenue generated by each customer. Companies analyze purchase value, purchase frequency, subscription fees, and service usage charges. Customers who purchase regularly and spend more contribute higher revenue. CRM databases and billing records help organizations track all transactions accurately. This step helps firms understand the financial contribution of each customer over a specific period.

• Calculating Customer–Related Costs

After identifying revenue, organizations calculate the costs associated with serving each customer. These costs include marketing expenses, sales visits, delivery charges, customer service operations, product returns, and technical support. Some customers require more attention and therefore create higher service costs. Accurate cost calculation is important because high revenue does not always mean high profit if service expenses are excessive.

• Profitability Analysis Formula

Customer profitability is calculated using a simple formula:

Customer Profitability = Revenue from Customer − Cost of Serving Customer

If revenue is higher than the cost, the customer is profitable. If service cost exceeds revenue, the customer becomes unprofitable. This analysis helps companies categorize customers into profitable, less profitable, and loss-making segments for better decision-making.

• Activity-Based Costing (ABC) Method

Activity-Based Costing is a widely used technique to measure customer profitability. It assigns costs based on activities performed for each customer, such as order handling, complaint resolution, or technical support. Customers who use more company resources are assigned higher costs. ABC provides accurate profitability information and prevents incorrect assumptions about customer value.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Approach

Customer Lifetime Value estimates the total profit expected from a customer throughout the entire relationship. Instead of focusing on short-term profit, CLV measures long-term contribution. A customer may not be profitable today but may become valuable in the future through repeat purchases and loyalty. CLV therefore helps businesses invest wisely in customer retention.

• Customer Segmentation Based on Profitability

After measurement, companies classify customers into groups such as high-value, medium-value, and low-value customers. High-value customers receive personalized service and loyalty rewards. Medium-value customers are encouraged to increase purchases, while low-value customers are served through automated systems. Segmentation helps businesses focus on profitable relationships and reduce unnecessary expenses.

• Role of CRM Technology

Modern CRM software helps organizations track transactions, service activities, and customer interactions automatically. Data analytics tools process large volumes of data and generate profitability reports. Technology improves accuracy and allows real-time monitoring of customer value. It also helps companies identify trends and take corrective actions quickly.

• Managerial Decisions Based on Profitability

Customer profitability information supports managerial decisions such as pricing strategies, service levels, and marketing investments. Businesses may offer premium services to profitable customers and reduce costly services for low-profit customers. Companies can also design special loyalty programs to retain valuable customers. Thus, profitability measurement guides strategic planning.

Customer Value Modeling

Customer Value Modeling is a CRM technique used to estimate the economic value a customer brings to an organization over a period of time. It evaluates how beneficial it is for a company to acquire, serve, and retain a customer. The model considers purchasing behavior, service usage, and relationship duration. Instead of focusing only on single transactions, it studies the long-term relationship. This helps companies understand which customers are worth investing in and how to manage relationships effectively.

Purpose of Customer Value Modeling

• Identify High-Value Customers

Customer value modeling helps organizations recognize customers who contribute the most to long-term profit. By analyzing purchase frequency, spending patterns, and loyalty, companies can identify high-value customers. These customers are treated as strategic assets and receive personalized service, exclusive offers, and priority support. Identifying valuable customers ensures that the organization protects its most important relationships and strengthens customer satisfaction and retention.

• Improve Resource Allocation

Businesses have limited resources such as time, manpower, and marketing budget. Customer value modeling helps companies allocate these resources wisely. High-value customers receive more attention, better service, and customized communication, while standard procedures are used for low-value customers. This prevents unnecessary expenditure and improves operational efficiency. Proper allocation of resources increases productivity and ensures better use of organizational efforts.

• Enhance Customer Retention Strategies

The model helps companies design effective retention strategies. When businesses know which customers are valuable, they can provide loyalty programs, personalized offers, and after-sales support to maintain relationships. Retaining valuable customers ensures stable revenue and reduces the need for costly acquisition efforts. Thus, customer value modeling strengthens long-term customer relationships.

• Support Marketing Decision Making

Customer value modeling guides marketing planning and promotional activities. Instead of mass marketing, companies can target specific customer segments. Promotional campaigns are directed toward customers who are likely to generate higher returns. This increases the success rate of marketing activities and improves return on investment. Marketing becomes more focused and efficient.

• Increase Customer Lifetime Value

The model encourages businesses to improve the long-term value generated from customers. Companies introduce cross-selling, up-selling, and relationship-building activities to increase repeat purchases. As customers continue to interact with the brand, their lifetime value increases. This leads to higher profitability and stable income for the organization.

• Improve Product and Service Planning

Customer value modeling provides insight into customer preferences and expectations. Companies can design products and services according to the needs of valuable customers. It reduces the risk of product failure and enhances acceptance in the market. Organizations can also discontinue products that do not contribute to profitability.

• Control Service Costs

Some customers require excessive service support, increasing operational cost. Customer value modeling helps businesses identify such cases and adjust service levels accordingly. Companies may introduce self-service options or standardized service processes. Controlling service cost improves profitability without harming customer relationships.

• Strengthen Customer Relationships

By understanding customer importance, companies can maintain better communication and personalized interaction. Regular contact, feedback collection, and customized services build trust and emotional connection. Strong relationships lead to loyalty and long-term association. Customer value modeling therefore improves relationship quality.

• Gain Competitive Advantage

Organizations that understand customer value perform better than competitors. They serve important customers effectively and respond quickly to market changes. Loyal customers resist competitor offers and continue purchasing. This strengthens the company’s market position and brand reputation.

• Ensure Long-Term Business Growth

The ultimate purpose of customer value modeling is sustainable business growth. By focusing on profitable relationships, improving retention, and controlling costs, companies maintain steady revenue. A stable customer base allows businesses to expand confidently and achieve long-term success.

Components of Customer Value

• Functional Value

Functional value refers to the practical usefulness and performance of a product or service. Customers evaluate whether the product solves their problem effectively and performs as expected. Quality, durability, reliability, and efficiency are major elements of functional value. If a product works properly and fulfills its purpose, customers feel satisfied and continue purchasing. Strong functional value builds trust and encourages repeat buying behavior.

• Economic (Price) Value

Economic value relates to the price customers pay in comparison to the benefits received. Customers always compare cost with utility. If they feel that the product offers good benefits at a reasonable price, they perceive high value. Discounts, affordability, and cost savings increase economic value. Businesses must balance price and quality to ensure customers believe they are getting value for money.

• Emotional Value

Emotional value refers to the feelings and psychological satisfaction customers experience while using a product or interacting with a brand. A positive experience such as comfort, happiness, confidence, or pride increases emotional attachment. Brands that create pleasant experiences develop loyal customers. Emotional value often influences purchasing decisions more strongly than price or functional benefits.

• Social Value

Social value arises when a product enhances a customer’s social status or acceptance in society. Some products provide prestige, recognition, or image improvement. Branded clothing, premium gadgets, and luxury items are examples. Customers purchase such products not only for utility but also for social identity. Companies use branding and positioning strategies to strengthen social value.

• Relationship Value

Relationship value is created through long-term interaction between the company and the customer. Friendly communication, personalized service, and after-sales support build trust and commitment. Customers feel comfortable dealing with a familiar company and prefer continuing the relationship. Strong relationship value increases customer loyalty and reduces switching behavior

• Service Value

Service value refers to the support customers receive before, during, and after the purchase. Quick delivery, installation assistance, customer support, and complaint handling increase satisfaction. Efficient service reduces customer effort and enhances convenience. High service value often differentiates a company from competitors and encourages repeat purchases.

• Convenience Value

Convenience value represents the ease with which customers can purchase and use a product or service. Availability, easy payment options, online ordering, and fast delivery improve convenience. Customers prefer companies that save time and effort. Greater convenience leads to higher satisfaction and retention.

• Personalization Value

Personalization value occurs when companies tailor products and communication according to individual customer preferences. Customized offers, recommendations, and personalized messages make customers feel important. CRM technology helps businesses understand individual needs and deliver relevant solutions. Personalization strengthens emotional connection and loyalty.

• Experiential Value

Experiential value is derived from the overall experience customers have with the brand. Store atmosphere, website design, customer interaction, and product usage experience contribute to this value. A pleasant experience creates positive memories and encourages repeat visits. Businesses focus on improving customer experience to increase satisfaction and engagement.

• Trust and Assurance Value

Trust value develops when customers feel secure and confident in the company. Reliable products, honest communication, and consistent service build trust. Warranty policies, return guarantees, and transparent information also contribute to assurance. When customers trust a company, they continue purchasing and recommend it to others.

Personalization Marketing

Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing or individual marketing, is a marketing strategy by which companies leverage data analysis and digital technology to deliver individualized messages and product offerings to current or prospective customers. Advancements in data collection methods, analytics, digital electronics, and digital economics, have enabled marketers to deploy more effective real-time and prolonged customer experience personalization tactics.

Beginning in the early 1990s, web developers began tracking HTML calls that their websites were receiving from online visitors. In 2012, the Web Analytics Association (WAA) officially changed its name to the Digital Analytics Association (DAA) in order to accommodate new and developing data streams that exist in addition to the web.

Technology

Personalized marketing is dependent on many different types of technology for data collection, data classification, data analysis, data transfer, and data scalability. Technology enables marketing professionals to collect first-party data such as gender, age group, location, and income and connect them with third-party data like click-through rates of online banner ads and social media participation.

Data Management Platforms: A data management platform (DMP) is a centralized computing system for collecting, integrating and managing large sets of structured and unstructured data from disparate sources. Personalized marketing enabled by DMPs, is sold to advertisers with the goal of having consumers receive relevant, timely, engaging, and personalized messaging and advertisements that resonate with their unique needs and wants. Growing number of DMP software options are available including Adobe Systems Audience Manager and Core Audience (Marketing Cloud) to Oracle-acquired BlueKai, Sitecore Experience Platform and X+1

Customer Relationship Management Platforms: Customer relationship management (CRM) is used by companies to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle to improve business relationships with customers, assist in customer retention and drive sales growth. CRM systems are designed to compile information on customers across different channels (points of contact between the customer and the company) which could include the company’s website, live support, direct mail, marketing materials and social media. CRM systems can also give customer-facing staff detailed information on customers’ personal information, purchase history, buying preferences and concerns. Most popular enterprise CRM applications are Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, NetSuite, and Oracle Eloqua.

Beacon Technology: Beacon technology works on Bluetooth low energy (BLE) which is used by a low frequency chip that is found in devices like mobile phones. These chips communicate with multiple Beacon devices to form a network and are used by marketers to better personalize the messaging and mobile ads based on the customer’s proximity to their retail outlet.

Strategies

One-to-one marketing refers to marketing strategies applied directly to a specific consumer. Having knowledge of the consumer’s preferences, enables suggesting specific products and promotions to each consumer. One-to-one marketing is based on four main steps in order to fulfill its goals: identify, differentiate, interact, and customize.

• Identify: In this stage, the major concern is to get to know the customers of a company, to collect reliable data about their preferences and how their needs can best be satisfied.
• Differentiate: To distinguish the customers in terms of their lifetime value to the company, to know them by their priorities in terms of their needs, and segment them into more restricted groups.
• Interact: In this phase, one needs to know by which communication channel and by what means, contact with the client is best made. It is necessary to get the customer’s attention by engaging with him/her in ways that are known as being the ones that he/she enjoys the most.
• Customize: One needs to personalize the product or service to the customer individually. The knowledge that a company has about a customer, needs to be put into practice and the information held has to be taken into account in order to be able to give the client exactly what he/she wants.

Costs and Benefits

Personalized marketing is used by businesses to engage in personalized pricing which is a form of price discrimination. Personalized marketing is being adopted in one form or another by many different companies because of the benefits it brings for both the businesses and their customers.

Businesses

Before the Internet, it was difficult for businesses to measure the success of their marketing campaigns. A campaign would be launched, and even if there was a change in revenue, it was nearly impossible to determine what impact the campaign had on the change. Personalized marketing allows businesses to learn more about customers based on demographic, contextual, and behavioral data. This behavioral data, as well as being able to track consumers’ habits, allows firms to better determine what advertising campaigns and marketing efforts are bringing customers in and what demographics they are influencing. This allows firms to drop efforts that are ineffective, as well as put more money into the techniques that are bringing in customers.

Some personalized marketing can also be automated, increasing the efficiency of a business’s marketing strategy. For example, an automated email could be sent to a user shortly after an order is placed, giving suggestions for similar items or accessories that may help the customer better use the product he or she ordered, or a mobile app could send a notification about relevant deals to a customer when he or she is close to a store.

Customers

Consumers face an overwhelming variety and volume of products and services available to purchase. A single retail website can offer thousands of different products, and few have the time or are willing to make the effort to browse through everything retailers have to offer. At the same time, customers expect ease and convenience in their shopping experience. In a recent survey, 74% of consumers said they get frustrated when websites have content, offers, ads, and promotions that have nothing to do with them. Many even expressed that they would leave a site if the marketing on the site was the opposite of their tastes, such as prompts to donate to a political party they dislike, or ads for a dating service when the visitor to the site is married. In addition, the top two reasons customers unsubscribe from marketing emailing lists are 1) they receive too many emails and 2) the content of the emails is not relevant to them.

Personalized marketing helps to bridge the gap between the vastness of what is available and the needs of customers for streamlined shopping experience. By providing a customized experience for customers, frustrations of purchase choices may be avoided. Customers may more quickly find what they are looking for and avoid wasting time scrolling through irrelevant content and products. Consumers have come to expect this sort of user experience that caters to their interests, and companies that have created ultra-customized digital experiences, such as Amazon and Netflix.

Future of Personalized Marketing

Personalized marketing is gaining headway and has become a point of popular interest with the emergence of relevant and supportive technologies like DMP, geotargeting, and various forms of social media. Now, many people believe it is the inevitable baseline for the future of marketing strategy and for future business success in competitive markets.

Adapt to technology: For personalized marketing to work the way advocates say it will, companies are going to have to adapt to relevant technologies. They will have to get in touch with the new and popular forms of social media, data-gathering platforms, and other technologies that not all current employees and businesses may be familiar with or can afford.

Restructuring current business models: Adopting a new marketing system tailored to the most relevant technologies will take time and resources to implement. Organized planning, communication and restructuring within businesses will be required to successfully implement personalized marketing. Some companies will have to accept that their current business and marketing models will change radically, and probably often. They will have to reconsider the ways customer data and information circulate within the company and possibly beyond. Company databases will be flooded with expansive personal information individual’s geographic location, potential buyers’ past purchases, etc., and there may be complications regarding how that information is gathered, circulated internally and externally, and used to increase profits.

Legal liabilities: To address concerns about sensitive information being gathered and utilized without obvious consumer consent, liabilities and legalities have to be set and enforced. Privacy is always an issue, in some countries more than others, so companies have to manage any legal hurdles before personalized marketing can be adopted.

Event-Based Marketing

Event-based marketing has become a hot topic among marketers in recent years. It refers to prospect nurturing, sales and communication activities that change based on the customer or prospect’s situational needs. Rather than approaching your marketing with a “one-size-fits-all” mentality, for instance, you alter your approach based on the customer or prospect, and the impending changes in their businesses.

Defining an “Event”

Some people misunderstand the meaning of event-based marketing, believing it refers to specific dates. The “event,” however, refers to the activity or change in the customer or prospect.  

An event can be any action, activity or change with a customer or prospect that could triggger new buying decisions. Some events are more noticeable, but others are more discreet. Here’s a few trigger events that typically cause significant disruption, thus change within an organization.

• Funding announcements
• Mergers and aquisitions
• Facility expansion, relocation, capital improvements
• Executive leadership changes
• Financial performance
• Hiring Announcements
• Layoffs
• New product or service announcements
• Legal or regulatory issues

Following an event or a new announcement, a salesperson could customize his or her approach based on the impending organizational change. 

If you plan on using event-based marketing, though, you’ll need to take a proactive approach towards these business opportunity leads and  the customers throughout their lifecycle. Without identifying “events,” you won’t be able to customize your approach based on the customer or prospect’s needs.

Benefits of Event-Based Marketing

Why should you use event-based marketing? According to an article published by Eventricity, it’s not uncommon for businesses to achieve 30% or higher customer response rates when using event-based marketing. The website cites a case study involving the National Australia Bank and ABM Amro Antonveneta, which experienced a 34% average customer response rate when using event-based marketing. This is just an average, and your business may experience even higher response rates.

Influential businesses around the globe are aware that technology has reshaped the way we work today. When the digital era first started, the process of adaptation took some time, nonetheless the reward was priceless. These are 5 benefits from technology used in business communications:

1. Increased Communication. Do you remember a time at work when you had to send a handwritten letter to your boss who might have worked in a different located due to either travel meetings or important projects? The average respond time could have been days. Today, technology gives us the opportunity to communicate via email, messages, Skype or FaceTime, within minutes and most importantly, from any part of the world.
2. Improved Level of Security and distribution. “Back in the day” we used to store piles of paperwork in a locked safety cabinet or safe. Today, technology allows businesses to save up to thousands and thousands of sensitive information and files, encrypt such files and store on a single PC, external hard drive or cloud drive. With a proper antivirus like Avira, and security tips to protect your devices from hacking, the appropriate departments have access to these files and can share among one another within seconds while keeping files safe.
3. Visual Quality. Do you remember when you used to write your reports with a typewriter? And you had to do it carefully to keep paper quality? Nowadays, computers have software tools like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, which can make your reports more visually attractive. As well as correct mistakes as many times as you would like without having to worry about paper issues or constantly restarting.
4. Quick, accessible Information. The Internet is another technology used in business communication. Trips to this virtual library can take place within seconds! Getting the information, you are looking for has never been easier and/or faster. Have you heard of a single company that doesn’t use internet in their daily basis? That’s right, today having Internet access is as important as having a computer, because of the accessible information you can get while using it at work, which can increase knowledge and substance different work reports.
5. Increased Efficiency. Last but absolutely not least, efficiency. Here is a great example of how technology in business communications has increased efficiency: remember how credit cards used to be put under a carbon paper to get physical impression? We know what you’re thinking, it was tedious and it took a while. Today credit cards are swiped through a card reader and the payment is made! Additional ways efficiency has increased are; computers are also a handy tool to process data, and employees are working faster than ever and this is making their workflow smoother.

Technology has altered modern life in many ways, especially in the workplace. The invention of computers, the miniaturization of electronics and the development of wireless communication have all altered the business world. Business communication, in particular, has seen some of the greatest advancements due to technological developments.

• Bring business efficiency

It helps people to be more productive and efficient. Whether you’re using a word processing program that allows you to edit with ease or an electronic bookkeeping system that pulls data at the touch of a keystroke, technology makes life easier. You can schedule sales calls and appointments, track employee time, and perform many tedious tasks that once took hours in only minutes.

• Ensure Computational Accuracy

Modern spreadsheets like Excel, with its computational formulas, ensure accuracy. Accounting programs like QuickBooks allow keeping account inventory accurate and clear. All information related to sales, its management, areas, customer data and pay bills, payroll have become easier with the support of computer and its various functions. The basic understanding of system saves time and cost and compile financial information. With the use of many software programs, data can be stored easily and manage as well.

• Technology helps to be competitive in marketplace

Today, no business can function without technology. Competitors use technology and go ahead in business; therefore, it is essential for a business too to use technology and its more advanced process as compared to its competitors. The use of digital marketing to promote a company and online sales tools to sell across the street and across the globe. Embrace Customer Relationship Management systems that allow a company to track what their customers do and like.

• Be Industry Relevant

Technology opens the other information as well related to business for eg. A healthcare profession with the use of technology can connect its consumers online, understand their health-related problems, get connect with a pool of doctors, and regular information about latest development. It will help them to be industry relevant and acceptable in a market.

• Security

Technology can be used to protect financial data, confidential executive decisions and other proprietary information that leads to competitive advantage. Simply put, technology helps businesses keep their ideas away from their competition. By having a password on computers, a business can ensure that all the important files are protected and saved.

• Efficiency of Operations

Technology also helps a business understand its cash flow needs and preserve precious resources such as time and physical space. Warehouse inventory technologies let business owners understand how best to manage the storage costs of holding a product. With proper technology in place, executives can save time and money by holding meetings over the Internet instead of at corporate headquarters.

• Information Retrieval and Distribution

Information from text to audio, video or images can be easily sent to the public in a vast array of methods. This way relationships are created faster and easier too.

Blogging is considered to be the newswire of the digital revolution. It is a powerful tool for communicating company business stories. It is a way to engage new audiences and build relationships with existing customers and positions it as a thought leader in its field.

Blogs, short for web logs, are online platforms to create specific types of content, share them and interact with audiences. They may have a number of common features such as comment possibilities, trackbacks, and a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology. Generally, business blogs are non–commercial and non-promotional in nature and regularly updates the current information in content entries.

Today, every company and individual write blogs which helps them to express their ideas, perceptions, and information to their target audience. It is a platform of expression. It helps to generate customer value.

Corporate Blogs:

Corporate blogging can be defined as “the use of blogs to further accomplish company goals”. (Wiley)

Technopedia defines A business blog (b-blog) is a blog of published, informal online articles that are either included in a company’s internal communications system (intranet) or posted on the Internet for the public to read. Business blogs use a more personal tone than corporate websites and are primarily used for public relations purposes. A business blog may also be referred to as a corporate blog or corporate Weblog.

According to Technopedia website, there are two types of business Blogs:

Internal and External

An internal business blog generally uses RSS feeds to promulgate content to employees. Internal blogs are often used to promote employee participation and discussion, to foster a sense of community and to direct communication between various layers of a corporation.

The external blog is a publicly available and for public views and information. This is being done by any company employees or PR spokesperson to announce any new products, to clarify and explain policies or to react or respond to public issues. It is being treated more often the informal one than the formal press release. According to Hoffman Agency, Corporate blogs should not be about me but should be a platform to show thought leadership and communicate views on industry issues.

Business blogs have the advantage of offering a glimpse into the inner workings of a company that might not be found on its corporate website. Whether business blogs are external or internal, they are a familiar part of the corporate world.

Types of Business Blogs:

John Saddington in his blog identified five types of Blogs:

Senior Leadership, Founder, CEO

This one is obvious, it’s a blog where the CEO/Founder of the organization is providing most of the perspective and voice for the blog and the company. Perhaps it’s other senior leaders within their own area of expertise or role and responsibility. It comes from the top so it is a powerful perspective to consider.Of course, the challenge is that the leader of the company may not have enough time to blog consistently or regularly and that can really hurt the blog’s potential. There are a few examples of senior leader’s blogging regularly but it’s few and far between which makes this gem of a type extremely precious and rare.

Blogging is considered to be the newswire of the digital revolution. It is a powerful tool for communicating company business stories. It is a way to engage new audiences and build relationships with existing customers and positions it as a thought leader in its field.

Blogs, short for web logs, are online platforms to create specific types of content, share them and interact with audiences. They may have a number of common features such as comment possibilities, trackbacks, and a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology. Generally, business blogs are non – commercial and non-promotional in nature and regularly updates the current information in content entries.

Today, every company and individual write blogs which helps them to express their ideas, perceptions, and information to their target audience. It is a platform of expression. It helps to generate customer value.

Corporate Blogs:

Corporate blogging can be defined as “the use of blogs to further accomplish company goals”. (Wiley)

Technopedia defines A business blog (b-blog) is a blog of published, informal online articles that are either included in a company’s internal communications system (intranet) or posted on the Internet for the public to read. Business blogs use a more personal tone than corporate websites and are primarily used for public relations purposes. A business blog may also be referred to as a corporate blog or corporate Weblog.

According to Technopedia website, there are two types of business Blogs: Internal and External

An internal business blog generally uses RSS feeds to promulgate content to employees. Internal blogs are often used to promote employee participation and discussion, to foster a sense of community and to direct communication between various layers of a corporation.

The external blog is a publicly available and for public views and information. This is being done by any company employees or PR spokesperson to announce any new products, to clarify and explain policies or to react or respond to public issues. It is being treated more often the informal one than the formal press release. According to Hoffman Agency, Corporate blogs should not be about me but should be a platform to show thought leadership and communicate views on industry issues.

Business blogs have the advantage of offering a glimpse into the inner workings of a company that might not be found on its corporate website. Whether business blogs are external or internal, they are a familiar part of the corporate world.

Types of Business Blogs:

John Saddington in his blog identified five types of Blogs:

Senior Leadership, Founder, CEO

This one is obvious – it’s a blog where the CEO/Founder of the organization is providing most of the perspective and voice for the blog and the company. Perhaps it’s other senior leaders within their own area of expertise or role and responsibility. It comes from the top so it is a powerful perspective to consider.Of course, the challenge is that the leader of the company may not have enough time to blog consistently or regularly and that can really hurt the blog’s potential. There are a few examples of senior leader’s blogging regularly but it’s few and far between which makes this gem of a type extremely precious and rare.

Specific Team or Department Blog

Your organization may be large enough to have department specific blogs that focus their content on what that specific department is responsible for. Examples would include the Information Technology (IT) team having a blog sharing their thoughts on infrastructure and database management or the software development team is honest about their approach and struggles with shipping their product.

4. Product, Service, Marketing Blog

Most businesses would take this type and roll it into one of the other types as a sub-type but the better business blogs that I’ve seen strategically focus their content on talking about one of their products, most likely their flagship product, and making that the blog channel that becomes marquee.

For example, if your entire business is centered around a specific web application then having a blog that’s dedicated to sharing the details of the product, the team behind it, the challenges, the updates, the “behind the scenes” look would be pretty neat. A lot of great business blogs take this strategy and work in soft-marketing approaches to entice new customers

5. Employee Blog

Finally, the last type of business blog would be a specific employee blog or perhaps a network of employee blogs that are powered by individual employees. Perhaps it’s a blog that is company branded or perhaps it’s their independent blog that just becomes the “voice” for the business. In either case, this can work well if the employee understands their responsibility to the organization as a whole and that the specific expectations are laid out.

Characteristics of a Blog:

Blogbasics.com has listed the characteristics of a blog which are as follows:

• a blog has some form of navigation, usual menus
• a blog’s layout contains a header, footer, and content.  Usually, there is at least one sidebar running beside the content.
• categories of posts
• that readers can access the archives, previous posts
• that a post can contain text and images, (and often video and other media)
• that posts can contain links to other posts, both within a blog and to the entire web
• should contain a contact page and form
• should contain an about page
• It may also display of recent posts, a plugin that automatically sends a new post details to Twitter or Facebook, image galleries and the ability to turn the post into an easy to print a document.
• Also, for writing a blog no technical knowledge is required. Only basics and understanding about the subject helps to create effective blogs.
• Instant distribution of information to millions of masses across the globe
• Systematically organized
• Search engine magnets to find the types of content required
• Permalinks means any author who writes a blog also has a link to his bio, other articles details etc. so, a reader gets a chance to connect with the author directly

Role of Corporate Blogs in Public Relations:

By writing about your industry, reviewing products, providing company news, and commenting on various business and economics issues, your blog is a ready source of news stories. By writing in a style that reflects your personality, along with your expertise in the industry, journalists will consider you to be an industry expert.

As competition for available media coverage tightens in a sea of press releases and attention-stealing publicity stunts, it is harder than ever for a business to gain much-needed publicity. A business person is often at a complete loss as to how to get media coverage of a worthwhile business story.

Getting someone to hear the message is half the battle. Having the members of the media consider it newsworthy is the other half. Somewhere, there must be another vehicle that can gain the attention of an already swamped news editor. Help for the publicity-seeking business person has arrived in the form of the blog.

Should a disaster happen either to the business or its customers, a business blog provides an immediate and personalized vehicle to discuss the issue with the public. Instead of the “spin” usually associated with public relations, the blog can serve as an honest and concerned pipeline directly to the public. By addressing the issues openly and honestly, the business can regain and even increase the public’s trust. Concerned customers and the general public will view the blog as giving the straight answers. Such trust will only help enhance the business’s reputation, both in the short and long run.

Perhaps the single most powerful aspect of blogs, in the area of public relations, is the personalization aspect. A writer is a real person, putting a human face on what might otherwise be perceived as an unknown and distant company. By developing trust among the various readership groups, the blog writer provides a personal link to the company. If the goal of a public relations effort is to work in coordination with sales and marketing, a blog will establish trust with current and prospective customers and clients. It’s a well-known truism that people will buy from their friends and people whose word they trust. The development of a blog component to the company website will go far in achieving those trust based goals.

Blogging as a public opinion medium gives up that tight control and presents a message in a conversation with the reader. In that sense, the blog cultivates public opinion. With increasing transparency, inside and outside of organizations, the best approach is one of open discussion. A blog is the ideal delivery vehicle.

Many people have begun to mistrust the traditional canned public relations approach as lacking honesty. The openness of a blog changes that perception entirely. As the philosopher, Marshall McLuhan stated, “Perception is reality”. In other words, what we perceive to be true is real in our own thoughts. A blog can enhance that perception of honesty by delivering the straight goods on an issue. With that open approach, lacking the traditional tightly controlled message, trust in the company is enhanced. In both the short and longer terms, that trust translates into more lifelong customers and clients.

Making a Business Blog:

There are a number of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to improving corporate blogs, but here, we have few important list or key elements which need to be focused when we define the aspects of corporate blogs. They are:

Blog plan of approach: once a company decides to publish their blog, they need to first develop a comprehensive plan of approach wherein they need to decide about the focal topic on which they want to focus. They also need to understand that what kind of audiences they are looking for and what communication they would like to make with their target audiences. The company should have a clear agenda on what subjects they want to focus their blog at one time it could be about business, economy, finance, company philosophy, consumer awareness, discussion on any current subjects etc. while doing all these, a company should never ever forget to be ethical in their approach. It is important for an organization to be honest, truthful and accurate while talking with their audiences and setting the objectives with them. The blog is a useful and powerful medium to enhance customer relationship, customer engagement, driving purchase intent, educate, aware them about new changes and role of an organization in it.

Blog Design: Experts suggest that blog design should be little different from the conventional design of a website. It helps to find an easy identification and define the purpose. Blog design like all design is the discipline of studying content, interpreting personality, anticipating needs, and translating unspoken hope and desire. Blog design is about adding the gestures and modulation one would find in a face to face conversation. Blog design supports and adds value to the text. Blog design also adds or subtracts credibility. The key design features for corporate blogs are:

• Proactively promote having people sign up for the newsletter. A company should be more proactive in finalizing the design or to attract the people to visit on their blog page. “Subscribe to our blog posts” will not do many changes. A company should follow the more engaging approach might sound like “Like what you are reading?” etc.
• There are many blog designs use the right-hand navigation but to create a difference left-hand navigation should be used.
• A company should also share a permalink which is connected to all.
• It is also recommended to create a widget so that most liked post or popular post is visible easily to visitors and read the best blogs on the products or services that have to offer.

Blog content: Corporate blogging is the practice of creating content that addresses industry updates, expert tips or best practices and company news from the perspective of a brand. It is used by businesses of all sizes as a means of content marketing. The blog may be written by the executive within a business or by professional SEO and content writers with industry expertise on behalf of the business.

Choose the right topic and find your voice: a blogger should always choose the relevant topic based on business backgrounds and articulate thoughts systematically.

Link the professional sites link: it is important for an author to get connect with their audience, therefore, they should create a link which can direct the audience to visit on the page of author profile and interest details.

Good corporate blog posts are about 400-1,000 words: Blog posts should be easily digestible during a coffee break.  Readers will give up if they need to scroll down endlessly.  If you’re getting upwards of 1,000 words, consider breaking your post into two parts, or tightening up your ideas and language.

Information technology is a catalyst for changes in organizational structure, function, and communication. This implies that the impact of organizational structure is huge and has substantially revolutionized the practice of corporate communication around the world. Because of digital changes and technological advancement, corporate communication has moved across the globe. This has given tremendous powers to the executives and to the consumer as well. Information technology helps PR to develop networks across the globe. Through, information technology, PR companies can reach their global partners irrespective of their location through telephone, emails etc. Through Information Technology, PR firms do their process and documentation in a better way and it boosts organization communication within a PR firm.

E-Media Relations:

As we have seen in our previous chapters in media relations, today, PR is using different types of media sources in print, electronic and digital platforms to reach their masses and increase the profits. Though newspapers will always be a primary source of spreading information and interacting with people from company’s point of view, no one denies the power of information technology and E-media relations. Many MNCs have entered India and many Indian companies went out of India. They all have global markets and to interact with global markets, they need to connect them faster and on time. The Internet is a source which helps them to connect people around.

They include:

Third Party e- Media: Third–party e-media includes those media which is beyond the control of the organization and it does not include their websites, magazines, online newsletters etc. however, it includes other websites such as e-zines, journals, and third-party newsletters. They are the websites who are not directly related to companies but play a crucial role to develop the mindset of consumers. They may be feedback review, products services etc.

Webcasting:

Websites include online versions of print publication, news sites, and trade sites.it is a form of broadcasting production that incorporates streaming video and audio on its website. It is like a video conference and helps the company to answer the queries, explain the product and give them access to the largest audience. The company can also download it and use the sources for mass connection and information.

E-zines:

An e-zine is an online magazine. It covers a diverse range of topics as a traditional magazine. A well-written press release is seen as a more valuable commodity online than it is in the real world. Salon (www.salonmagazine.com) is generally esteemed the biggest and the best of the e-zine breed.

Video-News Release (VNRs):

Today, we are seeing that many production houses are launching their channels online and for that, they do lots of video news release. VNR is a short news package presenting a news item from the organization’s viewpoint. It is usually distributed by satellite. It can get key product elements. Through, VNR product doesn’t look like a commercial plug but can be the best medium of conversation.

Electronic Media Kits:

Electronic Media Kits is generally a media package or kit, it is a page on company’s website that contains resources and information for reporters and publishers. Through, this section, company easily give access to the media the marketing materials and information which is accessible, easy to use and helpful to the press.

E-Internal Communication:

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) or e-internal communication have many sources which allow more information to be processed, stored, retrieved and transferred, faster and cheaper.

Voicemail:

Simply means a centralized electronic system which can store messages from telephone callers. This will help a receiver to receive the messages in his/her absent and can be replied later. It has multiple advantages like it saves time, pass the messages even if the receiver absent, assurance is there that the message has reached to the receiver and easy to retrieve the information. Many big companies’ key officials use the system and response to the important information as early as possible.

E-Mail:

Email is revolutionary. Electronic mail or messages are the easiest, cheaper and faster. Today, the facility of sending messages through android phones have made this source the most convenient to people. Through email, the company is easy to manage the communication with multiple stakeholders, shareholders. They are using this as a strong tool for managing their all areas of communication be its media relations, employee relations, crisis management or giving the best services to their consumers or clients. No business can imagine their existence without the source of email connect. E-mail services are widely used for its speed, cost, time, and sending large data to anyone and anywhere.

EMS (Electronic Meeting System)

EMS is a system where communication is relayed electronically. An electronic meeting system (EMS) is a type of computer software that facilitates creative problem solving and decision-making of groups within or across organizations. The term was coined by Alan R. Dennis et al. in 1988.

The unique features of EMS systems overcome the limitations of traditional face-to-face meetings such as lack of participation, criticism, and domination of the proceedings by a few members.

Advantages of EMS:

• Participation of more people in groups
• Better group dynamics
• Increased openness and less personal prejudice through anonymity
• Any-place (online) capability which avoids travel time and cost
• Increased participant availability (any place, any time).
• Increased interactivity and participation by parallelization
• More sophisticated analysis by voting and analysis in real time
• Less effort in preparation by using meeting templates
• Repeatable meeting and workshop process through meeting templates
• Automatic, comprehensive, neutral documentation

E-Brand Identity and Corporate Reputation:

E-Branding:

E-branding is a term that denoted branding through the internet. Many online companies which do not have physical stores sell their products through E-branding. And in India, we have seen the plethora of E-commerce companies launches, came into the market and disappeared. Many went out because of lack of funds or not able to manage their good reputation through online.

A key aspect of online commerce and branding is the importance of collecting and analyzing data.  I will share here two examples to understand that why few E-branding gets successful and why few get failed:

The internet as a storefront–Amazon VS pets.com

The best example of successful online shopping store is Amazon. Amazon started as an online bookstore. It makes customers feel convenient with its tagline “apni dukaan”. They suggest customers relax at home and use of best brands for them. When they started bookstore work, they actually suggested customers stay at home and wait a few days then they could get the books they want to read in a lower price. After the big success in a book store, Amazon expended categories such as music, toys, and clothing. Amazon also gives the customer some recommendation by remembering customers’ preference, which enhances customers’ shopping experience. Amazon also benefits from long-term customer relationship that customers trust Amazon and set Amazon.com as premium shopping website.

On the other hand, Pets.com spend millions of dollars on a charming advertising however because of its lack of a strong business plan and its overly optimistic view of consumer demand for its product, it was defeated by competitors. A successful branding must add value on product and bring benefits to customers, but pet food not like books, customers wouldn’t wait few days to feed their pets. If a branding is loss value for a customer it will die no matter how fancy the advertising is. (https://thebusihub.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/e-commerce-and-e-branding-successful-and-failing-examples/)

Advantages of E–Branding:

Builds Trust

We all were sceptical when the concept of e-commerce comes and we were not convinced to buy the product after seeing the photos. But, when we started using the product, trust came and then from grocery to high volume product, today people buy online. This is amazing because it is a cost saving, less troublesome and reaches to the home without any cumbersome difficulties.

The more you are consistent and regular, the more trust you gain from your viewers. Consistency and accuracy of information are very helpful to readers and get connect with firms faster.

Builds Credibility

It is important today for all business to maintain their integrity and be regular in their approach. Today Amazon, myntra and few others e-commerce businesses are successful because they were able to build their image and develop integrity before the masses. A good branding strategy is always based on trust and appealing to the masses with a positive feeling. Therefore, a company should maintain a high level of integrity which will greatly boost any credible image which a company may want to establish.

Increases Marketing Effectiveness

Once a company develops a trust and credibility in the internet market, they should start working towards building their market effectiveness effectively. Based on their market strategy, an audience will start responding to it. It is important for a company to start working towards maintaining their image and reputation once they get the trust and credibility in businesses.

Online branding is more about experiences and experiment. No company can talk about any fixed formula. It keeps on changing and competitive. Therefore company should always ready for different types of products, customer reactions, their likes and preferences, their expectations, and their way of beliefs. Online branding is not as such for a specific audience so it needs to keep general and for all.

Use of websites in creating Company Reputation

As we mentioned that many businesses are online. All traditional companies have started their businesses online. Online is a strong tool for customer and companies. On one hand, if it builds the reputation of a company then on the other hands, it impacts on their reputation too. It is faster in their speed and reaches, therefore, a company really need to be conscious and sensitive while building their business online and managing their reputation too.

Pronto marketing.com has suggested 10 points through which a company can build their reputation online. They are as follows:

1. Focus and be aware: Listen to your customers and identify your target market. Use the Web to keep abreast of industry developments, competition, and news which could help steer how you act online.
2. Monitor your reputation: Search for your business online regularly and monitor how you fare in search results and what any feedback is. Understand what you can control and either adopt the services of a reputation management company or go it alone with apps such as Google Alerts, Social Mention or our Review Monitoring
3. Be authentic and honest: Nobody wants to read corporate ‘blah blah’, so make sure that the tone you use on social media platforms is human and fits your target market. You want to come across as trustworthy and this means being transparent and open; reacting in the right way to negative posts and comments rather than trying to cover your back with marketing-spiel which could end up encouraging trolls.
4. Create quality content: Write content your customers want to read, not just self-promotional copy, which is a turn-off. Think about reciprocation and engage your customers rather than constantly adopting a direct sales approach.
5. React and engage: To establish and maintain a good reputation, you need to be interactive too. This means being accessible and responding quickly to build good relationships. Delays in responding to Tweets, posts, comments, and questions can have a negative impact on your reputation.
6. Be social: Social media platforms, used in the right way, can be an effective way to shape your company and brand reputation. Don’t aim for instant results but take time to build up a genuine profile and create content that resonates with your target market. Be strategic whilst focusing on the value of real connections.
7. Start a blog: A blog is a great vehicle for getting information out about your company or even drawing in customers with useful tips and observations. You can establish yourself as an industry expert too which gives your business greater credibility. It’s also important to update your blog regularly to add to your professional image.
8. Get in directory listings: Before the Internet, businesses would not have dreamed of not being listed in paper directories, and today it’s essential that you utilize online directories. Being easier to find in searches will drive traffic to your site where you can adopt reputation management tools to keep your visitors interested and active on your pages.
9. Seek publicity: Reputation management is proactive and not just reactive. While you might use social media to entice customers without going in for the direct sell, there’s nothing wrong in self-promotion either. A good way to seek publicity online is to write articles for other blogs, look at the benefits of Web advertising, and establish yourself as an expert to spread your good company name.
10. Encourage reviews: Feedback is valuable. It shows you who is interacting with you and gives you essential insight into your reputation. Reviews should be welcomed with open arms, as nearly 90% of review readers believe what they read online according to a recent study. Don’t be tempted to pay for good reviews either, as this breaks the terms of service of many directories and can result in long-term harm to your visibility on their site! You can also turn a negative response into a positive by reacting in a professional way and not by being defensive.

Exchange of information through the use of speech, signs or symbols is called communication. When early humans started speaking, some 5,00,000 years ago, that was the first mode of communication. Before we dive into modern technologies that drive communication in contemporary world, we need to know how humans developed better communication techniques to share knowledge with each other.

History of Communication

Communicating with people over a distance is known as telecommunication. The first forms of telecommunication were smoke signals, drums or fire torches. The major disadvantage with these communication systems was that only a set of pre-determined messages could be transmitted. This was overcome in the 18th and 19th century through development of telegraphy and Morse code.

Invention of telephone and establishment of commercial telephony in 1878 marked a turnaround in communication systems and real telecommunication was born. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines telecommunication as transmission, emission and reception of any signs, signals or messages by electromagnetic systems. Now we had the communication technology to connect with people physically located thousands of kilometers away.

Telephones slowly gave way to television, videophone, satellite and finally computer networks. Computer networks have revolutionized modern day communication and communication technologies.

1960-1990

That was the era when a personal meeting was very important before finalizing the businesses. PTT – post, telegrams, and telephone used to be important sources of communication but very costly. By the 70s and 80s, computers entered into the working environment but were on a nascent stage. Television was also in black and white color and it was not in everyone’s home.

The 1980s saw the arrival of a fax machine. This allowed the documents to transmit from one placement to another at a relatively low cost. It still exists but not of much use except in government offices. Fax machine operation was just the beginning of changes in human life.

1990-2015

The 1990s marked the decade that mobile phones entered into our life. The black screen, finger typed numbers, pagers and high rates call to be made were putting the people in elite groups who had a mobile at that time.  Generally, top class executives used to have mobile as they need to make important calls or available on phones all the time as and when a company requires.

But, it was the introduction of email in the late 1990s that revolutionized how we communicate at work. Email has made people life easy and faster without any time zone and extra cost.

By the early 2000’s companies were beginning to use intranets. While originally used for housing internal documents, the intranet eventually evolved to an internal communications platform. We also saw companies begin incorporating video technology into their business. By 2010, new technology entered and the beginning of smartphones occurred. Fax machines, scan machines, PTT replaced with many apps which were launched and the process of communication got changed. Everything was available on one click. These tools have brought companies closer at the global level. The enterprise video technology developed to give human touch technology so that people connect should be there.

Enterprise video technology has been one of the most successful communication technologies in the workplace. Internally, it has changed how companies communicate and interact. For example, large corporate meetings can now be held online. Enterprise video has also improved employee training and onboarding. Best of all, it has reduced a lot of business costs such as travel and meeting room expenses.

2015-and Beyond

Today, we can’t live without technology. Development of technological advancement and an entrance of Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and Machine learning is making human life advanced and complex too. Today, it is everywhere in the business. No doubt, the technology has an impregnable importance in corporate communication and success of a business cannot be imagined without a technical advancement. Skilling and re-skilling of people to prepare better to face the world with technology will enhance their avenues and better prospects in future.

Today’s Communication Technology

Following are the tools used by businesses with technology:

• E-mail: Electronic mail is replacing handwritten correspondence. Businesses use email to communicate with customers and staff. In this, they get a quick response and connect with the concerned person. It saves postage costs and having an internet connection, it is cheaper as well. Many companies like Yahoo, Google, etc. provide free email accounts.
• Social networking sites: Today, all companies are available on various social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Myspace, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. the objective behind their availability on all these sites helps them to connect with an audience and check their likes and preferences on regular basis. Companies also educate, aware and interact with them through this platform and get the real-time feedback of their businesses. The company also use this platform for hiring the best talent for their businesses. Belong.co is an organization who with the use of artificial intelligence helps companies to get the right talent for their organization. When company comes up with their job advertisement, they start using the most active user based on company requirements and suggest an organization to hire them. This is very cost effective and time saving for employees and employers. The effective use of social media in today’s world is a panacea for business to communicate about their existence effectively.
• Online Chat: video chatting is also a good way to connect with masses and give them real-time organization public communication tool. Many companies hold a weekly chat with their internal and external employees and customers to share company’s vision, mission, objective and goals.
• Blogs: Blogs are the short content which is written on the website. It is crispy, short and to the point. The senior executive of an organization uses or write blogs so that consumers get the right information in a specific period of time. It is in a conversational manner and it is basically a system to manage media, employee, etc.
• Cellphones: cellphones are the strongest form of communication. It gives access to public relations practitioners/corporate communicator to know about the current happening in the world and also convey the audience their messages instantly.

Networking

Networking allows users to communicate through traditional voice and video in a secure system. Networking also allows collaboration on reports, programming and other document production, taking communications beyond conversational interaction and into virtual partnerships. Networking is the backbone of modern technology, and forms the core of how most business communication is performed today. The concept of nodes linked together is essential, whether it means connecting to a Web page, cell tower or using cloud-based applications.

The Internet

The Internet allows communication in two ways: static communication through Web pages, and dynamic communication through information being exchanged. Data posted to a Web page, such as product specifications, allow instant access to the same data from anywhere in the world, a static form of communication that frees up company resources which would otherwise be engaged in constantly repeating the same information. Online product orders are a type of dynamic communication, and can be as complex as keeping a real-time inventory, alerting employees of changes in costs or real-time chat between a customer service agent and a customer or field representative.

Traditional Media	New Media
Print media, local newspapers, magazines, weeklies are the sources of traditional media	Broadcast media and new media are distance insensitive: target audience worldwide and not necessarily in physical form. Information is available on web platform
It is unidirectional: one-way dissemination	Interactive: feedback, discussion, debate and response to requests by person or machine
Time constraints: Limited pages and airtime	Large layered capacity of information
Highly trained to professional standards	Anyone with limited training or professional values may participate
High access costs	Cost effective
Time-consuming	Time-saving and high speed
Large audience and broad coverage	Customized – even individually tailored
News hierarchy	Nonlinear navigation
Slow feedback and limited	Email and online chat are immediate and easy
Ad-driven	Diverse funding sources varied but limited revenue
Institution bound	Decentralized – grassroots efforts
Fixed format	Flexible format
Conventional	Non-conventional as per audiences and recent trends

Web Conferencing

Web conferencing may be used as an umbrella term for various types of online collaborative services including web seminars (“webinars”), webcasts. and peer-level web meetings in general, web conferencing is made possible by internet technologies, particularly on TCP/IP  connections. Services may allow time point communications as well as multicast communications. from one sender to many receivers. It offers data streams of text-based messages, voice and video chat to be shared simultaneously, across geographically dispersed locations. Applications for web conferencing include meetings, training events, lecture, presentations from a web-connected computer to other web-connected computers.

Web conferencing usually allows real-time point-to-point communication as well as multi-task communications from one sender to many receivers in separate locations. Depending on the service, either an application (additional software) is downloaded and installed or a web-based application is launched in the attendee’s browser. The newest open source technology for Web Conferencing is Google’s WebRTC.

As per Web Coferencing.org –Web Conferencing has five advantages which are mentioned as it is available on a website to give the better understanding to the audiences. The detail can be accessed on http://webconferencing.org/5-benefits-of-web-conferencing

1. Application and Desktop Sharing
2. Increase Productivity
3. Conduct employee training easily
4. Improve customer relations
5. A business process is no longer constraint by location.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

RSS feed is a form of new media which feeds favorite news and information to deliver to a consumer as soon as they are posted online without consumers having to search for the content. PR defined a customized XML-XPRL (extensible Public Relations Language). XRPL aims to assist practitioners to transfer data or information electronically. Its purpose is to automate information exchange as much as possible, quicker result and higher quality communication, with fewer errors.

The RSS is a useful method for disseminating information because it provides a link to the customers in a shorter volume of time, put users in control and very easy to use.