Task 1.
Organizations have unprecedented opportunities and challenges when venturing into and expanding into the European market. Communication is one significant challenge that poses a threat to organizations like Verto. Thus, developing robust communication frameworks is crucial to overcoming this threat. The paper examines the methods businesses use for internal and external communication, along with difficulties encountered while extending operations into Europe and exploring and comparing a couple of companies. It also examines the role of technology and other instruments in efficiently exchanging sophisticated business information.
Channels of Communication in Organizations
Internal Channels of communication.
Face-to-Face Communication. It is the most excellent old-fashioned way to communicate with workers. Direct communication makes expressing ideas and determining their comprehension simple (Alex, 2023). This is an effective tactic when announcing a new program or policy to staff members. Seminars, company internal meetings, employee-to-employee conversations, and presentations are examples of face-to-face communication in an organization.
Use of written communication channels. Employee newsletters, emails, memos, and text messages are forms of written communication in an organization (Alex, 2023). These are usually sent to employees in the firm, regularly informing employees of crucial matters such as changes in workflow or venturing into new markets and products.
Use of digital platforms. Intranets, internal social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, internal blogs, Google Meetings, and document sharing are digital forms of communication in an organization (Alex, 2023). Internal blogs present information more deeply than text messages. At the same time, social media platforms, intranets, and Google Meetings are feedback-centric methods that facilitate communication and feedback in different departments in the organization.
External Channels of Communication.
External communication refers to exchanging information between a company and its external stakeholders, including vendors, partners, consumers, and other companies. Businesses use this communication to disseminate significant product or company news, raise revenue, and enhance brand recognition.
Email communication. Emails are written forms of external communication, as companies can send emails to suppliers, marketing boards, auditors, investors, and customers, and they have their OTP emails to communicate significant information. Email communication is an efficient method of reaching a receptive audience since receivers voluntarily choose to receive communications.
Use of digital platforms. Social media platforms such as Twitter (X), Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, blog posts, investor relations websites, and external videos are essential to communicating with engaged consumers, investors, and all the company’s stakeholders. Social media is a popular tool for informing company followers about news, announcements, and updates (Indeed, 2023). Blog postings and content promotion enhance customer and stakeholder engagement, provide helpful information, and optimize website search engines.
Press releases and live chats. Companies usually distribute these official papers to news organizations to announce a policy change or provide essential details about conducting business (Indeed, 2023). Several firms deploy client service chatbots on their websites to facilitate effortless interaction between customer care professionals and customers or prospects. Businesses utilize live chat to address consumer inquiries to boost sales, address grievances, or provide technical assistance.
Barriers to communication for organizations venturing overseas.
Language and Cultural Differences: Linguistic differences and cultural nuances can be a barrier to communication. The efficiency of interactions can be impacted by cultural variations in non-verbal cues and communication styles, which can lead to misconceptions. For example, Google faced difficulties when it ventured into China because of the language barrier and the sharply different cultural standards, especially concerning internet control and user privacy. The language difficulties made it difficult for local teams and headquarters to communicate effectively, resulting in misunderstandings of different cultural values. Cultural differences hindered decision-making processes, business etiquette, and communication styles. Also, when McDonald’s entered the Indian market, it highlighted notable cultural disparities (Financial Times, 2012). The varied cultural terrain of India presented difficulties for marketing plans, menu localization, and consumer preferences. For effective communication with the local Indian culture, McDonald’s modified its marketing strategies, such as offering options in communities where vegetarians predominate.
Regulatory and Legal Obstacles: Different legal systems and rules may make communication between European nations challenging. Communication processes become more complex when solid security requirements, like the GDPR, appropriately manage personal data. Google faced legal restrictions when it ventured into Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands over data security issues. It was ordered to comply with the rules within four months (The Guardian, 2013)—McDonald’s faced challenges with food and health regulations in China and Russia. The increase in disagreements between the US and the two countries posed challenges to expanding the business (Financial Times, 2015). Due to the perception of unlawful activities, these regulations must be revised to communicate with team operators and handle critical business operations.
Technological challenges. Communicating with partners or operations overseas is challenging for headquarters due to technology and infrastructural constraints. It is essential to solve these issues to ensure effective communication and collaboration across regional boundaries.
McDonald’s has technical difficulties as a multinational fast-food franchise, particularly in areas with inadequate or unstable internet access. For example, McDonald’s depends on computerized POS systems in several nations, particularly developing economies. Nevertheless, technical constraints like internet connection problems or power outages might interfere with POS operations, causing order processing delays and unhappy customers.
Being a global technology firm, Google encounters communication-related technical obstacles, especially when access to its services is restricted or when internet regulations are employed. Google has faced difficulties in nations like China, where access to its services on Google Search is limited by government-imposed internet censorship. This restriction restricts Google’s ability to communicate with people in these areas, which affects Google’s capacity to reach and interact with its audience successfully.
Visual Aids to be used in Presentation
Video conferencing tools such as Google Meet, Skype, and Zoom images face-to-face communications.
Translation gadgets such as Google Translate and employing a translation professional overcome language hurdles.
Multicultural Training: Training staff members with knowledge and tools to recognize and successfully negotiate cultural disparities.
Management applications: Use Basecamp, Jira, or Trello to track progress and instantly share project updates.
List of All Questions Submitted:
The audience member asked, “What are some strategies you recommend for overcoming communication barriers caused by language when entering European markets?”
Response: “To overcome language barriers, organizations can use multilingual translation programs like Google Translate or hire professional translation services.”
The audience asks: “Could you provide more examples of cultural differences that could affect communication in efforts to expand Europe?”
Response: “Certainly. Another instance of how cultural variations affect communication in European markets is negotiation tactics. In contrast, some cultures value indirect and nuanced tactics, while others value-powerful and clear communication.
The audience asks: “What specific technological solutions would you suggest for enhancing communication across varying time zones?” was the audience question.
Response: “To facilitate real-time communication and teamwork amongst individuals in different time zones, it is advised to use video conferencing services like Zoom or Skype.”
Controlling the Q&A period.
Control of the Q&A period.
I actively encouraged audience participation during the Q&A session, fostered a welcoming atmosphere, and ensured each topic was thoroughly covered within the allocated time. I invited audience members from various experiences to join in, and I gave brief, understandable responses to foster an environment conducive to illuminating and productive dialogue.
Task 2.
Improving Customers Communication Report
Prepared for Vertou’s Board of Directors and Management
This study aims to explore the consumer communication strategies of two well-known companies to identify best practices and provide fixes for the issues raised by customers about Verto’s lousy communication. The emphasis is on examining the essential elements of successful customer service and assessing the platforms these businesses use to communicate with their customers.
Examination of Important Elements in Consumer Communication:
Clarity and Consistency: To avoid consumer dissonance and promote trust, ensure that all customer messages are concise, understandable, and unified across all platforms.
Accessibility: Maintaining supporting channels open and accessible for customers to rapidly seek assistance, such as helplines, online chats, and email support.
Personalization: Messages should be modified to match clients’ specific needs and preferences to foster more engagement and stronger relationships.
Feedback Mechanisms: Laying into effect, effective feedback mechanisms will enable a company to receive meaningful client feedback, address problems quickly, and deliver better services
Examination of Communication Systems of Two Organizations:
Amazon:
Chatbots: Amazon is the leading business that utilizes chatbots in its customer support operations. The massive e-commerce company has integrated chatbots to assist users with various activities, including monitoring orders, suggesting products, and handling refunds. Chatbots provide 24/7 assistance, a crucial benefit for customer service. Due to its international operations, consumers from various time zones could sometimes need support. Amazon uses chatbots to guarantee that its customers can get help whenever needed, no matter where they are in the world (Bhanu, 2023). Also, a highly adaptable customer care system is required due to Amazon’s large customer base. The organization has been able to respond to a high number of consumer questions at the same time without sacrificing response times thanks to chatbots. Chatbots are essential in a setting with a massive demand for their services because they can manage an infinite number of chats simultaneously. However, human beings are limited to handling a specific number.
Email chat support: Amazon implemented customer email and chat support for customers’ intricate issues and complaints, ensuring that customers escalate their concerns at their convenience.
Help Page: Consulting the support page is the fastest and most effective way to receive assistance when customers have problems. The Customer Service page on Amazon is crucial when Amazon customers are facing problems with purchases or accounts. It has informative mini-articles that answer frequently asked questions. Frequently, simple issues like monitoring deliveries, getting refunds, handling gift cards, and troubleshooting gadgets may be resolved by browsing this page. It provides clients with a thorough and practical self-service alternative to locate the answers to their most frequent queries.
Zappos
24/7 phone support: The company’s first priority is providing outstanding customer support. Zappos’s online shoe store is well-known for its superior customer service and staff climate. Zappos employs round-the-clock customer service representatives who are polite, helpful, and positive, emphasizing human and personalized connection between the customers and the company.
Strong social media: Zappos has used social media channels to engage consumers and foster brand loyalty. The firm interacts with its fans on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, promptly and amiably answering queries and posting feedback. Zappos also shares exclusive pictures and tales on its website to share business traditions and beliefs with its intended consumers.
Customer Feedback Loop: Zappos implemented a technique used in product management that constantly involves methodically obtaining, evaluating, and applying consumer input to improve a good or service. The process includes gathering feedback from clients, incorporating it into the production of new products, and then providing the improved products to them.
Proposed solutions for Verto
Integrated AI Chatbots: Introduce chatbots to provide direct and immediate responses to customers for frequently asked questions and allow human beings to deal with intricate issues.
Real-time order tracking. Enhance a system that enables customers to track their orders in real-time, enhancing openness and confidence in Verto’s ability to execute services.
Describe the mechanisms for customer feedback. Adopt recommendation engines, social media support, and frequent feedback surveys to obtain valuable consumer insights, promptly resolve customer concerns, and ensure customers can easily reach out to Verto through their preferred channels.
Individualized Email Follow-ups: To enhance clarity and gratitude, use personalized email follow-ups to customers after an interaction to summarize the discussion and provide “after steps.”
Rationalization of Solutions
Reducing uncertainty and guaranteeing quick customer feedback, streamlining communication routes through the use of AI chatbots, installing real-time order tracking, and enhancing personalized follow-ups to customers are helpful methods that would help Verto fix its complex issues with its customers, including the delay in responses, the need for personalized services and inadequate communication channels.
Task 3.
Evaluation of communication abilities.
Received Feedback
Oral Communication: Peers praised the presenter’s assurance and lucidity greatly.
Written Communication: The instructors gave the formal business report good marks for organization and clarity.
Reading: During my research, my colleagues complimented my ability to swiftly and efficiently collect pertinent material.
Listening: My teammates gave me excellent feedback regarding my capacity to pay attention during talks and meetings.
Personal reflections
Verbal communication: I must focus on my articulation and vocal tone to engage the audience effectively.
Written communication: I want to use language more effectively and that the text is communicated succinctly after giving the report-writing process some thought.
Reading: I understand the need to expand my knowledge and viewpoints by looking at various books, even though I am confident in my reading ability.
Listening: Based on previous interactions, I want to improve my ability to listen sympathetically to better understand other people’s perspectives.
Plan Improvement SMART Goals:
Verbal Communication: Participate in monthly public speaking seminars to hone your presentation skills. Your goal should be to raise audience engagement by 10% in six months.
Written Communication: Sign up for a business writing course to improve your grammar and writing style. The goal should be to achieve 90% on writing evaluations in three months.
Reading: Set aside thirty minutes each day to read articles from various genres. Your goal should be finishing one book each month and broadening your knowledge of multiple topics.
Monitoring and Review:
Conduct monthly self-evaluations to track your progress toward reaching your SMART goals.
Every quarter, ask mentors and peers for input to determine what needs to be improved.
Adjust tactics as needed in light of comments and performance reviews.
By implementing my improvement plan, I aim to improve my communication abilities and become a more skilled communicator in work-related settings.
References
Alex, C. (2023). Fifteen effective internal communication channels for your business. Contact monkey. Toronto.
https://www.contactmonkey.com/blog/internal-communication-channels
Indeed. (2023). A Guide to External Communication (With Channels and Types). https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/external-communication
The Guardian. (2013). Google is facing a legal threat from six European countries regarding privacy. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/apr/02/google-privacy-policy-legal-threat-europe
Financial Times. (2012). Mcdonald’s and its Challenges Worldwide; A market-by-market Look. https://www.ft.com/content/f8ac22fc-a7c1-11e4-8e78-00144feab7de
Bhanu, T.P. (2023). 16 Leading Companies Using Chatbots for Customer Service. https://sitegpt.ai/blog/companies-using-chatbots-for-customer-service
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