Improving Your Inter-Company Communications At No Cost

It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed up by a wealth of positive PR, but if your staff are not all pulling in the same direction this could be the biggest leak in your plan.

Want a more in-depth guide to internal and customer communications, plus a CD-ROM with software with advice, additional content and links to helpful sites?

Buy 'Marketing your Business' today

Firstly, everyone need to be able to get accurate information, so ensure that you have a good computer network (or better still, a fully-fledged Intranet) and routinely store the latest versions of documents where everyone can access them.

Keep all staff that have any exposure to customer AT WHATEVER LEVEL aware of new campaigns. Even the Stores Manager might talk with customers on the phone, so make sure that everyone knows what's going on.

As a Marketing Manager you may be paid for your ideas, but it doesn't mean that you're the only one that has them. Listen to others - they may come up with the basis of an idea that you can develop, but ensure you don't steal all the credit - the very fact that you can deliver on the initial idea proves your worth, and nothing is likely to aggravate colleague more than someone stealing their glory.

As email is commonplace in most businesses you can easily keep staff up-to-date with newsletters. It doesn't have to be anything flash - just a short, sweet email with a summary of what's going on. In any case, if you write a long-winded document, chances are it won't get read.

Chat systems can be a good way of hosting online meetings, regardless of the location of staff. Products such as MSN Messenger, Eyeball Chat, ICQ, Skype and Ivisit all offer the ability for users to type, talk and even video-conference with one or sometimes even several people simultaneously.

This subject is covered in greater detail in Martin Bailey's book, Marketing your Business, available from www.marketingyour.biz. Chapter 1.5 within the theoretical sections of 'Marketing your Business' enters into much greater detail about improving communications and internal staff relations. Chapter 1.8 also demonstrates various Internet communication methods.

About The Author

Since 1992 Martin Bailey has been involved with the marketing activities of small and medium sized companies, either through working directly for the organisation or by assisting friends and colleagues in their own business ventures. Based in the UK he regularly assists companies around the world in creating product and brand awareness for their chosen marketplaces. He has also written a number of IT and technical articles for niche market trade magazines.

---

The Paradox of Job Enrichment

Ellen was a clerk working for a large insurance company. One day, she spotted a glaring discrepancy in a form she was typing. Through a simple error, two figures had been transposed in... Read More

Involving People Gave Us the Improvements We Needed

We had a problem with handling materials in a production department. Our process required raw materials to enter the department, be processed, and leave the department. The raw material was placed on pods,... Read More

Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People

So to help start the ball rolling, here are ten top ways to get your people motivated. Ten small steps for you to start with. Recognise themRecognise your people as people, by saying... Read More

Across The Interview Table!

Job interviews are easier for the interviewer or the interviewee if you plan and prepare and use proper interviewing techniques. On this page are job interview questions and purpose of each interview question,... Read More

Terrible Meetings - Ten Ways to Spot Them!

Sometimes, better than giving advice about how to run things well, it can be useful to have a hit list to notice to help you identify when things are less than productive. Meetings... Read More

Creating a Team Working Environment

TEAM DECISION MAKING: Managers who invite participation believe that people directly affected by a decision should be involved in making that decision. The effort is toward joint, cooperative decision making. The aim is... Read More

On The Job Training is Something You Can???t Afford to Skip

Trained employees are more productive employees; there???s no doubt about that. Whether you???re your only employee or whether you???ve got a growing staff, put OJT (on the job training) at the top of... Read More

Understanding Every Aspect of Your Organization

GET TO KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION: If you don't understand an aspect of the organization or a procedure within it, ask. If you still don't understand, ask again. Question until you are sure you... Read More

What Personal Assistants Really Want

What would happen if the personal assistants in your organisation were away for a week? How would it affect the running of your business or department? How would it affect you?personally?If you are... Read More

Why Employees Are the Best Source of Cost-cutting Ideas

Cost cutting has become a necessary and important reality in the modern corporate world. Yet many executives do not realize that their people are actually the best source of cost reduction ideas.There are... Read More

Medical Collection. How Organized is Your Office?

At one time or another, all of us have experienced the frustration of waiting in a doctor's office. It seems as though every time we go to see the doctor or the dentist... Read More

Making Your Workers Your Partners

There is an inherent conflict between owners and managers of companies. The former want, for instance, to minimize costs - the latter to draw huge salaries as long as they are in power... Read More

Five Habits of Highly Effective Conflict Resolvers

Steven Covey had the right idea. There are discreet skills and attitudes, habits if you will, that can elevate your conflict practice to a new level. This article shares a selection of habits... Read More

Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing

How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may need to make the case for outsourcing."Businesses today are kicking into survival mode," says Bill Allison, managing director for the Pacific Southwest Management... Read More

The Ivory Tower Syndrome

"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with.... Read More

Middle-Aged Managers, the Forgotten Digital Divide

The digital divide is defined by the role computers play within widening social gaps in our society, as the condition of one group having an advantage over another group in regard to computers,... Read More

The 5 Things Great Managers Sense about their People, Every Day

Using all of your senses, to help you test how your people are feeling in your business, is a learned skill. Once you start to use it, your abilities to notice become refined... Read More

Creative People, Innovative People

The title implies that some people are and others not.This is a myth.First, creativity can be described as problem identification and the generation of a quantity of ideas, a number of novel ideas... Read More

Warning! Meeting In Progress; May Be Hazardous To Your Career

There ought to be a sign posted on every closed office and conference room door that reads: Warning! Meeting In Progress! May Be Hazardous To Your Career.Because most meetings burn up a lot... Read More

The Permissive Environment is the Suspect

The permissive and participatory conduct which most employees take for granted, eventually escalates into the more serious assaultive behavior commonly referred to as employee on employee workplace violence starts with innuendos, a bad... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Questions for Smarties and Dummies

In numerous programs I've conducted on performance appraisals, with Human Resource people (who are responsible for developing and implementing programs) and with line managers (who actually conduct the reviews) are often foggy about... Read More

Know Your Business! - 7 Key Questions You Must Ask

You need to know all that is going on around you to be successful in business, whatever the size of your organization. Yet how do you keep all those plates spinning? Here are... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Competition versus Collaboration

There is much confusion as to whether competition or collaboration is most beneficial to creativity and innovation. Though there are negatives to collaboration and it is not easy separating the effects of time... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Improving Workplace Safety

This article relates to the Safety and Working Environment competency and explores how your employees feel with regard to their physical and environmental working conditions, the quality of their equipment and tools, and... Read More

Hiring Tip -- Picking The Best Candidates

I often hear leaders from all types of organizations ask questions about hiring the right person. Their questions usually sound like these:? What if their resume looks great but they have a bad... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management: The Creative State

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

The Business Shaman: Exploring the Mystery of Success!

Note: This article was written for a internet business site. It is a promo for my work with the business world. I published it here for anyone who is interested in a shamanic... Read More

Change or Die! To Change Your Organization, Hire a Business Coach

It is a common business axiom ? change or die. As a small or mid-sized business owner or a manager, there will be times you will need to make changes in your organization... Read More

How To Hire Superstars

Can a person's behavior and values really determine if they will be a future SuperStar for your company? If you knew the formula for hiring SuperStars and could cut your recruiting costs in... Read More