5 Ideas for Small Business Owners Who Wish To Improve Their Communication

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Being a small business owner requires you to wear many hats: You're often your own salesperson, marketing team, and human resources manager in addition to the chief executive officer. Finding the best way to communicate with your in-office team as well as your clients may leave you feeling stressed or burnt out. Follow the five tips below for more effective communication strategies that will help your business both inside and outside of the office.


1. Create Clear and Consistent Standards

Employees need to know when they should be working, and they should have a solid understanding of what they're supposed to be doing. Ensure that everyone on your team understands his or her job duties and knows who to contact when help is needed.

Similarly, if you allow part-time or flexible work hours, discuss with each employee when he or she will be working during the week. If you have a small office space, don't schedule all of your part-time employees for work at once. Stagger work hours and consider hiring freelancers who work from home if you don't have office space for more people.

2. Understand Your Target Market and Effectively Tailor Sales Strategies

Perhaps your team's communication is great, but you've been neglecting your marketing strategies. Get to know your target market by conducting demographic research as well as analyzing metrics from ads and campaigns.

If you're releasing a new product, consider using a go to market strategy template that includes everything from your business plan to your marketing strategy to notes from your weekly team meetings. Use a website for help in creating a seamless process from start to finish and sync it with Google so that the entire office is on board.

3. Organize Your Team With Weekly Meetings

Hold short weekly meetings even if there's nothing major to discuss. Your employees may balk at the idea of a two-hour meeting on Friday afternoons, but they may be grateful for a 10-minute check-in on Tuesday mornings. Kabbage specifies that you should try to hold meetings on the middle three days of the week for the best focus and participation.

4. Improve Customer Relations

Start improving your relationships with customers by requesting feedback after product purchases and offering a space for customers to contact you with testimonials and product reviews. Taking criticism online from customer reviews and using it to constructively build your business may be difficult, but it's a good place to start.

If you work on long-term projects for clients, ensure that you've given these individuals clear contracts that all parties understand. Make sure your clients have several ways of contacting you (or their case-specific manager) during standard business hours for as long as you work on their project, and don't forget to exercise patience and a positive attitude if they frustrate you or make unreasonable demands.

5. Update Your Software
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Working with outdated project management software — or worse, trying to enter the business world without a centralized portal for project communication — can confuse employees and undermine your hard work. Invest in one of the latest project management platforms that work for both on-site and remote employees so that everyone can stay on the same page regardless of where they are.

Starting a business or branching out into entrepreneurship can be both exciting and stressful. Communication and patience are two important components of having great relationships with your clients, team members, and business partners.

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