If your company is made up of more than just yourself, you know that not a day goes by without internal communication. Businesses function because team members collaborate, managers assign tasks, and information and skills are shared. However, getting your business to run efficiently is a different story—one that requires you to choose the right communication channels.
What Are Communication Channels in Business?
To put it simply, a communication channel in business refers to any method you use to interact with others, whether it is people within your company or your clients. Businesses commonly use communication channels to ask and answer customers’ questions and share information about their products and services.
Traditional communication channels are face-to-face conversations and phone calls. With technology, channels also include email, text messaging, instant messaging, and social media.
Internal and External Communication Channels
There is an important distinction between internal and external communication channels in business. Internal channels are used for communicating with people within your organization, such as within your team or with other departments. Good examples include business messages about project management or answering a teammate’s questions.
External channels are commonly used for communications outside of your organization. In addition to leads and clients, this also includes investors, vendors, partners, and anyone else your company interacts with. Common examples include social media platforms like LinkedIn and an annual report shared with investors. It can also include review requests where you want immediate feedback.
Why Communication Channels Matter
Understanding the types of communication channels is crucial, as you want to be able to reach your team and clients via efficient channels. Even more importantly, you need to use different communication channels seamlessly.
The best solutions will combine internal and external communication across various apps and methods in a single system. Having an effective communication system lets you improve the customer experience while improving your company’s efficiency.
A Note on Choosing Communication Channels
Most companies will want to use a variety of channels within their communication strategy, but that doesn’t mean you need to include every single one. The best practice is to offer as many channels as you can reasonably use to your customers, as this lets them select their preferred communication method. But you can set internal preferences for communication.
When choosing which channels to prioritize, both internally and externally, consider the following:
- Your team’s preferences: By choosing the channels that your team is most comfortable with, you will embrace their strengths and communication skills. You can ask your team what their preferred channels are via a survey.
- Types of messages: Think about the types of messages you want to send. This includes the formality of the message, the length of the message, and what is included in it, such as visual elements or links. You should also consider the importance of messages and how easy they would be to find later.
- Your budget: Budget is a crucial consideration, but don’t just compare prices. Remember to also compare what you get for each price and whether you will need additional programs. Remember that most communication channel platforms charge rates on a per-user basis while some offer flat pricing with unlimited users. The latter can be a good choice for mid-size companies or those experiencing fast growth.
7 Communication Channels Examples
Not every communication channel is made equal. While each one has its benefits, some forms of communication are naturally richer and allow you to have deeper conversations, and others make room for productivity-increasing tools. Below, we’ll give you a thorough look at seven strong channels for business communication and how they can best be utilized.
1. Face-to-Face Communication
No surprises here. The richest communication channel around, face-to-face meetings, is often hailed as the most effective way for teams to interact. This is because it reduces any misconstrued messages by allowing for body language, facial expressions, and other nonverbal communication. It’s also the best channel for lengthy conversations.
Because of this, speaking face-to-face is an excellent way to get complex or sensitive messages across or brainstorm with a group of coworkers.
This channel can be both formal and informal, depending on how it occurs. You can have a simple face-to-face conversation from your desk, or schedule a formal meeting in a conference room ahead of time.
Be careful though—studies show that only 11% of meetings are productive. Formal meetings should come with a structure and purpose that can’t be fulfilled through other channels. To summarize, if it could be an email (or some other less time-consuming form of communication) it might be best to avoid a meeting.
Example use case: When you need to develop a complete timeline for launching a product with members of multiple departments.
2. Video Conferencing
The next most effective communication channel around, video conferencing, retains your ability to read facial expressions while increasing flexibility. You can have a massive group on a video call from anywhere in the world, helping information flow quickly to anyone who needs it.
Think of this as a modern variation of traditional face-to-face communications that lets you retain most of the benefits of that other communication channel no matter where people are.
While businesses often have to pay to use video conferencing tools at a larger scale, they can be extremely helpful real-time collaboration tools. And since the beginning of the pandemic, these kinds of tools have become commonplace and non-negotiable for most businesses. Video calls enable quick screen sharing and reduce travel time, as remote team members can hop on just by opening a new tab on their computers.
Similar to face-to-face communication, video conferencing allows for complex or lengthy conversations, though prior scheduling is usually expected.
Example use case: When you’re calling an all-hands meeting for a remote team. Face-to-face communications are ideal, but the team isn’t all in the same location, including when you want to make complex decisions or share more detailed information.
Suggested tools: Whereby, Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom.
3. Phone Calls
While video conferences do have more of an impact, they’re not always the most convenient. Even if you’re planning to make an informal video call on your smartphone, minimizing the need for prior scheduling, you can’t depend on the other person to have WiFi or be in a place where they can turn on speakerphone.
Phone calls are a great alternative when you need to communicate a sense of urgency and get answers quickly. Calls are a real-time, two-way communication channel that still lets you hear the tone of voice. Plus, as long as no visuals are needed to convey your message, this channel also allows for lengthy discussion. Thanks to this channel, you can turn more customer calls into revenue with Podium.
Example use case: When an employee unexpectedly needs to take a day or two off, and you need to go over what tasks urgently need to be delegated. Phone calls are crucial for important or urgent conversations or situations when you need an immediate response, so you don’t have time for a back-and-forth written conversation. They are also good for building relationships and connections with customers.
4. Emails
When you need a formal communication channel but don’t want to waste time with scheduling, email is often the best choice. This type of communication is a great way for you to send formal announcements in a structured manner, especially when sending messages down the chain of command.
Emails are a great replacement for outdated written communication channels, like letters and memos, as they offer more security. This is especially important if you want to forward a sensitive document that you don’t want to leave on someone’s desk. Blind carbon copy also lets you protect the identities of people who are receiving your emails (or prevent a reply from all).
By using your professional email address to speak to your team, you can often indicate the importance of a message by flagging a message as urgent. However, with 70% of coworkers happy with responses in a four-hour time frame, don’t expect an immediate response.
Example use case: When you need to send onboarding documents and an official welcome message to a group of new hires.
Suggested tools: Gmail, Microsoft Outlook.
5. Text Messages
Just as business text messaging is preferred by modern customers, your modern employees may consider text messages one of the most convenient channels of communication. With a 98% open rate, text messages are a surefire way to get short, informal written messages delivered to employees from anywhere—especially when you need them read fast.
There are two risks when using text messages as a channel for internal communication. First, it can lead to employees being distracted by non-work-related conversations. Second, business conversations can easily be sent to the wrong person—we’ve all heard horror stories—which means secure messages should never be sent through this channel.
Still, this informal communication channel is a great way to quickly get answers or send reminders without being obtrusive or requiring an internet connection. It also allows you to send images, videos, links, and your location quickly from your phone. On top of that, it is the preferred channel for many customers.
Text messaging is also excellent for communicating with customers. You can send one text that drives thousands in revenue. There are even 500 ready-to-use texting templates that are ready for you to customize to fit your business needs and boost customer engagement.
Example use case: When you’re looking for an employee at a conference away from the office. Text messages are overall useful for any shorter, less formal message, especially if you need it to be seen immediately.
6. Online Messaging Platforms
Online messaging platforms that are specifically built to connect internal teams have risen in popularity in the past few years. This unique communication channel functions much like text messaging, as it provides real-time written conversation but adds a level of professionalism to your informal communication. This is because these platforms are secure, and conversations can easily be limited to select individuals as needed. This channel also allows for more complexity than a text.
Example use case: When you want to get an instant second opinion from your direct reports on a flyer you designed.
Suggested tools: Slack
7. Live Chat
Live chat typically refers to communicating with customers via the live chat feature on your website. This is an excellent way to connect with customers when your company is their focus. It also shows potential customers that your company is easy to reach and ready to talk to them at any time.
With a live chat feature, you can make your website a conversation starter. Use it to get the conversation going and then gather contact details to generate leads from your website. You can even move the conversation to another communication channel to push potential customers further along the sales funnel.
See Webchat in action on your site with a Podium trial.
Example use case: When you want to chat with website visitors to gather leads.
Communication Tools for Small Businesses
The best communication management tools will include the majority of communication channels. Many will also provide additional features to help with your business plans or decision-making and allow you to easily interact with customers. The following are some of the top communication tools for small businesses.
1. Podium
Podium is an all-in-one communications tool, giving you access to all communication channels. The Inbox feature is the first one you are likely to think about when it comes to communication channels, as it combines every single piece of communication in a single inbox. This includes emails, text messages, web chats, reviews, Facebook messages, phone calls, and more.
Podium includes nearly all the communication channels mentioned above. By putting them all in one system, you don’t have to manage multiple apps for communications or organizing customer interactions. It also serves as a CRM system by combining these conversations with your stored customer information.
These streamlined communications let you connect with customers five times faster, improving efficiency. Podium can even be used internally. Even better, you get features to make the most of various communication channels, such as texting templates and other text marketing features.
Conveniently, Podium adds value by offering a review feature. Use this to capture online reviews instantly and improve your company’s appeal to your customer base. It also includes payment processing, saving you the need to find secure payment processing and integrate it with your communications systems. Of course, if you do want to integrate another application, Podium offers hundreds of integrations.
Podium starts at $249 a month, and plans for unlimited team members and contacts start at $409 a month. Given that other communication tools for business are priced per user, this set pricing for Podium makes it a great value for any company that needs to set up more than just a handful of users. That is even before factoring in the additional features, such as website reporting, automated review invitations, and other automation.
2. RingCentral
RingCentral is a popular communication tool, with its primary function being a VoIP system for taking calls. It also includes video conferencing, SMS, and instant messaging. The application even lets you easily turn a phone call into a video call with the press of a button.
You can access RingCentral across multiple devices and always get the same experience. It delivers the convenience of putting most communication channels in a single platform, but it doesn’t integrate with live chat on your website or email.
Pricing for RingCentral starts at $19.99 per user per month, with plans up to $49.99 per month per user available.
3. Slenke
Slenke is a communication channel platform, but it also handles time management. In terms of communication, Slenke lets you create individual or team chats as well as messaging boards. However, you cannot use it for video conferencing, and it won’t connect to other chat platforms, emails, or traditional calls and texts.
Slenke makes up for these communication limitations with its time management and file sharing features. All files shared, as well as messages, are fully encrypted.
Pricing from Slenke starts at $18 per user per month.
4. Kommo
Kommo is another communication channel that lets you combine chats from multiple platforms. It includes both internal and external communications, functioning as a CRM and team messaging platform. The tool also has built-in messaging and a mobile CRM. Kommo also features notifications for both the mobile and desktop CRM dashboard.
You can choose from three pricing plans for Kommo, from $15 to $45 per month per user.
5. ContactMonkey
ContactMonkey is a popular choice for companies that still rely heavily on emails, as it integrates with both Gmail and Outlook. The focus of ContactMonkey is internal communications, specifically emails. As such, it excels at these functions but doesn’t offer much functionality for external communication or any internal channel that isn’t email. This means you will likely need to supplement it with another platform.
ContactMonkey makes up for this by offering additional analytics and features. You can view data on email opens and link clicks, measure feedback, and track device use.
The pricing for ContactMonkey is customized based on your needs. On one hand, this means that you won’t pay for features you don’t want. However, it makes the platform very hard to compare to others.
Communication and Growth Solution
Modern businesses have a long list of communication channels they can pick from. When you’re aware of how you can best use each one, you can improve the flow of information and encourage collaboration within your team. This can lead to direct business results as productivity grows.
Using the right tools also keeps everyone on the same page internally, so you can be confident that your team is meeting customer needs externally.
The right tool for most companies is Podium, a CRM built for small businesses. Podium is an all-in-one solution that handles communication across every channel in a single place. You can view all your messages, from email to online messaging platforms to text messages, in a single place. This streamlines the communication process, making it easier for your team to provide personalized customer support. It also ensures that you always have context for customer interactions as you can view past interactions and communications.
In addition to streamlining communications, Podium also enables business growth by letting you harness your website chat to gather new leads. Meanwhile, the review management features help you gain more 5-star reviews, improving your online reputation and ability to attract customers.
FAQs
Q: What are the 4 communication styles?
A: The four main communication styles are aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive, and assertive.
Q: Why are communication channels important?
A: Communication channels are important, as they let you interact with your clients as well as other people within your organization. They also let you share important information with vendors, investors, and other stakeholders. Digital communication channels add versatility, making it easy to share information as well as ask and answer questions.
Q: What are the different types of communication channels?
A: The main types of communication channels include in-person interactions, phone calls, video conferencing, emails, text messages, online messaging platforms, and live chat. The best communication channel platforms will provide access to all these channels.
