Why is business communication important ?
clear and informative communication is key to smooth running and success of a business
Name three different forms of business communication:
- Advertising
- Presentations
- Emails
- Agendas
- Packaging
Name three characteristics that may decide which form of communication is used?
- Audience
- Purpose
- Content
- Business function
- Available resources
how does purpose influence the design of business communication?
The purpose is important because they communicate for different reasons including to persuade or inform therefore they will have different tones.
Therefore the purpose will decide the tone, design and how formal r informal the communication is.
Why would the content depend on the type of communication used ?
Content can differ so different forms of communication will be used.
E.G if lots numerical data is being presented which is complex for someone to understand so a report may be used.
Give 3 examples of the resources that could be impacted on depending on the design of business communications:
- Quality of paper/card
- Colour / black and white
- Hard copy / electronic
- Cost of consumables
- Cost of distribution
- Timescale
What types of communication would you use when your formal ?
- Letters: used in formal situation, eg: legal contacts
- Reports: used when detailed information needs to be presented, eg tables/ graphs/ narratives
- Notice’s: , will be used as an internal method of communciation
What are the standard elements of writing a report ?
Title Intro Body Recommendations References if required
What types of verbal communication may be used ?
- Telephone; more personal than emails, could be used for telephone conferences
- Voicemail; voice mall and answerphones allow verbal messages to be left
- Face to face; used in a formal meeting as an colleagues desk
What types of electronic communication may be used ?
- Email; used when informing customers about a special offer
- Text message; used for limited information and easy and quick
- Picture message; used for providing visual information quickly, e.g. if a serial number on a printer is required by the maintenance team
- social media; communication, advertising and promotional tool, used to advertise products
- Web pages; help to attract customers and provide them with information on the business
- Presentations; used in conferences
What marketing documentation may be used ?
- Business cards: provides customer with details
- Press release: announcement to media
- promotional literature; includes annual reports, brochures and leaflets
- Questionnaires : used to gather market research
- data collection sheets; used for tallying survey results or for checking stock levels in warehouse
What recruitment documentation might be used ?
- Job description; summaries key tasks of job role
- A person specification: states skills required for job;
- Job advertisement: states job role, method of application and closing data and might be brief introduction on business
- Application forms; straightforward to complete and givens business sufficient information on each person
What factors decide what if the business communication is fit for purpose ?
- Tone: eg a press release will be upbeat and promote positive aspects
- Layout/design: ( logo/letterhead/font/colour/images)
- Relevant info: relevant info for purpose
how does audience influence the designs of business communications?
a business must be clear when communicating with their audience to who it is aimed towards
e.g. if a product is aimed at children then any advertising must be appropriate for this age group
how does availability of resources influence the design of business commination’s?
if a business is selecting which form of advertising to use to communicate with potential customers, then the budget available will influence its decision
e.g. TV advertising is costly, so lower cost options such as radio advertising ma have to be considered if insufficient funds are available
how does business function influence the design of business communications?
- functional areas producing the business communication will impact on the design and the purpose
- e.g. marketing are responsible to selling a product/service to potential customers, communication must be eye catching and informative
- HR will deal with matters with employees, communication likely to be formal
how does layout/design help a business to decide if its fit for purpose?
- logo; provides consistency as there are guidelines to how it should be used
- letterhead; many businesses will buy pre-printed headed paper, this means all letters sent by the business will have the same format with contract information for the business
- font; advised to use standard font when writing formal communications, to ensure consistency, e.g. Arial
- corporate colours; corporate colours on all businesses communication forms letterheads to websites help establish a corporate identify to customers, suppliers and stakeholders, e.g. NHS blue and white
- images; images can be used in business communications to illustrate points made, all images should be relevant and used only if permission has been granted, e.g. supermarket will need permission from checkout staff to use on website
