Why Clear Communication Is the Competitive Advantage Most Businesses Overlook

Collaborative Post

What’s important in business if you want to get ahead of the competition? Is it speed? Innovation? Customer experience? Technically, it’s all of those things, of course, but none of that’s actually going to happen without clear communication. The fact is, when people in a business understand each other clearly, everything else gets a whole lot easier, whereas if communication is vague or inconsistent, nothing really gets off the ground, not even the best ideas. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about why clear communication is the competitive advantage most businesses overlook.

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Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Clarity Makes Decision-Making Faster

Teams move a lot faster when they don’t have to decode mixed messages or search (and chase) for missing information, and being clear when you communicate means there won’t be so much second-guessing happening. In other words, instead of doing things based on assumptions, people just understand exactly what’s needed, when it’s needed, and, crucially, why it matters. It’s that simple, but all that really does cut down on delays, mistakes, and having to do things all over again.

It also creates a culture where people feel confident speaking up because when a team member knows what’s going on, they’ll be more likely to raise concerns early or maybe even suggest better ways of doing things. That means problems get dealt with long before they escalate, and opportunities don’t tend to be missed.

Customers Notice When You Communicate Well

Clarity definitely helps when it comes to the people in your business, but the truth is that customers can also feel a difference when a business communicates clearly, honestly, and consistently. They’ll get accurate timelines, they can have realistic expectations, and any problems can be sorted out fast, which means they’ll feel much more positive about working with you.

Even small improvements can make a massive impact, like replacing cluttered signage with a clean LED display during events or in a retail space, for example. So good communication helps customers understand what you offer, where to go, or what to expect, without needing to ask.

Clear Communication Helps Teams Stay Focused

Did you know that a lot of workplace stress actually comes from unclear instructions, or changing goalposts? People spend a load of time trying to work out the riddles when leaders should just be communicating plainly and consistently so there’s no extra work involved. People can just hear what they need to know, and get on with the tasks without any worry.

And as a bonus, that’s also going to stop people being distracted and keep them focused because instead of getting a load of contradictory messages, employees can just get started, and therefore productivity improves because people aren’t having to keep changing their plans or ask lots of follow up questions.

Final Thoughts

You might think you’re already communicating clearly, and it might be that you are, but just in case, it’s worth taking a step back and being objective about things because it might be that what you think is clear is actually confusing, and putting in the effort to fix things could make all the difference.

—End of collaborative post—

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