Effective Communication Strategy for Business Success- A Case Study of Google Company
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Communication strategy is an important aspect of any business. It basically entails a plan to achieve communication objectives. Some companies effectively adopt communication strategies while others perform dismally in the area. Google Inc. is an example of a company that employs a comprehensive communication strategy. The strategy applies to marketing communications, public relations, and internal communications. Google’s communication strategy impacts positively on sales, services, and continuous improvement.
Girard discusses how innovative communication processes have helped Google Company resolve information blockages. The top reason Girard holds that position is that efficient communication strategy has led to harmony, trust and openness within the ranks of the company. As an illustration, transparency, an aspect of communication, represents the cornerstone of the company’s culture. Google’s Human Resource Officers are trained to inspire employees to believe that fellow employees are good. As such, a newly hire at the company, say a software engineer is granted full access to almost all of the company’s code on the first day of reporting to work. Besides, the company holds weekly all-hands meetings attended by the company’s co-founders (Girard, 2009). The meetings look into updates from the previous week.
A second reason Girard holds that position is that communication strategy has boosted the company’s marketing efforts a great deal. As a tactic that employs communication, the company employs a myriad of product promotional methodologies. One of them is advertising by the use of communication media such as radio, television, and social media. Further, Google’s advertising communicates through conventional, traditional newspapers, magazines, and outdoor advertising. The other common promotional method employed by Google is direct marketing. Besides Google engages in personal selling.
A third reason Girard holds that position is that Google’s communication strategy has led to the creation and sustenance of a positive image among stakeholders through provision for the engagement in public relations. Google relies on a number of tools and techniques to help it form meaningful relationships with stakeholders. One of the commonly used techniques is press release (Girard, 2009). The other proficiency employed by our company of interest is the regular preparation and distribution of newsletters. Other than press releases and newsletters, the company participates in public events and conferences. For further enhancement of goodwill among partners and clients, the company engages in reward schemes.
The communication strategy positively impacts the organization in various levels of operation. In the sales level, the different promotional techniques employed by Google see to it the reaching of a wide market of consumers. Further, direct marketing which entails communicating directly to potential customers through text messages, online adverts, email messages, and personalized promotional letters creates a personal touch with the customer. Quite often, the result is increased customer loyalty and enhanced goodwill of the company among consumers, both current and potential (Chatzigiannakis et.al, 2004). Personal selling which entails Google sending its agents to potential consumers to sell products personally has a desirable impact of building trust with the customer. Besides, the beauty of the technique is that it guarantees immediate feedback. Press releases increase the confidence of stakeholders in the company, therefore, increasing the likelihood of the personalities to enter business deals with Google Inc. Newsletters are platforms for outlining the company’s products, both present and prospective. Besides, it provides insights into products that customers may be experiencing in interaction with various products. The catalogue role of a newsletter enables consumers to compare notes and make up their minds to buy Google’s products.
Turning to service, openness and trust created by entrusting employees with the company’s sensitive data and code boosts employee satisfaction and improves their morale a great deal. During the weekly meetings held, 30 minutes of the meetings are dedicated to the fielding of questions by any person in the company on any imaginable topic. As such, the meetings provide a platform for seeking clarifications regarding services to customers. Besides, employees get an opportunity to air any possible grievances and challenges they may be going through in the course of delivering services. The trust created between employees enhances teamwork which taps the resultant synergy for quality customer service. In general, motivated employees have a higher likelihood of serving with passion (Chatzigiannakis et.al, 2004). Besides, Google experiences minimal turnover, a situation that assures the acquisition of experience by employees for quality of services offered.
On continuous improvement, Google engages in public relations by the employment of a range of techniques for efficiency. Pressers give information of interest to interested parties. Such information ranges from the hiring of key staff members to launch of products. Dissemination of information prompts the airing of views and recommendations by intended audiences for improvement of Google. Similarly, newsletters update interested parties on interesting developments within the company. Such information elicits discussions that Google taps into for enhancement of operations and products. Participation in public events by Google presents opportunity for meeting and interacting with customers and other stakeholders. Examples of events that Google participates in include the Firebase Summit, Android development summit, and chrome development summit. Such summits involve the showcasing of new knowledge and technologies that Google adopts for improvement. In addition, reward schemes invite creativity and innovation among participants. Examples of such programs include 2019 Google play awards and the Google Premier Partner Awards. The creativity and innovation exhibited by participants represent opportunities for improvement by Google.
A potential problem with the communications in Google is the possible leaking of sensitive information. Since all employees access the information, it is possible for competitors to approach an employee and bribe them into sharing the information. However, use of effective management skills to improve the morale of the employees would effectively counter the challenge. Potential motivational strategies would involve rewarding employees fairly, respecting them, giving them an opportunity to grow, and making them part of the organization.
Previously, I worked for Chic-fil-A. Though it has a communication strategy in place, the strategy was not as effective as that of Google Company. The former particularly performs dismally in internal communications and public relations. Borrowing Google’s communication strategy would change the organization for the better. Integration of the strategy in Chic-fil-A would involve a number of important steps. One of them would be acknowledging impoverished communication strategy and pointing to the need to review it. The major shortcomings of the current strategy should be highlighted. Next, a team of reviewers would be dispatched for a benchmark at Google. Information obtained from the benchmarking session would be used for preparation of a new, comprehensive strategy that takes care of the three important aspects of business operations (Alvesson, & Sveningsson, 2015). For success of the review, employees should be fully involved in the whole process. After development of a new communication strategy, necessary systems should be put in place for its effective implementation. Further, internal communication should be enhanced to communicate the new strategy widely and repetitively. During implementation, cross-functional teams should be created to help in comparing of notes. Finally, post-implementation reviews should be undertaken on regular basis.
In conclusion, Google’s communication strategy is successful a great deal. The strategy has resulted to enormous benefits in sales, service-delivery, and continuous improvement. Indeed, I may recommend the strategy to my former employer, Chic-fil-A. Implementation of the strategy in Chic-fil-A would involve a number of decisional steps.
References
Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge.
Chatzigiannakis, I., Nikoletseas, S., & Spirakis, P. (2001, October). An efficient communication strategy for ad-hoc mobile networks. In International Symposium on Distributed Computing (pp. 285-299). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Girard, B. (2009). The Google way: How one company is revolutionizing management as we know it. No Starch Press.