impact of emerging technologies to the luxury in relation to digital marketing

The Use of Email & Instant Messaging in Business Communications

Name: Student ID: Course: BA Business Management Module: Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise Module Leader: Glyn Davis Word Count: 4,252

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Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2

Chapter 2: Objective 1: Email and Internal Communications ................................................... 4

2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Business applications ....................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Software examples ........................................................................................................... 5

2.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 7

Chapter 3: Objective 2: Instant Messaging and Internal Communications ............................... 8

3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 8

3.2 Business applications ....................................................................................................... 8

3.3 Software examples ........................................................................................................... 9

3.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 11

Chapter 4: Objective 3: Email and External Communications ................................................. 12

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 12

4.2 Business applications ..................................................................................................... 13

4.3 Software examples ......................................................................................................... 14

4.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 16

Chapter 5: Objective 4: Instant Messaging and External Communications ............................ 17

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 17

5.2 Business applications ..................................................................................................... 17

5.3 Software examples ......................................................................................................... 18

5.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 19

Chapter 6: Objective 5: The Future of Internal & External Communications ......................... 20

6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 20

6.2 Future of Internal communications ............................................................................... 20

6.3 Future of external communications ............................................................................... 20

6.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 21

Chapter 7: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 22

References ............................................................................................................................... 23

Chapter 1: Introduction Email and Instant messaging (IM) have each become cornerstones of contemporary digital communication (Chaffey, 2015, p. 454), both being created for the US government in the early 1970s (The Guardian, 2002). However, it wasn’t until the late 1980s (The Guardian, 2002) and 1990s (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018) before organisations began to widely adopt these technologies (Chaffey, 2015, p. 107). Both IM and email have become so dominant in business that many professionals no longer check voicemail, expecting any important communications to be sent digitally (Forbes, 2014, a.). This is a trend that is expected to increase as ‘Generation-Y’ (people born after 1980) continue to enter the workforce (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). Thus, organisations are having to reassess their internal and external digital infrastructures to ensure effective communications (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). Communication is essential for any organisation, with digital technologies now being utilised to facilitate internal service cultures (Hewit, 2006). This is where employees are encouraged to work collaboratively to boost performance (Hewit, 2006), as illustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Links Between Internal Communication & Performance (Hewit, 2006)

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This report shall cover the following 5 objectives in chapters 2-6:

1. To examine the use and importance of email for internal communications 2. To examine the use and importance of instant messaging for internal communications 3. To examine the use and importance of email for external communications 4. To examine the use and importance of instant messaging for external communications 5. To explore the future of internal and external communications

These 5 objectives will provide a well-rounded framework to explore the contemporary challenges and opportunities presented by email and IM, in relation to both internal and external communications.

Chapter 2: Objective 1: Email and Internal Communications 2.1 Introduction Internal communication is a vital part of any organisation, increasing in importance as organisations expand, with structures becoming more complex (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014), and a shift towards digital communication technologies being seen in recent decades (Hewit, 2006). Traditionally, organisations would communicate to their workforce through such mechanisms as noticeboards, however this began to change with the introduction of email, allowing for two-way communications between all levels in an organisation (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014). First created in 1971, it wasn’t until 1988 that email got its first graphical user interface, Eudora (Figure 2.1), and thus businesses didn’t begin to widely adopt email until this time (The Guardian, 2002). However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that internet connections began to become widespread in the UK (figure 2.2) (ONS, 2018, a.), this correlates with many releases of email software during this period (The Guardian, 2002).

Figure 2.1 Eudroa Email Logo (Computer History Museum, 2018)

Figure 2.2 UK Internet Access 1998-2018 (ONS, 2018)

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2.2 Business applications Since the early 2000s, email has become the most commonly used digital communication medium (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014). Although created as a quicker and more reliable means of written communication (The Guardian, 2002), email has not fully replaced hand written notes, as many people still prefer the personal touch this traditional medium provides (Forbes, 2013). However, as ‘Generation-Y’ enters the workforce (Friedl and Vercic, 2011), it is expected that the swing towards digital communication will accelerate, this is because many in ‘Generation-Y’ have used digital communication technologies throughout their lives and will be more comfortable communicating digitally, thus will expect email and IM to be commonplace (Forbes, 2013). However, it is important to note that some younger employees may not be comfortable with more formal communication style of emails, preferring to use more information services, such as IM (Forbes, 2013) – this shall be explored in chapter 3. Many organisations have now fully adopted and integrated email into their working processes (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014). This has brought a number of benefits; firstly, as previously mentioned, by committing to digital communication methods, organisations have been able to facilitate effective communication between younger employees (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). This can help to create a more attractive working environment for ‘Generation- Y’ (Forbes, 2013) and thus encourage a more collaborative internal service culture (figure 1.1). Email can also provide huge cost savings to organisations, reducing the need for physical mail, saving on resource and postage costs, especially when sending mail externally (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197). With the average office worker receiving up to 200 messages per day (Holtz, 2004) and at a cost of between 39p and £1.99 per letter sent via Royal Mail Franking Services (Royal Mail, 2018), it is therefore not practical for an organisation to rely on physical mail when more economical, digital alternatives are available. Another main benefit of email, but also of IM, is that it can dramatically reduce the timescales required to communicate by eliminating the need to physically transport a communique (Kirchner, Nielsen and Razmerita, 2016). This can help to reduce decision making time, resolving issues more quickly and further reducing costs (Kirchner, Nielsen and Razmerita, 2016). This can also facilitate the passing of work from time-zone to time-zone, potentially allowing work to continue 24 hours per day, potentially boosting collaboration (Darics, 2017). 2.3 Software examples One of the market leaders in business email hosting is Outlook (Wired, 2012), now bundled with Microsoft’s Office 365 offering, granting access to the latest Microsoft Office software, in addition to email services (Microsoft Office, 2018, a.). As seen in figure 2.3, and previously explored, email can provide a competitive alternative to physical mail, with pricing starting from £3.80, rising to £9.40 per month per user (Microsoft Office, 2018, a). By doing this, Microsoft has created an attractive package for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), offering familiar software with essential email services (Wired, 2012).

Outlook is by no means the only major player in the email hosting space (Techradar, 2018). For SMEs on a tight budget, Zoho offers a free option, providing a very basic service with no dedicated software (Zoho, 2018), as illustrated in figure 2.4. Although basic, this could be perfect for a new business with few employees, as the inherently flat structure should mean communication is simple, eliminating the need for dedicated software (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014).

Figure 2.3 Office 365 For Business Pricing (Microsoft Office, 2018, a.)

Figure 2.5 Zoho Workplace Email Plans (Zoho, 2018)

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2.4 Conclusion Having well structured internal communication procedures can be vitally important to organisations, especially as they grow in scope and scale (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014). Thus, many businesses have now turned to digital communication methods, such as email, to help manage communications – this is of particular importance to organisations with young workforces (Forbes, 2013). Being competitively priced, both Microsoft’s Outlook (Microsoft Office, 2018, a.) and Zoho (2018) offer a range of services which can be tailored to meet customers needs. Therefore, an organisation of any size now can fully take advantage of the benefits email has to offer.

Chapter 3: Objective 2: Instant Messaging and Internal Communications 3.1 Introduction IM now plays a significant role in many organisations’ internal communication infrastructures (Darics, 2017). However, unlike email, IM took longer to be adopted by organisations, with many of the now dominant services, such as Skype (2018), launching between 2002 and 2008 (Encyclopaedia Britannic, 2018). This is likely due to the introduction of broadband internet around this time, improving download speeds and usability (uSwitch, 2018), thus providing the basic infrastructure required for real-time digital communications (Darics, 2017). 3.2 Business applications Like email (Chapter 2) IM carries several benefits, particularly to larger enterprises with more complex structures. This is because IM is typically faster than email, allowing for a more conversational approach to digital communication (Darcis, 2017). This relaxed medium can provide a more pleasant working environment and encourage greater interdepartmental collaboration (figure 1.1) (Hewit, 2006). As alluded to in chapter 2, many in ‘Generation-Y’ have grown up sending messages via IM (Forbes, 2013), it is likely they will be more comfortable with this more informal communication style, and thus an organisation with a particularly young workforce would potentially benefit the greatest from the use of IM (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). However, this poses a potential issue, as employees who are not as comfortable using IM, may not be confident communicating via such mediums, preferring more traditional means, such as email or face-to-face communication (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). From this, it could be expected that email use will begin to diminish as ‘Generation-Y’ enters the workforce, with IM becoming more prevalent. IM can also be used to facilitate teleworking or collaborative-working practices across wide geographical areas (Darcis, 2017) – enabling organisations to take advantage of reginal opportunities (Darcis, 2017), such as have sales reps located in different cities. Thus, reducing the need to duplicate departments across multiple sites (Darcis, 2017). Plus, as mobile technologies have progressed, including wide spread 4G coverage in the UK (Ofcom, 2018) (figure 3.1) and the release of IM mobile apps (Skype, 2018), employees have been able to quickly communicate with their colleagues from almost any location. This enables ad hoc discussions, thus maintaining workflow momentum (Techradar, 2012).

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3.3 Software examples Launched in 2003 (Encylapeadia Britannic, 2018), before being acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion (Microsoft News, 2011), Skype was one of the first IM services on the market, gaining a first mover advantage to become the market leader it is today (Business Insider, 2011). Although soon to be replaced by new IM software, ‘Teams’ (Wired, 2017, a.), Skype for business is also included in Office 365 (figure 2.4) (Skype, 2018), further adding to this package’s attractiveness (Wired, 2012). Skype for Business provides a set of tools, not just limited to simple IM, although still its focus (Skype, 2018). Skype for Business (figure 3.2) aims to offer a full IM solution, encompassing everything from basic IM and VoIP meetings, to screensharing collaborative-working tools, directly linking to other Office 365 software (Skype, 2018).

Figure 3.1 UK 4G Coverage Map (Ofcom, 2018)

Google’s Hangouts Chat – launched in 2003 (Encyclopaedia Britannic, 2018) – is one of Skype’s largest competitors in the internal communication space, which also, like Skype, is offered in a subscription service (G Suite, 2018). Google’s G Suite bundles IM, email, collaborative- working and cloud-storage tools into one offering, with the aim of facilitating real-time communication and collaboration (figure 3.3) (G Suite, 2018). However, unlike Skype, Hangouts Chat, and G Suite as a whole, is aimed towards SMEs or new businesses, rather than large multinationals, although still available to larger businesses (G Suite, 2018). This has allowed Google to differentiate their offering from that of Microsoft’s, carving out their own market segment.

Figure 3.2 Skype for Business features (Skype, 2018)

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3.4 Conclusion Beginning to overtake email, IM is quickly establishing itself as a mainstay of modern, internal communication (Darics, 2017), particularly for ‘Generation-Y’ (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). However, organisations should be mindful that not all employees will be comfortable using such mediums and thus employees should be given the choice of how they wish to communicate (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). In terms of software, as IM is still evolving to allow for greater collaboration (Skype, 2018), organisations should carefully consider all options to find the best service for their needs.

Figure 3.3 G Suite Hangouts Chat (G Suite, 2018)

Chapter 4: Objective 3: Email and External Communications 4.1 Introduction External communication, in the form on digital marketing, encompasses practically every outward facing aspect of an organisation (Pogorelova et al., 2016). The marketing mix, which lays out the elements of effective marketing (Pogorelova et al., 2016), started with just 4Ps (figure 4.1), however in years decades, this has been amended, adding 3 additional Ps and 1G (figure 4.2) (Pistol and Tonis, 2017). These new elements are; ‘Physical Evidence’ – such as product images and testimonials, ‘Process’ – continuous improvement of products and services, ‘People’ – the way the organisation communicates with its customers, and ‘Green’ – how an organisation is limiting its impact on the environment (Pistol and Tonis, 2017).

Figure 4.1 4 Original Ps of the Digital Marketing Mix (Pogorelova et al., 2016)

Figure 4.2 7Ps & 1G Digital Marketing Mix (Pistol and Tonis, 2017)

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This all forms part of the wider field of customer relationship management (CRM), which, in the digital age, has become a crucial part of many organisations’ online presence (Forbes, 2017, a.). This chapter shall focus on email, business-to-consumer (B2C) communications, in terms of marketing and wider CRM. 4.2 Business applications As discussed in chapter 2, email services began to launch in the 1990s, and thus it wasn’t until this time that organisations began to utilise email marketing (The Guardian, 2002). Since then, direct email marketing has risen to become many organisations’ preferred tool to for CRM (Forbes, 2018, a.), due to the low cost of email (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197) and high impact (McKinsey, 2014) (Figure 4.3), also explored in chapter 2. However, this has spearheaded a spam problem, with 45% of all emails sent being unwanted spam (Forbes, 2018, a.), and as email inbox spam filters become more zealous, organisations may find their communications go unread by customers (Forbes, 2018, b.).

However, to be effective, direct email marketing must contain some key elements (figure 4.4) (Baines and Fill, 2014, pp. 610-619). The email should be personalised to the recipient, such as including their name and personal recommendations, this will give the impression that the organisation understands and cares about their custom, reinforcing brand image (Bains and Fill, 2014, pp. 610-619).

Figure 4.3 US Customer-Acquisition Growth (%) (McKinsey, 2014)

Although an effective marketing tool, two-way external, email communication is not necessarily attractive to organisations, as this is difficult to automate, or do en masse, thus an employee must comprehend and respond to each email (Forbes, 2018, c.). This process can be time consuming and costly, thus, many organisations are moving away from this communication method, instead implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and IM into their CRM toolbox (Forbes, 2018, c.). 4.3 Software examples Although possible to use basic email systems, such as Outlook (2018) for CRM, many organisations now prefer to use dedicate software or services, such as that offered by Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 (2018). Although not a low-cost solution (figure 4.5) does provide a wide array of tools, aimed at medium sized businesses, allowing customers to engage across

Figure 4.4 Fundamentals of Email Marketing (Baines and Fill, 2014, p. 619)

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multiple platforms, plus with the use of AI and machine learning, the software can ensure the most important communications are prioritised (Microsoft’s Dynamics 365, 2018).

Due to the cost and complexity of Microsoft Dynamics 365 (2018), this would likely require dedicated CMR job roles, thus SMEs may prefer something simpler, such as that offer by MailChimp (figure 4.6). Facilitating the sending of over 6 billion emails every week, from over 175 countries, Mailchimp’s simple email marketing tools has proven popular (MailChimp, 2018). MailChimp’s offering, although primarily aimed towards e-commerce SMEs, is also very applicable to other organisations who contact their customers via email (MailChimp, 2018). As illustrated in figure 4.6, MailChimp’s tool set is very flexible, enabling organisations to take advantage of the full marketing mix as well as contributing towards their CRM, via email (MailChimp, 2018).

Figure 4.5 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Overview (Microsoft Dynamics, 2018)

4.4 Conclusion Email is well established as a key marketing tool, playing a significant role in CRM (Baines and Fill, 2014, pp. 610-619). From this, it is evident that if an organisation is failing to market themselves via email, they could be losing custom to competitors (McKinsey, 2014), as they may not be effectively marketing themselves to their online audience (Pistol and Tonis, 2017). Thus, organisations should take advantage of services such as MailChimp (2018) or if they have more complex needs, Microsoft Dynamics (2018) to ensure they are effectively reaching their target audience. However, this can be time consuming, and thus an organisation should weigh-up the potential returns on any investment into dedicated resources.

Figure 4.6 MailChimp Overview (MailChimp, 2018)

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Chapter 5: Objective 4: Instant Messaging and External Communications 5.1 Introduction As discussed in chapter 3, IM is playing an increasingly important part in modern communications, both internally and externally (figure 5.1) (Darics, 2017), being the fastest growing form of communication (Facebook Business, 2018). Because of this, recent years have seen an increase in investment in both internal and external IM systems, with companies such as Amazon willing to offer up to $9 billion to acquire such services (Wired, 2017, a.). This chapter shall focus on B2C external communications, including marketing elements of IM.

Once IM become established (Chapter 3), it wasn’t long before this technology started to be utilised for B2C communications (Marino and Presti, 2018). This adoption rate increased once smartphones became widespread, allowing customers to contact an organisation from almost any location and at any time (Marino and Presti, 2018). Thus, many organisations are now activity encouraging customers to engage via IM (Marino and Presti, 2018), particularly if their target market is part of ‘Generation-Y’ (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). 5.2 Business applications As discovered in chapter 3, IM can carry some significant cost savings by allowing one person to communicate with multiple people and be working on several projects at once (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197). Thus, organisations that use IM for external communications can take

Figure 5.1 Facebook Messenger For Business (Facebook Business, 2018)

advantage of these cost savings (Facebook Business, 2018), whilst also maintaining some personal touch of conversational communication, which is partially lost with email (Kirchner, Nielsen and Razmerita, 2016). This limited personal touch benefits the organisations CRM by giving the impression that the service is individually tailored (Baines and Fill, 2014, pp. 610-619). However, this poses a challenge as organisations begin to introduce AI chatbots into the IM CRM systems (Wired, 2017, b.), removing the human element, which is seen as an important component of the marketing mix (Chapter 4) (Pistol and Tonis, 2017). Although the human element is eroding in B2C interactions, AI has proven a successful replacement, especially through the medium of IM (Wired, 2017, b.), with 8/10 business planning to implement AI as part of their CRM by 2020 (Forbes, 2017, c.). AI chatbots (Business Insider, 2017) have been able to emulate human conversations, helping to persuade customers that they are in contact with an employee (Wired, 2017, b.). This can help keep the costs as low as possible by automating simple tasks, such as requests to return an item or signpost a customer to the correct resource (Forbes, 2017, b.). This is done through recognising key words, but as the technology is still in its infancy, many of these systems are limited in thier scope and are currently used to provide a triage service before a human representative steps in (Forbes, 2017, c.). 5.3 Software examples As the largest social media site, holding 65% market share in 2018 (Statista, 2018), Facebook has been an early adopter of IM in the form of its Facebook Messenger (Facebook Business, 2018). This has enabled Facebook to style itself into a hub for CRM IM, providing a portal for organisations to utilise (Facebook Business, 2018). This not only allows organisations to communicate directly with customers, but also the integration of AI, to take advantage of the aforementioned benefits, with Lego saving 71% on per sale costs (figure 5.2) (Facebook Business, 2018). Thus, Facebook has proven that their IM solution can be a valuable tool to drive sales and CRM. Instead of aiming to solve the previously discussed issues of AI chatbots, Facebook as leaned into them, clearly informing users that they are engaging with a chatbot, forcing customers to navigate a dialogue tree instead of typing their own messages (figure 5.2) (Facebook Business, 2017).

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Facebook is not limiting this platform to just large businesses, but also allows SMEs to galvanise their social media following, partnering with several chatbot creating services, forming three core options for Facebook AI chatbots, allowing organisations to tailor their chatbots to their needs (Facebook Business, 2018). Thus, it is clear Facebook has created a service aimed at all organisations with a presence on Facebook, no matter their size. 5.4 Conclusion Introduced in chapter 4, IM is starting to play an ever-increasing role in the marketing mix (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197), with many businesses now dedicated IM CRM services or utilising 3rd party offerings, such as that from Facebook (Facebook Business, 2018). However, the cost of having dedicated representatives can still burden organisations, although this still poses significant cost savings compared with other, more traditional, CRM tools (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197). Because of these costs, many organisations have begun to implement AIs and chatbots to replace human representatives (Forbes, 2017, c.). Thus, organisations should consider what aspects of their CRM they will be losing through the implementation of AI chatbots.

Figure 5.2 Facebook Messenger – Lego Case Study (Facebook Business, 2018)

Chapter 6: Objective 5: The Future of Internal & External Communications 6.1 Introduction As mentioned in previous chapters, ‘Generation-Y’ is an increasingly important driving force in how organisations communicate, both internally and externally (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). Therefore, as more young people enter the workplace, this trend is likely to continue. From this, IM will play an increasingly crucial role in the future of communications, with greater AI integration (Wired, 2017, a.), as explored in chapter 5. 6.2 Future of Internal communications First, looking at internal communication, in addition to ‘Generation-Y’ entering the workforce, increasing teleworking and globalisation will mean IM will play an ever more important role in communications (Darcis, 2017), as explored in chapter 3. Having said this, email is still the most common digital communication tool, a trend that does not show any signs of diminishing (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014). Thus, this could mean that IM, instead of replacing email, may be partially replacing face-to-face communications, as well as increasing the total levels of communication, due to the ease of using IM (Hewit, 2006). This increasing ease of communication, internal service cultures and greater focus on collaborative-working, as well as improved internet access (chapter 2), has paved the way for cloud-based collaborative-working tools, such as Microsoft’s Office 365, allowing multiple users to work on the same document at the same time, whilst also communicating remotely via Skype (Microsoft Office, 2018, b.). Such services are likely to become more commonplace, as well as the gradual rollout of AI in workplaces (IBM, 2018), further freeing up time and resources, allowing employees to become more productive (Darcis, 2018). 6.3 Future of external communications Looking now at external communications, organisations such as online retailer Amazon (TechCrunch, 2013) and online tax filing service TurboTax are already pioneering the use of video conferencing software solutions to replace CRM IM chat services (VCDaily, 2018). This allows customers to see the face of the employee with whom they are speaking (TechCrunch, 2013). But unlike Amazon’s solution, TurboTax does not put the customer in contact with an employee, instead with a simulated human image, powered by an AI (VCDaily, 2018). By providing a human face (simulated or not) to accompany verbal communication helps to resolve the issue around the lack of a personal touch in B2C communications that has been seen with the introduction of previous technologies (Kirchner, Nielsen and Razmerita, 2016), such as email and traditional IM. However, these have shown mixed results, with Amazon’s Mayday system not seeing a wider rollout beyond it’s technical support for Kindle devices (TechCrunch, 2013), whereas TurboTax has seen more promising results, aimed at providing technical information and

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support, rather than answering general queries (VCDaily, 2018). Thus, it could provide a base for future improvements as AI become more sophisticated and capable of understanding and answering more complex queries (Forbes, 2017, d.), which computing organisation IBM is working to develop (IBM, 2018). IBM has established itself as a major player in the AI space, endeavouring to create an AI that can understand and streamline business processes, freeing up employee’s time by reducing time spent on menial work and improving the customer experience with better targeted and personalised communication (IBM, 2018). As a result of cutting down on menial work, employees will be able to spend more time engaging with customers, further improving the customer relationship and experience. 6.4 Conclusion In conclusion, future technologies have a great potential to enhance both internal and external communications, leading to more collaborative-working and help to improve CRM (Hewit, 2006), as well as multiple cost and resource savings made through the implementation of AI (IBM, 2018). This change is accelerated by ‘Generation-Y’ as these people are more willing to adopt new technologies, as well have a greater affinity with them (Darcis, 2017). It is also important to consider an organisation’s target market, as a younger market may also be more willing to engage with new communication methods (Darcis, 2017), and conversely an organisation with an older target market may want to hold back on adopting new technologies, instead of forcing them upon their customers.

Chapter 7: Conclusion In conclusion, this report has analysed the use, importance and impact of email and IM communication technologies in relation to both internal and external communications, covering objects 1-5. Explored in chapters 2 and 4, it is evident that email is a vitally important communication tool (Karjaluoto, Lipiäinen, and Nevalainen, 2014), one which many people are comfortable and familiar with, becoming well established in recent decades (Hewit, 2004). Providing significant cost, time and resource savings to organisation (Gillis, 2011, pp. 195-197), whilst also being an effective marketing tool (McKinsey, 2014), it is likely that email will continue to be the dominant mode of business communication for many years to come (Friedl and Vercic, 2011). However, that is not to say that email does not have its drawbacks, particularly in relational to external communications as emails can often be perceived as lacking a personal touch, if not tailored to individual customers (Kirchner, Nielsen and Razmerita, 2016). There are also issues around ‘Generation-Y’s use of email, as they are less likely to be comfortable with this medium of communication, preferring more informational, conversational communications (Forbes, 2013). Thus, organisations must carefully consider both the demographics of their customers as well as workforce to ensure that communication is effective as possible. Now looking at IM communications, chapters 3 and 5 demonstrated that IM is quickly becoming a major tool for both internal and external communications, with many large organisations fully adopting IM to facilitate all kinds of communications (Darics, 2017). This is a trend that is expected to continue, with SMEs beginning to also utilise IM, such as that offered by Facebook (Facebook Business, 2018). Providing that more informal, conversational communication style preferred by ‘Generation- Y’, IM has proven particularly popular amongst younger employees and customers (Forbes, 2013). Thus, like email, organisations need to consider their customer and employee demographics before fully implementing IM, in order to prevent a disconnect between older and younger employees, organisations should give the choice to employees in regards to how they communicate – keeping all options available. Looking into the future, AI, in the form of chatbots, but also internal process automation, will become increasingly important to many organisations, allowing AIs to complete menial tasks, with employees completing the more complex or nuanced tasks (IBM, 2018).

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