Business communication aims at promoting services, products, or relaying information within business entities. Communication within business premises touches on consumer behavior, consumer relations, interpersonal communication, and marketing amongst others (Guffey and Loewy 21).
The essay focuses on the aspects of web-based communication method, which include situations where it is preferable and not preferable, its effectiveness over other means of business communication, and its effects on the potential users.
The drastic changes in the way people conduct business came with increasing demand for online communications. Globalization played a key role in the adoption of this method of communication. Success for businesses requires effective communication irrespective of their sizes and objectives (Viswanathan 71).
Web-based communication comes in the form of instant messaging, emails, SharePoint and intranet sites, and video conferencing through Skype. Given the unfamiliarity that exists with these technological applications, developers must ensure that the systems meet customers’ needs and objectives of the business.
In addition, developers should pay immeasurable attention to the behavior of final users and communication aspects since the systems partially replace human-to-human interaction with human-to-computer relations.
For businesses, communication forms an essential component of success. For example, regular contact with customers helps organizations to understand the tastes and preferences of their clients, thus moving swiftly to address the needs in order to attract and retain more clients.
Customer satisfaction becomes effective if a business puts in place a well-organized communication channel with its customers. Using web-based systems in sharing pertinent information with vendors, customers, and other stakeholders enhances accuracy and efficiency. In this means of communication, an employer can find and deliver data to all departments in the firm at any time and irrespective of the location.
As long as business managers have internet connections, they can communicate among themselves without holding physical meetings (Worley 91). Using recent technological advancements in internet communication like voice and video conferencing, various business CEOs can hold virtual meetings in order to share their strategic objectives and methods of overcoming challenges in their management systems.
In aiding conferences from different locations, this means of communication has been effective in cost-reduction options. The possibility of using this method of communication 24/7 also enables employees to reach out to their counterparts in other departments at any time (Viswanathan 73).
Communication among employees enhances organizational cohesion and, consequently, resulting in unity in achieving an organization’s business and corporate strategies. At the same time, businesses that have websites or use social sites to reach their customers and investors, give the visitors easy time to communicate with the firm at any time (Leon par. 2).
A customer can communicate to the management on stringent issues at his/her convenience. This flexibility makes web-based communication in businesses convenient from both the internal and external perspective.
In the current global and dynamic market, business relationships have become fundamental for the success of international businesses. The relationship between a buyer and a seller should remain intact or strong through high quality communication in order to enhance marketing of business products.
The current society encourages democratic principles where people can share their ideas freely without interruption. In this communication platform, for instance, emails, people who are always reserved in the face-to-face communication option find non-interruptive option to express their thoughts freely.
Since the communication threads are documentable, they can help in future references as opposed to face-to-face communication in most meetings within organizations. Any bit of web-based communication is documented and can be revisited at any time. Undoubtedly, web-based communication does not lessen an individual’s contributions given that it stores all discussion threads.
Besides, such discussion threads are downloadable and printable. This feature makes web-based communication to avail information to the public in more than one form. In marketing, this means of communication reaches a large population in the entire world.
With high rate of internationalization, internet communication has proved effective and efficient in promoting products (Worley 92). Notably, the option has reduced the rate at which businesses use billboards, radios, cinemas and televisions in reaching to their customers, suppliers, investors and shareholders. A common option is the use of popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook, for example, allows businesses to create their profiles that include their products, prices, and locations. Since the sites are virtually present everywhere, businesses become virtually global in nature (Selznick par. 1). Therefore, these sites can expose businesses given the high number of people who are online.
The large market that social media sites create also results to increase in the number of customers (Leon par. 3). It generates brand awareness and builds trust with these customers. Social media sites, therefore, indirectly increase sales of a company that uses them. In addition, a business can connect with other businesses and entrepreneurs.
In LinkedIn, an entrepreneur is free to create a profile and connect with other reputable professional groups. Organizations can accept requests from other businesses in LinkedIn hence forming a professional group that can assist them learn how to manage and meet their customers’ expectations (Selznick par. 2).
Social sites, for that reason, globalize businesses. In addition, social media sites have proved essential in improving website traffic. A Company can create its profiles in these social sites and link them with the company website. One can also link his/her online business materials with social media profiles by using words that raise the chances of access by other people (Leon par. 7).
Therefore, web-based communication method also assist businesses reduce their marketing expenses. For instance, these sites eliminate commissions and salaries that a company could have paid the marketing employees. Therefore, a business that frequently uses web-based communication in promoting its products experiences reduction in marketing expenses.
Businesses that cannot meet the high cost of marketing campaigns can generate buzz on a social media site like Twitter at low costs. Businesses can also get insights on the nature of their market through these social sites without spending too much funds on market research.
Web-based communication concept requires users to have strong command of technical skills in order to communicate effectively to each other. For instance, those who do not have good keyboarding and language skills in the text-based option will not communicate effectively with other people within and outside the business premises. In the process of communication, there are high chances of typing broken English.
However, video and voice conferencing eliminates the technicality (Yuan, Head, and Du 100). In online communication like chat programs and emails, there is no virtual face-to-face interaction, thus losing the elements of gestures and facial expressions in communication among stakeholders and the management.
Web-based communication has revolutionized the business world given the numerous cost-effective options that it brings to users. Organizations have enhanced the relationship among their employees with the management, thus increasing the rate of solving their problems at work.
In essence, web-based communication remains the best option among other means of communication for businesses given that other options also have extreme demerits.
Works Cited
Guffey, Mary Ellen, and Dana Loewy. Essentials of business communication. 8th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Leon, Michael Martin. “Benefits of Social Media for Business.” Business Directory Australia | Business.com.au. N.p., 23 Jan. 2013. Web.
Selznick, Brian. “Social Media Changing the Way We Do Business.” NetCast Studio. N.p., 25 Oct. 2010. Web.
Viswanathan, Rajeesh. Business communication. Mumbai India: Himalaya Pub. House, 2010. Print.
Worley, R. B.. “The Internet and the World Wide Web in the Business Communication.” Business Communication Quarterly 60.4 (1997): 91-92. Print.
Yuan, Yuffi, Milena Head, and Mei Du. “The Effects of Multimedia Communication on Web-Based Negotiation.” Group Decision and Negotiation 12.2 (2003): 89-109. Print.