Tips for Improving Communication Within Your Marketing Team

How happy are you with the results of your in-house marketing team? Have you enjoyed a high return-on-investment, or do you feel as if ongoing efforts are falling short of the mark?

Believe it or not, a mere 22 per cent of all businesses surveyed claimed that they were satisfied with their conversion rate optimisation (CRO).

If your marketing specialists are not communicating in a streamlined manner, your ongoing operations will inevitably suffer as a result.

Let us, therefore, examine seven strategies that can be leveraged to improve communication and to provide quantifiable marketing results without being forced to break the traditional mould.

1. Take Advantage of Real-Time Meetings

Although many digital marketing trends place an understandable emphasis upon the role of technology and hybrid workplace, this does not represent the entire picture.

Any well-rounded team will still need to embrace an organic level of interaction. This is when in-house meetings come into play.

Meetings can be used to identify common goals, highlight any marketing hurdles that may need to be overcome and proactively analyse the progress that has already been made.

Furthermore, team members will be able to appreciate one another on a more personal level.

While traditional office meetings may still be employed, there are still ways to enhance this level of communication within a hybrid business atmosphere. This leads us directly into the next section.

2. Fully Embrace the Role of Digital Communications

We are all aware that the notion of remote employment is becoming rather commonplace. This may appear to present a sight problem regarding marketing communications.

However, an array of user-friendly tools can be used to provide highly efficient solutions when the time is right.

For example, VoIP Phone Systems provide a reliable means for team members to speak with one another; regardless of distance.

Cloud PBX systems will often provide free calls between business branches. A handful of other possible utilities include:

• Live webinars.
• Third-party software systems such as Salesforce and Microsoft Teams.
• Using the Internet of Things (IoT) to link personal devices into a business communications network.

We can now see that the role of technology cannot be denied when discussing communication improvements.

3. Brevity is the Soul of Wit

This is another workplace maxim that tends to be overlooked. There are times when marketing teams are forced to endure long-winded presentations and webinars that circumnavigate a topic as opposed to getting to the point. It is much better to be direct and clear.

Marketing specialists are eager to ply their trade as opposed to sitting through interminable presentations.

Make every subject count, encourage questions and clarify the most important recommendations. These approaches will help to breed a happy (and highly communicative) workforce.

4. Effective Communication Represents a Two-Way Street

Listening to what marketing team members may have to say will enhance productivity, boost confidence and reduce errors that might otherwise occur.

Unfortunately, some team leaders and managers oversee operations from a rather top-down perspective. This will hardly promote a sense of cohesion.

5. Never Underestimate the Power of the Written Word

Partially due to recent technological advancements, how in-house communications are performed have been forever changed.

As opposed to morning meetings or motivational “pep talks”, management is more likely to convey their desires to teams via email presentations and (occasionally) white papers.

Whether referring to production concepts, brand identity or social media advertising, it is important to create clear and concise instructions.

Otherwise, some important metrics might become lost in translation. Let’s also not forget to mention that marketing professionals hardly possess the time (or the patience) to wade through lengthy blocks of text before coming to the main takeaway points.

6. Develop Relationships Outside of the Office

Although there is no “I” in team, marketing professionals will certainly display their own unique personality traits.

Although this can sometimes offer amazing results, it may also lead to misunderstandings and a communication breakdown. One way to avoid these situations is to build professional relationships outside of the office. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Group lunches
• Happy hour at a local pub or restaurant
• Going to the cinema after a long work week
• Attending extracurricular team-building events

We need to remember that any marketing team is only as strong as its weakest link. Developing a personal sense of rapport outside of the traditional office environment will ultimately lead to higher levels of cohesion.

Furthermore, individual members will be more likely to actively contribute to a project or to voice their concerns if a problem arises.

7. Clearly Define the Four “W’s”

Another common communications-related debacle can result from undefined (or poorly defined) objectives.

This is why clearly identifying a handful of parameters is crucial. Here is a quick breakdown of the so-called “four W’s“:

• Who?
• What and why?
• Where?
• When?

Who will be tackling tasks and what role(s) will he or she play? Who will they ultimately report to and what individuals are slated to oversee different stages?

What strategies and/or software packages will be used? How can these be employed following short- and long-term goals?

In the same respect, why is this project being undertaken? What are the primary objectives and how can these targets be communicated?

Where will the campaign be presented? Is it intended for social media circles, for traditional advertising or might it instead represent part of a much larger agenda? Effective communications always require this type of road map.

When is a project expected to be completed? Is this a realistic goal or might the team encounter temporal problems? Setting clear deadlines is likewise an important portion of communications.

Making Certain that Everyone is on the Same Page

Enhancing communications within marketing teams is one of the best ways to make certain that even the loftiest of goals can be met. While this strategy will require a fair amount of oversight, it is well worth the effort.