Business communications have evolved rapidly over the years. Business leaders, employees, and consumers are shifting away from traditional channels like email. Instead, they have been preferring more personable ways to contact one another.
It’s crucial to recognize the new tools and trends to keep up with the changing times. Only then you’ll be able to maintain a thriving business and be better prepared for the future.
As you gear up for the next year, let’s explore how business communications have changed in the last 10 years. Plus, we’ll take a look at the technologies you need to embrace to confront these changes and improve communication.
6 Ways Business Communication Has Evolved
The quick progression of the Internet, cloud, and the overall technology sector has led to many changes in corporate communications. These include:
Smart Mobile Devices
As of 2021, there were 6.26 billion active smartphone subscriptions worldwide, up from 3.67 billion in 2015. And this number is only going to increase from there, estimated to reach 7.7 billion by 2027.
The cell phone has emerged as a complete device in the last few years. It lets you manage all your communication in the palm of your hand. You can use it for calls, emails, text messages, live chat, and more.
So it’s no surprise that brands have been optimizing their entire marketing funnel for mobile users. This transformation includes:
- Making their websites and other forms of user experience compatible with mobile devices.
- Adopting mobile-first communication methods such as SMS messages, push notifications, smartphone apps, and automated phone calls.
And in doing so, they have been getting additional visibility and reach.
Virtual Events with Video Conferencing
Video conferencing is not new. In fact, it first emerged in the 1980s. But it’s the last decade that has seen the most surge in its adoption for collaboration and communication.
Even the companies that were on the fence for years were won over by its convenience and speed during the recent pandemic. According to an estimate, video conferencing traffic rose by over 535% in 2020.
And for good reason. How else would people have connected when they were confined to their homes? Video conferencing filled in that gap and made face-to-face communication possible.
On top of that, video-enabled tablets, phones, and apps have allowed teams and companies to easily conduct product demos and presentations.
Another convenient add-on has been live streams. YouTube, Facebook, and other portals allow companies to reach and engage with thousands of customers in real-time.
Cloud-based Technologies
Cloud communications have gone through a huge overhaul in the last few years. In fact, the public cloud market is estimated to be worth more than $800 billion by 2025.
So it’s clear that the cloud is changing how people and organizations communicate. A great example of this is VoIP systems.
Traditional call centers are now a thing of the past. In contrast, VoIP phone systems have emerged as a flexible and secure way for dispersed workers to stay in the loop. Thanks to VoIP, companies and their employees can now connect with one another across borders and provide smooth customer experiences.
What’s even better is that cloud-based services and apps can be accessed from mobile devices. This makes it more convenient for everyone to make sure that they are on the same page.
Personalized Communication
As per Epsilon’s report, 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a business when it provides a customized experience.
Personalized communication means communicating in such a way that your message is customized to the needs and interests of the recipient. This makes the recipient feel more valued, establishing a more intimate connection with the business.
Over the last decade, personalization has gone way beyond basic measures like addressing contacts by their first names.
For example, online stores have been using personalization to recommend products based on what a customer purchased in the past. And brands are advertising on Facebook and Google ads to target specific audiences for whom their messaging would be the most relevant.
Digital Transformation
IDC predicts that worldwide spending on digital transformation will reach $2.8 trillion in 2025.
The changes we have discussed so far have had a great impact on communication in isolation. But their real power comes into play when they join forces. As a result, they generate innovative ways to share information and enhance business communication.
The term digital transformation, then, refers to the integration of digital technologies into different departments of a business to deliver sustainable and effective outcomes.
For example, brands like Amazon and Netflix have disrupted the market and cleaned out their competition by using digital transformation to:
- Rethink business models (such as ecommerce and online streaming).
- Streamline processes (such as logistics of delivery).
- Optimize customer communication (in-context reviews, personalized recommendations, and more).
Today’s customers expect you to be available on all the digital channels and devices they use. And successful digital transformation is the way to achieve that.
Unified Communications as a Service
The last decade isn’t just known for cloud and mobile technologies. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has also emerged in parallel to other developments.
According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets, the UCaaS market size is predicted to grow to $24.8 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 9.5 percent.
Since customers expect companies to be able to communicate via various channels, handling communication on different platforms can be challenging from the company’s perspective.
Communication professionals, marketers, support agents, and other employees would rather prefer a single platform that unifies all the communication in one place.
That’s where a unified communication system comes in. It ensures that critical messages, content, and conversations don’t slip through the cracks.
Unified communication systems are being used increasingly to reduce infrastructure costs and centralize customer experience.
Summing Up
While these communication trends and technologies have been in the market for some time now, they are still advancing. And they will likely be around in the near future.
The recent evolution of business communication has shown that customers expect more from organizations and how brands communicate. They will listen to what your company has to say only when:
- Their queries and concerns are being addressed fast
- They are engaged on the channels they prefer, whether online or offline
- The communication is relevant to their needs
So as you plan your communication strategy for the future, keep an eye on the trends that have shaped the history of corporate communication. And think about what that means for the future. The more you evolve with changing times, the better your business will perform.
April 7, 2023
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