Objectives of Business Communication are as follows:
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1. Inform:
The first and foremost objective of any communication is to inform. In today’s world, information is power. Communication brings power through information. The dissemination of information covers a wide range of areas, both internal and external.
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People within the organization have to be kept informed about the organizational goals, objectives, procedures, processes, systems, plans, priorities and strategies. Equally important is the objective of ensuring effective external communication—with customers, prospects, competitors, suppliers and the public, about products, services, plans, happenings, events and achievements.
The information needs within the organization take on different nomenclatures—market-related information, product-related information, client-related information, employee information, executive information and management information.
2. Educate:
Another objective of communication in an organization is to educate, i.e., to disseminate knowledge and develop skills and attitudes among the people working in the organization. There is also a need to familiarize them with the systems, procedures and processes.
This process of education may extend to customers as well. This may be done through product literature, publicity, presentations and demonstrations.
3. Train:
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Communication is an integral component of any training program. Business organizations need to train people to achieve proficiency in specific skills. They have to provide working knowledge and attitudinal inputs through training programs to employees at various hierarchical levels.
Training sessions involve teaching, instruction, demonstration, practice and discussion. The process of communication is integral to each of these.
4. Motivate:
People in any business organization have to be motivated to pursue goals and achieve higher levels of performance. High levels of morale and motivation are a must to ensure high levels of productivity and efficiency on a sustainable basis.
Communication provides the means to keep the motivation levels high. Talks, lectures, films, meetings, workshops and nonverbal messages are among the means used to motivate people.
5. Integrate:
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Large business organizations have different business units, departments and territorial divisions. Each of them pursues different goals, sub-goals and target sections. Communication provides the means for an integrated approach in pursuing organizational goals.
Effective communication is a must to ensure that people working in different functional and geographical areas are integrated into well-knit teams that eschew working at cross- purposes and continue to achieve organizational goals as envisaged. Communication binds together people working for a common objective and helps team building.
6. Relate and Connect:
Good business relationships are a must for the continued success of any business organization. It is communication that provides the means for building and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships. These relationships are both internal and external.
They may be among and/or between employees, supervisory staff, top management, customers, suppliers, other players, press and other media.
As part of the larger community, progressive organizations make it a point to relate themselves with the community at large. It demonstrates that they are a sharing and caring organization. All this is achieved through well-organized communication strategies.
7. Promote:
Promotional efforts are a must for any organization to fully achieve its objectives. One of the Ps of marketing (the others being Product, Price and Placement), promotion relates to various activities such as advertising, publicity, public relations and communication, which aim at customer information, customer education, customer communication and customer retention.
In the marketing concept, the customer is said to move from stage to stage till the transaction is completed. They move progressively from the state of awareness of the need for a product to the knowledge of the product and thereafter to a state of product preference.
The needs of the customers develop into effective demand for products, resulting in the purchase of the product or availing of the service. Promotional aspects of the service are particularly relevant in a service industry like banking or insurance, where the product, i.e., the service, cannot be readily ‘seen’.
Financial service providers essentially sell benefits. For this, they have to organize effective promotional measures, which seek to inform, educate, persuade and actualize the clients/markets. Communication constitutes the basic plank on which promotional strategies are built.
8. Entertain:
Every business is not necessarily a serious business. Even serious businesses are not ‘serious’ all the time. Whatever may be the nature of business, there is a time for entertainment. Communication facilitates entertainment.
It facilitates social bonding and brings in lighter moments that help in releasing tension, fostering camaraderie and getting rid of negative feelings. Humour, when used effectively, can play a vital role in fostering positive behaviour in business organizations.
In the entertainment industry, communication has a much bigger role to play. Communication can serve to achieve the objective of purposeful entertainment.
