The Industrial Revolution turned a new leaf in business history. But do you know that business trends and operational techniques remained stagnant for a century? In the last couple of decades, we have seen the business world shake hands with more technologies than the last century!
Communication, for example, has reached the pinnacle of development and implementation across dozens of industries. Modern communication solutions, such as the cloud business phone system, have simplified internal and external communication. You can only imagine how far technology will go to transform the communication space.
It’s not just internal communication, i.e., within a company or organization. External communication has also seen significant changes. Let’s discuss how the top technological changes in business communication enabled countless companies to reach new heights and achieve long-term visions.
How Far Has Business Communication Come with Technology?
In a world where sending letters, faxes, and making phone calls became costly, imagining a business landscape with constantly mutating and developing technology sounded absurd. However, thanks to technology, we have come a long way from sending faxes physically to online faxing and other secure methods of communication. Here are the top issues that modern business communication overcame:
- Lack of data centralization
- Time-consuming and costly information sharing
- Geographical limitations
- Non-existent marketing platforms and formats (think social media)
- Limited data quantities (no continuous data-churning tech like IoT)
Although modern tech trends added dynamism to the global business landscape, they happened at the fastest pace in history. Here’s more on how technology has helped businesses achieve efficient, effective, and reliable communication standards!
Game-Changing Internal Communication Trends
It’s incredible how businesses communicate these days. Cloud storage, social media, and centralized data collection are only the tip of the iceberg. The Software as a Service programs have brought seamless collaboration to modern workplaces.
A few brands, such as Google and Microsoft, provide business-oriented SaaS programs, including Google Docs, OneDrive, Google Forums, and so much more. Here are a few ways internal communication has changed within businesses:
- Cloud Storage
Cloud Storage is a virtual “file cabinet” that stores all business information. It allows users access anywhere in the world with only one pre-requisite, i.e., the internet. This technology allows users to access information from anywhere because it’s in a central location. It contains “read-only” settings, except for authorized individuals in an organization.
- Video Chat
Entire offices attend video conferences and meetings without an on-site location. It led to the emergence of “remote working” and hybrid workplaces. Traditional business communication methods are far more interactive and effective, especially over long distances.
- Screen Sharing/Real-Time Collaboration
Many SaaS programs and tools provide screen-sharing features to professionals in a company. For instance, training new employees or conducting a virtual presentation while sharing the presenter’s screen is convenient.
Transformation of Public Relations (PR)
Public Relations are a core value of ambitious firms. They seek to build better relations with potential market prospects and customers through the press and various media channels. A PR agency is somewhat a “communications firm” for companies that want to reach a massive audience.
In rare cases, public relations experts help companies gain market exposure and consumer attention, while building better relationships with market prospects, including competitors. Previously, the primary role of a PR agency was to bring positive and newsworthy information about businesses to its target audiences’ attention.
Although the primary purpose remains the same, PR agencies have evolved thanks to websites, social media platforms, emails, and search engines. Technology has efficiently bridged the gap between the general public and business.
Social media lets public relations experts reach billions of people worldwide in a cost-effective way. Meanwhile, the traditional PR tactics involved printing in newspapers or creating TV commercials. Public relations marketing tactics have linked individual consumers to key executives at big corporate firms.
For instance, if you have a well-established social media profile under the management of a reputable PR agency, individual customers can bring in their queries safely and professionally. Think Twitter when wondering how PR uses social media to help companies gain a firm footing in front of the general public. Modern PR campaigns equipped with technology manage various responsibilities, including
- Online business reputation management
- Social media engagement
- Social media customer satisfaction
- Online feedback and virtual interactions
- Positive reviews management feedback analysis
Contemporary Advertising and Marketing Methods
Today, you see how social media platforms gain immense traction. A few decades ago, only newspapers and TV commercials were companies’ and PR agencies’ favorite advertising channels. As technology evolved, businesses reached the pinnacle of consumer advertising.
Consumers were looking to newspapers, black and white magazines, and TVs for information. Now, they can access information at their fingertips thanks to technology. Businesses communicate via social media, search engines, digital billboards, and interactive public signs.
If you’ve seen social media ads, you’re already aware of how businesses reach people online. You may be scrolling down your Facebook news feed, or Instagram explore page and instantly see an ad pop up for something you were searching about on the internet.
The Emergence of Hybrid Workplaces
The advancement in business communication through the following technologies brought inexplicable changes to workplace dynamics:
- Video chatting
- Online file sharing
- Digital conferencing
- Digital project planning
- Virtual meetings, networking, and planning
And the list continues, we could include dozens of other technological developments in the business world. Real-time virtual interactions and business communication, even over long distances, gave birth to the idea of remote working.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected businesses and led to remote working. Technology was tremendously helpful during the period because businesses remained connected to valuable human resources and kept operating.
The trend also introduced modern-day businesses to hybrid workplaces. It’s where some employees regularly work on office premises while others operate remotely from their homes or other places. The idea was to create flexible working conditions and environments, all while achieving scalability, cost cuts, and higher profit margins.
Final Thoughts
Business communication has become effective after expanding to more than one channel. Technologies like video chatting, screen sharing, and digital file-sharing have enabled organizations to adopt faster operations and response times worldwide. Compared to fax, phone calls, and email, contemporary business communication is faster and takes place in real-time.
You can change business information through a centralized platform, and every employee within the organization will receive an update. Thanks to social media and similar technologies, you can change, edit, and get feedback almost immediately. In a nutshell, the possibility for business communication improvement is endless!
