Business communication is divided into two aspects, internal and external communication, which are equally relevant when it comes to enhancing your company’s communication and, thus, improving performance with stakeholders.
But it is essential to know that within each communication, aspects further detail the complexity of business communication.
Internal Communication
Internal communication is aimed at people who perform some activity in the company, such as managers, partners, investors, suppliers, partners and employees.
This communication is crucial for a company’s performance since it is through it that people who are somehow connected with the company interact and make it develop.
In the internal environment, communication still serves as a tool for sharing the company’s values and culture, conveying goals and objectives, helping with the organizational climate and motivating professionals.
Dialogue takes place in different ways and includes different hierarchical levels. Understanding what they are is important because each type requires a specific approach. For example, the kind of conversation between directors and partners will not be the same as between a manager and an employee.
Vertical Communication
Vertical communication, also known as top-down communication, involves and connects professionals from the highest positions in the company and leaders (directors, presidents, partners and managers) with the lowest. This communication mainly aims to inform, instruct and direct the organization’s people.
Horizontal Communication
Horizontal communication takes place between employees and employees between professionals of the same hierarchical level. It is essential to build interpersonal relationships, provide fluidity in the company’s processes and promote a healthy organizational climate.
Diagonal Or Transversal Communication
Diagonal communication involves all parts of a company, considering all hierarchical levels. It is mainly used for general meetings or circumstances that require communicating with many people connected in some way with the organization.
Upward Communication
Unlike downward communication, as the name implies, upward communication is a communication from the lowest positions in the company to the highest.
Circular Communication
Also known as non-level communication, it is widespread in small companies, where all employees naturally know each other and develop interpersonal relationships.
Therefore, circular communication considers that the greater the degree of interpersonal relationship between the sender and the receiver, the greater the exchange of information between them.
External Communication
External communication focuses on the people the company wants to reach in the market, such as customers, competitors, consumers, the press and governments.
Therefore, the objective of this communication is to build a positive image of the company and, thus, generate sales demand for the organization and create a healthy relationship with all these audiences.
In the external environment, a corporation can rely on two types of communication: marketing and institutional communication. See about it!
Marketing Communication
Marketing communication is focused on the market positioning of a company. It can be adhered to when the objective is to attract and retain customers, thus winning the market and generating profitability.
Marketing communication can be done through different means: magazine ads, radio, and television, but nowadays, digital communication – emails, social networks, websites and blogs – are bets for companies that understand that the world is digital today. And who knows the impact that the internet has?
Institutional Communication
Institutional communication is focused on the brand image and seeks to impact society in general, the press and governments.
This communication aims to build brand identity and increase public perception, not specifically with the intention of generating profits for the company. Actions such as social marketing and printing advice can be implemented in the company.
Types Most Adopted By Companies
There are three most adopted business communication models: Top-down communication, Bottom-up communication and Transversal communication.
Top-Down Communication
More traditional organizations, where the hierarchical level is quite present, almost always opt for top-down communication, also known as top-down.
This model improves the control of managers over their subordinates, but it can negatively influence the engagement of professionals.
Bottom-Up Communication
More flexible companies generally opt for bottom-up communication, which enables more excellent dialogue with professionals working in the organization, including them in organizational decisions, giving them the freedom to expose their needs and placing them as protagonists.
Transversal Communication
In more dynamic and organic corporations, transversal communication is quite present, in addition to circular communication, because they allow greater participation of professionals and the public.
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