This is the Most Important News You Will Read Today

That headline probably brought you here. Or was it the yellow badge, standing out from others? Perhaps the photo of AMLO? In any case, the message and its components were effective. Sometimes, when thinking about communication it starts at defining what product you want to create. For example, you want to create an Instagram account to promote your services. But if you do not analyze your purpose, audience and context, it could result in a waste of time. And we know your time is worth money.

We want to share with you three key elements to achieve an effective communication.

1.- Purpose

When you send an email, you are not doing it for fun; you are writing to achieve something you have set your mind to. It might be a simple affair, like gathering a team for a meeting. It might be something more complex, like convincing another company to buy your products or services. Every email exists for a reason. It is an element of communication that we all use several times a day.

Before you can communicate you have to know what is the purpose of your message. What do you want your audience to do when they receive it? Sometimes it’s obvious. If you apply for a grant the purpose is to obtain money. Other times it’s not so obvious; let’s say you get an email from an angry customer. Depending on your relationship with them and the nature of the complaint, you may respond with the intention of agreeing with him and maintaining the business relationship or breaking ties, or perhaps not respond at all.

2.- Audience

The audience should be the most important consideration in planning and writing a communication format. You have to meet the needs and interests of the people who will read your message. It seems obvious, doesn’t it? It’s almost the same as telling your friend not to explain quantum physics to his six-year-old. The lack of analysis and adaptation to audiences is one of the root causes of failure for corporate communication.

In order to analyze audiences apart from the classic demographics, it more important than ever to know their needs and interests. You have to imagine how to want to use your message. As an example, imagine you’re writing a manual on how to use a new smartphone: what does your audience expect to find in it? Do they expect a printed manual or will they look for it online? Wouldn’t they rather watch a YouTube tutorial? An analysis of audience is complicated, because of the continuous transformation that we are experiencing both in Mexico and the rest of the world. The audience has mixed interests, there are no exactly defined profiles and there is a wide range of communication channels.

3.- Context

There is a reason to every message. Audiences translate and interpret messages using their own beliefs, attitudes, experiences, feelings, backgrounds, environment and much more. This is the context for which the message was created. The way the message circulates affects the way the audience receives it. For example, the message behind which this article is accessed within Mexico Business News uses a relevant headline (¨This is the most important news…¨) with an urgency regarding time (¨you will read today¨). This is because it is aimed at profiles like your own, which require an immediate benefit within a business environment and in a short timeframe. An if we had told you about it in person? The answer would be different.

The audience does not respond to messages in a passive way. They read the message according to their own context. They rely on their own beliefs, attitudes, experiences, and feelings in order to understand the message. The more these characteristics are considered the more relevant the message becomes. If the context fits, the audience fully understands the message.

Let us help you

Let’s say you have been reflecting on these three points. Now, how do you use the content that you have? How do you keep communicating the messages to your audience over time? How much information needs to be put in a message and how do you rank it in terms of importance? How do you adapt your technical content into a language understandable for a Head of Purchasing? All this is not an easy task. Communicating your business requires a lot of practice and routine, we understand you need to dedicate your time to different tasks.

As experts of corporate communication, we at Mexico Business Communication analyze business and propose the most effective communication strategies. We talk about branding, digital marketing and digital environment specific to your industry. All this to make your day to day easier, so you can be certain to generate more business. Shall we begin?

Contact us! 

ao@mexicobusinesscommunication.com