The One Skill Every Successful Startup Has Mastered

For entrepreneurs in search of the secret ingredient to building successful startups, there’s no need to read a 400-page academic textbook or listen to hours of interviews with CEOs and venture capitalists. It all comes down to a single word: communication. If you can master communication in all aspects of your business, you’ll position yourself for optimal success and long-term growth. From discussing ideas with employees to clearly conveying your brand message to your target market, communication is at the heart of absolutely everything.

The Characteristics of Good Business Communications

The goal of communication is to clearly convey your ideas to all the necessary parties without compromising anything. Here are a few characteristics of good communication in the business world:

• You can’t hide behind your words, insinuate, or imply meaning. Good communication is specific and clear, even when something isn’t easy to say. People need specifics and can’t always read between the lines.

• Communication must be timely to be considered relevant and valuable. Communicating an idea two weeks after a deadline does no good.

• While communication should be specific and complete, it also needs to be concise. People easily lose focus and irrelevant information serves as nothing but a distraction. Get to the point and convey what’s pertinent.

• In large businesses, communication must be segmented to be valuable. Only communicate ideas that are relevant to the receiving party. Otherwise, your communications will lose their value and people will automatically assume the information isn’t for them.

• Finally, good communication is accurate. If the details are wrong, nothing you say can be trusted. From grammar to body language, the accuracy of your communication will determine the credibility of the message.

Tips for Improving Internal Communication

As a business, you need to start with internal communication. How you handle communication inside the confines of your business will likely dictate the success you experience outside of it. Take, for example, the fact that companies with specific communication practices and procedures are four and a half times more likely to have highly engaged employees. Even more impressive is that these same companies experience 20 percent less employee turnover. But how do you make it happen? Here are some tangible tips and tricks to push you in the right direction:

• Focus on the mission. You may feel like developing a mission statement is a waste of time and resources, but you must think about the larger picture. A mission statement communicates why your business is in existence – which your employees should care about. By focusing on developing a clear, concise mission statement, you can unify your organization and point to something concrete in the midst of chaos. However, it’s not enough to merely develop a mission statement. That mission needs to be verbalized so employees understand its value.

• Establish clear lines. While the idea of having an organization where everyone can communicate at all times sounds great, it isn’t realistic when there are more than 50 or 100 employees. Instead of allowing for an open dialogue structure, spend time developing a very detailed and specific plan with clear lines of communication. Everyone should know exactly who they report to or should speak with when they have questions. This removal of ambiguity encourages employees to convey their ideas to the appropriate party in a timely fashion.

• Use project management tools. For organizations that require cross collaboration between departments, it can be difficult to accurately manage projects. Depending on your company’s needs, there is likely a software or collaboration tool that can make things easier. For example, web and mobile designers use tools like Invision to facilitate conversation between designers, programmers, and managers in real time.

• Don’t underestimate personal bonds. When there’s so much to be done, team bonding can seem like a waste of time. However, underestimating the value of personal connections and relationships in the workplace can be dangerous. Employees want to know they can trust the person next to them and are likely to work harder when they have personal relationships with the people they work with.

Tips for Improving External Communication

Once you’ve mastered internal communication within your organization, it becomes time to tackle the challenge of improving external communication with customers. Here are a few tips:

• Make it a priority. This may sound like a vague tip, but it sets the foundation for everything else. Clear communication with customers must be a top priority. In other words, everything you do should be filtered through it and customers should be treated like royalty.

• Invest in quality content. While you may not have the time to personally call every customer and discuss their concerns, you can invest in high quality website content that informs and engages. Include a rich FAQ section and touch on all aspects of your product or service. Doing this can cut back on your need for time-consuming personal communication. 

• Utilize social media. Social media is a fantastic communication tool. It allows you to engage with customers and release information to the masses. However, remember that no social media presence is better than a poorly managed social media presence. Only invest if you have the time and commitment to keep up with it.

• Listen and think. Remember that communication is a two way street. If you’re constantly speaking, you’re not taking the time to hear what the customer says. Learn to listen and think about what your customers are saying. This will allow you to better understand where they’re coming from and why they have the perceptions they do. 

The Catalyst for Success

As you can see, communication is the catalyst for success in business. Whether you’re dealing internally with employees or externally with customers, your ability to clearly and accurately convey ideas will likely dictate your organization’s success in the months and years to come.