"Communication is the most important skill in life."
In my opinion, communication is the most critical skill in business, especially when it comes to the one aspect of business that I’ll speak of here, marketing.
Effective Marketing Communications
Effective marketing communications will not only bridge the gap between you and your target market, but it will also magnetically draw them across that bridge toward you and then captivate them.
Effective marketing communications should never be a one-way street where only one party is doing all the speaking — then it’s not a conversation.
As marketers, we should always be looking to create and maintain conversations. Otherwise, it’s more like a lecture where someone speaks at you rather than with you.
Effective marketing communications should ebb and flow like the tide — with a naturally magnetic push and pull to balance it.
Too much push or pull, and you risk creating repellent effects such as overwhelm from information overload or making you appear too pushy. Too little push or pull, and you risk appearing lifeless and dull or non-existent. So a careful balance is critical.
Effective marketing communications should flow gracefully like a dance. As the marketer, you may choose to lead and make it real easy, lucrative, and fun for those you’re communicating with to follow.
Effective marketing communications should establish a connection between both parties by first creating a clearing for it to happen and then continue building rapport.
And we can go on and on and on here; however, the point I want to get to is that communication is marketing, and marketing is communication. Every time you open your mouth, you are marketing. Every time you write an email, you are marketing. Every time you stop talking and start listening to someone in your target market, you are marketing.
Your clothes, posture, grooming, and body language all communicate a lot about you — they’re all forms of marketing. Are you starting to see both the correlation and importance here?
Now, as I’ve started to allude to, communication can be broken down into verbal and non-verbal forms. Allow me to explain:
Verbal Communication
I’m referring to any variation of either speaking or listening by verbal communication. So let’s briefly explore the two.
Speaking
Whether writing an email, delivering a live speech, recording a podcast, posting on your blog, writing an advertisement, or using some other vehicle to communicate, when speaking, keep it direct and easy to understand.
And most of all, don’t ever be embarrassed or afraid to ask for what you want. Don’t try to impress your target market with industry jargon and fancy words. Instead, speak in a tongue that will resonate positively with them.
Listening
In my book, Listening is the most underrated form of marketing available today. Quite simply, people love the sound of their voice and are usually pretty generous in sharing privileged information if given the proper space and prodding. Let alone if they feel that you are genuinely interested. Wow, what’s possible then?!
Non-verbal Communication
By non-verbal communication, I’m referring to the other, more intangible and often overlooked forms of communication, such as:
- your appearance,
- your body language,
- your choice of fonts,
- the look and feel of your website,
- even as far as the vibration and energy you convey.
You may be surprised how often your non-verbal communication speaks louder than your verbal communication. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff can boggle the mind with poor results from your marketing if you’re not paying attention to it.
Effective marketing communications ensure that both the verbal and non-verbal portions are in sync — mixed messages tend to cause confusion and distrust — two qualities that repel rather than attract.
And yes, whether you’re using verbal or non-verbal communication, you are marketing.
Wrapping Up
So in closing, your ability to communicate effectively will be in direct proportion to your success and happiness in all areas of your life.
Now I’ve just scratched the surface and drew some correlations for you here. So if I could impart just one thought unto you, let it be to make one of your life’s endeavors to continually practice, nurture, and enhance your communication skills.
