By practicing several communication best practices for your home business, you are most likely to get things done efficiently and quickly. If you're working with a team, it also promotes a happy and healthy workplace among employees and team members. Below is a list of the best communication practices if you're managing a home business.
1. Talk to Your Team Directly
Aside from group meetings, find the time to talk to each member of your team directly. Get to know them better, ask them what their concerns are and always provide feedback. By speaking to them on a one-on-one basis, you get to speak to members who rarely talk in group meetings. You also get to know their different working and communication styles. Lastly, you will most likely find the right people who can be appointed as future team managers or group leaders.
2. Conduct Follow-up Phone Calls
A follow-up phone call can make or break your home business. Clients appreciate managers who find the time themselves to make a follow-up phone call instead of leaving the task to their assistants. A follow-up phone call does not have to be very formal; you can simply ask if the client has already received the products or if the services he asked for are already complete. Ask for feedback and offer your heartfelt gratitude for doing business with you. A simple phone call will make a lasting impression with clients. Aside from transacting with you again, they could you recommend your business to prospective clients.
3. Write Thank You Notes
Aside from making follow-up calls, writing personal thank-you notes is one of the tried and tested best communication practices when managing a small home business. Make it a habit to write such notes after orders are delivered or projects are completed. In this digital age, a little bit of personal touch is greatly appreciated.
4. Provide Regular Updates
Updating both the clients and employees regularly is also important. Do not leave them hanging when it comes to your whereabouts, the current business status and internal concerns. And as with everything in life, honesty counts. Be as transparent as you can and encourage them to do the same thing.
5. Schedule Staff Meetings Regularly
Organizing and scheduling meetings with your staff will help you communicate effectively the company's goals and make them aware of current deadlines, new product releases and schedule changes. It could also be the perfect time to incorporate brainstorming sessions and ask them for new ideas such as promotional campaigns and marketing strategies. You have to keep in mind that the staff is the backbone of your business and maintaining open channels of communication with them is one of your priorities. Even if you have only one or two employees, meeting them regularly is still a must.
The practices listed above are simply the basics of effective communication in managing a business. As you go along the way, you'll be able to create your own list and devise your own style of communication that best fits your team and home business.
