The 3 C's of Communication

Keep your customers and stand out in the crowd by sending customers a message
they'll remember.
There's a tendency, particularly in a tough economy, to try to be all things to all people.
So some businesses that do X advertise that they also do Y and Z. They cast a wider net
in hopes of bringing back whatever business they can get.

You actually stand a better chance of getting and keeping customers if you focus on
what you do best and how it benefits them. Consumers are pickier than ever about
whom they do business with, so you need to communicate your benefits if you want
to stand out in the crowd. The way to do that is through the three C's of effective
communication.

Crisp and Clear

How do you describe who you are and what your business does for customers?
Let's go back to that tried-and-true technique--the elevator pitch. Can you describe
what you do to someone not in your industry in 30
Try This Test
seconds or less? When you go to a networking
event and you meet a promising prospect, does your
Find a friend or relative who is the
description of your business hold that person's least likely to understand your
attention? Or do his eyes glaze over or wander across business, and test your "message
the room? crispness" on him. Tell him what you
do in two or three sentences. Avoid
Being crisp is about telling people what you do in as industry jargon and technical terms
few words as possible--and using that same crisp that only people in your field will
understand. Then ask him to repeat
message in written marketing materials. what he thinks you do back to you. If
he doesn't come back with the right
Customer-Centric answer, the message isn't crisp.
Tell customers not only what you do but why you do If your grandmother can understand
it. Make sure they know that they are the focus of your description of your business
your business. Promote your business in terms not (assuming she's not the company
founder), you can convey that same
just of your experience and expertise, but how what clear, crisp explanation to your
you do benefits them. For example: customers via e-mail marketing and
other communications.
Let's say you're a style consultant. Your e-mail and
other marketing communications could relate your
experience in the industry and your fabulous style sense. Or you can tell your "value
story" from your customer's perspective. Write something like, "I can help you stand
out at a job fair and make a great first impression on an interview." That's your
message. Make sure you illustrate it with a customer testimonial or case study that
shows how your service benefits real people.
People need convincing as to why they should spend their limited dollars with you.
Your story should focus on how your products or services benefit customers--written
from a "what's in it for them?" perspective. When you make your story your
customer’s story, your marketing materials practically write themselves.

Consistent
Once you've nailed down your crisp message, and you're telling your story from your
customer's perspective, make sure you tell it consistently in your e-mails, on your
website, in print materials, via the internet and in any other advertising and
marketing media.

Nothing is more disconcerting to prospects than hearing one story from one
communications channel and then reading a different version of the story
someplace else. They don't know which version to believe. Re-establish who you are
with every customer interaction. Reinforce your story as often as possible.

Importance of Communication in Entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur should possess traits of a charismatic leader by being able to
communicate his/her vision effectively to create a team. The vision must be
communicated to others, through written statements as well as through personal
communication, including speaking and listening skills in order to convince them to
support it. This can be applied to both getting a team together and getting investors.
Burt Nanus lists 4 characteristics of an effective vision- an effective vision
a. attracts commitment and energizes people,
b. creates meaning/ purpose for followers,
c. establishes a standard of excellence, and
d. bridges the present and the future.
Entrepreneurs cannot fear failure. In order to succeed they must know what it is like to
fail. In every entrepreneurship it should be communicated that failure is possible, but it
should be considered a road block rather than a dead-end. Some of the most successful
entrepreneurs failed several times before they were successful.
Communication is pivotal in the role of entrepreneurship.. It is important to recognize
the formative role of language in conceptualizing venture opportunities as well as
influencing stakeholders about the feasibility of a venture, rather than discounting its
influence of communication or reducing it to a secondary process or outcome in relation
to supposedly more basic cognitive processes. In entrepreneurship and venture seeking,
individuals must be able to appropriate a common ground between entrepreneur and
shareholder. It is imperative for the shareholders to understand the prospective
venture in its entirety. When an entrepreneur gets feedback from stakeholders who
display whether they understand and accept the intentions for the venture, it allows the
entrepreneur to validate that understanding or to correct it, and this, in turn, will decide
the outcome of the relationship and that venture.
Entrepreneurship and venture seeking requires continuous communication between
partners. Throughout the entrepreneur/stakeholder relationship both parties will
endure turbulent times. These times must be seen through an optimistic lens and
regarded as success. This perspective relies heavily on the communication
competence of the entrepreneur.