What Is External Communication in Business? - Definition, Strategies & Examples
Grimsley
Businesses communicate with the outside world in many different ways. In this lesson, you'll learn about how businesses communicate with their environment and be given some examples. A short quiz follows the lesson.
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Definition
External communication is the transmission of information between a business and another person or entity in the company's external environment. Examples of these people and entities include customers, potential customers, suppliers, investors, shareholders, and society at large.
Channels Of Communication
A channel of communication is simply the method by which the organization transmits its message. Communication channels include face-to-face communication, print media such as newspapers, magazines, fliers, and newsletters, broadcast media such as radio and television, and electronic communication such as websites, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and email.
Strategies
A business typically engages in different strategies in managing its external communications. The approach used will vary by circumstance, purpose and the intended recipient. For example, a business will communicate differently if it is communicating with potential investors, its shareholders, or its customers.
Bad news is communicated differently than good news. For example, an oil company will communicate about an oil spill differently than its joint venture with another company to develop alternative fuels. Some generalized approaches to external communications are summarized below.