Clear, effective business communication is the cornerstone of success, particularly when you’re dealing with external audiences such as customers, partner organizations, and clients. Miscommunication in these interactions can jeopardize relationships, brand reputation, transactions, overall business objectives, and even legal standing. Worse, opportunities for miscommunication abound, especially as businesses increasingly interact and communicate globally online. Maintaining clear on-brand communication isn’t just a matter of appearances; it is essential to a company’s bottom line.

Fortunately, there are more ways than ever to improve your writing. Elsewhere we’ve published an overview of business writing essentials and offered guidance on common email mistakes. Here we’ll look at some of the ways business communication can go awry, and then we’ll consider some technology-driven solutions to miscommunication. Follow this guide to learn the keys to effective professional writing and how to avoid potentially costly misunderstandings with customers and other external audiences.

What is business miscommunication?

Business miscommunication refers to a breakdown of understanding between a business and its customers, partners, or the general public, which can lead to conflicts, a tarnished brand reputation, a loss of business, and other potentially damaging consequences.

Common causes of miscommunication in business

Understanding how miscommunication happens is vital to prevention. Here are common ways businesses unintentionally breed misunderstanding.

Undefined target audiences and communication strategies

Delivering strong customer experiences starts with good internal communication and strategy. The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to understand your audience and their communication needs and preferences. This begins with conducting target audience research and adapting your communication strategy accordingly.

Lack of language standards and style guides

Miscommunication is more likely when businesses neglect to define their brand voice, tone, and style. Defining what words your company uses, what words it doesn’t use, how you talk to your customers, and how you talk about your products or services: These can help ensure clarity and consistency.

Inappropriate communication channels

Brands also get into trouble when they’re not intentional about the platforms they use to communicate with customers and other external audiences. For instance, social media is a great way to get a pulse on what your customers want, but it’s not always the best place to troubleshoot technical difficulties.

Language barriers and lack of understanding of cultural differences

As commerce becomes increasingly global, understanding how cultural differences affect communication is more important than ever. Avoiding colloquialisms and opaque idioms is one way to ensure your message isn’t lost in translation.

Effective strategies for clear external communication

Avoid common pitfalls by following these seven best practices for clear, effective communication.

Understand and write for your intended audience.

The foundation of effective communication lies in understanding your audience. Tailor your messages to resonate with their preferences, needs, and expectations. Consider demographics, cultural nuances, and communication styles. By crafting messages that speak directly to your audience, you increase the likelihood of engagement and comprehension.

Define your brand voice and tone.

Consistency in communication builds brand identity. Define a clear brand voice and tone that aligns with your organization’s values and resonates with your audience. Maintaining an on-brand tone appropriate to each channel and context fosters trust.

Create and share a style guide with your entire team.

A style guide is a set of guidelines a company establishes to ensure all employees write in the same voice and follow the same writing and branding conventions. A style guide typically includes guidance on grammar, punctuation, spelling, formatting, and word choice.

Use the right channels for your communication goals.

Different communication channels serve different purposes. Social media can be a great way to tell your brand story, while email blasts may drive traffic, and press releases engage other forms of media. Direct messaging and chat may be a familiar mode of communication for younger audiences, while an older demographic may prefer to call a customer service representative on the phone. Choose channels based on your communication goals and the preferences of your target audience.

Ensure your organization is compliant with industry standards and legal requirements.

If you’re hiring social media influencers, do their posts clearly indicate that they’re ads? Does your brand giveaway have the necessary fine print? If you’re emailing customers, does your newsletter allow people to opt out of it, and does it adhere to other FTC compliance measures? Legal disclaimers and compliance requirements are a necessary part of doing business in most industries. Be aware of the legal language related to your industry and your marketing tactics to avoid potential legal consequences.

Employ social listening and solicit feedback often from your audience.

One of the best ways to determine if your message resonates with your audience is to ask. Employ social listening tools to understand what your audience is saying about your brand. Actively solicit feedback through surveys, A/B testing, or direct interactions. This valuable information helps you gauge audience sentiment and provides insights for continuous improvement. When working with partners, remember to recap projects and business outcomes to ensure the partnership remains in alignment.

How to leverage technology to enhance communication

Use social media and interactive messaging to understand your audience.

Social media platforms offer a direct line of communication with your audience. Leverage interactive messaging features such as polls, Q&A sessions, and surveys to gain valuable insights into your audience’s preferences, sentiments, and unmet needs.

Invest in localization services and use AI to translate messages to reach a wider audience.

Breaking language barriers is crucial for expanding your reach and avoiding cultural missteps. Investing in professional localization services ensures your websites resonate with diverse audiences, while simply translating messages with the help of AI can ease the miscommunication that can occur across language barriers.

Employ digital forms and surveys to confirm understanding.

Digital forms and surveys are powerful tools for confirming understanding. For instance, you might require customers to check a box agreeing to your return policy before they complete their purchase, in order to confirm that they understand and agree to the terms of the sale. Rolling out updates to your technology product? Make sure you have a tutorial or integrated tips ready the next time your customer logs on, and follow up with a survey to make sure the new features deliver the desired results.

Leverage Grammarly for comprehensive AI-powered writing assistance.

AI-powered writing partners, like Grammarly, can analyze your content for coherence and adherence to brand guidelines. Grammarly goes beyond catching typos and writing mistakes by making conciseness suggestions and strategic recommendations on brand tone. It can make your writing sound more professional while adhering to your company’s style guide. You can save time and ensure accuracy during frequent interactions by creating shared text templates to reuse repeatedly in just a few clicks.

Examples of common business miscommunications

Communication mishaps go beyond common writing and grammar mistakes. They can show up in sneaky ways and derail your communication goals. Consider the following common scenarios to explore how to reduce misunderstandings.

Time zone turbulence

A company in the United States communicates a project deadline to an international client without considering the time zone difference. The client, expecting the delivery at their local time, is disappointed when the project is delivered later than anticipated.

Prevention strategies:

• Specify time zones in all communication.
• Implement scheduling tools that automatically adjust for time zone disparities.
• Establish a standard practice of confirming deadlines during project discussions in both parties’ local times.

Contractual conflict

Two organizations enter into a contract with different interpretations of payment terms. One party expects payment in installments, while the other believes it is due upon project completion.

Prevention strategies:

• Clearly define payment terms and milestones in the contract.
• Engage legal professionals to review and ensure clarity in contractual language.
• Schedule regular communication checkpoints to address any emerging concerns or questions related to the contract.

Marketing mishap

A company launches a marketing campaign with a slogan that, when translated, has unintended connotations in a foreign market, resulting in negative public perception.

Prevention strategies:

• Conduct thorough linguistic and cultural reviews of marketing materials.
• Collaborate with local experts or agencies for region-specific insights.
• Test marketing messages with a focus group from the target audience to identify potential cultural nuances.

Campaign hijinks

The marketing department has just launched a campaign about a new product offering, causing an influx of traffic to the website, but the website doesn’t reflect the new offering, and customer service teams are unfamiliar with its features, causing customers to get misinformation and lose interest.

Prevention strategies:

• Think holistically about the customer experience to ensure each funnel stage has the most relevant and complete information. The social media campaign may be flashy and enticing, but the website landing page or customer support article should take a more straightforward tone and include more information.
• Ensure each team is briefed on the campaign and prepared for the potential traffic.
• Equip every team with on-brand, compliant messaging related to the new offering.

Best practices for written communication and email etiquette

Written communication, such as email, acts as a reference source and a historical document, allowing readers to refer to it when needed and preserving evidence of the exact communication for future reference. Follow these tips to make your writing more effective.

Be concise.

Writing in a concise way prevents your important message or action items from getting lost in a sea of words. Include only essential information, keep sentences short, and avoid passive voice to make your writing more engaging and effective.

Be clear and specific.

If you want the reader to do something, tell them exactly what you want them to do in plain language. The more specific you are, the less room for confusion or reinterpretation. Avoid clichés or vague terms when touting benefits or warning of potential consequences. Not only will it make your writing more compelling, but you’ll reduce potential misunderstandings.

Avoid jargon.

Insider terms, $10 words, and other jargon words and expressions aren’t conducive to clear communication. For universal comprehension, keep it simple, and learn how to avoid jargon in your business writing.

Format for easy reading.

State the purpose of your communication and your expectations from the reader up front. If additional information is required, share it in short paragraphs or bullet points. Breaking up text allows for easier digestibility.

Don’t just tell, show.

Use graphics, illustrations, or photos to clarify your message if something is difficult to explain. Examples can also be helpful.

Proofread and check your tone.

One of the best ways to avoid miscommunication is to look for and eliminate errors in your work before sharing it with others. Double-check your facts, dates, meeting times, links, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you’ve looked at anything for too long, it becomes easy to overlook mistakes, so set aside your work for a bit, then read it aloud when you return to it. This can help you spot awkward or confusing wording, other problems, and opportunities for more concise wording. Using the appropriate tone is just as important as accuracy. Ensure your message reflects the mood you’re trying to convey, and avoid passive aggression and other email faux pas.

Miscommunication can be a formidable barrier, hindering relationships, transactions, and business success. Whether it’s harming your brand reputation, preventing sales and partnerships, or some other undesired result, the consequences can be far-reaching and impact the bottom line either directly or indirectly.

The strategies outlined in this guide present a roadmap for businesses to navigate the landscape of external communication confidently. Tailoring messages to target audiences, defining a consistent brand voice, and leveraging technology for precision pave the way for stronger, more resilient businesses.

Business miscommunication FAQs

How can I ensure my message is clearly understood?

You can ensure your message is clearly understood by soliciting feedback, doing market research, and implementing required fields for customers and partners to confirm understanding.

What techniques can be used to explain complex information to clients or partners?

Summarize complex information in plain language, focusing on the main points. Format your content for easy reading, such as in a list, and provide examples and visual content to support your points.

What importance does feedback have in preventing external miscommunication?

Feedback is the best way to determine whether your communication is effective and understandable. To ensure communication is on track, regularly solicit feedback from clients, partners, and customers. You can also model giving feedback by practicing reflective listening and summarizing the main points you hear, which can help people feel heard and understood.

How should I address a situation where miscommunication has already occurred with a client or partner?

The best way to address miscommunication is to acknowledge the mistake and suggest concrete ways for improving or rectifying the situation. Also, take steps to prevent the problem from occurring again in the future.