Are you effectively communicating financial happenings in your business? If not, how can effective financial communications positively impact your business and bottom line? Communication done right will help shape your company and possibly your industry. You will see the benefit in your stock price or company valuation. Your operating performance should also increase. Lenders, partners, and investors will see the value you bring to their list of assets.
Having established why, here are some tips that can help you effectively meet this challenge:
Be honest and above-board
Yes, there might be companies that succeeded for a time while being dishonest in their actions, behaviors, and even reports. But ultimately you will come out ahead of the pack when you deal honestly with your investors, employees, and customers. If you are like most people, you’ll make some mistakes along the way – ‘fess up quickly. You will weather business storms better when people know they can believe what you do and how you do business.
Keep it simple
The information highway is fast, and the information cascades down in front of us every minute of the day. We sleep with our iPhones close by and hear the gentle beep of emails and text messages arriving – sometimes even while we are showering. There is so much information available to each of us every day that sometimes it is difficult to sort out what is important. An easy-to-remember statement sticks with people. Those messages you send to customers, employees, investors, and vendors, must be remembered and mentally digested for them to move forward.
Infuse yourself in what you say
The more comfortable you get with sharing yourself as part of the message you communicate – all in a way that is natural to your voice – the better. When you can learn to do this, you’ll be less stressed, and your message will come across better, with a strong sense of believability. Aside from that, people invest their time, efforts, and funds most of the time because they like the people involved, rather than a strictly cost-based decision. When you infuse your personality into your communications, your people remember why they chose your company and will be glad they did.
Report often, and at the end of giving information, make sure you spend some time listening to what those people have to say in return. They are traveling the road to success with you and may have great ideas you have not yet considered.