In the digital age, recipients need to be convinced within seconds. No matter whether you communicate over social networks, chat channels, phone or face-to-face – you need to strike the right note.
Communication 4.0 brings a profound social change – the fusion of human and artificial intelligence. How does nowadays communication need to be implemented in order to succeed in the marketplace?
Eminence, your local digital marketing agency will reveal you some insights and tips for staying in synch with the pulse of time.
The industrial revolution – a brief summary
The first industrial revolution was consisting of the mechanisation via steam- and waterpower. It was followed by the second industrialisation, which was characterised by mass production with the help of assembly lines, using electrical power. The third industrial revolution consisted of automated production using electronics, programmable logic controllers and IT systems.
Nowadays, with Industry 4.0, the production should be fusioned with modern information and communication technologies. The technical bases are intelligent and digital networked systems. Human beings, machines, systems, logistic and products are communication and cooperating with each other. The web should include all phases of a life cycle – from the idea of a product to the development, the production, the use and the maintenance and last but not least, also the recycling.
The importance of communication in Industry 4.0
These days, the information density is a big challenge for every stakeholder – not only to be perceived, but also to create relevance within the respective target audience asks for a smart and sensitive communication strategy.
The communication is pertinent if progress and potential of Industry 4.0 are clarified on both levels, the technical and the social level. Only if we take into account humans, we have a chance to success.
An effective communication in the Industry 4.0 should contain the following essential aspects:
A critical and open mind: Communication in the Industry 4.0 can only succeed if we face our fears and weaknesses. It’s about learning together from mistakes and growing through permanent learning. Fears in the society need to be addressed and discussed in an open-minded way.
People-centered: Industry 4.0 only works out with human beings. Human and artificial intelligence are successful if they work together and complete each other.
Cross-vendor qualities: Thriving communication only succeeds within the collaboration of industry and research – across the boundaries of companies and institutions, communication plays the role of a mediator and communicator.
Vision: Today, we have to think about the questions of tomorrow. Industry 4.0 should bring together new technical developments with market trends. This also includes using the possibilities of a digital and networked communication.
Meet the different parties at eye-level: Industry 4.0 only works out with a dialogue. As players from all sectors (politics, industry, economics, etc.) are concerned, communication is a significant driver of notoriety and acceptance to achieve your vision.
International: In a globalised world our communication can take the role of a mediator and at the same time build bridges between different countries and cultures. We should learn and benefit from these possibilities.
Stand on the pulse of time: Research and enterprises need to solve current issues together. With an effective and regular communication, the economy can benefit quick and immediate from new knowledge.
Industry 4.0 is pursuing the approach that humans will have a fixed job in an intelligent company. However, this will require a higher level of qualification of the today employed persons and also of the new, adolescent generation.
Methods for a successful communication management
Corporate communication is a constant dialogue with your customers and your employees. The corporate identity of the website, the articles in the digital media, Social Media posts, online assessments, etc., contribute to the notoriety of your company. A sustainable and authentic communication concept is crucial.
Internal communication: The message matters. Transparent communication is the basis for a good and motivating work atmosphere. You should ensure that your employees get to know the corporate news via the internal channels and not outside from the press. Appropriate instruments for this purpose include internal newsletter, Intranet and a company Blog. Video conferencing or skype, online-presentations and integrated reporting tools are facilitating the communication across local boundaries.
In a healthy corporate culture, employees and supervisors feel equally supported and valued. Train your employees to become ambassadors of your company! Ambassadors transport the concerns of the company to the outside world. A win-win situation is created with happy employees, who see themselves as an integral part of the company.
External communication: There are endless possibilities to publish content. Always keep in view, quality comes before quantity. Don’t follow every trend, in particular, if you don’t have enough capacity. Better to fill one or two channels with good quality content, than forcing yourself to serve all Social Media Channels with average content. Also, it doesn’t always have to be just Social Media. Websites and Blogs also offer varied possibilities for storytelling and the production of high quality and entertaining content. Create a reason to persuade your customers to return on a regular basis to your website.
Keep it simple: Proven methods like e-mail marketing are successful methods to target your clients. In particular, existing clients are convinced best with a call to action (CTA) in regular and personalized newsletters. If you evaluate with the help of an analyzing tool A/B tests and document the evaluation of the click conversions, you will have valuable data available for the continuous optimization of your newsletter.
Strategic challenge
The management of digital communication is a strategic challenge. Communication Managers need to be sovereign and flexible in order to adapt to different target audiences. Entrepreneurial spirit, basic legal knowledge, writing skills and excellent capabilities in crisis management are necessary. Eminence, your local digital partner can help you to set up a diligent and extensive audit in order to determine your target audience. In a second step, we will work out with you a successful strategy to increase the notoriety of your company and to boost your ROI.