Theory and practice

One thing is theory, another is practice and the real challenges that business decision-makers face daily in a significantly changed environment, seeking appropriate solutions around them. It would be quite simplistic to dismissively assert from the perspective of "expertise" that communication professionals and consultants (within or outside organizations) have all the answers and that they can only find appropriate (communication) solutions by knowing communication tools, methodologies, and practices. Because if the challenges themselves increasingly arise not only from incorrect communication (or its absence) but also from the aforementioned greatly changed external factors and operating conditions, then seeking solutions exclusively in "communicate more" could be similar to treating oncology with analgesics. It won't work.

‍

The era of "one size fits all" and the shaking out of recycled, generic communication solutions/campaigns/channels/tools/messages/... from the sleeve is indeed over.

‍

From here on, I could go in the direction of "top 10 trends in corporate communication" in the year 202_, but that would be pretentious. I would rather offer the reader my modest insight into which are - based on practice - some of the key aforementioned changed external factors that also strongly influence the direction of development and operation of the field of corporate communication. Because I firmly believe and advocate that only with (good) understanding of the challenge can we even begin to discuss possible solutions. The era of "one size fits all" and the shaking out of recycled, generic communication solutions/campaigns/channels/tools/messages/... from the sleeve is indeed over.

‍

Firstly, shortening of business cycles and instability of the external business environment. It is not about the classic instability of external demand, which is of course crucial from the perspective of Slovenian companies operating in an internationally open economic system. In recent times, we have witnessed the shortening of economic cycles (sudden, hardly expected drops or increases in demand growth, economic and consumer indices), which naturally greatly affect the operations of companies and the functioning (yes, even of public) organizations. And thus, they strongly dictate changes in communication with all stakeholders. Strategic communication must be extremely flexible and capable of rapid response in such circumstances, yet still (or even more!) credible, transparent, and clear. Therefore, capable of communicating the developmental, breakthrough, and other positive achievements of companies as well as less pleasant but necessary measures to maintain competitiveness and long-term business success of the company.

‍

‍

Secondly, trust. The crisis of trust (in politics, public institutions, media, etc.) is not a new reality. But the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated this crisis to an entirely new level. "Nothing is true and everything is possible" is a mantra that unfortunately also affects every major company, public institution, and other organizations. We have reached a stage where it is no longer enough for the management to refer to the annual report as an indisputable fact (of course, it is audited!), but even this is placed in the context of possible different interpretations ("yes, but"), conspiracy theories ("we all know how things really go"), and other examples of distrust. It would be simplistic to blame only proponents of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers, etc., for such circumstances; partial responsibility also lies with controversial and illegal business practices in the past, instances of bad practices (the case of Enron is internationally exposed and known), deception, and attempts to conceal highly relevant information. I believe that organizations have not done themselves any service, neither short-term nor long-term, with this. This crisis is ubiquitous today and requires different approaches, addresses, and frequency of corporate communication.

‍

Read the rest of the text (in Slovene) here.

The column was originally published in the print magazine Marketing magazin, March 2024, #513. You can order the magazine at info@marketingmagazin.si.

‍

You might also want to read »Cooking and Public Relations: The Art of Careful Balance«.