How I Look at Business Communication-The Necessary Tool for Successful Business

Walter Bridgham, Senior Business Development Manager- Home & Interior, Lenzing Group

Let’s start with a bit of background. Throughout my many years of experience in the retail industry, I have crafted my communication skills to clearly and concisely convey the needs or results of my business to internal and external team members. I learned the importance of communicating thoroughly and completely while still conciselyexpressing my needs and thoughts. I also noticed that there were too many opportunitiesfor miscommunication throughback and forth emails, so I started to ask myself before sending an email or creating marketing materials, "How would the reader read this?What would their next steps need to be (or what do I want them to be)? How can I get them there faster?”And by answering those questions, I am able to create the exact message the reader needs.

As I moved through different roles and expanded into more global communication, I found that the care I took with my messages helped to quickly and effortlesslyguidethe reader to where they and I needed them to go. The quality of my emails went up, and the quantity went down.

I took these actions into my current business development and B2B marketing role, where I educate and inspire all levels of the global home textile supply chain on how to incorporate affordable, luxurious, and sustainable fibers into their assortments. With my various roles in retail sales, buying, assortment development, mill-level product development, etc., I found it easy to communicate with each of the supply chain roles' languages, needs, and challenges of their particular job and goals. Walk the walk to talk the talk. This also allowed me to work with people totally new to the industry to give them guidance and help them better understand the industry. My tenure within the textile and retail industry, combined with my strong communication skills, allows me to serve as a resource not only for the supply chain but also for the next generations within this industry.

I learned the importance of communicating thoroughly and completely while still concisely expressing my needs and thoughts

In my current business development role, I found the need to reach more people easily. This is why I developed a newsletter called spinning it forward. (Note the reference to fiber moving through the supply chain). I found that having valued information in the newsletter beyond the fiber was more interesting to readers.In the newsletter, we focus on three related points to a topic with unexpected graphics exemplifying how they relate to the fiber. I took this spinning it forward: to a new venue of LinkedIn, here I utilized the platform to replay each of the newsletters points one at a time. This kept themessage and my visibility in front of my growing audience of over 13,000K followers.

The results I’m seeing from my content marketing efforts have sparked a new idea of how to support brands & mills that are already using our fiber. So, I expanded the spinning it forward: to include meeting &product photos to successfully articulatewhat was good about the partner companies and their products.

It’s a psychology-based communication method that I've developed over time. It boils down to “Understanding the needs of the reader/client/customer and taking the time to educate them to help them deliver results.” This method is very rewarding, especially when they thank you for helping and sharing.