Organizational communication refers to the manner in which communication takes place in an organization, whether between its members or with the public, and how it contributed to the overall achievement of the company’s goals (LumenLearning, n.d). Organizational communication is important in the achievement of the company’s objectives, as proper communication allows the smooth running of certain aspects of operation. For instance, proper communication of the company’s goals and policies to the employees from management ensures better service delivery from them, hence improved performance for the company as a whole. This is known as internal communication, that is, amongst employees in the company (Ahmed, 2019). External communication is also key, and it includes the methods employed by the company in communicating certain aspects of its operation that ought to be known by the public to put them in good light and increase transparency (Ahmed, 2019). Cover Girl Cosmetics Company will be used as a case study in the understanding of the concept.
Cover Girl Cosmetics is a recognized make-up retailer (CoverGirl, n.d), its long chain of cosmetic products among the most preferred in the make-up industry. Achieving its wide customer base and continued growth on such a large scale is proof of the effective communication strategies of the company. A large chunk of the company’s operations depend on the effectiveness of communication between various positions in the hierarchy and with the public. The company also ought to keep up to date with the trends and preferences of the market to give out products suited to their needs, to ensure customer satisfaction and overall profit.
A brief look into the company’s website gives a slight view into their external communication strategies. I focused mainly on the “about” page of their main website, as it is here that the information on the company’s values and products on offer are displayed for the public to view. The company, from the onset, recognizes its place as a major player in the fashion market, more so the make-up industry. This is evident from the self-declaration as the largest cosmetics company in the world (CoverGirl, n.d), an opinion widely shared but which gained more potency by its pronunciation by the very company. This single statement already gives the company an edge over more conservative ones as the confidence showcased gives the picture of quality and efficient service delivery to any potential customer, owing to the high bar set. The company also demonstrates how strongly it identifies with its values, by detailing them in the brief description, that is, authenticity, diversity, and self-expression through make up (CoverGirl, n.d). This is a strong pointer to not only the strong values and objectives the company has, but also acts as a promise of quality for all products from the company, which works to increase customer confidence. The company also recognizes the little bits of progress being made by it over time, and prides itself in them, evidenced by their detailing the setting up of new stores in New York and their new status as a cruelty-free international brand (CoverGirl, n.d). Detailing the achievements works to give the public a measurable scope of the success of the company, therefore, cementing their status as a reliable make-up provider. The company also adds humor into their description, twisting the words from the famous moon landing; “One small step for man, one big step for Cover Girl” (CoverGirl, n.d). While refreshing, the line also appeals to the younger customer base, a generation influenced greatly by wordplay and other forms of witty art. They also employ the use of visual media in the advertising of their products. The advertisement on their status as cruelty-free, a sample from the numerous ones uploaded, gives a brief overview of their visual and oral communication strategy. The visual aspect is, no doubt, appealing, but it is the subtleties in the advertisements that make it much more impactful. The video shows a round glass ball with an enclosed love shaped heart rolling on a surface, past several products that the company is known for offering (CoverGirl, 2018). The progress of the ball systematically springs these products into life, enabled by a bit of ingenuity (CoverGirl, 2018). The ball and its enclosed heart is a subtle reminder of the love the company harbors for animals and the environment in general, while the ingenuity showcased in the video is a pointer to the creative process that goes into developing products. These encourage the customer to purchase from their chain of products, either due to their declared love for animals or the promise of quality from the creative process put into developing the products.
In the communication strategy formulated for the company, therefore, the external communication bit will be the most important in realizing the goals of the company. The company should focus primarily on communicating with the customers to achieve efficient product delivery and increased demand. The communication, however, has to be two way. The company owes it to its customer base to reveal as much detail of its products as possible. This can be through advertisements or show rooms, where certain aspects of the product such as the appearance and color range can be determined. Advertisements are especially versatile, since different forms of media can be used. The traditional means of televised and magazine advertising, though reliable, tend to reach a smaller audience compared to the more recent methods. As a result, more advertising should be done through social media, since it is cheap and easily reaches billions of people at a go. Social media also contains youth as the significant majority, and it is they who are the major players in the fashion industry; hence a communication strategy targeting them is more likely to mean success for the company. Keeping to societal reforms is also important for the reputation of a company. Cover Girl Cosmetics achieved this by attaining cruelty-free status, which means that none of their products will be used on animals, hence they come out as advocates for environmental conservation, which attracts customers.
In directional communication, more emphasis ought to be placed on the horizontal form of communication. This, as stated earlier, is the communication between employees at the same level of employment, say, in the same department. This communication is, more often than not, unofficial, and does not represent the true standing of the company on a matter. However, it is often credited as being the catalyst to the creative thinking of the employees. This as through communication with colleagues, knowledge and ideas are shared, which can then be consolidated to come up with new ideas on products and effective service delivery. Cover girl, in this case, is a company largely dependent on the quality of its product and how marketable it is. Owing to this, the company requires a creative and adaptive product design team to constantly come up with new products that suit the prevailing market. As a result, the company should provide a suitable working environment that encourages creativity and sharing of ideas. The management, therefore, should make the employees aware of the objectives and policies of the company and trust them to deliver on the same. This level of trust can be ensured by effective Human Resource recruitment, which brings in highly qualified employees that can then be entrusted with any task. The management should thereafter accord the employees a certain degree of freedom to deliver on their duties. This should be done with little bits of feedback every now and then to help employees keep on track, but the role of the management shouldn’t necessarily be supervisory. Instead, the employees should be afforded their creative freedom to ensure that new product designs are in keeping with the trends and will provide customer satisfaction.
References
Ahmed, A. (2019, April 19). Types of Organizational Communication. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from BizFluent: https://bizfluent.com/list-7613677-types-organizational-communication.html
CoverGirl. (2018, November 5). Cruelty Free Makeup | COVERGIRL. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZQ5ZdRawpQ&list=PL1_vRQKoHSny8X19f7waE7G5jap9O23G9&index=1
CoverGirl. (n.d). Company Overview. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from Cover Girl: https://www.covergirl.com/en_us/about-us.html
LumenLearning. (n.d). What Is Organizational Communication? Retrieved July 14, 2020, from Lumen Learning: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introductiontocommunication/chapter/what-is-organizational-communication/