You are the entrepreneurial owner of a newly started small business located in Hamilton, Ontario, that provides marketing consultation and website development assistance to local small businesses trying to move from more traditional forms of advertising and new business acquisition to a web-based advertising strategy. Your clients are typically local businesses, including people in skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers, and general contractors as well as restaurant owners and retailers, some of whom have been in business for decades but have relied on word-of-mouth and referrals to generate business. They are looking to expand their client base by leveraging the Internet, something they have been uncomfortable with in the past. You currently have a total staff of ten employees specializing in sales, web design, and marketing including one person in finance and another in office administration. Most of the staff are in their early 20s and 30s, but you do have two staff members who are 55 and 64 years old, respectively. The staff is likewise diverse with six male and four female staff members as well as six different cultural-ethnic backgrounds represented. Currently, you and six other staff members are working out of a small office space that you have rented. The remaining four staff members are working remotely from home. As the owner of this new business, you need to make decisions about how you are going to communicate with potential and existing clients as well as your own employees. Based on the scenario information above, make a decision on what channels you would use to communicate in the following three situations: What channel will your salespeople use to contact new/prospective clients to see if they would be interested in your company’s services? What channel will you use to communicate a message of congratulations to your entire team for an incredible job done maintaining the business and client relations during the past two to three years of COVID-related lockdowns and restrictions and the subsequent post-pandemic recovery?? What channel will you use to communicate the need to terminate one of your salespeople who is currently working from home, due to low revenue this year and the need to cut costs?
