Communication is often a challenge within organizations of all shapes and sizes. And as the world is embracing remote work with more confidence, it is becoming clear that remote businesses can't grow without managing their communication issues. Remote PPC agencies are among those businesses. As many PPC agencies nowadays operate mainly remote, they must deal with the challenges of over-communication and poor communication. We have already dedicated an article to overcommunication in remote PPC agencies. Now it's time to talk about poor communication.   

Why Does Your Remote PPC Agency Need Good Communication? 

We know that efficient communication is key to success in any industry, and even more so in an industry that primarily deals with communication -- marketing. But why is that? How can communication issues like over-communication and poor communication impact the success of your remote PPC agency? 

Good communication is essential for a healthy company culture

A healthy company culture implies that employees are happy with their work and are willing to become brand advocates for your business. This cannot happen if they are not comfortable in the workplace. When it comes to employee well-being, transparency and communication are a big part of feeling part of a good team.

Good communication can increase productivity

This one is pretty straightforward - if everybody knows what they need to do, what is expected of them, what the goals of the company are, but also what the goals associated with each account are, then they will be able to do their tasks more efficiently. 

Good communication can increase motivation

This goes hand in hand with well-being and feeling part of a team. Team members who are not frustrated and who get the help and support they need will be more motivated to do their jobs.  

Good communication can spare you unnecessary costs

This might not seem obvious at first glance, but think about it! Every minute or hour that people spend sorting communication issues is time not spent being productive. Just think about how many ads could have run while your PPC specialist was busy chasing his account manager for more information...

Communication Issues Inside Remote PPC Agencies: Poor Communication

As mentioned before, you should tackle communication issues in your PPC agency as soon as they arise. Poor communication is a common problem for all types of teams, but it can be particularly difficult to identify in a remote context. 

What is poor communication, though? When does it happen?

Well, t usually happens when:

• Relevant information is not being communicated and 'bottlenecks' appear
• Information is not being communicated clearly and concisely
• Things aren't being communicated to the right people 
• Information is not repeated at a certain time interval

In all of these scenarios, poor communication will decrease productivity, increase frustrations and decrease team motivation. This will be reflected in the results that your team is proving and will eventually affect the overall productivity of your team. 

How can you identify poor communication in your remote PPC agency? Here are a few signs: 

The results aren't what was expected 

Do you have a set of procedures that your team should follow when setting up a new account? Has your new hire just created something completely different? Before getting upset, ask yourself if the information was transmitted clearly and efficiently. When people don't receive a lot of information, they will tend to fill in the gaps. So if your team is getting results that aren't aligned with your goals, it might just be that those goals have not been properly described.  

People don't trust each other

If you are dealing with poor communication in your remote PPC agency, you will often see your teams reluctant to work with each other. This often happens because people have not had the chance to interact with each other. Unfortunately, it is vital for your business that your copywriters and your designers get along. Unless they communicate efficiently, you risk that the campaigns they create are completely different from the expected result. You will therefore need to address the issue and help them build trust in one another.

Work is either not done or is duplicated

Laziness may not be the only reason things aren't done. The reason for things not getting done or getting done in different ways by different people (duplicated) can be a communication issue. Poor communication can lead to people not understanding what they need to do and where their attributions begin. This can become time-wasting when communication becomes so poor that two people start working on the same task independently, without even knowing. 

People don't know what to prioritize 

Another sign of poor communication is that people work on irrelevant tasks and not on their priorities. This often happens when people don't understand what their priorities should be, as this hasn't been communicated properly. 

How to Fix Poor Communication in Your Remote PPC agency 

Now that you have identified communication issues in your remote PPC agency, let's see how you can fix them. The most important thing is to encourage communication from all the members of your team. You should also:

Create a safe space for communication

As we have already highlighted, good communication can define a company's culture. Make sure you highlight that and encourage people to communicate both with their peers and with the management. Encourage sharing opinions and new ideas. People should feel comfortable speaking their minds and give you feedback. This leads us to our next tip: 

Always ask for feedback 

Your team will probably be the first to identify communication issues like poor communication. That is why you have an opportunity to find out about this problem before it starts to really impact your work. Just ask your team for feedback - during meetings, chats, or periodical reviews. 

Set clear expectations

To counteract poor communication, you should communicate clearly. Sounds easy enough, right?! While it is important to handle communication in an efficient way, it is also important to let people know that they are expected to share information. Make communication an expectation. Encourage people to communicate in certain situations - if they don't understand a request, if they are tired, if they don't understand their priorities, if they don't understand their deadlines, etc. 

Set up a communication plan 

A clear communication plan can help you counteract both the effects of poor communication and those of over-communication. Establish a meeting calendar that is neither overwhelming nor too rare. For example, many companies have a weekly Monday morning meeting with the entire team and then schedule meetings to discuss each project in particular. This may not be the best approach for you, but you can try different frequencies until you find what works best for your team - of course, you'll have to ask for their feedback too. 

Take advantage of technology

Yes, we live in a world where technology has become a part of our daily lives. There are many tools you can use to improve communication in your remote PPC agency: from video communication tools (like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams), to chat tools (Slack, Skype) and collaborative tools (Google Drive, Trello, Asana, etc.). All these tools can make your life - and communication - easier when used wisely. 

Communication issues are common within all companies. Your remote PPC agency can definitely overcome issues like over-communication and poor communication if you work on identifying them right from the start. Working closely with your team to define their boundaries and their needs will also help to establish what good communication means for your agency in particular. And don't forget - whenever in doubt, just ask. It's usually the easiest way to clear out misunderstandings.