The impact of the pandemic, and its many consequences, has meant that companies have experienced, and continue to experience, numerous challenges, forcing management to think differently.
This goal of adaptation and redefinition has also included, and will continue to include, full integration of the digital transformation, new forms of communication as a survival factor and a commitment to a more effective communication strategy that boosts relations with stakeholders.
In a context in which B2B exporting companies are particularly important for economic growth, given the objectives of Portuguese exports reaching 50 percent of GDP by 2027, it is important to understand how these companies look at the way they communicate, what trends are conditioning the market and what paths are open to more competitive and successful communication management.
An unexpected reality
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic declared in March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the fact that the world we live in today can be described under the acronym VUCA(H), considering the traits that best characterize it: "Volatility", "Uncertainty", "Complexity", "Ambiguity" and "Hyperconnectivity".
Companies were surprised by a scenario that few, if any, had considered in their strategic plans. This event, classified by many as unexpected and by others as foreseeable but not considered, has forced nations, markets, organizations, families and individuals to redefine their routines and sometimes even rethink their purpose.
In 2020 and already halfway through 2021, the words most heard in different contexts are dominated by Public Health jargon: "pandemic", "confinement" and "group immunity", but for companies, the engines of the national economy, "concern", "resilience" and "adaptation" have marked this year and a half, which has been one of learning and transition.
Today, the priority for companies is the survival of the business, ensuring the sustainability of the operation, guaranteeing jobs, meeting commitments to suppliers and adapting to the new global environment. On the other hand, it is also necessary to safeguard the future, so that this scenario does not repeat itself without proactive response plans.
National exporting companies
Over the last five years, the national economy has tended to export, while the country had embarked on a path of growth, which remained solid at the beginning of 2020. However, this pandemic has brought a scenario of enormous uncertainty and has severely penalized the export sector.
In the first phase of the current crisis, exports proved to be the component of GDP that fell the most, making a notable contribution to the contraction in economic activity. Between 2019 and 2020, the value of exports fell by 20.9 percent.
The most optimistic view is that, once the effects of the pandemic have subsided, some gradual normality will return after 2021, with exports expected to grow more than in Europe and the world, confirming the continued competitiveness of Portuguese products and services.
The goal is clear and has already been announced: to move from a 44 percent share of exports in 2019 to 50 percent in 2027 and 53 percent in 2030, increasing the number of exporting companies from 21,500 to 25,000 by the end of the decade and the average number of foreign markets to which companies export from 4.3 in 2019 to 4.7 in 2030.
The challenges of B2B exporting companies
The role in society and the business dynamics of B2B companies, specifically exporters, are unquestionably distinct from those we associate with companies with a focus on the final consumer.
The present moment presents new challenges, namely in terms of managing the relationship with customers and other stakeholders, as well as in how organizations can contribute to helping society and the business fabric to look to the future with more confidence and with the ability to implement and focus. The feeling of resilience and transformation can thus go beyond companies to help customers, consumers and society in general to overcome the current situation.
When we look specifically at B2B companies with a focus on exports, we know that the phenomena of valuing the products produced in Portugal are seen as a way of showing a level of quality and innovation that rivals that of other geographies. In some sectors of activity, or rather in some niche markets, made in Portugal strategies have worked as a lever for promotion across borders. However, the pandemic has brought a more attentive public, which values trends associated with local production and with a connection to the "land", in other words, it favors an offer perceived as more genuine and the promotion of what it perceives as "its own". Consumers now value brands from their own country more highly and may even be willing to pay more for products
because they originate in its territory.
Given this scenario, the need arose to understand how the role of Communication is understood in the management of the relationship with the stakeholders of national B2B companies focused on exports, which were forced to rethink a set of assumptions assumed until then as valid. If in international terms several studies have been developed on the importance of Communication in the creation of trust relationships, in the enhancement of products of excellence or in the optimization of production chains, we know little or nothing about the situation in Portugal.
New expectations and solutions
The last year has shown that Portuguese companies are highly resilient, having been able to adapt quickly when they realized they had to do something different to survive in a context of new challenges. But did they know how to communicate?
The pressure placed on the need to sell and to guarantee the operation forced to look for different formulas, when those used until then could not be used - events, networking, meetings and fairs could no longer happen. Traditional points of contact were lost and obstacles to the relationship, fundamental to B2B communication, emerged.
This was the moment when many companies started to worry about Communication and try to understand what path they could take. They then turned to what they could do, whether that was using a website, social media platforms or creating a newsletter, and considered how to continue to communicate, whether through commercial, technical or corporate communication.
This has led to a huge proliferation of content. But content, like any other tool, requires planning. In a digital context where audiences are increasingly saturated, less is more and it is important to have a coherent message and keep the brand relevant in a real "sea" of information and noise.
The relevant role of Communication
The basis for getting the message across is the story. To enter, or be in, a particular market, telling a compelling, exciting and convincing story is as important today as it has ever been. A good and well-told story
continues to make a difference, whatever the nature of the brand.
While it is true that B2B companies ultimately depend on the sale of their products or services, and that in this type of organization in particular, knowledge communication, or technical communication, is a fundamental element that adds value to the entire negotiation process and allows companies to be distinguished, institutional communication, or identity, is what allows trust and originality to be transmitted. And it is trust that is the basis of the relationship.
This is where we need to talk about communication. There is sometimes an understanding that communication is merely the transmission of information between a sender and a receiver. Managing communication is, in fact, managing interaction and seeking negotiation and cooperation with a specific objective. Communication allows companies to give meaning and add value to their activity. That's why it's so important to think about it when we're talking about managing relationships with stakeholders. Communication supports a set of processes that are the basis of the B2B environment: trust, credibility, cooperation, clarity and knowledge.
If relationships are everything in B2B communication, it's the brand and reputation that will help consolidate that relationship. For a company, it's more important than ever to think long-term, boosting resilience and connection with the market. Here, the value of trust and reputation takes pride of place as a crucial element in a communication strategy
The brand has a wide range of features that make it recognizable and legitimize it among those it is aimed at, with clear effects on all dimensions of the business.
Relationships continue and will continue to be the basis of business. There are now more opportunities to work in partnership and holistically, with contacts established with different stakeholders, across multiple sectors, geographies and platforms. Communication is emerging as a function of growing importance, assuming a priority position in the strategic thinking of many companies.
We have entered a "golden age" when it comes to really understanding the importance of communicating and managing an organization's stakeholders strategically, and understanding that only with highly planned actions will we be able to achieve the goals we set ourselves.
Companies are required today and in the future to be able to address the communication process globally, demonstrating consistency, cadence and continuity at all times, taking a strategic approach, mapping and managing all stakeholders and, through these different areas of specialization, reaching them all.
The answer to a post-pandemic world
The post-pandemic world will demand more transparency and trust. It will be essential for companies to enhance their reputation and build and consolidate their relationship with all the agents in the value chain, from the supplier of the basic raw material to the end customer, including all other relevant stakeholders, such as employees, partners, regulators and the government. It is crucial to publicize innovation, build synergies and cooperate in a space for dialogue.
Yes, a company can survive without communicating. But it will be more efficient and profitable if it manages its communication processes in a planned and intentional way and ensures a productive connection with the stakeholders who are essential to its activity. We live in a time of rethought relationships, but the need to establish relationships, and to do so through communication, has not been lost. We could even argue that they are more relevant today than ever before.
Communication is now an increasingly important function, taking on a new priority position in the strategic thinking of many companies. Considered the "voice" of brands, Communication is, at a time when the relationship between organizations and their stakeholders takes on even greater importance, an anchor for inspiring trust and undertaking the successful transition to a post-pandemic world.
4 QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATION
1. What role does communication play in building and managing relationships with stakeholders in Portuguese companies with a B2B and export focus?
The scenario we have been living through for the last year and a half, which few could have considered in their strategic planning, has taken companies by surprise and forced them to adapt in order to ensure their survival. Against this backdrop of current and future challenges, Communication also has a role to play in the transformation to be carried out, and is now being considered by companies and integrated into an overall business strategy.
With the restrictions imposed on the movement of people, proximity to the customer has become an added obstacle, and it seems that most of the contact points for establishing relationships and building trust have almost disappeared. In order to maintain communication channels that are personalized, genuine and based on proximity, companies have had to reinvent themselves in different relationship management formats than the ones they were used to.
Communication has thus emerged as a function of growing importance, now assuming a priority position in the strategic thinking of many companies. Considered the "voice" of brands, Communication is, at a time when the relationship between organizations and their stakeholders takes on even more importance, an anchor for undertaking the transition to a post-pandemic world in the way of reaching the market and establishing commercial partnerships.
2. In your opinion, how important is communication to the business success of Portuguese B2B companies focused on exports?
The need and importance for companies to intentionally build and manage relationships with the different interlocutors in their value chain is now more evident. The communication process, understood as a strategic function
It allows companies not only to sell products and services, but also to gain notoriety and cement their reputation, making them more successful in achieving their business goals.
When it comes to investing in new markets, brand recognition is a determining factor in accelerating business success. In foreign markets, where space is often still being sought, it is essential to work on notoriety and reputation with communication actions that contribute to development.
commercial and operational.
In the logic of B2B business, the customer must be seen as a partner with whom it is necessary to build and manage a relationship of trust from a medium/long-term perspective. It therefore makes sense to understand Communication as the
managing relationships with partners and stakeholders that are fundamental to the development of a successful business activity.
It is possible for a company to survive without communicating, but it will be more efficient if it intentionally and strategically manages communication processes with its various stakeholders. In the current context, investing in building this relationship is decisive and promises to be a key advantage in the post-pandemic world.
3. Do you think that B2B exporting companies are now more dedicated to investing in communication issues?
A large number of companies lack an organized, cross-cutting communication structure, which is merely referred to as sales and marketing support. Communication
This seems to be the reality in the vast majority of our business fabric.
More than 1/4 of the companies surveyed in the "InterComm Report" study don't believe that communication has a strategic relevance and/or don't yet give it a prominent place in the paths to be taken, and although customers and employees are obviously top of mind in these organizations, more than 20 percent don't have a continuous and assiduous relationship with other stakeholders, namely their suppliers and partners.
Few companies are truly awake and aware of the benefits of making room for communication, understood in a broad sense and not just product/service communication, which is the responsibility of sales departments, to contribute to the competitiveness of organizations.
Only a small percentage, of a different size and maturity, understand and manage the issues associated with their communication in a different way, making investments in terms of institutional communication and exploring other communication channels - such as the media or social networks - and establishing relationships with associations in the sector and other strategic partners. Perhaps we can infer that the companies that have taken up the challenge of participating in this project have good practices to share or, if they don't, are aware of the importance of investing differently in Communication in the short/medium term.
4. What advice can you give to a B2B exporting company that wants to increase its investment in communication?
Today, companies are required to be able to address internal communication, digital communication and reputation issues in a global manner - which are the structuring bases that guide all the other areas of the company's intervention.
Communication - media relations, sustainability, risk management and crisis communication, event management, and all the other actions that can be promoted with the aim of creating leads. It is essential to always try to demonstrate coherence, cadence and continuity, taking a strategic approach, mapping and managing all stakeholders and, through these different areas of specialization, reaching them all.
Faced with various dimensions of communication and the growing importance of new channels, the most important thing is to learn to be coherent and to work with communication in a truly integrated way. Reaching not only new clients, but all stakeholders is the big challenge.
We need to work on the brand in a way that explains who we are and why they should trust us. The value proposition has to be creative and disruptive. We need to re-evaluate our relationships with all our stakeholders and the channels where we get the most results. The way we relate to each other has changed with the recent scenario. Communication, as well as the perception of this dimension and its application, must keep pace with this transformation.
BY ANA RAPOSO, LECTURER AT THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND PRO-PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION OF THE POLYTECHNIC OF LISBONAND MARTA GONÇALVES, MANAGING PARTNER OF SAYU CONSULTING