Business Communications Practitioners

Is business acumen a priority on your list when choosing a communications provider? Business acumen or knowledge of business strategy and operations is as important for communications professionals as it is for CEOs as communications activities can impact the bottom line and contribute towards an organisation’s overall effectiveness. However, new research by the VMA Group1 shows that business acumen is a skill that communications teams in South Africa don’t rate highly enough.

Regardless of increasing pressure on budgets, the gravitas of the communications role as a strategic advisory function is going to increase in the next two years as more and more South African organisations realise its value. So what does this mean for South African business? It means there is a definite need to upskill PR and communications practitioners to make them more business savvy.

Outsourcing the communications function to a consultant or agency with the right capabilities provides an advantage as it gives you immediate access to skilled professionals trained in the art of communications. What you want are practitioners that are creative and strategic thinkers; that will immerse themselves fully in your business and get to know how it operates; and will act with integrity, transparency and good judgement. This is the kind of agency that will challenge or question your decisions rather than simply take instructions. Sound daunting? It is definitely something to embrace – it’s something a strategic advisor that has your organisation’s best interests at heart and wants to help you make the best decisions for your business, will do!

At Black Snow PR, we make it our business to know our clients’ business and integrate ourselves fully into each and every project we take on. For more information on the Black Snow Group, visit www.blacksnowgroup.co.za or phone +27 (0) 86 011 0063. Alternatively, connect with us on Twitter.

Reference:

http://vmagroup.com/south_africa/south-africa-report-201516/