communication channel

(noun)

The method or medium by which one conveys information; e.g., through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information via speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior.

Related Terms

Examples of communication channel in the following topics:

  • Choosing the Type of Communication

    • In communications, a channel is the means of passing information from a sender to a recipient.
    • Determining the most appropriate channel, or medium, is critical to the effectiveness of communication.
    • Oral communications tend to be richer channels because information can be conveyed through speech as well as nonverbally through tone of voice and body language.
    • Written communication is an effective channel when context, supporting data, and detailed explanations are necessary to inform or persuade others.
    • Here are some examples of different communication channels and their advantages:

  • Channel

    • A simple speech communication model includes a sender (that is, a speaker), a message, a receiver (that is, an audience), and a channel.
    • Claude Shannon, who developed one of the earlier communication models, defined the channel as the medium used to transmit the signal from the transmitter to the receiver.
    • When the speaker and the audience are in the same room at the same time, the channels of communication are synchronous, in real time.
    • Speakers also use communication channels that are mediated, meaning there is something between the speaker and the receivers.
    • Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is able to overcome physical and social limitations of other forms of communication, and therefore allow the interaction of people who are not physically sharing the same space.

  • Formal Communications

    • The messages which circulate on regulated channels within an organization are referred to as formal communications.
    • The messages which circulate on the regulated channels within an organization make up formal communication.
    • The American political scientist and communication theorist Harold Lasswell popularized the concept of the communication channel in his 1948 paper The Communication of Ideas.
    • The "channel" describes the means by which the information is communicated.
    • Categorize formal communication into four distinct channels: electronic, print, face-to-face, and workspace

  • Upward Communication

    • Upward communication is often made in response to downward communication; for instance, employees answering a question from their manager.
    • In this way, upward communication indicates the effectiveness of a company's downward communication.
    • The communication channel, or mode of sharing information, strongly influences the upward communication process.
    • The availability of communication channels affects employees' overall satisfaction with upward communication.
    • This is likely to make employees feel satisfied with their level of access to channels of upward communication and less apprehensive about communicating upward.

  • Channels for Consumer Goods

    • With the growth of specialization, particularly industrial specialization, and with improvements in methods of transportation and communication, channels of distribution have become very complex.
    • Channels don't always make sense.
    • The channel mechanism also operates for service products.
    • Finally, channels should have certain distribution objectives guiding their activities.
    • Channels usually represent the largest costs in marketing a product.

  • Channels for Industrial Goods

    • With the growth of specialization, particularly industrial specialization, and with improvements in methods of transportation and communication, channels of distribution became very complex.
    • This definition implies several important characteristics of the channel.
    • Yet all must be recognized, selected, and integrated into an efficient channel arrangement.
    • The channel operates 24 hours a day and exists in an environment where change is the norm.
    • This trade channel is feasible when agents cannot directly sell to industrial users.

  • Channel Integration

    • The integration of marketing channels to varying degrees is known either as multi-channel or omni-channel retailing.
    • The integration of marketing channels involves a process known as multi-channel retailing.
    • The omni-channel consumer wants to use all channels simultaneously and retailers using an omni-channel approach will track customers across all channels, not just one or two.
    • The brick-and-mortar stores become an extension of the supply chain in which purchases may be made in the store, but are researched through other channels of communication.
    • Communications between the IT department, marketing department, and sales staff will need to be as smooth as possible with little confusion about goals and strategies.

  • Cross-Channel Customer Experience

    • A cross channel experience involves customers accessing multiple marketing channels to make purchases and to retrieve information and services.
    • The customer has accessed several different company channels during this experience.
    • A retail store, web site, digital signage, kiosk, online and mail order catalogs or direct personal communications by letter, email or text message represent marketing channels.
    • A cross channel customer experience involves touch points where customers can access multiple channels within a business to make purchases and to access information and services.
    • The process must be customer friendly and each marketing channel must operate in conjunction with the other channels within the system to provide seamless and efficient service.

  • The Significance of Marketing Channels

    • The primary purpose of any channel of distribution is to bridge the gap between the producer of a product and the user of it, whether the parties are located in the same community or in different countries thousands of miles apart.
    • A channel performs three important functions.
    • Second, all channel institutional members are part of many channel transactions at any given point in time.
    • The medical community provides emergency medical vehicles, outpatient clinics, 24-hour clinics, and home-care providers.
    • A channel strategy is evident.

  • Introduction to IRC / Real-Time Chat Systems

    • IRC has been around for a long time, and its primarily text-based interface and command language can look old-fashioned — but don't be fooled: the number of people using IRC continues to grow, and it is a key communications forum for many open source projects.
    • The first thing to do is choose a channel name.
    • If your project's channel gets too noisy, you can divide into multiple channels, for example one for installation problems, another for usage questions, another for development chat, etc (the section called "Handling Growth" in Communications discusses when and how to divide into multiple channels).
    • How will people know all the available channels, let alone which channel to talk in?
    • The channel topic is a brief message each user sees when they first enter the channel.