Difference Between Internal And External Communication

Parameters	Internal Communication	External Communication
Objective	Exchange of information b/w members of the company	Exchange of information b/w the company & the outside world.
Mode of communication	E-Mails, meetings, presentations, workshops, training, and announcements (in some industrial sectors).	Advertisements, social media posts, client meetings, and press releases.
Form	Both formal & informal	Mostly formal
Frequency	It occurs regularly, mostly on an everyday basis to perform the operations of the company.	It occurs less frequently as compared to internal communication.
Participants	Employees & Management	Customers, shareholders, investors, clients, general public, suppliers, creditors, etc.
Purpose	To understand and solve internal conflicts and plan new strategies.	To make the branding of the company and grab the attention of customers and clients
Types	Vertical, Horizontal and diagonal	No classification
Coverage/Flow	Its coverage is limited to only organization	Its coverage is broad, to the whole business environment.

Internal Communication

Internal communication is a regular aspect of any organization, it occurs when the members of an organization exchange information with each other. This is mainly related to colleagues, coworkers, anyone who is directly a member of the organization or business.

Internal communication is very much important for any firm to grow inside out. It’s always preferred that good communication between the members make the firm much standard and stronger from roots. Proper communication can help to solve various problems and adversities.

This mode of communication mostly takes place face to face and through E-mails. The daily operation of any business or organization mostly depends on effective internal communication and a good amount of it happens through E-mails. Most of the information is completely internal and it’s not revealed to any other people.

It is highly used to sort out conflicts and issues of the organization. Well managed and monitored internal communication can help to set a high vision and great goals. Using it effectively will ultimately take the organization to set goals, in time. Good internal communication helps any organization to works smoothly as the lubricant helps a machine to work.

External Communication

External Communication is the transfer of information between an organization and other parties, out of the organization. This mode of communication is basically observed between organizations and clients or customers. The internal members of the organization have the access to this information, but it’s majorly for the external members like customers & clients.

It is highly important because ultimately good external communication will give good profits to any business or organization. Many times improper information or wrong information may lead to various jeopardized situations. The standard and most successful entities have a highly monitored and well managed external communication system.

External Communication is mostly used for marketing strategies and branding a certain business. Some of the examples of external communication are; Advertisements, Public meetings, client meetings, Interaction of sales department, social media posts, Newspaper and print media posts, and some online websites or e-stores.

Effective communication helps in upgrading the business, similarly external communication mostly helps the customers or audience to be up to date and grab the latest opportunities available. So today’s most of the business world invests a good amount of income to develop external communication and expand the business as much as possible.

Similarities Between Internal and External Communication

External and Internal communication, both influences the growth and productivity of an organization.
Thinking carefully and designing the message that to be transferred is required for both the means of communication.
Multiple channels and media can be utilized for effective communication.
The conversation takes place not one-way communication.
Regular feedback and changes are proposed to develop the organization.

Good communication skills are highly important to convey the message properly and maintain communication consistently.

Key Differences Between Internal and External Communication

Audiences are different comparatively in internal and external communication.
Internal communication can be formal or informal but external communication is always formal and well documented.
Internal communication is purely to transfer messages but external communication focuses on some other elements too, such as advertisement, maintaining relationships with customers.
Both external and internal communications are regular but the occurrence of internal communication is higher than external communication.
Internal communication covers only organization but external communication covers the whole business environment.
Various modes of communication can be seen in both, but mostly preferred modes are different in internal and external communication.

Conclusion

Both the internal and external communications are highly important for the business to achieve growth inclusively and function effectively. Internal communication can be used to improve the performance of the organization, by guiding and motivating the individuals to work with higher efficiency. External communication can be used to build a good public image of an organization in the public. An organization aspiring for success should have regular assessment of both the modes of communication.