The 10 Most Essential Digital Communication Channels for Businesses [Updated 2025]

In today’s fast-paced digital world, effective communication is at the heart of every successful business.

But choosing the right communication channels for your business can be challenging.

Especially when you need to connect effectively with both employees and customers.

With so many options available—email, live chat software, video conferencing, messaging apps, and more—it’s easy to get lost in the sea of different channels.

But if your communication tools aren’t well-suited to your business needs, you risk misalignment among employees, poor customer service outcomes, and inefficient workflows.

So, how can you ensure seamless business communication—both internally and externally?

Which channels will facilitate stronger employee collaboration and better customer interactions?

To make the decision easier, we’ve outlined the top communication channels every business should consider.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• What are business communication channels?
• How to choose the right digital communication channels
• The essential channels for internal communications
• The most effective communication channels for customer interactions
  

What are communication channels?

Business communication channels are the platforms and mediums organisations use to exchange information, collaborate, and engage with employees, customers, and stakeholders.

These channels can be internal, designed to improve workplace collaboration and productivity, or external, enabling businesses to connect with consumers.

Effective communication channels ensure seamless information flow, reduce misunderstandings, and enhance customer service, ultimately driving business efficiency and stronger relationships.

Choosing the right mix of multiple channels is crucial for maintaining clear, responsive, and scalable communication.

Examples of digital communication channels

Digital communication channels are online platforms and technologies that enable individuals and businesses to exchange information or interact in real time or asynchronously.

Here are some digital examples of key internal communication channels:

• Email
• Instant messaging (e.g. Slack, Microsoft Teams)
• Project management software
• Video conferencing software (e.g. Zoom)
• Intranet
• Internal social media

Digital examples of external communication channels include:

• Email
• Website/app
• Social media platforms
• Live chat
• Messaging (e.g. SMS, WhatsApp)
• AI chatbots
• Web calls/callbacks
• Video chat

How do I choose the right communication channels?

To make sure you're choosing the right communication channels for your business, consider your goals and the audiences you're trying to reach. 

For example, if you're trying to improve internal communication amongst your employees, investing in more team collaboration tools and channels might make sense.

On the other hand, if improving your customer communication strategy or increasing engagement is a top priority, you might invest in a live chat solution or a digital customer service platform. 

Either way, once you've determined what kinds of conversations you want to inspire, choosing the right communication channels will be a breeze. 

The top four digital communication channels for teams

Now that we've covered the basics, let's take a look at the most crucial internal communication channels for you and your staff.

Take a look and see how you could improve your team's efficiency with the following digital communication tools. 

1. Email

It might be the most basic digital written communication channel of all, but there are some great reasons why we send over 290 billion emails every day.

It's cheap, reliable, and supports most regular attachments with ease.

You can send a quick note to a colleague or a mass email announcing upcoming updates, helping to keep track of ongoing company conversations.

However, when compared to other forms of digital communication, email does have some drawbacks. 

For instance, while emails are delivered extremely fast, that doesn't mean you'll receive a response with the same speed. 

Unlike other communication channels, email works best for the least time-sensitive of issues and queries.

52% of professionals who send work-related emails usually expect a response within 12 to 24 hours. 

So if you've got an urgent message for your team or need a quick response during company-wide communications, it's probably best to use a more direct channel to keep your employees informed.

2. Workplace instant messaging apps 

This digital communication channel has become a workplace staple.

Business chat app Slack, for example, now has over 10 million daily users. Other examples include Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Mattermost.

Workplace messaging apps allow a faster and more efficient way for your organisation to communicate.

You can also rest assured that your conversations are archived, too - an excellent perk for documentation or referring to earlier communications. 

With a layout and style similar to personal messaging platforms, this communication channel allows conversations with multiple participants in multiple variations.

It means several members can discuss topics together or catch up for a quick one-on-one.

3. Project management tools

While organisations don't use this tool for general conversations, it can be an instrumental channel in its own right. 

In fact, it's one of the most information-rich communication channels available.

These tools are excellent for productivity too: according to research, 77% of high performing projects use this kind of software to get the job done. 

Project management software aims to improve your team's productivity and efficiency by tracking the steps you need to take to complete a given project. 

By splitting the project up into smaller tasks, you can then assign these tasks to other staff members.

From there, you can use these tools' built-in commenting systems to update your colleagues and discuss your next steps.

It's a great way to keep your team up to date while keeping conversation focussed and to the point. 

For an example of such a tool, check out ProofHub. It's an excellent option for achieving on-time project delivery and on point team accountability.

4. Video conferencing 

When asked for their opinion on using video conferencing solutions as a communication channel for remote work, 90% of respondents claimed it improved how well they could get their point across. 

This is because face-to-face meetings will always be the gold standard for workplace communication.

Verbal communication leads to quicker expression. Nonverbal communication cues like body language also help to create understanding and empathy.

So if you and your staff choose to work remotely for the long haul, video call software is an excellent investment. 

The great news is that you don't need to break the bank either - there are several inexpensive options available online.

Many platforms offer low-code video conferencing features, allowing businesses to easily set up virtual meetings without extensive technical expertise. 

Whichever platform you adopt for your video needs, it's a great channel - especially if hybrid or remote working is your norm.

The top six digital communication channels for customers

If you've put the time and effort into choosing the best electronic communication channels for your team, you don't want to let the side down by neglecting your customers.  

After all, with both marketing and customer support to think of, your ability to communicate is a massive contributor to your business's success.

So, to make sure you're committed to successful external communication, take a look at our list of the essential digital channels for communicating with customers.

5. Websites

Your company's website is one of the most potent digital communication channels at your disposal. 

The reason why is simple: once your customers are on-site, you're in charge of everything they see.

It means you've finally got a chance to entice them without competition. You can deliver a focused message - whether through your branding, your copy, or your web communications methods.

It's what makes your website an ideal place to offer digital products.

That said, our attention spans are constantly getting shorter - the average attention span for Gen Z is only 8 seconds long.

So while you might have a chance to capture your customers' entire focus, you need to do it fast. 

One of the best ways to do this is to ensure your site's got an excellent user interface and design.

After all, 75% of consumers have said they'll judge a company's credibility based solely on their website's design. 

To ensure you're getting the most of this essential communication channel, you'll want to design your website with the most sceptical visitors in mind. 

If you can signal trust with customer reviews and testimonials, show great product images and use cases, and prove your dedication to the best customer service, this communication channel could do more for you than any other.

Your website is also a great channel to show off your content marketing and can even integrate with a video marketing platform.

By providing extra value with videos, blogs, and personalised recommendations, you can make sure your customers hear the message loud and clear: purchasing your product will give them a great customer experience.

6. Social media

With a staggering 4.2 billion users worldwide, social media is here to stay - both for businesses and their customers. 

Customers love social media because it allows them to quickly connect with others via their mobile devices while also staying up to date with recent trends and news. 

Businesses love it as it allows them to demonstrate new products, engage with specific audiences, and vastly improve customer relations - just a few of the reasons why social media has become an essential communication channel. 

To ensure you're getting the most out of social media as a marketing channel, you'll want to ensure you're truly engaging your customers and not just giving them updates that'll bore them to tears. 

This means your social media content has to be on point. It can’t just be a stream of commercial messages or public relations campaigns. 

Make the most of videos, images, and GIFs, and don't forget to create a sense of community with your followers by starting real conversations. 

For help on how to get started, check out our favourite customer engagement examples for inspiration. 

7. SMS & WhatsApp

These days, messaging apps aren’t just used for personal communication. Now, messaging your customers over SMS and WhatsApp is the norm.

‍It's one of the more intelligent communication choices for large enterprise companies that want to inform their customers about new offers and deals.

It's also great for businesses that need to make frequent communications about status updates. Take order and delivery notifications, for example. 

The most important thing to remember about messaging over SMS and WhatsApp is that text messages are only helpful to customers if they're timely and appropriate.

So, make sure your external business messages on these mediums aren't time-sensitive.

8. Live chat

Live chat's speed and convenience means it's earned a customer satisfaction rating of 73%.

It's why it's become an important and powerful communication channel for any business with an online presence.  

If you’re interested in implementing live chat support, you should opt for customisable software that caters to your needs.

For instance, if you're serving a worldwide audience, you'll want to look into live chat that incorporates automatic multilingual translation. 

Similarly, if you'd like to take payments through live chat to increase sales, you'll want to ensure that your live chat software comes with card masking capabilities.

It may also need to comply with regulations like PCI and GDPR.

Whatever your industry, make sure you're catering to your customers by following our web chat best practices.

They'll help you become a live chat pro in no time.

9. Chatbots

Thanks to live chat's success as a communication channel, chatbots have become an essential tool in their own right.

They provide much-needed support to live chat agents when live chat queues get busy, and they're a tremendous self-service support tool too. 

For instance, chatbots can provide your customers with instant answers when they have a quick query. 

If a customer query isn't understood, a chatbot can seamlessly escalate the interaction to your support team.

This allows you to benefit from automated support without losing the human touch or risking customer satisfaction.

Another perk gained from using chatbots as a communication channel is their 24/7 availability. 

If your live chat agents are offline, they can still provide your customers with the answers they're looking for. At the same time, they can collect data for later interactions. 

To get the most out of your chatbot, it's important to consider how you might use it to engage customers, as well as communicate with them.

This is a vital chatbot best practice if you want optimal results.

For instance, do you just want to deploy a chatbot on your website and app, or do you want to offer maximum customer convenience with a social media chatbot, too?

These bots can score you more conversions across platforms like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

These das, you also have the option to implement voice chatbots to help automate call handling and routing.

Either way, you should look for a chatbot solution that leverages artificial intelligence or AI customer service.

An AI-powered chatbot works by using natural language processing, machine learning, and/or generative AI to understand user messages and produce detailed, human-like responses.

One of the ways they do this is through integration with your knowledge base.

For instance, with Talkative’s GenAI Chatbot, you can use file-based content and URLs from your company website (or a site map) to create your own knowledge bases.

From there, the bot can learn from your knowledge base datasets and answer countless questions about your business, products, and services.

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10. Video chat

There's another excellent use case for video as a communication channel alongside video conferencing: offering video chat for customer service.

Its popularity as a customer support channel is on the rise.

The reasons why are clear: video chat provides the same face-to-face connection that customers receive during in-person communication. 

With video chat apps, verbal communications are greatly improved, leading to better understanding overall.

Your customer service agents' facial expressions and body language also improve understanding and decrease customer tension.

Whatever your industry, video is the only communication channel that allows you to bring the in-store experience online. 

11. Bonus entry: Email

While we've already covered email in our section on internal communication channels, it's worthy of another mention as a tool for customer service and online marketing tactics. 

This is because email is universally recognised as a channel for both offering support and advertising your business. 

Let's take a look at each use case in turn. 

Email as a customer service communication channel 

The key benefit of using email as a customer service channel is that it's straightforward to use.

Place your business support email address on your site, and customers will get in touch whenever they've got a query. 

With Talkative, you can even trigger email forms to appear in your live chat widget after a set time.

Not only does this save your customers from spending too much time searching your site, it also improves waiting and queue times for chat support.

This means that, if agents are busy, your customers still have the option to get in touch without waiting around in a queue.

However, it's always worth remembering: customers expect multiple contact options.

Usually, that means they want to use a more immediate channel first and foremost.

So, while it might be helpful to use email if you've got a sensitive message to share with your customers, try to prioritise channels like live chat first for real-time support.

After all, customers have cottoned on to the fact that email queries hardly ever receive fast responses. 

What's more, 88% of customers want to hear back within one hour. But the average email response time from most companies? It's over 12 hours!

Try to avoid this customer service mistake.

Instead, offer your customers the best service possible by complementing email support with the other communication channels we've listed above.

They’ll help you foster a more proactive approach to customer service. 

Email as a marketing communication channel 

This is where email really shines - a whopping 47% of marketers rate email as the most effective marketing channel of all. 

One of the reasons email is so effective for marketing your products is that you're communicating with a pre-selected audience - an audience who've agreed to see your updates, offers, and news.

It means they're already engaged with your company.

Another reason that email works as a customer-facing communication channel is that, unlike other marketing channels, you'll always own your email list.

And, with the aid of email finders, locating contact information has become easier, streamlining outreach efforts and potentially expediting response times.

Let's take a look at a quick example to explain why this is important. 

Say your business has a considerable following on Facebook.

What would happen to your follower list if your account got hacked or accidentally banned?

What would happen if the platform suffered technical issues? 

Though it might seem unlikely now, what would happen if a more popular social network replaced Facebook?

In all these scenarios, your follower list would be useless.

You'd never be able to contact these followers again because you wouldn't have a useful address to message them on. 

Your email list solves this problem, as each of your customers has agreed to give you their primary contact details.

So, whatever the size of your business, remember to prioritise this marketing communication channel above all others.

With a better engagement rate and a more secure audience, you'll be glad that you did. 

Just make sure that your email reputation stays high so you're able to have your emails delivered and they don't end up in the spam folder.

After all your hard work in collecting those emails for your list, this is not a place you want to end up in.

One way to make sure you stay out of the spam folder is to use a professional service for it - even for your personal or transactional emails.

Luckily there are also some free smtp servers out there that are worth a look.

The takeaway

There are hundreds of communication tools and channels out there that can help you better connect with your customers and employees.

Finding the right option all comes down to your end goals. 

For internal purposes, consider whether you want to improve a specific type of communication. Take your project management efficiency, for example. 

Remember to consider the size of your team too. 

For communicating with customers, on the other hand, the smartest option is deploying an innovative digital customer service solution.

That's where Talkative comes in.

Our platform provides a suite of support channels including web calling, live chat, cobrowsing, video chat, messaging, and chatbots - all enhanced by our range of sophisticated AI solutions.

Want to learn more?

‍Book a demo with Talkative today, and check out our interactive product tour.