As of 2022, Dell had more than 133,000 employees worldwide and about $101.2 billion in sales for 2021. But in 1984, it was a small startup based in the garage of Michael Dell. Strategic communication for a company based in a garage and employing a few friends is a far cry from the public company Dell became, valued at $30.81 billion market cap in November of 2022. But because Dell knew that communication was important (not just that communication was present, but that it was deliberate, customized to the audience and purpose, and appropriately delivered), Dell made effective strategic communication an important part of the corporate culture.
In his own words, Dell describes the importance of communication like this: 'Communications are an important part of what you have to offer to customers and shareholders; but, communications has to be in the center to be optimally effective.'
This strategy has continued in spite of the company's growth and change over the years. A former CEO of Dell, Kevin Rollins, viewed strategic communication as an integral part of making sure employees, customers, the media, and Wall Street analysts all understood Dell's strategy, but that the strategy was communicated to them in a way that was meaningful to them. Analysts want to hear about increasing sales or profit. Customers want to hear about improved products and good support. Employees want to know their jobs are safe and that they are doing a good job.
A simple statement like 'Dell continues to grow in sales, customer retention, and employee satisfaction' may send that message to all of those constituencies, but is it really presented strategically and deliberately? Kevin Rollins and current leadership would say no. To use communication as a competitive advantage, it needs to do more than just provide information - it needs to encourage and inspire confidence in people.
Rollins described it this way: 'You have to modify messages based on constituency. Which element of the overall strategy do you want to discuss with each constituent? The communication function breaks strategy into pieces and sells the right pieces to the right audience.'
