The world of business communications can appear daunting at first glance. Whether you’re an experienced team or just getting started, picking the right communications solution can seem like a stab in the dark without the right guidance. At Chrome we understand this and therefore would like to offer some guidance.
There are plenty of great communication services out there, from versatile cloud solutions to powerful call management platforms. If you take a look at our other blogs, you’ll see plenty of great recommendations depending on your industry. However today we’re doing something a little bit different, we’re going to take a look at some of the Do’s and Don’ts of business communications. Taking you through some of the great ways to improve your system, while informing you of some of the pitfalls to avoid.
Cloud Communications – Do only pay for what you need
A huge amount of businesses overpay on their communications. This is normally because of two things. Either they are paying for services they don’t need, or don’t have a clear understanding of their bill. A cloud phone system solves both of these issues in one go.
With a cloud solution, because setting up each phone is such a simple process, you can scale your operation seamlessly as and when you need to. If a new member of staff joins, add a handset to your network, if you’re scaling back, switch off the licenses. It is simple. Any additional services, such as call management or UC solutions are included in the price. This gives you a clear grasp of what works and what doesn’t, and massively cuts the amount of time and money spent on admin.
Call Analytics – Don’t use data in isolation
Call analytics software is one of the most powerful services available to businesses today. It allows teams in customer service roles to gain a far better understanding of the way that they and their fellow team members are working. From missed calls, to which teams are performing best, there is so much here that can help you to improve your operation moving forward.
For managers, the data provided by analytics software gives you brilliant insights into the status of your network. It means that if you notice a particular team is being overwhelmed by the Monday rush, you can assign more staff to help. This data can also be viewed remotely, so you can keep track wherever you are. With all of this said, it is very easy to end up using the data in isolation. Nothing beats talking with your team to find out the best way to support them, the data will help you to build a more informed picture of what’s going on.
Connectivity – Don’t put too much faith in home or public WiFi
The rise of remote working in the past year and a half has taught us a lot about which services are truly essential for business. A strong connectivity service is one of these. From video conferencing to maintaining essentials like websites or security software, your business needs to choose carefully here.
There are plenty of great connectivity services available that can keep both your office and your remote staff connected (check out this page of our website for more [link]). But one very crucial point to make is to make sure that your remote staff are not putting their trust in public or unsecure home broadband connections.
These connections are not only ineffective, but also present a huge security risk. Anyone can potentially steal customer, staff or financial data from a device connected to an insecure network. With the average data hacking ransom costing in the tens of thousands, we don’t need to stress how important this is to avoid.
On Hold Marketing – Do take advantage of a professional service
Your business might have the best marketing in the world, a modern website, a great shopfront and hilarious social media, but one of the first impressions any customer will have is likely to be the greeting it receives via your phone service. You’ve worked hard to get prospective customers to call you, so make sure they have the best possible experience when they do.
On hold marketing allows you to do this. While customers wait to reach your team, this service can quickly inform them about important information such as opening times or changes to your service due to Covid19. It also provides you with an opportunity to market your other complementary services.
At Chrome we can provide a huge range of professional on-hold music as well as lending the talents of trained voice actors to ensure your messaging is as clear as possible. We do this because we’ve seen what happens when businesses try to DIY this process. From grainy elevator music to attempting to sing a tune themselves. You really should leave it to the professionals.
We hope that this guide has helped to inform you about some of the things that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to business communications. Some of the points here may be a bit silly, but there is a serious message about how important it is to get these solutions right. For more information about any services mentioned here, or just some advice give us a call here at Chrome on 03333 212 707.
