• Cost-Effective

These days, businesses are focused on reducing costs where they can and making the most of the bare minimum. Conventional PBX systems which require costly upgrades as businesses expand do not fit into this scenario. With cloud telephony, customers pay only for the services and applications they use, usually in the form of a monthly fee. Because you may add and remove these at any time, expanding or downsizing your system is quick and easy.

• Reliability

Service Level Agreements allow you to understand exactly what you are signing up for. These usually guarantee 24/7 assistance throughout the year. That is, should you encounter any issues, your provider is available to remedy the situation quickly and efficiently, minimizing down time for your business.

• Professional Assistance

What sets established businesses and fresh start-ups apart is often the absence of a structured communication network. The former often have the advantage as the latter may lack resources. This is where cloud telephony plays a role. Thanks to its cost-effective nature, small businesses can afford these services which provide a global standard response mechanism to ensure that consumers are always tended to. In addition, the enhanced communication strategy ensures better customer acquisition, retention, and ROI.

• Improved Connectivity

Cloud telephony allows your team to work remotely and in-office seamlessly. Employees can easily access data from anywhere at any time, without being caught off-guard or unprepared.

• Lower Probability of Unit Failure

With cloud computing, the probability of malfunction or damage is decreased since it does not have a single point of hardware. The system is closely monitored by your provider, who provides the necessary security and maintenance as needed. Traditional PBX systems are often housed on site, thus requiring your own staff to monitor and maintain the system and hardware.

Why did your business choose to switch to the cloud? How is it working for you? Share with us and your peers on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

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Respond More With Fewer Agents
Text chat allows agents to respond to multiple chats at once, minimizing the number of agents needed on hand. Fewer agents can cut costs for businesses, but it can also improve the quality customer service. Because there would be fewer agents, managers could devote more attention to each agent, ensuring that their performance is meeting the necessary expectations. Text would enable companies to send out more immediate alerts to customers (ex. system updates, outages) to help ease inbound call traffic.

Review Transcripts
Text conversations act as transcripts themselves. Text chats are easily accessible and can be reviewed and analyzed for performance, brand compliance, and more. Text analytics can even help to track common terms to identify the most common support issues.

Guide The Conversation
Scripts are common in contact centers to help agents control the flow of the conversation and stay brand compliant. Canned responses are prerecorded answers that can help agents respond quickly and appropriately. Like scripts, they can also help to train agents on how to answer certain questions. Artificial intelligence can also be used to autoselect an appropriate response based on the customer question.

Send Out Automated Surveys
Text surveys tend to get a higher response rate than email surveys and phone surveys. Immediately after a text conversation ends, you can set up automation to send out the survey. Responses to these surveys tend to be more accurate since the experience is still fresh in their mind. These responses can then be reviewed by your call center to evaluate performances.

Aside from the benefits of introducing texting to your customer support tactics, it can also benefit your internal workforce communication.

For example, texting can improve the communication with field service workers. Texts can serve as appointment reminders for both the field service person and the customer. For the field service worker, important details about the appointment ensures that the worker is aptly prepared and on time. Consequently, this also improves show rates. For customers, these serve as friendly reminders and may include the name and a picture of the person being dispatched. This will give the customer a sense of familiarity and trust before the worker arrives.

Internally, text messages can remind team members to enter hours or provide project updates. These can even link to a mobile app or website that makes it easier for employees. If these tasks are delegated through the preferred method of choice of the staff, employers will see improved adherence to company policies and procedures.

Bottom line, adding texting to business communications can benefit the customers, the employees, and the business itself. Do you think more businesses will embrace texting within their communication structure? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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If you have a legacy phone system, you may have some reservations about adopting UC. Much like upgrading your system, implementing UC within your business can seem like a daunting task. Whether your concerns lie in the cost, time, effort, or all of the above, it is best to remember that these are small feats for long term benefits.

To help you, here are some common obstacles that companies face when making the transition, and ways to easily tackle them.

Existing Contracts
Unified communications allows you to consolidate your equipment and services so that you are making one single payment to your UC provider. Unfortunately, you may have contracts with your current providers that have yet to expire. Because the different contracts may not expire on the same day, many UC providers will work with you. Instead of paying early termination fees to make the switch, UC providers can install a system with core capabilities (ex. business telephony and the PBX system) which will allow you to add additional products and services as needed at a later date (i.e. once your contracts end).

VoIP Performance
When VoIP was first introduced in the late 90s, users experienced bad sound quality and cut-outs, which is why some people are still wary of UC. However, these early performance issues can be attributed to poor internet speeds. Broadband has come a long way and since then, eliminating any issues with performance. Thanks to the presence of high speed fiber optic connections in most places, any previous VoIP problems are a thing of the past with modern cloud UC systems.

Staff Adoptions
Staff adoption always plays a major role for businesses introducing a new system or process. With UC, because there are so many features, businesses worry that employees may not use the resources effectively. Or that they will struggle with learning the new system. Luckily, UC systems are being built with the end-user in mind. R&D teams are working to provide a user-friendly interface across all platforms, operating systems, and devices.

In the long run, you can save money while boosting productivity and efficiency within your business with unified communications. Are you still hesitant to take the plunge? Have you adopted a unified communications system? Share your thoughts, concerns, or experiences with us on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Shop our selection of new and refurbished business phones, conference phones, phone systems, networking equipment, and more online at Startechtel.com. Call 1-800-564-8045 Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm to speak with us directly.