Communication
In business, and in life, there are those who can get things done, and those who wait for things to be done for them. No matter which category you are in, you can always do more with the right communication at the right time. And that requires the right communication platform.
The right communication means being able to communicate with your clients and customers when it is convenient for you and them. Most small businesses set office hours, but without the proper communication platform, that most likely means not answering the cell phone or having an answering machine or voice mail that answers the main office line when no one answers. But what about when your business is open, but you're not there?
Maintaining the right communication with your customer means being available when they need you to be, and making sure that the communication that they have with you is effective, satisfying, and resolves their issues. That means more than making sure that someone answers the phone, it means making sure that the right person answers the phone. Here are some ways to do that with a custom VoIP phone system.
First, implement follow-the-sun routing to leverage multiple offices, remote locations, and people working from home so that there is always someone available to answer the phone. Next, use follow-me routing so that when someone's extension is called, that the call connects to wherever they are-the office, the board room, their home office, or the golf course. Lastly, make sure that mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers, and laptops all have soft phone apps on them. This way, when that call does come in, they can take it using VoIP and still be part of the office phone system for transferring, conferencing, reporting, recording, and everything else. Plus, this means that when you want to call the client back from the golf course, you are calling back from the office phone system and not exposing your personal cell phone number.
The right communication means the right communication at the right time for you and your clients. It means being available and being responsive. Being anything else in this interconnected, always online world can mean negative reviews, poor feedback, counterproductive word of mouth, and - ultimately - loss of sales and revenues. All things that every small business (and most large ones) can do without.