The communication system is the centerpiece of today’s competitive business environment. Your success entirely depends on how you communicate your services to the customer. The result is either a closed deal or an exciting opportunity slipping from your hand and taken by your competitor.
You should be very clear about your services and policies with your clients as well as employees as these are the two most important assets driving your organization. Effective communication within the organization stimulates good relations between you and your staff which in turn boosts their morale and efficiency. While effective communication with your customers ensures that your product and services are meeting their immediate requirements
Gone are the days when traditional telephone systems were the best way to communicate with employees, clients, and customers. Now businesses are looking for alternatives that are more flexible and more sophisticated. Some of the solutions that are suitable for connecting with the client as well as your employee base are:
Private, Group Messaging and Chat Tools
Private, group messaging and chat function is often considered as one of the most important tools to keep the teams working together. Instant messaging gets the updates on the project easily. Files can be shared and conversation can be accessed as and when needed.
Some of the most popular among these are Apps like Slack, HipChat which allows teams to instantly exchange messages and access forums while making the best use of traditional chat Program and keeping the conversation in-house. Then there are apps like ASANA which help managers set up workflow management which helps staff to know exactly what they should be doing in real time.
Then there are other APPS that have been dedicatedly built for effective communication with a customer. The most used and will be are:
WhatsApp for Business
WhatsApp for business is completely dedicated to businesses. It is designed to offer concierge-like services, to the customers and only business owners are allowed to use them. Using this you can send out marketing messages to your user base without any involvement of a telecom provider. It not only saves your cost in sending but also develops a sense of trust among your customer that the message is not a spam one and it is coming from a verified service provider. There is also an option for “Business Profile” that will help the customers have additional information about the business such as email address, store location, website, Facebook, Twitter links etc.
Hangout
Hangout is that communication tool that revolves more around the texting feature. Google has also launched 2 other products that are an extension to Hangout: Meet and Chat
Hangout Meet
It is a video chatting and a video meeting app that is perfectly suitable for businesses. Three words that best describes Hangout meet: ultra-light, ultra-easy and ultra-fast. It can accommodate 30 people at the same time making it an ideal solution for conducting business meetings. Hangout Chats is mostly used to create groups and run the projects.
Cloud-Based Solutions
The communication infrastructure has moved to data, faster networks and cloud. With these technology advances, it has become much easier to provide basic connectivity with a layer of additional services. The leading cloud based solution that will define the future of telephony are:
Virtual numbers
Virtual Numbers work exactly like your traditional Phone system but with these amazing extra advantages:
- To use virtual numbers, all you need is an internet connection and no bulky wire systems.
- You don’t need to pay a hefty amount of bills while making international calls. Just pay a monthly subscription fee and use the services.
- They come with a lot of extra features such as call recording, automatic call distribution, call Planner, Voicemail greeting, IVR and a lot more.
- You never miss a call as the calls can be diverted to your desk phone, PC or a tablet device as and when required.
Instant Messaging
Instant messaging is the most prevalent communication platform that is usually used by business with a distributed workforce or the one that needs significant internal communications. There are Instant messaging platforms which can easily integrate with VOIP systems, for example, Skype for business. It supports advanced features like voice calls, video conferencing, hosted virtual meeting rooms and desktop sharing.
Virtual Numbers and Skype for business gives the organization a scalable and dynamic communication solution at a very reasonable cost. They give the flexibility and freedom to your business to grow and change without making significant investments.
By: Ankit Dudhwewala, CEO, Appitsimple (Call Hippo)
