The role of communications in business
In an ever competitive society nowadays, businesses often have to find an edge to further increase their productivity and boost the revenue of the company. There are many aspects in expanding a business’ potential, and having an appropriate communication system is one of the major factors.
photo/ Gerd Altmann
Advantages of a business phone system
Companies with business phone systems in the UK know about the potential and benefits of having an integrated network of office phones and they have integrated their phone lines with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to screen numbers when they call in. This CRM software will automatically log the numbers and details down, saving the employee the hassle of manually keeping it in the records
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)
CTI allows your phone to be connected to the computer through different applications (like CRM) and it’s mostly used in offices. It helps to enhance the productivity of employees through viewing all incoming, outgoing and even missed calls from clients. This could help you greatly if your office is in a sales role, where every single phone call might have a chance that could lead you to a sale.
photo/ William Iven
Advantages of CTI
Expounding on the concept of CTI, if it were to be paired with a CRM software, you could control the calls and make a call from your computer, screen numbers against a database so that you will know which customer is calling, record and log the calls in the CRM software. It can even display the calls that are in a queue and you could forward or transfer them. This helps especially in a call centre environment where almost all of them have the business phone system in place to enhance their productivity.
Accreditations
When sourcing for a company which deals in business phone systems, always look out for their achievements and business partners they have worked with. That will give you an inkling of their capabilities and products. In the world of Information Technology, there might be many unexpected glitches and you would require the after-sales service that the company provides. There are some companies who offer their products cheaply, but are unable to fulfill the after-sales support, perhaps due to manpower constraints or profitability issues.
Range of products
Whether you are a small scale or a large scale business, there will always be a selection of products ranging from the basic plan to the advanced plan. For most small-scale businesses, the basic plan will only include the phone system. As starters, this would be good for a small office that might be doing only cold-calling, or even for a start-up that has a budget. For larger scale businesses, they might include the CTI and software as a bundle, and even have various add-ons such as mobile integration, music on hold, etc.
Communication between the business and the client is one of the paramount factors in the world of business. Without a proper and effective communication tool, potential clients may not have the ability to reach you. Although there may be other communication tools such as social media, picking up the phone and hearing the other side’s voice is the quickest and comforting way of making your point across.
Author: Sophie Fenn
photo/ rawpixel
