Enhancing your Communication in your Business
A huge leap forward in technology, which many of us now take
for granted in our personal lives, was the introduction of VoIP technology.
VoIP allows for both voice and video to be transferred over the internet and
has given us access to: video calls; video conferencing; online chat; instant
messaging; and screen share capability. If you haven’t as yet taken advantage
of these within your business, now is the perfect time to do so, as costs are
low and the technology mainstream.
Let’s look at some of the benefits VoIP technology can bring
to your business.
Reduced Costs
While there are initial set-up costs, once you install VoIP
it means you no longer need to have a separate voice network within your business
and nor do you need to pay for the infrastructure to support it. This means
your IT team can focus its expertise and energies on one network. VoIP is a
technology which allows for a much greater level of access for the individual
user, so the IT team’s intervention is also less often called for.
VoIP providers can also
provide long distance and international calls at a greatly reduced rate, when
compared to traditional landlines, so this adds to your long term cost savings.
Higher Levels
Employee Engagement
Employee
engagement is raised when individuals understand the role they play within
the larger environment of the company. When a business has poor levels of
communication, employee engagement can dramatically fall and this can be often
be seen in large global businesses which have high numbers of remote workers.
VoIP can help to bridge this communication gap through a variety
of means. Senior managers can hold worldwide staff meetings and training
sessions via video conferencing and questions can be answered in real time
during these sessions through the use of online chat. In a similar way line
managers can hold face to face meetings and appraisals with staff even if they
work remotely. Screen share, instant messaging and online chat also leads to
colleagues being able to keep in closer contact and fosters stronger team
bonds. High levels of employee engagement lead to increased productivity
therefore this is an important benefit to bring to your business.
Increased Customer
Satisfaction
One of the biggest issues customers often have with
companies is when they aren’t able to contact your sales or support teams with
ease. VoIP has lowered many of the barriers to instant communication and in the
process increased customer satisfaction.
Click To Call Buttons:
These can be added to online adverts, your website and even embedded in your
newsletter. If customers then have pre-sales questions they can get them
answered almost immediately.
Virtual Shop
Assistants: On many websites now a chat box pops up to allow you to speak
directly to the sales team if you need questions answered. This can help to lower the barrier to a sale
as people will often click away from a site if they can’t find the information
they need quickly.
Screen share:
Particularly in the technical support arena the ability to screen share has
been a huge leap forward. Rather than having to spend a great deal of time on
the phone, screen share allows a fix to be found and implemented much more
quickly.
With so many benefits offered by VoIP it is unsurprising to
find that estimates expect the technology to be worth more
than $88 billion by 2018. If you want to improve your business
communication it is one technology which it is worth exploring, especially with
the increased cost savings which accompany it.