Whether your business is operating with a traditional phone system, a hosted solution or is in the process of installing or upgrading to a new system, your business’s telecoms system can mean so much more for your company than just being an expensive piece of plastic sitting on your desks.
Your office telecoms solution should be just that – a solution to help you tackle your daily business challenges. If used to its full potential it will help you make rather than cost you money.
Telecoms technology has changed rapidly in recent years. Office technology is becoming increasingly unified and collaborative with devices able to link up and talk to each other. This is in no small part thanks to the move towards hosted telephony and VoIP (voice over internet protocol) solutions, which is driven by BT Wholesale’s announcement that as of 2020 customers will no longer be able to purchase ISDN and PSTN circuits – the circuits that most of us currently use to communicate over the phone.This means that your business has scope to improve the way you communicate with your customers and utilise the great phone system features available to increase profitability.
Luckily, there are four ways your business’s phone system could become a tool to help you beat your KPIs rather than just being viewed as a monthly outgoing cost.
Use auto attendant and CTI (computer telephony integration) to boost brand perception
With implementing a professional auto-attendant menu, a streamlined greeting, well thought out call diverts, informative voicemails and by utilising day and night modes, your business can ensure callers quickly get through to the right person and hang up with a positive impression.
To further this seamless caller experience, you could also integrate your phone system with your CRM system and your desktop. That way, when an existing customer calls you, their details and any notes on their account will appear on your screen, allowing you to start your conversations in a more informed and personal way.
Call recording can increase workplace efficiency and reduce avoidable spend
We all know unnecessary mistakes and mix-ups can be costly. Whether you’ve taken a substantial order over the phone and taken down the details incorrectly or misspelled an address or a postcode, these kinds of errors can easily be avoided. By using call-recording software, you can quickly replay conversations, double check information and resolve disputes – reducing wasted expenses. Call recording is also really useful for staff training, allowing you to show examples of best practice calls.
Call management software allows you to monitor marketing activity, demonstrate ROI and streamline your processes
After you’ve started using call recording, you can use the call reports to analyse your marketing activity and campaigns. By using a different direct dial for your print advertising, email marketing, social-media activity and press releases etc, you can track the number of calls that each channel generates, trace sales and demonstrate the ROI of your spend.
Put simply, call management software lets you monitor all the calls that come in and out of your business. You can report on which teams are answering the most calls, who’s answering the phone the quickest and how many calls and potential sales you’re missing out of office hours. By analysing your call data, you might find that by opening at 8am instead of 9am you could be taking extra sales and increasing revenue before you would have even previously opened your doors. Call-management software allows you to use call data to evaluate your processes and adjust accordingly.
Use advertising on hold to upsell your services to a captive audience
Have you ever thought of the time your customers are on hold as free marketing space? By adding advertising on hold to your phone system set up, you can reduce the number of customers that hang up while they’re waiting, reassure your callers that they are in a queue and reduce perceived wait times. You can also use this air time to upsell your services and products to a captive audience, informing them about opening times, business news and answers to frequently asked questions at the same time. You wouldn’t pay for radio space and then broadcast a silent advert, so why would you leave your customers on hold without making the most of their time and attention?
By learning more about your current phone system or exploring the new technology on the market, you could implement some of the above features in line with your business needs and objectives. When you next answer your business mobile, switch on your headset or pick up that plastic handset on your desk, why not take a bit of extra time to evaluate whether you are using your telecoms set up to its fullest potential. With a few changes, you could be closer to hitting your targets and enjoy a system that helps make you money.
This article comes courtesy of Network Telecom, the business telecoms provider
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