Increasing Productivity with Mobile Offices
The saying ‘time is money’ has never been truer than in today’s business world and the current proliferation of mobile technologies has given business an unprecedented opportunity to capitalise on every available minute.
Laptops, tablets and smartphones are the basic tools of a mobile office and when linked via a VoIP phone system, they can greatly increase the amount of time you and your employees can conduct business, regardless of where you are or what you are doing.
Rather than meeting a client and then coming back a week later with a quote, a salesperson can now work on the details of the order with the client, instantly check stock levels and present the client with the final figures then and there. This means better customer service and a greater likelihood of making the sale.
From Telegraph to VoIP: Milestones in Communications
Communications have come a long way in a short time — from telegraph to telephone, mobile phone and mobile VoIP, all in the space of a mere century and a half.
Telegraph
The telegraph was the first big step forward for communication over long distances, effectively ending the era of the Pony Express in America, where messages were carried by riders on horseback.
Samuel Morse is credited with developing the first successful telegraph system in 1837. He hit on the idea of sending messages along an electric wire, using the earth as a conductor to complete the circuit.
How to Hold a Virtual Conference
A virtual conference is a great way to keep in touch with staff and colleagues, regardless of their geographical locations. It can take the form of a video conferencevia a common website or a teleconference where everyone is linked by phone.
Running a virtual conference is like holding any meeting; there are certain steps that must be followed if a successful outcome is to be achieved. There are also some dos and don’ts peculiar to its ‘virtual’ nature.
Distribute the agenda
Distributing a copy of the agenda to every participant before the conference ensures that everyone knows what to expect and can prepare any questions or contributions they may have. It also gives them a guide to follow during the conference.
Reasons for Choosing a VoIP-Compatible Mobile Phone
Mobile VoIP is revolutionising the way we do business. Whether you’re a small business with a handful of employees or a large organisation with branches all over the world, there are a number of excellent reasons to get on board with mobile VoIP.
Cost
VoIP business phone systems offer substantial savings over traditional phone systems. Monthly fees are not only much lower, but because VoIP systems don’t require onsite routing equipment, businesses also save on equipment charges and maintenance fees.
Most businesses are now extending this cost-saving advantage to their mobile networks. Depending on which service provider and plan you subscribe to, mobile VoIP allows your staff to make mobile calls (including international calls) without incurring the extra charges traditionally associated with mobiles.
Providing the Right Phone Training for Your Staff
Your phone system is the front line of your business and often your first point of contact with clients. How they are treated by your staff over the phone is crucial to the impression they form of your business, so good phone etiquette should be taught and regularly reinforced.
The following are some common dos and don’ts when using a business telephone:
Receiving calls
- Answer promptly, preferably by the third ring.
- Give a greeting, the name of the business and your name and ask how you can be of assistance.
- Always smile, as you can hear the smile in a person’s voice.
- Speak slowly and clearly in a friendly, professional tone.
Top 10 Business Communication Trends
Not surprisingly, the latest business communication trends revolve around emerging technologies, as businesses seek new ways to communicate faster, better and more cost effectively with their customers and employees.
Here are 10 of the most notable trends in business communication today:
While email has been around for a while, email solutions for business now include such things as IMAP accounts, which allow you to check email from more than one computer; auto responders, which automatically send periodic emails to those on your business mailing list; and email archiving, which can be important for compliance issues.
Business Phone System Checklist
Businesses have unique telecommunication needs that differ significantly from those of private residences. Business phone systems that reflect reliability and provide tools for enhanced collaboration and customer communication can boost productivity while allowing organisations to keep costs under control. Whether your organisation is small, medium-sized, or a large business with hundreds of employees, this checklist will prove useful when making a decision about your business phone system.
VoIP
While VoIP is not a feature in itself, it’s worth mentioning here that VoIP systems tend to be far more cost effective than traditional telephone systems. They may also come with a wider range of tools and special features to support dynamic business use. These include mobile VoIP, call management tools, integration with your CRM, and call monitoring features.
Combining Conferencing with Cloud Computing
Cloud computing has grown in popularity over the past few years. The term refers to computing or telecommunications services that are provided as a service rather than equipment alone. These services are often offered on a subscription service without requiring a large initial outlay, as in the case of traditional phone systems. For conferencing, cloud computing offers a range of exciting possibilities. We look at these in detail in this article.
Cloud computing and business phone systems
Cloud-based business phone systems rely on an external cloud rather than a fixed landline service that needs to be installed on your premises. As such, it’s far easier to set up a cloud-based phone system than a traditional landline, as long as there is an Internet connection available.
The Evolution of the Telephone
The smartphones and multifunctional telephones of today have their origins in the 1870s when the US inventor Alexander Graham Bell transmitted a spoken message to his personal assistant. Since then, telephones — or telephone systems — have come to help shape the way we live, communicate, do business, and share information. In this article, we look at how the first electric telephones evolved into the highly sophisticated private and business phone systems of today.
The earliest telephones
The earliest telephones were mechanical rather than electric devices that transmitted sounds over longer distances than that of normal speech. For example, speaking tubes on ships and large houses allowed users to pass messages from different rooms.
Increasing Productivity with Better Business Communication
Effective business communication is fundamental to an organisation in many ways. It’s an important tool for facilitating collaboration within the organisation, and it also allows staff to quickly respond to customers. For example, effectivebusiness phone systems can allow staff to work in different ways and in different locations, eliminating travel times, reducing costs, and improving accuracy. We look at how business communication can improve or hinder productivity.
Unifying communications
The trend in business communications is toward unifying communications systems for better efficiency. Productivity benefits can be realised through unifying communication systems via an integrated communications infrastructure that allows staff and customers to share information more quickly with each other. Research conducted by Microsoft Research found that most small and medium sized business waste 10 to 20 per cent of their work hours because of inefficient business processes and communication structures.