Communication Tools You Need
So, what communication tools can help your business talk and collaborate better? It depends on the type of business you run and its size. For example, are all your employees inhouse or do you have remote workers? Do you have a small business of 25-30 people or a large corporation with offices across the country? Also, do you have an inhouse sales and customer support team or do you outsource those needs? These are elements to keep in mind when deciding what tools for communication can benefit your business best.
- Virtual Numbers
With our growing dependence on all things digital, we have the opportunity to use technology and cloud communications to our advantage. This means your business can make use of virtual phone numbers which route calls over the internet. And so, you can make and answer calls from anywhere and on any device. This is helpful to businesses of every kind, but especially those that have offices in multiple locations (cities, states, countries) or that have remote employees.
You can easily get virtual numbers from a cloud-based phone service provider. For example, unitedworldtelecom.com offers local, international, and toll free numbers for more than 160 countries across the globe. This means you can get local numbers for specific cities and states within different countries, or international toll free numbers. Additionally, with a virtual phone service provider, you get access to other communication tools like call recording, call transfer, audio and video conferencing, interactive voice response, etc.
- Outbound Calling
An important communication feature that can support your sales and customer support teams is outbound calling. This is a virtual phone service that enables your business to make local and international calls at a reasonable rate. If you have an international clientele or want to expand globally, having this service is a must.
In fact, some providers will even offer you the ability to customize outgoing caller IDs. You can purchase multiple local and toll free numbers for different locations. And then when you call those locations, you can display the number most relevant to that area. Customers are more likely to answer your sales call this way. And, because you use a virtual service, you won’t be subject to exorbitant long-distance calling charges.
- Chat Tools and Content Management
Internal communication tools are as necessary as external ones. This is because having set channels in place can ensure that employees are always communicating, clarifying, and collaborating on different projects. It helps everyone stay on the same page, especially for companies with employees in different locations. Messaging and chat tools often are included with content or project management systems.
For example, if your team works with Google Suite products (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, etc.) then using Google Hangouts or Chat may prove helpful. Additionally, if you are using project management or workspace collaboration tools such as Slack, Teamwork, or Monday, then you can use their respective chat features. Everything needed to work effectively will be in one space or platform. And through this, you will be encouraging employees to converse about their projects and find better solutions, thereby increasing productivity.
- Issue and Ticket Tracking and Software
If you’re a company that offers customer support and ticketing abilities for customers using your products and services, then having a ticket tracking system can be helpful. But how is this a communication tool? It provides yet another way for customers to connect with your business quickly. Even with all your communication tools active and in place, you may miss out on a customer’s query or they may not be available to call during your office hours. How do you keep track of these queries? An issue or ticket tracking software. This way, consumers can submit a request or complaint, which through automation can reach the appropriate employee who can then resolve the issue.
- Alerts and Notifications
Notify employees of important company updates or statuses with an alerting software or app. You can send out broadcast notifications, security alerts, and more with such a system. And these notifications can pop up on their computers, laptops, or smartphones, as needed. This can be helpful in ensuring that all employees are aware of changes or important messages and no one gets left out.
Closing: Time for New Tools for Communication?
Communication is the key to almost everything we do in our daily lives. Whether it is forming or maintaining new relationships or working together to find the right solution to a business problem. Ensure that your office teams have the appropriate communication tools to work productively and efficiently.