Category: blog

Integrating communication systems mean merging all the communication methods employed by the organization including voice, emails, videos, instant messaging, etc. into one unified system.   The major aspects of an integrated communication system which are beneficial to the small and medium businesses are following:

1. Presence

It allows the employees to stay connected all the time regardless of the distance. Presence feature lets the users update their statuses in turn making it easier for others to access their availability. This feature is especially useful when employees are working from different buildings or different locations.

2. Instant Messaging:

Instant Messaging is a highly useful tool for real-time communications within the organization as well as with the customers. IMs reduce the hassles of emails to a great extent and have improved the response time. It is very convenient and easy to use and implement.

3. Unified Messaging

An integrated communication system transforms email clients like Outlook, Gmail into a common hub which includes voice mail, faxes and even recorded phone calls. This system allows the user to click-to-dial from an important message or an email with the numbers available directly in the emails or the contact list.

4. Mobile Device Integration

The communication system is integrated with the mobiles that enable the user to have connectivity regardless of where they are. It gives easy access to voicemails and company directories for remote employees and various other tools that increase the productivity.

5. Video and Collaboration Integration

The system allows collaboration within the organization using video messages & calls and web & audio conferencing which has reduced the communication barriers to a great extent.

6. Third-party Integration

Advanced integration allows the organization to collaborate their CRM, ERP, and other information system data. This feature is highly useful when dealing with multiple clients or customers as the details of the client/customer will be tracked for the data and appear in front of the screen whenever they call.   Overall benefits of having an integrated communication systems are:

• Fewer systems to manage
• Saved costs
• Efficient time management
• Error free exchange of data
• Less reliance on emails
• Easier management of virtual teams

All in all, an integrated communication system ensures better communication and increase in productivity, which is the core purpose and need of a small sized business organization.

Everyone has things they have to do, and using a calendar can help you organize your life. Using a calendar can help you sort out individual events and projects.  Meeting deadlines is crucial, and it is easy to forget some things you have to do. Thankfully, you can help yourself with your smartphone.

All you need is your schedule and your smartphone to create a calendar that works for you.  Scheduling can be a pain, but if you know how to use your smartphone, you will make everything easier so you can get more done. Various calendar apps can help you sort out the craziness of life.

Whether you own an iPhone or Android, there are calendar apps that will help you out with scheduling.  Some of the apps do have a cost attached to them, but you can find an excellent app for free. Some apps are easy to use, have extra features, and can work across all devices.

Depending on your needs, you can find the right calendar app for you to make sure you stay on top of your schedule.  Here are a few apps you can use. The Tempo Smart Calendar for Apple gives insight into contracts and smart alerts. It will find and organize your appointments, and you can conduct conference calls.

It is a free app, and some drawbacks include the long download wait time, and you can only use up to two email accounts at a time. Apple support doesn’t work with the calendar which is a pain, but it’s only some minor drawbacks.  It is still a very useful app that will help you get organized and provides you updates for your schedules.

Since it doesn’t cost any money, it is perfect for anyone who has a lot of schedules to keep. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can use the EasilyDo Smart Assistant for Android.  It is similar to the Tempo Smart Calendar, but it offers more features.  You can sync your contacts across different platforms and notifies you for upcoming events.

You can see how the traffic looks and any impending inclement weather. You can link Facebook and Twitter as well as every email to the app.  Since it also works for Apple products, you can download apps that are relevant from the iTunes library.  It is a great app for ensuring you stay on top of your calendar and ensures you make all your appointments on time.

Chronically late humans, listen up: you are not alone. Millions of busy people all over the world struggle with busy schedules and time management. Oodles of books and articles have been written on the topic. So many have been written on it in fact, that it may feel a little overwhelming to try and figure out how to manage your life.

If you struggle with figuring out how to manage your time and make sure that you remember important events and appointments, here are two quick strategies to help get you going. They may seem mutually exclusive at first, but used in conjunction, can be quite powerful in aiding you in getting places on time.

First, one of the most simple strategies would be to write down your appointment, the old fashioned way. Recent studies suggest that writing things down, by hand with a pen and paper, will help you to better recall details and concepts more clearly than using a computer or phone to take notes, or set up appointments. The same study concluded that those who type are doing so “mindlessly”, without actually really processing what they were putting into their notes.

This study showed that those who used a computer versus those who used pen-and-paper on a test thirty minutes after a lecture, were less able to recall concepts or ideas, thus demonstrating that using a screen may lower thinking and processing capacities. So, bust out that old day planner you bought on a whim at a discount at the end of last year, and start jotting down your appointments.

Secondly, having just discussed the pros and cons of using an electronic device versus handwriting, there is something to be said for your phone going off to remind you that you need to get things done. Just go into your calendar and add those events.

There are a myriad of settings to be used for reminders: from alerting you ten minutes before an appointment to ten days before, these electronic reminders can be life savers. Most phones come preloaded with a calendar app. But, if for whatever reason you don’t like that calendar, there are many, many more options for your scheduling sanity.

Perhaps a combination of these two quick tips would be ideal. Back in college, I often would jot down my assignments in my notebook for a particular class and then, especially if it was an important project, I would add an alert in my phone. Then every time I glanced at my calendar, there would be a little dot there to remind me that something big was on the near horizon.

All through college, I had an ancient pseudo-blackberry because I was too cheap, and too poor to afford anything else. Even that old school brick phone had a little calendar app that proved invaluable in helping me to keep track of my my life. Head on out, get a day planner and add an alert to your phone and starting scheduling your life.

Scheduling software is very important for any business large or small. It will ensure that everyone that works at the business is where they need to be, when they need to be there. Not all scheduling software is made equal, though. Here are five capabilities you need in a scheduling software.

Ease of Access

It’s important that your scheduling software is easy to access. After all, this is a software that will likely be used by every single employee working for a business. Not all of them are going to have the same level of expertise with technology, so you want to make sure that the scheduling software you choose is easy for everyone.

Cloud-based

With the advancements made in computers and the internet today, you should not have to worry about this feature with most scheduling software. Still, it is absolutely necessary to have your scheduling software connected to the internet. This way, the scheduling information is available to anyone, at any time, and from any location.

Easy Setup

Here is an important feature. Setup for your scheduling software should be easy, and it should have clear guides and wizards that can lead you through the process. If something goes wrong during the setup of the scheduling software, then you are in for a range of problems down the road. Make sure your scheduling software has an easy setup, so that you can avoid these future issues.

Customization

Everyone needs something different out of their scheduling software. Having customization tools and a range of features will mean that you can customize the software to fit your needs exactly. The more the software conforms to fit what you and your employees need, the better the system will function.

Connectivity with Other Software

More recent scheduling software will come with the ability to connect with a range of other software, apps, and devices. Some software will automatically send emails or even texts to employees when a change has been made or when they are expected to be somewhere. With the chance for these features, there is no reason you should not expect them out of your scheduling software.

Persistence runs the risk of melting into annoyance, even harassment. Developing the positive side of the quality in contacting sales leads requires tact, wisdom and sincerity.

Be sure to do your homework. Preparation brings knowledge in optimizing every opportunity. Thoughts to consider before communicating with a lead include identifying the person to contact, knowing your value to the prospect, and understanding the lead’s challenges and goals. Also, decide how to present yourself, questions to ask, information to share and your follow-up strategy. Compiling thoughts in these areas targets future contacts and diminishes desperation.

What method of initial contact to choose? Email allows a prospect to think through your information and requests. Unfortunately, inboxes overflow each day with clutter and the urgent. A phone call establishes voice contact more quickly and guards against being filed as spam. Voicemail can cause issues as mailboxes rival inboxes in quantity.

So what is the best approach? Again, maximize your opportunities. Well laid out plans grab attention with each contact rather than relying on sheer pestering. A plan for each contact includes prospect focus or why you are contacting the lead, your company focus or why you are making contact now and a request that is easy and quick to complete.

Email and phone contact complement one another in the initial contact. Voicemails followed immediately with an email drawing attention to the message, its content and an open-ended question to engage conversation are useful and appropriate. Selling your product is a turn-off and comes across as pestering at this point.

Then after at least 48 hours, make contact again. Still no response? Reaching out to the lead after another 48 hours is still appropriate. This third message includes reference to your previous contacts in a pleasant tone and offers more information. If the line remains quiet, use a break-up email.

The break-up reminds the lead of your efforts to get in touch and politely ends further contact on your part. Do not forgo this final email. Oddly, this communication often gets attention and response. Be reminded yourself that it is the salesperson‘s role to maintain pleasantness in all communications. Irritation portrays an unattractive desperation.

But what if you do make contact? In your initial contact with the lead, be sure to end the conversation by asking for the preferred follow-up contact method. Engage your follow-up timeline as soon as 24 to 48 hours from your first contact. Be timely, punctual and unique in your approach.

As a small business owner, you’ve got quite a few responsibilities on your plate. From juggling financial planning to marketing to managing a storefront or office, it can be a challenge to stay organized and efficient. Add managing a group of employees on top of that and you’ve got a recipe for potential chaos and undue stress.

Scheduling software can be an invaluable tool to help you – the small business owner – manage and communicate with your employees all at once. If you need further convincing, here are the top three reasons why every small business needs scheduling software:

1. Efficiency

Scheduling software allows you to manage your staffing needs within minutes. You’ll be able to create schedules for your staff and anticipate how many employees you’ll need to schedule on specific days. An important benefit of scheduling software is that it decreases the time you’ll spend on creating schedules. The time you used to spend on figuring out your scheduling needs can decrease by up to eighty percent. That’s a significant amount of time you’ll now be able to spend on other tasks, such as figuring out how to stay ahead of your competition.

2. Cut Costs

Scheduling software can help you streamline your processes and reduce your operating costs. You’ll be able to keep better track of how much you’re spending on labor and overhead. Scheduling software can also help small business owners like yourself reduce staff turnover.

Communication headaches over which employee is scheduled on what day will be a thing of the past. Instead of resorting to a spreadsheet or handwritten schedule, employees will always know when they’re expected to work. Scheduling software gives you the ability to send out schedules to each employee via e-mail and SMS text messaging.

3. Customer Relationship Management

Scheduling software will help you manage your relationships with your customers better. With scheduling software, customers can see when they can schedule an appointment with you, receive marketing and promotional messages, and communicate their needs with your business with ease.

One of the best features of the software is that it is available to your customers as a communication tool on a 24/7 basis. If they need to schedule an appointment, your customers can access when you’re available at any time, see what days and time slots are already filled, and make changes when needed. Managing this aspect of your relationship with you customers has never been easier.   

Do you want more sales? Are you looking to grow your company’s profitability? Of course, any entrepreneur wants to increase their business, but may not realize it starts with customer service. As soon as a client calls for assistance or help, your representative can deliver a positive experience, making it more likely that the client will purchase again. So what exactly does a customer want to hear on the other line of the phone?

“How can I help you today?” Customers want to speak with a friendly agent who empathizes with their situation. When you have an issue or a problem, you want the opportunity to explain it in detail without getting cut off.

After answering the phone with a friendly greeting, ask the customer how you can help. By using an open-ended question, you are inviting a dialogue and giving the customer the opportunity to identify what they need. This takes the guesswork out of the situation and ensures all parties are trying to solve the same problem.

“I don’t know the answer, but let me look into it.” Be honest with your customer. If you are asked a difficult question and are not aware of the answer, the last thing you would want is to deliver incorrect information and instantly lose your credibility and possibly future sales.

Although it may take several minutes to research an issue or speak to a manager about the situation, the customer will appreciate the thorough handling of the issue. If the research does take a long time, feel free to jump back on the line and keep your customer updated on your progress.

“I appreciate your business, and we look forward to servicing you in the future.” Letting the customer know that you appreciate the business means more than just thanking them for their order or their sale. Showing your genuine appreciation at the end of the call reiterates empathy and confirms that the problem was solved to the customer’s satisfaction.

If a customer does get angry or upset at any point during the call, do your best to remain calm and work through the customer’s issue. If you have done your job and worked to find a solution that works for your organization and the client, then your appreciation at the end of the call will allow the customer to leave with a positive image of your business.

A small business really needs prompt phone pick up. It might seem like a small thing, but for a small business, the small things are sometimes the most important ones. There are plenty of reasons why this is important, and some of the ones on this list probably seem like obvious reasons, but the negative effects of having poor phone pick-up times can be really detrimental, and they might not be as easy to see until it’s already too late.

1. Customers want to feel attended to

One of the many reasons why customers might turn to a small business instead of some chain or corporation is because they want to feel valued as an individual customer. If they call a small business expecting this kind of experience, and their call is not answered or not answered promptly, then they might start to reconsider their decision to go to a small business instead of a corporation or chain. Having prompt phone pick-up is just one little touch you can add to your small business, but it is also something the customers wanting to do business with a small business will expect.

2. Communication is essential for any business

This one should be obvious to everyone. If you are not in contact with your customers, your clients, or even other business associates, then you can expect that your small business will not be doing so well in a very short time. Being in prompt contact and always available when communication is needed also means that those clients, customers, and business associates will come to equate your small business with efficiency, reliability, and a host of other values that you want your business to stand for. You have probably heard the saying “communication is key.” This is even more important for small businesses.

3. Reviews

Many small businesses rely heavily on reviews. When potential customers are looking for a way to contact your small business, they will probably search for it online, see your website, and then reviews. If, when they are looking for the best way to contact your business, they see a review saying that your business does not pick up their phones, has long hold times, or simply does not answer the phones, then they might think twice about choosing your business to work with.

Conversely, if the first review they see mentions prompt phone pick-up and accessible customer service, then they will be even more convinced to choose your business than they already were. Really, the importance of good reviews to a small business cannot be overstressed, and communication is one of the first things potential reviewers are going to comment on. Make sure yours is great!

4. Develop your business’s reputation

Developing a reputation can be a good or bad thing for a small business, but a reputation means that people are talking about your small business, and that is always a good thing. If you can make your reputation a good one, then that just means more promotion for you and your business. Having super prompt phone pick-up and always being accessible to your customers, clients, and associates is a great way to establish that good reputation.

The Key Roles of Live Customer Service Representatives

A customer service representative might sound like a low-level job, but often they are one of the most important employees of any organization. You have probably heard it said that “the customer is always right.”

Well, it is the customer service representative’s job to make sure that that holds true for the business they represent. But how exactly do they do this you ask? Well, this article will familiarize you with some of the key roles of a live customer service representative to help you answer that exact question.

Quality Customer Experience

The customer service representative serves as the first line of a business, and so they have to do everything they can to make sure that the customer is satisfied with their experience. This can mean a lot of things. The representative should be informed on nearly all parts of the business or, at least, know the correct direction to point customers in need.

Representatives need to appear understanding and kind, but they also need to be efficient and knowledgeable. A representative might not be able to answer every question, but they need to be able to help customers get the right answer in every situation. This kind of diligence and preparedness is essential when ensuring the quality of a customer’s experience.

Resolving Issues

Conflict management and resolution are what most people probably think of first when they imagine the job of a customer service representative, and it is an important part. A service representative must excel at a few important skills to succeed in this role: respect, level-headedness, and resolution. Respect, of course, plays a huge role in resolving customer issues.

A customer service representative always needs to keep the customer in mind and ensure that the customer feels their issue is being addressed fairly, clearly, and promptly. Related to this, then, is the quality of level-headedness. Often issues can cause individuals to make hasty decisions or say things they do not mean. Service representatives cannot do this.

They must keep a clear mind and focus on the primary task at hand at all times, and that task should be resolving the customer’s issue. And that leads directly into the last section – resolution. Here is where the representative’s knowledge of the business comes in handy. A representative that knows everything about their business can ensure that the customer’s issue is resolved quickly and appropriately, and if they do not have an immediate answer, they should know how to direct the customer to one.

Sales and Customer Records

Finally, representatives must be professional, and they need to know how to keep private information secure. Customer sales representatives often have access to delicate and private information about customers. A good representative will recognize this responsibility and not handle it lightly.

There is a severe price for poor customer service. If you don’t treat your customers well, they will buy products and services from somewhere else. It’s that simple.

They will not buy from you again, and they will tell others not to buy from your company either. With how many companies there are out there, the ones with good customer service will thrive, and the ones with poor customer service will suffer.

This seems to be fairly basic and common sense, but there are always surveys to back things up.   You can see the full list here, but below are some highlights and very telling results from this survey:   In 2011, 7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service. (American Express Survey, 2011).   There is something to be said for brand loyalty and the best way to get this brand loyalty is to treat your customers well and have excellent customer service.

What consumer would want to go back to a company who treated them poorly? Let’s be honest; people hold grudges, and once you lose someone’s trust, it’s nearly impossible to get it back. If a company provides excellent customer service and helps consumers with problems or defects in products, that consumer will be back.   In the last year, 67 percent of customers have hung up the phone out of frustration they could not talk to a real person (American Express Survey, 2011).

Phone menus can be really aggravating. There have been times where the menu does not list the option that I want, but bypassing it to talk to a real person can be a struggle. Bank phone menus seem to be notorious for this, and no matter how many options you try, it can be nearly impossible to get to a real person.

It makes sense that consumers would hang up if they have difficulty getting through to a real person. Often, real people can help you much quicker than a menu can, or a real person can, at least, get you to the right person to answer your question.   Customer Service Reps are 78 percent of a happy customer experience   If a customer service representative is rude to a customer, that customer will hang up even quicker than the one that can’t talk to a real person. If a customer service representative is genuine and helpful to a customer, they will buy from that company again.

It’s no great mystery that excellent customer service is a necessity for all businesses, but it’s a good reminder to realize how many customers feel this way. If you implement a standard of great customer service, you will have many repeat customers.