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Voice

How SMBs Can Benefit from Cloud Communications

By on

May 26, 2016

- Voice

Today’s business environment is much different from 20 or even 10 years ago. Employees are more productive and expect more from their business tools, while companies run a tighter, more streamlined work environment. As a result, every tool is utilized to its fullest capabilities, with little room for downtime. SMBs, in particular, are looking to get the most productivity out of their technology. Most don’t have an IT staff—and some don’t even have an IT budget, to speak of—so every technology purchase must have a direct impact on the SMB’s bottom line. That’s what makes cloud-based communications a smart investment for small businesses. Little to no upfront investment, low IT involvement and flexibility are a few of the benefits of cloud communications. Indeed, more companies have adopted cloud communications as a way to save money and keep their employees on task: According to research firm Transparency Market Research, unified communications as a service (UCaaS) is expected to become a $38 billion market by the year 2022, representing a 20 percent increase over seven years. Technavio, meanwhile, predicts 28 percent growth in the global UCaaS market between 2015 and 2019. Wondering how cloud communications might benefit your business? Cloud may be a good fit for you if:

Your IT staff is overloaded, or you don’t have an IT person at all —

A cloud-based communications system is hosted offsite, eliminating the need for a dedicated IT or telecom person to manage your communication needs.

Your IT budget doesn’t allow for anything more than a basic phone system —

For many businesses, communications consists of dial tone and voice mail. But customers want to be able to reach your company in multiple ways—over the phone, via web chat, click-to-call from your website—at any time. Cloud communications can give your customers the options they want at a price you need through a monthly subscription rather than a   hardware upgrade.

Your employees work out of the office as much as they do in the office —

Today’s employees demand the flexibility to work from anywhere, and to have access to the same functionality as they would if they were sitting at their desks. Does your communications system currently offer that? A cloud-based system can, providing a feature-rich work experience using any device. Cloud communications offers many of the same phone system features as an onsite system, as well as collaboration features such as instant messaging and screen share. Small businesses must bridge the gap between limited budgets and equipping their employees with technology to keep them productive. The functionality and low cost of a cloud-based communications system makes it a smart investment.
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Voice

3 Ways Cloud Communications can Improve Customer Relationships

By on

May 26, 2016

- Voice

Your company prides itself on its stellar customer service. Whether its on-boarding new customers or addressing an issue a current customer may be having, your employees understand the importance of making—and keeping—customers satisfied. But the tools you use to interact with your customers are just as important as how you treat your customers. If they frequently experience dropped calls, clueless customer service reps or trouble connecting with your company, it won’t be long before those customers look to your competitors to conduct their business. That’s why your communications system is a critical component of your customer service strategy. Through a robust, full-featured communications system, your employees can provide the best possible customer interactions and enable your customers to communicate easily with your company anytime for any reason. Utilizing the benefits of the cloud for your communications can advance your customer service even further, enabling your employees to offer a high-quality customer experience from any location using virtually any device.

Here are three ways cloud communications can help improve customer relationships:

  1. High Availability: Customers expect to be able to contact your company quickly and easily. Dropped dial tones and fuzzy connections don’t convey a professional image for your company. A cloud communications service can provide a reliable, high-quality communications experience, helping your company and your customers connect with little to no downtime should the unexpected occur.
  2. Because cloud-based communications is a hosted service, it is located offsite in data centers with redundant technology. That means even in the event of a disaster, your company communications is still up and running—your employees can work from anywhere and communicate with customers using the full suite of capabilities available to them, and customers can reach your company to hear important messages or speak with an agent.
  3. On-Demand Customer Data: When integrated with a customer relationship management or business intelligence system, your communications system can provide employees with a comprehensive view of customer information during a call. The information is brought up automatically when a customer calls in, reducing the chance customers have to wait on hold, which can lessen the customer experience. Instead, employees can provide the highest quality care with no delay and no gaps in customer service.
  4. Contact center technologies such as workgroups, hunt groups and flexible call routing can help enhance the customer experience, reducing hold times and ensuring calls are answered in a timely fashion.
  5. Ability to Connect Anytime: Employees today like work where they want, when they want. That shouldn’t impact the way they do their jobs. With a cloud communications system, your employees can work in a coffee shop, a hotel room, the airport — wherever they are — and have access to the same features they would if they were sitting at their desk in the office. They are not hamstrung by basic functionality or limited customer data.
Cloud communications is changing the way businesses today interact with their customers, optimizing the customer experience to mutual benefit. Is your company ready to explore the benefits cloud communications can offer?
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Voice

3 Ways to Achieve Enterprise Grade Collaboration at an SMB Price Point

By on

May 26, 2016

- Voice

Every business, regardless of size or focus, relies on its communications system. Without a reliable phone system, the critical interaction between employee and customer can’t happen, which means your business won’t grow and thrive. Just as important is how well your communications system works for your business. Do your employees have advanced call capabilities such as “follow-me” so they can receive calls even when they’re away from their desk? Are they able to collaborate with colleagues and customers at the touch of a button? Can they access customer information during calls to close more sales and enhance the customer service experience? Your communications system can say a lot about your business. You don’t want to give your customers the wrong impression by having an unreliable, basic phone system. In this day of instant gratification, when customers want answers immediately, simply having voice mail isn’t enough. Small businesses can have enterprise-grade communications and collaboration at an SMB price point. The ShoreTel Connect communications platform a fully integrated, streamlined way to access all the best communications tools … not separate apps and windows with separate log ins ShoreTel Connect includes:
  • Voice over IP
  • Video
  • Instant Messaging
  • Web Sharing
  • Audioconferencing
ShoreTel Connect is available as an onsite, cloud or hybrid deployment to meet your company’s needs:

Connect ONSITE:

A perfect solution for companies with in-house IT departments that can handle the management of the system and want to integrate other applications, such as customer relationship management or business intelligence applications, with the system. Because the system is in-house, your IT team has more control and can perform upgrades when it’s convenient to your company.

Connect CLOUD:

If your company has a small number of employees, or if the majority of your employees work offsite, and you don’t have an onsite IT department, Connect CLOUD may best suit your needs. Cloud offers the same functionality as Onsite, without the management. And because it is delivered as a hosted model, your maintenance costs are lower and you pay usage on a monthly subscription basis. Your employees enjoy the benefits of a full-function communications and collaboration system wherever they work, and your company enjoys the low cost and reduced maintenance of a hosted model.

Connect HYBRID:

Companies with virtual offices in addition to a headquarters location can benefit from a hybrid solution. HYBRID unites multiple locations in one single phone system—some ONSITE, some CLOUD—and enables all users to access apps from the cloud. You can select a system based on your company’s strategic needs for CapEx and OpEx, to distribute IT workload, and for leveraging investments in your onsite equipment. If clothes make the man or woman, then communications make the company. Make sure your communications system is conveying the right image to your customers while providing the features your employees need to provide the best customer experience.
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Ascenda™ is a globally recognized total experience thought leader for organizations of all sizes. Our speed of innovation ensures that businesses can transform how they work together with customers and employees while also exceeding key business metrics.

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