Ask any businessperson what they view as the most important factor when choosing new technology or telecoms solutions and more often than not, they’ll say reliability. After all, having the latest technology at your disposal would be totally useless to any company if it does not actually function when required. Solutions that fail to provide reliability will, rather than improving your business, end up incurring additional costs through unplanned downtime, missed leads, and dissatisfied customers. When it comes to choosing a phone system, reliability becomes all the more important. That’s one reason why increasing numbers of businesses are turning to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solutions. No longer a new service – and fast becoming the business standard – VoIP now provides a mature and stable option for commercial telecommunications. The plethora of additional features available on a VoIP system meanwhile, such as automatic call forwarding and voicemail to email, mean it can actually be considerably more reliable than a traditional landline, should a problem with the connection occur. Of course, as VoIP relies on the internet, the stability of the system is tied to the dependability of your broadband connection. However, given the tremendous reliability of modern internet connections, this shouldn’t be a concern and it will be boosted further by ensuring the internal communications infrastructure of your business is fully up to date. It is worth, therefore, carrying out a full audit of the physical lines and cables within your business premises to ensure they are of the requisite standard to fully realise the benefits of a new telephony system. That said, even the most advanced solutions can require downtime to enable...
As consumers and businesses, we are producing and sharing more data than ever before, from personal details to information such as when and how we interact with each other. For businesses, collecting this data is so simple it can accumulate automatically without any concerted effort on the part of the company itself. How that information is used by the organisation is more complex however, and requires a strategic vision and plan that, if implemented effectively, can significantly improve operational efficiencies. When it comes to our business telephone systems, we can now find out precisely how our customers interact with us and how we respond to them. You’ll often have been told your conversation with a call centre or customer service line is being recorded for training purposes. Such recordings are commonplace and provide an important function for the business by revealing, for example, where some employees may require additional coaching or how customers respond when engaging with staff. Analysing the number of calls received meanwhile can help to identify any spikes in activity, either high or low, and determine whether these are recurring. This information can enable managers to amend staffing levels, ensuring adequate call handlers are available during peak times and fewer when they are not needed. The result is that clients or potential customers are less likely to experience long call waiting times and therefore enjoy a positive service experience. Call spikes may unearth deeper issues other than staff timetabling however so it is worth not just analysing the time period of the peak but considering the nature of the calls as well. For example, queries spiking...
Earlier this year, byphone, the revolutionary Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform developed by Clarity subsidiary Voxbit, achieved success at a major UK telecoms awards ceremony. The product, which has received plaudits from customers and industry alike, was highly commended in the Best Hosted Platform Supplier category at the Comms Business Awards in London. It’s fair to say, we see great value in industry awards, and for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they serve as a tremendous endorsement that you and your business are on the right track. However, awards present a huge number of other benefits including to raise the profile of your brand and maximise visibility to potential customers. Even being shortlisted can place your company in the spotlight for all the right reasons, garnering significant attention over a sustained period of time. The third-party endorsement can also significantly increase the credibility of your business, positioning it as a leader in the sector. Particularly for companies still in a growth phase, a prestigious award can also aid efforts to attract new investment or funding. By recognising the hard work of employees, they also build staff morale and improve future motivation by acknowledging the place of workers in helping to achieve the business success. Additionally, industry awards are likely to raise the interest of ambitious and talented individuals outside the company, providing a boost to recruitment plans. The recent success for byphone was a great achievement, but there is more to come with the product shortlisted for a further three awards at the upcoming Comms National Awards: Best Hosted Platform, Best SME Telephony System, and Best Supplier Innovation Award. Clarity itself meanwhile has been nominated in another two categories...
Businesses are always in search of cost-effective ways to better understand the needs of their customers. They review analytics and compare results in order to identify the level of overall customer satisfaction, and to identify any gaps in business performance. Whilst satisfaction ratings and sales figures are the most common and obvious way to monitor the success of a business, it is also important to observe customer-facing employees in action. This is where call recording systems can come into play. Recording customer calls enables businesses to monitor any interaction between its employees and its customers. This allows for the easy identification of certain areas of the business which may need to be improved, or any persistent problems that customers are experiencing with a particular product or service. Call recording enables businesses to provide employees with feedback as to how they are dealing with customers whilst providing managers with an opportunity to help teams improve phone etiquette and communication skills. By monitoring calls, managers can provide effective selling tips to its employees and advise how to improve the care and support offered to customers. Monitoring the information gathered from call recordings can help a business to steer its marketing efforts in the right direction and adjust its strategy accordingly. It can also help a business to comply with any legal, industry, and service-level compliance guidelines, and can be especially beneficial when resolving a dispute with an unhappy customer. With proof of the exchange, a business may be able to save both time and money. It is common for both customers and businesses to be wary of using call recording software due to the confidential and sensitive information often shared. If a business makes it clear to its customers what the purpose of the recording is, whether to monitor potential problems or as a tool for training and employee improvement,...
Business owners have a plethora of responsibilities, including – and perhaps among the most important – over the security of company property, both physical and otherwise. That’s because maintaining strict control over security matters helps to ensure business continuity by reducing, for example, the risk of interruption due to crime. Here are five reasons why video surveillance should be considered a key investment. Preventing crime – The sight of a CCTV camera, and the risk that actions may be captured on video, is clearly a deterrent to any individual or group considering carrying out illegal activities such as vandalism, theft or break-ins. Should a crime occur, the presence of the surveillance system will pay further dividends with the video captured of the event usable as evidence, helping to place the time and precise location of the offence and identify any suspects. Activity monitoring – In addition to capturing footage of any illegal activity, security cameras can also keep a track of other activity, carried out by employees and visitors, offering complete awareness of what is going on under the roof of the firm. This has the added benefit of supporting the maintenance of good record keeping, helping to ensure comings and goings are handled efficiently and operations are running smoothly. Dispute resolution – Disputes can occur in any business, between customers and staff or between employees. Regardless of the nature of the dispute, business managers need to figure out exactly what happened, and expeditiously. In some cases, a surveillance camera may provide clear video proof about the entire incident, leading to a fair resolution of the matter. Remote access – Real time remote...
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