As we bring an end to an extremely difficult year, it’s important to reflect on the struggles many businesses have faced, and what measures can be put in place to prevent additional pressure on your organisation come the new year. It is possible to welcome in 2021 in a positive light, and we want to provide some insight into how you can boost business revenue and communication throughout the year.

Reviewing 2020

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been challenging, especially for SMEs and local businesses. The primary issue for many organisations surrounds communication – keeping in contact with customers, clients, and gaining new businesses wins. Identifying exactly where your business may have fallen short can be crucial when starting fresh for the new year. Therefore, performing a complete audit of your business operations and systems is key to a successful 2021.

Firstly, break down all the key areas that could be improved on. You can do this by thinking of questions to identify the positives and negatives of 2020. For example:
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1. Was it easy to communicate with staff and clients?

If no, was this due to your dated phone system, lack of video software, broadband or mobile restrictions?

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2. When working from home, did your sales increase/decrease?

Did your sales team make more, or less calls when working remotely? Could you measure this data easily?

3. Did you receive an increased/decreased number of new inbound enquiries?‍

Was there an increase in missed calls/opportunities due to lockdown?

The above are just a few examples of the questions you should be asking yourself. Once identified, you can then look to investing in updated systems and solutions ready for the new year. This can be a scary thought, and you may not think your business has the time or money to be updating systems left, right and centre. However, it may surprise you how easy and cost-effective this can be.

Increasing new business leads

Obviously, generating additional revenue is key to a successful business, however, this can prove difficult during lockdown. Making outbound calls to potential customers can often result in no answer at all. This is because more people now deliberately avoid answering their phones to unknown numbers. Applying a professional Business Number can significantly increase new business wins and support your business with additional revenue.

For example, Virtual 01/02 Numbers are recognised as local numbers, increasing the chance of people trusting the number as a local business and picking up the phone. The public are also more likely call your business if they know your company is free to call, therefore, an 0800 Number can benefit your business in this regard. If you provide a premium rate service, then applying a Premium Rate Service Number can create an out-payment to your business of up to 90% with each call received.

There are a range of Inbound Business Numbers available through Telecoms World starting from only £0.99p per month! If you would like to learn more, call our team of experts on 0800 774 7772 for a friendly chat.

Maintaining a professional service

While the nation jumps in and out of lockdown, it’s important for your customers to know that your business continues to provide them with a consistent, positive and secure service. To do this, you need to ensure that you are fully setup with a reliable phone system and efficient communication software.

Connectivity

Communication is key, and keeping in contact with colleagues and clients makes all the difference in maintaining a successful disaster-recovery plan. Firstly, investigate your current broadband speeds. With many of us now working from home, it’s essential that your internet speeds can cope with daily business operations, especially if the family are sharing your Wi-Fi connection at home.

There are many cost-effective broadband options available depending on your current location. Telecoms World can help you find the perfect Business Broadband connection, only sharing bandwidth with other businesses for increased speeds. If you’re still awaiting a fibre connection, our ‘Office in a Box’ solution can provide the perfect plug and play solution using a 4G enabled router with immediate effect.

Hosted Phone Systems

Once you have a secure and reliable broadband connection, you can then partner this with an updated cloud-based phone system. Dated telephone systems can not only be harmful to your business in the event of a disaster but can also cost you a significant amount of money in the long run. Hosted telephony systems connect through the internet (in the Cloud), enabling you to stay connected wherever you are working. Users can make and receive calls using a variety of internet-enabled devices including desk phones, desktop computers, laptops, and smart phones.

Professional Voice Recordings

With many businesses suffering from increased pressure on sales teams, there is a heightened risk of missing inbound calls and struggling to manage increased call volume from home. Customers must feel valued and supported, especially during this difficult time. When making calls to your business, hearing a professional greeting message, department options and/or voicemail can make all the difference in keeping the customer on the line or receiving call backs.

Matched with Professional Voice Recordings, having the ability to successfully queue calls also allows you to ensure customers remain on the line whilst dealing with a high volume of enquiries. Call Queuing allows you to incorporate music as well as marketing advertisements to keep the caller engaged and remain interested.

“Hello, thank you for calling {~Company Name~}, all of our agents are busy at the moment, please hold, and we will connect your call as soon as possible.”

Call analytics and reporting

Managing the results of any new business opportunity is vital in growing your business and identifying further improvements. Many Telecoms World products already incorporate in-depth Call Analytics to manage sales teams and call volume such as Hosted Contact Centres. However, there are many options that can be extremely beneficial to your business.

For example, combing Local 01/02 Numbers with Local Marketing Analytics enables you to report on individual numbers assigned to specific marketing campaigns. This enables you to focus your efforts on high-performing areas whilst looking to improve and change your marketing strategy in others.

There are a number of cloud-based systems and applications available to help jumpstart your business into the new year. For more information, contact our team of experts on 0800 774 7772.

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