More Small Businesses are Turning to Unified Communications
Small businesses have generally been optimistic about the economy during 2015. In a study released earlier this year by Wasp Barcode Technologies, 57% of respondents expected to experience revenue growth in the coming months. They also predicted that hiring new employees and increasing profit would be significant issues for their companies.
SMBs have several weapons in their arsenal to address such challenges – from developing new products and services, to cost cutting, to more aggressive hiring techniques. But they are also using technology to create an advantage. In fact, one of the most accessible and easily adoptable technologies – unified communications – also has high potential for helping to alleviate the issues they face. Here’s how.
Improved Collaboration
Organizations know that better integration of sales, marketing and customer service can improve the customer experience and lead to greater revenue growth. Businesses can use UC to break down silos and cultural obstacles to increase collaboration. With UC features such as application integration, chat, video conferencing, presence and mobility, collaboration starts to feel natural. This, in turn, creates enormous revenue opportunities. Sales can answer customer questions more accurately by sending instant messages to the product marketing manager, for example. And with social media built into your communications, Marketing can quickly share potential leads by keeping an eye on social conversations.
Integrated ATS
Finding and attracting the right job candidates can be tough. Even when labor is plentiful, convincing top talent that your company is the right fit for them is extremely difficult. Impressions matter. So when a candidate returns a call from your recruiter, it pays to look smart. With your ATS like JobDiva integrated into your phone system, everyone on your HR team will know at a glance who made the initial outreach, why they reached out initially, and can carry on the conversation from there.
Achieved Savings
Cutting expenses is a core strategy for increasing profits. While a cloud-based phone system can lower capital investments and IT expenses, unified communications helps you recognize additional savings. By introducing a streamlined workflow and enabling applications integration, you’ll achieve greater productivity. This results in lower employment expenses and faster sales cycles, enabling you to book revenue at a lower cost.
Making a smart investment in cloud-based phones with unified communications can make this year and beyond a time of smooth sailing for SMBs.
