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Sales

Up your sales quote and performance with these sales best practices and management advice. Train better salespeople, track metrics, convert more leads.
UCaaS for remote team
29th May 2023 Call Management, Learn, Sales

5 Benefits of Unified Communications for Remote Teams

Unified communications trends in 2021
5th October 2020 Call Management, Learn, Sales

5 Unified Communications Trends You Need to Know in 2024

voip for distributed teams
29th September 2020 Learn, Sales, Voip

Why VoIP is a Good Fit for Distributed Teams

reduce abandoned calls
28th September 2020 Call Management, Sales, Tips

6 Useful Ways to Reduce Abandoned Calls in Your Call Center

What are call analytics?
22nd September 2020 Learn, Sales

Call Analytics: What Are They and How to Use Them?

5 ways a local number can increase business.
22nd September 2020 Learn, Sales

5 Ways a Local Phone Number Can Increase Business Visibility

The difference between UCaaS and CCaaS.
14th September 2020 Learn, Sales, Voip

What is the Difference Between UCaaS and CCaaS?

Advertising ideas for local businesses.
10th September 2020 Sales, Tips

9 Inexpensive Advertising Ideas to Promote Your Local Business

5 Benefits of Unified Communications for Remote Teams

Posted on by Virendra Singh Jaitawat

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#86591198 ID#27446420

Struggling to manage your remote teams? Unified communications for remote teams or UCaaS can be the solution you need to increase visibility of remote teams while maintaining productivity.

Unified Communications for Remote Teams: 5 Benefits

Unified communications compiles all business communication and phone system tools together in one place. And so, you and your remote teams can access voice, video, email, and text messaging in one location, one platform.

UCaaS focuses on internal communication. As such, it benefits remote team collaboration and connectivity. This is why unified communication is growing more and more popular as a communication solution for remote teams. So, how exactly can your remote and distributed teams benefit from this service?

1. Mobility: Make Remote Working a Possibility with UCaaS & VoIP

Voice over IP (VoIP) is a communication service that enables business communication such as audio, video, and SMS transmission via the internet. With VoIP technology, users can make and receive calls from any location and any device as long as they are connected to a stable internet connection.

This means you can improve connectivity with your remote workers by giving them the ability to stay connected no matter where they are. And so, they remain accessible not only to the rest of your team but also to customers and business contacts. With call forwarding, customers won’t even realize that the business number they dialed is being forwarded to another location. They can still receive timely and efficient customer service even when your teams are distributed.

2. Easy-to-Use Softphone Solutions

Most VoIP providers will offer you easy-to-use softphone solutions that help users transform their devices into business communication tools. Softphones or webphones come in a variety of forms. You can get a software application, web dialer, or web/Chrome extension. A web phone has many advantages such as:

  • Making outbound calls to anywhere in the world using a dynamic caller ID feature to match the location being called
  • Access to contacts and customer history
  • Call logs and records
  • Quick and easy call transfer within your network
  • Free in-network calls to other team members
  • Access to voicemail

Having this tool can help your users stay up-to-date on calls and contact history which paves the way to better internal and external communication.

3. Flexibility: Use Any Device

Whether or not your business implements a BYOD policy, unified communications for remote teams will let users use devices they are comfortable and familiar with. This gives them the opportunity to use tools and apps that can improve their efficiency while not having to panic when a device fails. They simply log in through another device.

4. Plenty of Communications Tools to Use

The best part of UCaaS and VoIP working together is that your team gains access to advanced communications features such as:

  • Call monitoring
  • Call recording
  • Outbound calling
  • Call transfer and extensions
  • SIP trunking
  • Creative routing strategies
  • SMS, voicemail, and fax forwarding
  • IVR

These tools and features are designed to boost your workforce for optimum results. In addition to these tools, you can also invest in an online client portal so that employees can effectively handle customer queries and communication in a centralized platform. By equipping them with the right tools and software, they can do their job effectively, even when working remotely.

5. Maintain Productivity & Efficiency

The biggest issue businesses face when switching to a remote working system is accountability and lower productivity rates. But unified communications for remote teams can help fix this issue by making your remote teams more visible and transparent. You can continue to maintain productivity and the desired results by reducing the space between you and your teams through virtual communication.

Remote Working Made Easy with UCaaS & VoIP

Because of COVID-19, remote working as a trend has grown popular and will continue to be a desired workplace policy. And so, businesses should prepare for remote teams to ensure there is no drop in efficiency and business growth. Speak with one of our experts today to see how unified communications and VoIP can support your company!

5 Unified Communications Trends You Need to Know in 2024

Posted on by Beny Mouen

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#12035840 ID#27446420

Every year, businesses need to check themselves and see how they stack up against not just competition, but market trends. This is where unified communications trends of 2024 come in. How can businesses continue to improve their communication system and, by extension, maintain productivity and manage remote teams?

Unified Communications Trends: 2024

The unified communications trends for 2024 seem to focus not only on increased productivity, advanced technology, and better customer service but also on ways to improve employees’ experience and team collaboration. Read on for the top UC trends for 2024 that businesses should keep in mind.

1. Adoption of UCaaS

One of the top UC trends is the growing adoption of UCaaS. Large companies and enterprises are investing in unified communications as a service as a business communication system. This is because UCaaS consolidates major communications channels and platforms such as voice, video, SMS, and email in the cloud. And by combining all of these applications and channels in one place, UCaaS boasts a cost-effective and organized business phone system.

2. Rising Presence of AI

As can be seen with most industries, artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly expanding and making its way in major processes. Telecom and business communication is no stranger to AI. However, a growing unified communications trend sees AI becoming a more common tool. Think: virtual chatbots, virtual assistants, integrated services, and more. The implementation of AI resonates with the goal of using technology to improve productivity and collaboration and achieve faster and more accurate results.

3. More Cloud Solutions

Cloud communication solutions continue to be on the list of UC trends. And this is simply because cloud computing and storage have been in great demand and used by almost every business. According to a 2019 study conducted by Nemertes, about 67% of companies are currently using some part of their UC cloud solution while a third of those companies are using their UC cloud solution to the fullest extent. Because of this, UC providers are looking at partnerships, affiliations, and integrations that enable users to take advantage of more comprehensive cloud solutions.

4. Rise of Global SIP

As businesses across the world are renewing and improving their global communication systems, it is important for your company to stay ahead of the game. Global SIP gives multinational businesses the ability to expand with ease and reduce communication-related costs. With SIP trunking from VoIP providers, your business can place focus on voice network infrastructure, offer multichannel and multimedia support, and have access to centralized cloud communications.

5. Focus on EX as well as CX

While most UC trends are focused on improving customer experience (CX), in 2024, focus has shifted to employee experience (EX). Improved EX directly leads to enhanced CX, which at the end of the day should be every business’ goal. Unified communications can help employees become more efficient; efficient employees reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Switching to UC for Business

Unified communications can vastly improve your business’ productivity while ensuring it stays in the game with advanced telecom technology. Find out how United World Telecom can help your business; speak with one of our experts today!

Why VoIP is a Good Fit for Distributed Teams

Posted on by Miguel Isabal

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#44591887 ID#27446420

Need a business communication solution for distributed teams and remote working? Voice over IP or a VoIP phone system can be a great fit for your distributed teams. It can help to ensure your teams stay connected and productive even when they work remotely.

4 Ways VoIP Can Benefit Your Distributed Teams

A VoIP phone system ensures business connectivity over the internet, enabling users to connect from any location and any device. This makes it a good fit for distributed teams and remote workers. Read on for the top 4 benefits of using VoIP to manage remote groups.

1. Employees Can Work from Any Location

Whether your area is hit by a pandemic or you plan on hiring employees from different states and countries, the best part about having VoIP for business is that your employees can stay connected and continue working from wherever they are. All they need is to connect to your VoIP system through a reliable internet connection. Then, they can place and answer important business calls, make sales calls, and offer customer support uninterrupted.

2. Remain Accessible through Multiple Devices

Secondly, employees are not limited to the phones within an office. Employees in distributed teams can work through any device — VoIP phones, computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. This ensures that they remain accessible even when they are not in the office or if a device fails.

3. Implement a BYOD Policy

Bring your own device or BYOD work policies are growing more and more popular. These policies make it possible for employees to use their own devices instead of devices issued by the company. This means that employees can use devices that are suitable, familiar, and comfortable to use. Additionally, they do not need to learn how to use a new device and can use their own apps that help with productivity. It also helps businesses reduce equipment costs as they do not need to provide employees with phones, computers, laptops, etc., to get their work done. All in all, a BYOD policy can be a win-win situation for both employees and employers.

4. Reduce Communication-Related Costs

With all of the above taken into account, you’ll notice that VoIP can help your business reduce communication costs. For one, you will have a predictable bill each month. Two, you don’t have to worry about equipment or maintenance costs. And that also means you do not have to bother with IT costs. When businesses employ remote workers, having the ability to maintain communication without needing to purchase additional equipment or services can really help keep expenses to a minimum.

How to Set Up VoIP for Remote Teams

Setting up VoIP for distributed teams is quick and easy. Once you have the service, you will need to map out how you want your teams to use the service and its benefits. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

1. Map Out Your Phone System

The first step to setting up a VoIP phone system for your remote workers is to determine how you’ll want calls to be handled. For instance, how many numbers will you be using, and for which departments? Map out how calls will move through the system and how calls will be forwarded or routed. Determine your forwarding needs and settings. For example, you can forward calls to different people at different times of the day or simultaneously to every worker, and so on.

2. Decide What Features to Use

Next, you need to decide how you want to use the features that come with your VoIP service. For instance, you should set up a custom greeting and voicemail message. You will also want to design an IVR with menu options for callers to navigate through. You can play around with other features to see which ones work best for you and your teams.

3. Equip Your Agents

Next, prepare your remote team and equip them to handle business calls. Here too you can use VoIP features to ensure your agents have what they need to do their job effectively. You may even consider creating a support portal or knowledge base that walks them through common issues, troubleshooting help, and so on. Lastly, train them to use the service as well as to be effective agents and salespeople. Once all of this is done, it’s time to start working!

4. Access In-Network Calling for Team Collaboration

VoIP allows for in-network calling which is essential to remote team collaboration and manager-employee interaction. This is especially true for distributed teams and remote workers. Calling someone from your team should be without hurdles and interruptions. And in-network calling makes team communication easy.

5. Make Outgoing Calls from Own Devices with Business Numbers

An outbound calling service from your VoIP provider means that users can make outgoing calls from any device while still displaying a dynamic caller ID. And so, receivers of these calls see your business number even if a remote worker is calling from their laptop. This keeps business calls and remote working professional.

6. Measure Results with Call Records

Lastly, measure results and important KPIs to see how your teams are doing on a regular basis. And you can do this through studying call detail records and call activity. Watch for top KPIs such as first call resolution, average time in queue, average handle time, response time, and so on.

Think VoIP is a Good Fit for Your Remote Teams?

Get a VoIP phone system with United World Telecom and improve distributed teams’ business communication. Give your remote workers the tools they need to work effectively and produce the desired results. For more information, call us today or chat with our experts!

6 Useful Ways to Reduce Abandoned Calls in Your Call Center

Posted on by Nadine Sampson

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#75940443 ID#27446420

Is your call center not performing well in terms of customer satisfaction? Then you may need to rethink how customers interact with your call center and how many customers give up and abandon their calls. Here we will look at 6 practical methods to reduce abandoned calls and increase customer satisfaction.

What are Abandoned Calls?

Call abandonment or abandoned calls refer to callers that hang up before receiving service or dropped calls. Calculating your call center’s abandoned call rate—an important call center KPI—can help you identify areas that need improvement. Callers that abandon their calls may do so because it is taking too long for them to receive support or to get a human being on the phone. A high call abandonment rate leads to low customer satisfaction. So, what can you do to provide better customer service?

Here are 6 useful ways to reduce abandoned calls in your call center.

1. Invest in a Cloud IVR System

An IVR is an automated phone system that assists a call center in managing incoming calls. The IVR interacts with callers, identifies the reason behind the call, and proceeds to help either via:

  • Pre-recorded messages
  • Transferring the caller to the right department
  • Or sending the call to voicemail

In some cases, the IVR may even assist the caller in performing predetermined actions such as:

  • Activating an account,
  • Processing payments,
  • Providing common troubleshooting help,
  • Submitting a trouble ticket, etc.

A well-designed IVR phone system will effectively determine the purpose of the caller and assist them. This way, it can cut down the number of calls that need an agent for support. And if the IVR can’t help the customer, it can quickly forward the call to an agent. This is a good way to reduce abandoned calls.

Related: Interactive Voice Response: Definition and Benefits

2. Try Different Call Forwarding and Routing Options

Next, try different call routing options so calls go to the right agent or department and less time is spent transferring or keeping callers on hold. Some common call forwarding and routing strategies include:

  • Time of day routing — route calls to specific numbers or lines during set times of the day.
  • Select country routing — route calls to specific lines based on where the caller is calling from.
  • Direct routing — callers select their preference of the menu provided by your cloud IVR.
  • Data-direct routing — route calls to the right agent based on the caller’s data and history.
  • Least-occupied routing — route calls to agents who have answered the least number of calls.
  • Simultaneous ringing — incoming calls ring multiple phones or lines so no call goes unanswered.
  • Failover forwarding — incoming calls are sent to the next agent in line if the first agent is unavailable.

Different routing strategies can help your call center balance incoming calls and distribute them evenly. You can even have calls made over the weekend or during off-hours forwarded to remote agents. This way, there’s always someone available to answer calls.

3. Prepare a Knowledge Base for Online Support

With everything being easily available over the internet, most customers will first try to solve an issue by themselves before they call a company. For this purpose, having an online Knowledge Base or Support section that provides assistance and troubleshooting for common issues can be a blessing.

Web visitors will first try to resolve their concerns via looking up your Support, FAQs, or Knowledge Base tools. If they are still unable to fix the problem, they can then choose to email or call your company. However, users that are able to fix the problem will not need to make the call, thereby reducing the number of calls in a queue and reducing abandoned calls.

4. Offer Multichannel Support

Another way to reduce abandoned calls is to offer other mediums of support. The Knowledge Base is one such tool. However, other communication channels include live chat, ticket tracking software, email, SMS, etc.

5. Train Your Agents for Common Issues and Large Call Volumes

Irrespective of how well you distribute your calls, if your representatives are not trained well and unable to perform under pressure, then your efforts are in vain. Take time out to ensure that call center agents get the training they need to succeed. Have refresher courses, webinars, and workshops on the regular to reinforce good habits. Furthermore, provide them insightful resources and incentives that can help them do their job well even during high volume periods such as holidays. You may even run a rewards program as well as provide quick and easy access to troubleshooting documents and so on.

6. Schedule Agents Based on Call Traffic

Lastly, study your call logs to see when and where most of your calls come in and schedule agents to tackle high-traffic periods. This way, your team is prepared to deal with the load of incoming calls while offering quick service. Plus, having more agents available during these times will help distribute calls better.

How Can United World Telecom Help?

We offer a variety of virtual communication tools specifically designed for call management. You can rely on our call forwarding options, cloud IVR systems, and rest assured that incoming calls reach the right agents on time. Improve your customer service today by signing up for our service. To learn more, call us or chat with one of our experts today!

Call Analytics: What Are They and How to Use Them?

Posted on by Miguel Isabal

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#66382585 ID#27446420

To execute smart marketing strategies that will increase your business’ visibility and awareness, marketers need to know what exactly your target audience wants and how to best appeal to them. And one of the ways that they can study this is through call analytics. Here we look at how call analytics works and why your business needs to invest in this marketing tool.

Why Call Analytics is Necessary for Business

Most marketing revolves around digital tactics. However, what can one learn from offline tactics such as phone calls and text messages? And how can that data be used to improve customer response? This is where call analytics comes in. By studying call tracking analytics, marketers can identify which channels are working well and which need more work.

When customers are looking for a new service or product, they will often reach out to the business via phone calls to learn more. However, digital marketing metrics don’t usually cover call outcomes. And this information is often valuable.

How Does Conversation Analytics Work?

Call analytics can help your marketing team gather information about calls and their outcomes so you can use this to your advantage. Your team can analyze calls individually or collectively, depending on the type of data you are looking for. Call analytics helps you analyze:

  • Individual calls to study how particular calls go, why they succeed or fail
  • A group of calls to determine their source and how they impact your business

So, how do call analytics work?

  1. Replace your numbers with call tracking virtual numbers.
  2. Use different numbers for different channels (one for your main number, one for social media, one for different locations, etc.).
  3. Measure and track results from each of these numbers and channels.
  4. Boost your marketing ROI by spending more on high-performing lines as opposed to low-performing lines.

Top Features of Call Analytics

For companies that use phone numbers as their main call-to-action, call analytics can give great insights into which areas of marketing are more successful than others. This is done by evaluating various call analytics features such as:

Advanced Reporting

In order to conduct call analytics, one must have access to advanced and detailed call records. This is where advanced reporting comes into play. This feature will give users access to information needed to study how different communication and marketing channels are working. For instance, you can gain insights into peak and preferred call times, preferred communication channels, geographic information, and so on.

Call Recording

Hosted call recording records all incoming and outgoing calls and stores them for future review. Reviewing recordings will help you understand what works and doesn’t work when an agent or employee is on a call with a potential customer. You will also be able to identify areas of concern that customers may have or certain preferences and expectations they come with. You can then target these issues in your ads and drive up your conversion rate.

Call Transcriptions

While call recording lets you listen to each call, call transcriptions let you read the conversation. Again, similar to call recordings, reading call transcriptions can help you get a visual idea of how calls are performing and what can be done to make them better. Another similar feature is voicemail transcriptions that send voicemails in text format to your email. This too can help you gain insight into customer behavior and preferences.

 Lead Scores

A lead scoring feature lets you view which leads and prospects are qualified. This way, you are focusing on leads for driving and boosting your business.

Ways to Use Call Analytics

So, how can your business use call analytics to offer better customer service?

1. Before the Call
This part of the call tracking process is the first level of call analytics data and it focuses on what led to the call. For example:

    • Which marketing campaign prompted the individual to call?
    • Where is the call coming from? Your website, offline or online ads?
    • What location is the call coming from?
    • When was the call made and how was it routed?
    • Who answered the call?

Call tracking can help you identify where your leads are coming from. In other words, which marketing sources are effective. It can also help you understand which calls convert and this will then help you replicate the process with other callers.

2. During the Call
The next level focuses on what happens during the call. That is, what is working and what is not, so that customer interactions can be made better. Calls can be analyzed by listening in on a call (call monitoring), joining a call (call barging), or reviewing past calls (call recording).

Such analytics can help you determine the best methods of communication and customer interaction. With that information, your team can increase conversions and customer satisfaction.

Get Top Call Analytics Features with United World Telecom

United World Telecom can get you set up with call recording, call tracking, and detailed call records to study how your incoming and outgoing business calls are performing. To learn more, visit our website or speak with our experts today.

5 Ways a Local Phone Number Can Increase Business Visibility

Posted on by Luke Genoyer

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#347696228 ID#27446420

Local phone numbers are growing increasingly popular for their ability to help businesses expand without tremendously increasing expenses. Here are 5 ways you can use a local phone number to increase business visibility and awareness.

How to Improve Business Visibility Locally?

Local phone numbers or local access numbers are telephone numbers assigned to specific areas or regions. These numbers come with designated area codes that separate cities, states, or areas from other locations. For example, in the United States, almost every state and city has at least one area code. In Florida, some area codes include the Orlando 407 area code, Miami 786 area code, Jacksonville 904 area code, etc.

So, what are the benefits of using local numbers? Local phone numbers can increase your business visibility in the following ways.

1. Create a Local Presence in Target Markets

The main reason businesses choose to get local numbers for different locations (nationally and internationally) is because it allows them to connect with customers from those areas by creating a local presence. And so, if you have a list of countries to expand your business to, local numbers can create communication channels between your business and those markets.

With an outbound calling service, you can display a custom caller ID instead of unknown and unrecognizable numbers. Since recipients receive the call from a “local number,” they are more likely to answer the call. A survey by Software Advice concluded that people are four times more likely to answer calls from local numbers than area codes they do not recognize. More specifically, 27.5% said they would answer an unknown number with a local area code while 7% would answer an unknown caller with a recognizable toll free area code.

This is because local calls incur local calling charges and make the business or caller seem local instead of long-distance or international.

2. Offer Local Customers a Convenient Way to Connect Your Business

Besides giving customers a reason to answer your calls, you will also be giving customers a reason to call you back. Customers are more likely to return calls of numbers with area codes they recognize. This is because a local call may be someone they know, a business they have done business with, or another familiar party trying to get in touch. And so, by getting a local phone number, your business makes it easier for new and returning clients to stay in communication.

3. Gain Local Customers in Different Regions

Virtual phone number providers offer various local and toll free numbers from countries across the globe. United World Telecom, for example, can help you get a local or toll free number in more than 160 countries across the world. And so, you can enter your market in various geographical locations and global markets. All without relocating or opening new field offices. This makes local phone numbers a cost-effective expansion tool.

4. Advertise Locally

By entering your business in various local markets and creating a local presence, you can start advertising your services locally. For instance, you can use location-marketing to target customers in these areas. Furthermore, you can advertise on billboards, local directories, local exhibitions, conferences, and more. And you can promote your local number on your website, social media accounts, etc. This increases the chances of local prospects seeing and learning about your business.

5. Provide Customer Service that is Accessible

Finally, you can offer customer service and sales in multiple locations throughout the world. Doing so makes your business reachable and accessible from anywhere in the world. This is a key component to building a business that is trustworthy and credible.

Which Local Markets Do You Want to Target?

Local phone numbers can help you not only expand communications to different cities, states, and countries, but also increase visibility and credibility. A business that is accessible and easy to call is more trustworthy than one that is hard to get a hold of. Improve your professional reputation and watch your sales increase. Get a local phone number today!

What is the Difference Between UCaaS and CCaaS?

Posted on by Nadine Sampson

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#49360603 ID#27446420

As “business in the cloud” grows more and more common across industries, users are looking at integrations to increase efficiency and reduce costs. This is where unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact center as a service (CCaaS) come in.

Contact Center Versus Unified Communications: What’s the Difference?

CCaaS and UCaaS are business communication technologies. And while there are key differences between the two types of technologies, they work best when combined.

The main difference between UCaaS and CCaaS is that UCaaS focuses on internal communication and collaboration while CCaaS focuses on customer interaction. However, by bundling the two technologies into one cloud platform, you can save on communication costs. This means a monthly predictable bill and no need for extra hardware.

What is UCaaS?

UCaaS or unified communications as a service consolidates a business’ communication tools and applications into one unified cloud-based platform. Communication tools include voice, video, instant messaging, and conferencing. Additionally, they come with features such as call forwarding and routing, interactive voice response, voicemail-to-email and fax-to-email, and more.

A business’s IT team purchases these solutions to improve internal communication. These solutions can help businesses improve their office phone systems and streamline workflow by encouraging collaboration, flexibility, and mobility. UCaaS is similar to platform as a service, PaaS; where UCaaS makes unified communications available to businesses of all sizes.

What is CCaaS?

Contact center as a service or CCaaS also enables multichannel communication through one cloud-based platform. In other words, it is a call center software hosted in the cloud. Your CCaaS provider will create and maintain the software that allows you to enhance customer experiences.

With CCaaS, instead of the IT team, purchasing decisions are led by sales managers and leaders. This is because CCaaS solutions are geared towards sales and customer support. These solutions focus on creating easy methods for agents and employees to connect with clients and leads. Some common features include skill-based routing, customer authentication, outbound calling, etc.

How to Integrate Unified Communications Into Your Contact Center

To integrate unified communications into your contact center, follow the below steps:

1. Find the right provider for a voice and data network:

To get the combined benefits of UCaaS and CCaaS, you need a reliable voice network and/or phone system provider. This is usually a business phone service provider that provides your business with its international toll free service, VoIP numbers, and so on.

2. Choose the best features for your needs:

Browse through different features and services offered by your provider. You may even consider a virtual call center software that gives you access to standard and premium features such as call reports, direct inward dialing, call recording, IVR, and more.

3. Provide excellent customer service:

Use these features to create better customer experiences. Some ways you can do so include:

    • Offering multichannel support (voice, video, email, live chat, text message)
    • Using automation to create a faster and more productive workflow
    • Utilizing features to create a robust business phone system for internal and external communication
benefits of ucaas
Source: DepositPhotos.com – Lic#84599004 ID#27446420

5 Benefits of UCaaS and Contact Center Collaboration

So, why does your business need a UCaaS and CCaaS collaboration? Here are the top 5 benefits of combining or integrating unified communications into your contact center.

1. More internal collaboration

With these technologies combined, different teams or departments within your office can work smoothly with each other. For instance, your marketing and sales teams must work together to determine the right leads and the right way to approach those leads. Being able to communicate easily and share information in a fast and secure manner can boost such collaboration.

2. Enhanced customer experience

With advanced communication features, you can strive to offer better customer service and caller experience. You can quickly forward callers to the right department or agent via your IVR system or through skills-based routing. You can also offer multichannel support for users who do not prefer phone conversations. Furthermore, a well-designed IVR system may even be able to reduce call wait times by providing troubleshooting help via prerecorded messages or sending callers to voicemail. Either way, the goal is to make the experience better for callers so that you retain these customers.

3. Lower communication costs

When bundled, you do not need additional expensive equipment or hardware to support both technologies. You can use your existing devices and phone system. Additionally, having both systems on the same platform ensures you have only one predictable bill per month instead of multiple bills. All of this helps reduce your monthly business communication costs which can result in significant savings for local as well as international businesses.

4. Enable remote working

Since both UCaaS and CCaaS work on cloud technology, you and your teams can work from any location and any device. This gives way to remote contact centers, virtual call centers, as well as distributed teams to work effectively even when working remotely.

5. Low IT maintenance

Finally, since these systems work over the cloud and are usually hosted by your provider, your business won’t have to worry about the costs of managing a data center. You merely rely on your provider, saving more in communication-related costs.

9 Inexpensive Advertising Ideas to Promote Your Local Business

Posted on by Beny Mouen

Source: DepositPhotos.com - Lic#123342062 ID#27446420

Are your marketing efforts not bringing enough customers to your local business? Then it’s time to reinvent your approach and try new ways of advertising. Here is a comprehensive list of 9 small business advertising ideas to promote your local business.

Small Business Advertising Ideas: 9 Proven Methods

Sometimes executing just one or two marketing strategies isn’t enough, depending on the type of company you run and the response you want from potential customers. So, what are some other small business advertising ideas you can try? Here is a look at some of the most successful advertising options available.

1. Create a Google Listing

Most customers are looking for services and products online and they find potential companies through Google. This is why it is important to list your business on Google. This usually includes the name of your business, your website, address, contact info, photos of your products and services, and more. Then, you can have users and customers leave online reviews about your local business so that new customers can see how people are using your services.

2. Design a Website with SEO Practices

Your business website is the most important tool you have to reach customers and educate them about what you have to offer. Create a user- and mobile-friendly website and write relevant and original blogs related to your industry and services. This will help web visitors learn about your services but will also help with search engine optimization. SEO best practices can help your website appear higher on search results, increasing the chances of interested customers viewing it. The more people look at your website, the more followers you will generate. And this will lead to more customers converting.

3. Be Active on Social Media

Besides the internet, social media is yet another growing marketing tool. Most individuals are on some type of social media, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc. And so, this is a good place to target potential customers. Be active on social media, share blogs, customer reviews, the latest news, and so on. You may even respond to customer queries and questions in a timely manner and use these platforms to offer customer support.

4. Offer Promotions and Specials

To keep your small business relevant, it is important to attract customer attention. And one of the best ways to do so is by offering promotions, discounts, and specials. These can occur throughout the year or on special occasions. But running promotions encourages customers who were on the fence to complete a purchase. And this way, you can increase your customer base.

5. Consider a Vanity Number

Most business owners don’t realize that one of the top small business advertising ideas is your business phone number. For example, a toll free number is free to call and encourages interested customers to reach out to your small business for queries or customer support. On the other hand, locals calling a local phone number incur local charges instead of long-distance charges. So choosing your business phone number can make a big difference in the way potential and current customers interact with your business.

You can also get a vanity phone number that uses letters or patterns to make a number more memorable and recognizable. A vanity number is more likely to grab the attention of potential customers and stay in their memories. Here is a chance to get creative with your business phone number.

6. Run a Customer Loyalty Program

Almost all businesses have some kind of reward or loyalty program or membership to reward valuable customers. Through such a program, the more customers purchase from you, the more they benefit. It works as a win-win for both you and your most valuable clients. You may even run special promotions for members only. This will show customers you care about their business and increase customer loyalty, which leads to recommendations made to family and friends.

7. Display Reviews, Affiliates, Testimonials

Online reviews, testimonials, and word of mouth recommendations: these are all important and enticing ways to advertise your local business. Display these on your website, online and local directories, social media platforms, etc. You may even conduct case studies of high-profile clients and display them along with affiliates on your website.

8. Invest in Email Marketing

Email marketing is another common advertising tactic for small businesses to get customers. Build an email list with potential clients and customers including those that:

    • Interact with your website
    • Fill out a sign-up form online
    • Interact with you at exhibitions
    • Reach out via social media
    • Call your business to inquire about products, and so on.

Then, send them newsletters, promotions, and educational posts to help them understand the value of your small business and the benefits of working with you or purchasing your products. In addition, regularly monitoring and updating your DMARC policy can further enhance your email marketing efforts, safeguarding your communication and fostering trust with your audience.

9. Try Traditional Methods: Billboards, Newspaper, Magazines, & Radio

Finally, try traditional methods of advertising. Think billboards with a catchy phrase and contact information, product reviews in newspapers and magazines, jingles on the radio. These advertising strategies have been used for years and continue to prove successful.

Promote Your Small Business Today!

Advertising doesn’t make change happen overnight. You need to lay the groundwork and watch the results. Then, make adjustments as needed such as targeting certain areas more with a virtual number or advertising more on certain platforms. Try the above advertising ideas to see which ones work best for your business!