On average a business will allocate less than 2% of total business costs to their communications, with business communications fulfilling such an important function, why is it many business owners/managers fail to consider downstream consequences that will impact the continuity of their services when presented with 10 – 20% savings from low cost, low service carriers?
Co-ordinating Business Services
Many small and medium-sized businesses start out at home, where phones, mobiles and the internet are an extension of the existing home services. As businesses grow, and communication needs become more demanding, the services required to meet your demands become vital.
Forward planning and the right advice can have a huge impact on whether your selected business phone solution is ‘fit-for-purposes’ or results in a continued source of frustration.
With 25 years in business, we see growing companies opt for quick, cheap solutions as a means of addressing an immediate need. As is often the case with consumers, many businesses will select an internet plan that offers adequate data from one provider, and add new mobiles from a number of providers as the new team grows, all while their business phone system is managed by a separate provider.
A coordinated or integrated communication approach can deliver…
- Substantial cost and efficiency improvements
- Service reliability – through one point of contact, support requirements, service redundancy
- Monthly cost predictability
- Options to scale your needs as the business expands or contracts
- A complete disaster recovery plan
Improving Business Communication Efficiencies
– Sales Manager at Key Technologies often encounters companies juggling 5 or more service providers for their communications and I.T. requirements, in addition to being difficult to manage, often there are significant cost and performance inefficiencies that the business owner is unaware of or has no time to explore. A role we can perform at Key Technologies.
When the livelihood of your business depends on being able to ‘Do Business’ the continuity of your business phone systems becomes paramount.
If your business communication requirements were limited to planning social engagements, chatting with friends/family and updating Facebook etc. then the importance of a good business phone system is redundant, however, the primary role of business is growth and profits.
There comes a point when multiple services (or consumer thinking) burden a business with administrative drag, not to mention the missed efficiencies a business can achieve through the integration of their business communications.
While consumers will shop around for the best deals and select multiple providers for their fixed-line, mobile and internet; their contingency for service-related issues is not mission-critical.
For businesses juggling multiple services across multiple suppliers the increase in administrative costs, accounts management, multiple contact points and segmented service support can become prohibitive… It’s no surprise service complaints centre on ‘getting the run around’ when an issue arises.
The Real Costs of a Cheap Business Phone System
Compare a 10 – 20% saving on your business phone systems to the cost of an hour without phone or data, let alone a whole day, and you will see the cost savings are very quickly eroded, when compared to potential profit increases from improvements to business efficiency, the meagre costs savings become insignificant.
The right service provider is a valuable resource, at Key Technologies our clients receive one-on-one consultation, if they have registered a problem our account executives will provide available options to ensure their business continues to operate. Continuity of service is paramount.
We understand the complexities of the Telecommunications industry, we are lucky because it’s what we do on a daily basis, for a business whose specialty may be refrigeration (something we know nothing about) distinguishing attractive pricing from the right services for the business can be a challenge.
To help Brisbane businesses our team compiled a list of ‘what-you-should-look-for’ based on our experiences with Brisbane businesses…
What’s included?
Absolute no brainer, this can be in the form of plan benefits e.g. free on-account calls, included call spend, shared data across company and devices; or service benefits e.g. virtual receptionist, line hunt, dedicated lines for EFTPOS / Fax / Alarm, back-up options for broadband; or redundancy services e.g. business-grade 24×7 technical support, competitive scalability options for growing businesses, future proof services (NBN ready)
Are services business-grade?
Broadband that prioritises business customers over consumer users during peak network periods, features that facilitate better business efficiencies such as private networks for multi-site businesses, video conferencing and cloud services or I.P. wireless port access. Features that let you handle your customers with professionalism such as call diversion, call waiting and three-way call options.
Is a single provider right for your business?
This is a price vs. value consideration, a single service provider can eliminate being passed back and forth between multiple service providers when an issue arises, a full service provider will work with you to implement a contingency plan tailored to your business needs, and can structure your requirements to achieve unified synergies between fixed, mobile and data services. Often sourcing everything from the one provider will mean you get a better deal overall.
Will you need to scale services up and down?
Your business may be in a growth phase or your company expands and contracts dependent on successful tenders, contracts or cyclical events. The role of a good service provider will be to understand and partner with your business, offering a forward-thinking and flexible plan for your changing business needs.
What level and reliability of support is provided?
The right level of support for business is essential. The right provider will stand by their service delivery, checking for an in-house support team you can call and speak with at any time of day or night that can perform remote diagnostics after hours, and that can install or service on weekends or a public holidays can prove invaluable.
We Specialise in Solutions for Brisbane Business Phone Systems
Not all business communications services are equal, with some forward planning and the right advice early on, we can help you differentiate the cheap options from the right business phone solutions that will support the growth of your business.
If you are interested in consolidating your business phone systems or want to explore options for improved business communication efficiencies we offer Brisbane business our communications and technology performance analysis…
